by Tim Peters

Created on: February 18, 2009

Mario IS Nintendo, and Nintendo IS Mario. But with dozens of games to choose from, which one should you choose? Assuming you have a Nintendo Wii and access to the Wii Virtual Console, the choice can be narrowed down, but there are still several titles to choose from. Here's a list of the top five Mario titles for the Wii to help you pick a classic Mario game for your collection.

#5 - Super Mario World (Wii Virtual Console, Super NES)

Super Mario World ruled the 16-bit era until it was challenged by Sonic the Hedgehog. But it's still an amazing game that still looks great and plays beautifully. It features ingeniously-crafted levels, a truly epic adventures, and the legendary green dinosaur Yoshi. There's so many ways to play through each level and so many different secrets to find that'll keep you playing for a long time.

#4 - Super Mario Bros. (Wii Virtual Console, NES)

Every video game purist should play this game at least once in their lives. Featuring Mario's first quest through the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser and his Koopa Troopa, what it lacks in state-of-the-art graphics and sound are made up for with pure entertainment value. After over 20 years, this game still deserves its title as one of the best Mario games ever made.

#3 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii Virtual Console, NES)

The first true sequel to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3 is widely regarded as the best video game of all time - so good that it's still a gold standard in platform-jumping games. You can run, jump, explore huge worlds, and use various suits and tools to take on the Koopa Troopa. It's still tons of fun to this day, and features the single most awesome power-up in Mario history: A shoe that Mario can jump into and use to stomp enemies. Super Mario Bros. is a classic, but Super Mario Bros. 3 is a legend.

#2 - Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

If you're looking for a classic Mario experience in modern form, look no further than Super Mario Galaxy. It's got Mario, it's got Luigi, it's got Princess being kidnapped by Bowser, and it's got things to jump on. And on top of that, it features some of the most craftily-designed puzzles ever made, as well as tons of places to explore and tons of new suits to wear. Super Mario Galaxy takes everything great about classic Mario games and combines them with the innovations of later Mario titles, resulting in a tremendous next-generation Mario game.

#1 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

The only thing better than re-living the glory days of Mario is pitting him against other iconic Nintendo characters (or using him as your personal punching bag). The dozens of characters each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and with so many things to do and so many things to find, it's virtually impossible to be bored with this game. Besides, what red-blooded gamer wouldn't want to re-enact Mario's heyday by beating the snot out of his blue-spiked nemesis - Sonic the Hedgehog? Even if you don't feel like reenacting the console wars of the 90's, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is still packed from beginning to end with pure entertainment.

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