19. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
Wedged in-between the release of two of the best 3D Mario games ever, 2009’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii offered console players their first full-fledged return to 2D Super Mario action in well over a decade. This second entry in the New Super Mario Bros. series was beefy compared to its handheld predecessor.. The new jump-spin technique added more nuance to navigation and wild, four-player co-op (or was it?) offered a completely different way to enjoy the carefully paced, but sometimes rote levels. If New Super Mario Bros. Wii didn’t quite manage to shed the charges of blandness that dogged the DS game, its heavy helping of chaotic multiplayer mayhem made for a pleasant consolation prize. — Ethan Gach
