The Legend of Zelda and Mario games are two mighty pillars in Nintendo’s arsenal. With the release of every console and portable, fans are guaranteed one if not a handful of sequels and spinoffs of these franchises. It has been over thirty years of both and yet somehow Nintendo manages to keep them fresh. Sure, there have been valleys among their peaks, but the same can be said for any franchise.
Time can do that. On the average though, both are as great as their NES debuts. However, one may wonder what series is better. Or to be more precise, let’s look at it this way. What are some things Mario games do better than The Legend of Zelda and vice versa?Â
10 Mario: Fun For All Ages
Some games are more challenging than others, but for the most part, Mario games are easy to jump into (pun intended).Â
It doesn’t matter if the player is five, or eighty. The concept of moving and jumping is not that hard to grasp for any new gamer, especially compared to the complex nature of the puzzles Link has to overcome.Â
9 Zelda: For The Mature Gamer
That said The Legend of Zelda is a good series for the Nintendo fans that age up and are ready for a new challenge. This can be taken quite literally as, again, the controls are more complex than Mario games.
It goes beyond that though, because the very nature of the games can be darker. That doesn’t mean these games are throwing buckets of blood around, but many of the games do go places not meant for all ages despite how wondrous and mystical it seems from the outside.Â
8 Mario: The Powers
In Super Mario Bros., Mario and Luigi had two powers: fireballs and invincibility. From there their helpful items increased, from the cape in Super Mario World to the many wonders of Cappy’s possession abilities in Super Mario Odyssey.
There are too many great powers to go through, and every time one is activated it feels great. Link has some cool tools and weapons for sure, but nothing compares to that overwhelming feeling of coolness in Mario’s adventures.Â
7 Zelda: Linktroidvania
Technically The Legend of Zelda came first, but calling this entry a Metroidvania is shorthand for Link gaining new tools to unlock new pathways. That’s the very core of what a Metroidvania is in a sense. That’s the thing that makes Link’s tools cooler than Mario’s powers in this context.
Being able to explore areas to discover secrets, especially if players get dinged by that magical music note, is a feeling that never gets old. Curiosity is human nature and The Legend of Zelda is the very embodiment of that principal.Â
6 Mario: The Spinoffs
Both franchises have seen various spinoffs with mixed results. In terms of the average, Mario easily wins. Nintendo has partnered up with many companies to put him and his pals in lot of different genres like sports titles, RPGs, and even puzzle games.
It is easy to see why Mario is tossed around so often. He is the Mickey Mouse of Nintendo, essentially the company mascot. Despite how important The Legend of Zelda is to them, it will never trump Mario on these terms.Â
5 Zelda: Puzzles
Mario may have some puzzles games under his belt, like the Japanese exclusive Mario and Wario, but none of these games compare to the intricacy Nintendo puts into their in-game puzzles for The Legend of Zelda. These were praised earlier for the challenges they gives to older gamers, but the puzzles are good enough to also deserve their own entry.
Breath of the Wild, for example, may not have had the big dungeons everyone wanted like from the past games, but the individual puzzle rooms in the shrines were some of Nintendo’s best in their inventiveness.Â
4 Mario: Multiplayer
Another note on Mario’s spinoff effectiveness is how often they introduce multiplayer. Link has had some fun adventures meant for friends as well, but they are few to Mario’s many. There is Mario Party, the multiplayer functionality in core games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and of course, Mario Kart.
Mario’s dominance in the multiplayer market even attracted Link himself to be a guest in Mario Kart 8, which was a brilliant and belated move on Nintendo’s part. This is again why a lot of these games are fun for the whole family.Â
3 Zelda: Portables
Nintendo’s portables often do better than their consoles in terms of sales. The Game Boy and DS family of systems are proof of that. While both franchises have good games on the handhelds, The Legend of Zelda has been more consistent in terms of offering core titles.
From the very first portable adventure, Link’s Awakening on Game Boy, to A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS, they feel as good, if not sometimes better, than their console counterparts. This doesn’t even count the Switch, which is a hybrid.Â
2 Mario: The Fandom
The fans are what make a series complete. Without them Nintendo would be nothing. Both communities are well voiced online, but Mario has a slight advantage. The obvious answer is that Mario and his pals are more out reaching to a more diverse audience, both young and old.
This is true for fan art, fan games, musical tributes, and the list goes on. Again, The Legend of Zelda fandom is high, but Mario wins by a pinch. This rendition of Bowsette was created by kamizono144 on Twitter.
1 Zelda: Mods
That said there is one fan aspect of The Legend of Zelda that is better utilized: mods. Yes, even Bowsette made it into the game. There are hacks for both franchises in terms of classic games like on the NES and SNES, but one modern game in particular is why this entry was chosen: Breath of the Wild.
The amount of content online for that one game is staggering, especially when compared to its Switch contemporary, Super Mario Odyssey. From giving Link weapons from other games to inserting Shrek, the mod community is hilariously gifted.Â