As one of the most prolific franchises in gaming history, Mario boasts a catalog of over 200 games. Since Mario's first appearance in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, he and his enormous cast of friends have been the stars of many different games across multiple genres. From saving Princess Peach to golfing to participating in The Olympic Games, there's almost nothing that the Mario universe hasn't done.

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While games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy are widely known for being fantastic, there are some in the franchise that went overlooked. The sheer amount of Mario games suggests that not all of them will be ground-breaking, but oftentimes, critical success and popularity don't always correlate.

It's important to note that, with the power of Nintendo behind them, essentially no Mario games performed terribly. Even some of the worst-selling Mario titles moved upwards of a million copies. Some hardcore fans will know exactly which titles are worth revisiting, but others may wish to know which Mario games deserve a second chance.

1 Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Mario Kart is easily one of Nintendo's most successful franchises. It's an incredibly accessible style game that is perfect for serious and casual gamers alike. Mario Kart: Super Circuit was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, to relatively good commercial success. As is often the case with Nintendo consoles, Super Circuit was one of the highest-selling titles on the GBA. However, it's one of the worst-performing Mario Kart titles to date, even falling below Double Dash.

Super Circuit is a great example of commercial success and critical reception not exactly correlating. Despite its overall low sales, it is rated as universally acclaimed on Metacritic with a critic score of 93. It was the first Mario Kart game to feature tracks from previous games, which is now a staple of the series. It was also praised for its unbridled course creativity and its huge strides in multiplayer racing. In that sense, Super Circuit wasn't critically overlooked, but in terms of its place among Mario Kart success, there's a chance a lot of gamers have never given it a chance.

2 New Super Luigi U

New Super Luigi U was released for the Wii U as part of Nintendo's 'Year of Luigi' promotion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Luigi's creation. It was one of three Luigi-fronted games released during the year, which ran from February 2013 to March 2014. The game was originally released as a DLC for the original New Super Mario Bros U and later as a standalone title. It's an incredibly fun reinvention of the original game, harkening back to classic Mario titles with its increased difficulty and great level design.

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Overall, the Wii U was one of the worst-performing Nintendo consoles in history. Despite innovative controls and being a clear stage in the eventual creation of the Switch, the Wii U's reception was underwhelming, and very few games released on the platform are remembered as classics. With that in mind, New Super Luigi U was one of the highest-performing Wii U games, selling around 3 million copies. However, compared to the likes of Super Mario Odyssey (26 million) or even Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (6 million), New Super Luigi U doesn't rank high.

3 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey was released in 2019 for the 3DS as a re-release of the original Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story for the DS in 2009. Generally, the Mario & Luigi RPG series is a more overlooked one; although it was relatively successful, they aren't usually the titles gamers think of when Super Mario Brothers is discussed. The original game had fantastic sales figures, and it still stands as the best-selling installment in the Mario & Luigi RPG series.

Contrastingly, the 3DS re-release was one of the worst-selling Mario games of all time. This was incredibly surprising since it had been a full ten years since the original game, and the 3DS was considered to be technically superior to its original model. The game itself was critically acclaimed and, although the remake didn't add too much in the way of additional content, was supposed to bring this RPG game to a wave of newer gamers. Players can even assume the role of Bowser since he and the Mario brothers. are working against a common enemy. Its graphics and gameplay were praised, as well as its humorous story and fun execution.

4 Mario Party 6

Mario Party is a polarizing spin-off series in the Mario franchise. Although it's one of the longest-standing spin-off series, not all gamers are a fan. Mario Party 6 is no exception, and upon its release, critics gave it mixed reviews. It was released on the GameCube in 2004 and featured 82 brand-new minigames along with a completely unique day-and-night system.

Mario Party 6 is the worst-selling home console Mario Party title to date, shifting just over 1.5 million copies overall. Contemporarily, it was criticized for being unoriginal and for its use of the GameCube Microphone - a highly disliked mechanic. However, with the benefit of hindsight, Mario Party 6 has since been viewed in a less harsh light.

Within the context of its sequels, Mario Party 6 was clearly an important game in the progression of the series. Its day-and-night system was creative and distinct, and no Mario Party game has used it since - setting Mario Party 6 aside from the rest. It has also since been praised for its imaginative boards and utterly original content. It's certainly a title worth revisiting, even if only so gamers can see its revolutionary aspects first-hand.

5 Yoshi's Woolly World

Yoshi's Woolly World was released in 2015 for the Wii U as the first Yoshi-led home console game since 1997. It's a side-scrolling platformer in a yarn-like, knitted world. Upon its release, Yoshi's Woolly World sold around 30k copies and was not a particularly popular title. Most Mario games that don't feature the titular character suffer from a drop in sales since some casual gamers won't be familiar with the side characters. This meant that Yoshi's Woolly World peaked somewhere around 1.5 million sales, which is very low for a Mario universe title.

Despite its sales, Yoshi's Woolly World was well-received critically, gaining a Metascore of 78 on Metacritic. Its distinct and attractive art style made it popular among gamers who prefer more fun and whimsical games, as opposed to some of the more challenging classic Mario games. It was praised for its fresh content and ability to avoid repetitive levels. Its co-op abilities were highly rated, making it the perfect game to play with a friend. It's safe to say the game isn't well-known among Mario titles, but there's no doubt that it's a fantastic choice to revisit.

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