Super Mario similar games & best alternatives

Super Mario - super-mario_1.avif
Super Mario - super-mario_2.avif
Super Mario - super-mario_3.avif
Super Mario - super-mario_4.avif
Super Mario - super-mario_5.avif
Super Mario - super-mario_6.avif

Super Mario

Texas Instruments TI-99 • 2001

Should you play it?

Super Mario features beautiful graphics courtesy of Bill Nagel, 13 unique enemies, 64 unique background tiles (some with animation), fast scrolling, powerups like growth or flower-power, fireballs, a somewhat-challenging boss, an animated ending scene, and an expansive easy-to-use World editor that can be run on a calculator.

What works

  • Highly creative and varied level design
  • Strong cooperative multiplayer with revive mechanics
  • Accessible yet satisfying platforming controls
  • Engaging badge and power-up systems
  • Rich visual and audio presentation

Things to keep in mind

  • Generally low difficulty may not satisfy veterans
  • Some multiplayer minigames are less compelling
  • Story is minimal and not deeply engaging
  • Online multiplayer can feel passive
  • Limited formal competitive or leadership elements

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

Less competitive

Games that feels like Super Mario but with less competition against others

Less intimate

Games that feels like Super Mario but with less focus on close relationships

More survival-focused

Games that feels like Super Mario but with a stronger survival pressure

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Super Mario. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Super Mario. These titles are not in What to play next.

Super Mario: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Status. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence, Survival.

Last update: 02/09/2026