There’s no video game mascot more recognizable than Mario. He’s the face of the platforming genre, of Nintendo, and even of the entire medium to some gamers. As such, there’s a huge fandom that has put their own spin on Mario’s adventures, making fan games and reskins that unofficially elevate the universe to new heights. We’ve gathered a list of the 10 best examples here, arranged in alphabetical order.
Cat Mario
Cat Mario is the epitome of troll games in the Mario fan-verse. It exists solely to frustrate the player, with purposeful glitches and absurd hidden traps designed to make you die over and over again until you find the exact right path forward. It’s unfair to be sure, but it’s also an example of unbridled troll-ish creativity.
Mario Royale
Before Super Mario Bros. 35 arrived, there was Mario Royale. It was the same concept: multiple Marios raced across classic levels, aiming to get further than anyone else without dying. That’s how it started at least. At this stage, it offers an absurd number of characters to choose from — just look at the screenshot above. That’s only one page.
Mariovania
You can tell what this is just by the title and screenshot above. Mario meets Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in an adventure that sees players using abilities like the fireball in creative, navigational ways. You’ll fight regular enemies like Goombas and Koopa Troopas, but Mariovania also has a host of brand-new bad guys and bosses to take on.
No Mario’s Sky
Props to developer ASMB games for the wordplay here. Made for a game jam, No Mario’s Sky sees the plumber traveling between different planets rather than different castles on his quest to rescue Princess Peach. And yes, that does mean the iconic line instead says that “our princess is on another planet.”
Psycho Waluigi
Look, we all know Waluigi deserves his own game, and developer Thunder Dragon finally gave it to us. The name isn’t just calling Waluigi crazy by the way: the game starts with the purple-clad hero waking up with psychic powers. Mario’s fireballs have nothing on telekinesis.
Super Mario 64 Maker
This is another one where the name tells you exactly what you’re in for. Mario Maker let players construct courses using assets from the 2D games, and Super Mario Maker 64 pushes into the 3D realm with N64-style tools. Developer Kaze Emaunar is known for making all sorts of Mario mashups, but this is the most open-ended example out there.
Super Mario Bros. Super Show: The Game
What if a Mario game used the same art style as the short-lived cartoon series? That’s the question developer Jesus Lopez hopes to answer with this fan game. Unlike other games on this list where you can simply check out the final product, Lopez has been documenting the whole development process on YouTube.
Super Mario Bros. X
Before there was Mario Maker, there was Super Mario Bros X. Initially started as an epic (and very lengthy) continuation of the Super Nintendo series, the toolset was later handed over to anyone who wanted to create their own custom levels. The result is a feed of seemingly unending, unrestricted Mario courses to clear.
Super Mario Flashback
For many Mario fans, X and Flashback are the kings of the fan game kingdom. Considered a love letter to Mario’s 2D era, Flashback both reimagines classic side-scrolling levels and converts later 3D stages to fit the same style. The animation quality here is top-notch — Mario and company have never moved quite like this in any official game.
Toads vs Koopas
Cruise Elroy, one of several developers on Flashback, also created this Mario-skinned take on Plants vs Zombies. On one side stands a team of Toads, and you must place the little lads and their weapons to fend off encroaching waves of Koopas. It’s a clever repurposing of many Mario items.
