Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

Once trapped on the Wii U, Super Mario 3D World departed from the likes of Super Mario 64 and Galaxy to give us a game that fused the sensibilities of the series’ early 2D games with 3D gameplay. It deserved to reach a wider audience, and thankfully Nintendo liberated it from the library of that poorly selling console, sweetening the pot in the process by packing in a compact, experimental new adventure (which is why it’s included on this list). Bowser’s Fury adapts 3D World’s new costumes and mechanics for an open-world game starring Mario and Bowser Jr., and right from the get-go it establishes a sense of scale unlike anything in the base game. When you start it up and immediately see a giant, terrifying kaiju version of Bowser unleashing fireballs at you like a final boss, it’s genuinely chilling, and establishes that this isn’t just another run-of-the-mill Mario adventure. Bowser’s Fury is a bite-sized experience, but it gives us a lot to chew on as we consider what the future of 3D Mario might look like.