Technically Mario has been a series with multiplayer games since the beginning with Mario Bros. in arcades which are also home to many Mario titles you probably never even knew existed. In terms of console titles, Super Mario Bros. also has multiplayer but it sees players switch off between turns with Mario and Luigi. Multiplayer in games like that can be fun in competitions, but what about actual co-op?
It would not be until the Wii where the first mainline Mario title included what could really be considered a true co-op experience. Now it’s fairly commonplace or at least there are more Mario titles out there on Nintendo systems that support co-op from main games to spinoffs. So, what are they? How can they be played? And how many players can join in? We have the answers.
6 Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy released for the Wii in 2007 before later being ported to the Switch. The co-op mode had the second player use a second Wii Remote to collect Star Bits, which was quite useful. They could also stun enemies but not kill them. The game wasn’t that hard to begin with so overall the co-op was not that necessary but it is a great feature for younger players.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 upped the ante, when it launched for the Wii in 2010, when it included an actual co-op character. The second player could now take the form of an Orange Luma. They could do everything from the first game with the inclusion of being able to kill enemies. It was a big upgrade although not as good as putting in, say, Luigi into this 3D platformer.
5 New Super Mario Bros. Wii
New Super Mario Bros. Wii released for the Wii in 2009. It was the first true co-op experience the main series had ever seen as was hinted at in the intro. Not only did it include two players, but up to four could play in total. You could chose to play as Mario, Luigi, a blue Toad, or a yellow Toad.
The variety wasn’t as good as Super Mario Bros. 2’s collection of characters, especially since each character didn’t have their own unique abilities in this game. However, it was still a solid Mario platformer alone or with the chaos of three friends along.
4 New Super Mario Bros. 2
New Super Mario Bros. 2 released for the 3DS in 2012. It subtracted two players from the co-op gameplay of the first game and instead focused on Mario and Luigi. The interesting thing about this was that each player had their own screen since the multiplayer was based on communication between two 3DS devices.
This toned down gameplay actually made the co-op more enjoyable. The game itself was focused around collecting as many coins as possible so it was a perfect fit for two player action. No coin was left behind when this game launched.
3 New Super Mario Bros. Wii U
New Super Mario Bros. Wii U launched alongside the Wii U in 2012. It was very much the same game setup as its Wii predecessor. Mario, Luigi, a blue Toad, and a yellow Toad were all playable again. It was fun but more of the same.
In 2018 the game got ported to the Switch as New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. It added Toadette and Nabbit into the character roster. The game remained as four players though. The most relevant thing to come out of this port was Toadette’s transformation. If Toadette got a Super Crown she would turn into Peachette. This sent the fandom into an uproar giving birth to other transformations like Boosette and Bowsette.
2 Super Mario 3D World
Super Mario 3D World released in 2013 for the Wii U. At long last the character roster and powers returned from Super Mario Bros. 2. Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach were all playable. Peach could glide and Luigi could jump higher as just two examples. This was the first true co-op experience in a faux 3D environment.
In 2021 the game was ported to Switch under the name of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. In that extra mode two players can co-op in a real 3D game this time. One controls Mario while the other controls Bowser Jr. in his little clown car. It is a short mode but still a blast to play alone or with a friend.
1 Super Mario Maker 2
Super Mario Maker 2 released for the Switch in 2019. Like the first game, this allowed players to build and share their own levels. It wasn’t as big of a hit as its Wii U predecessor as its time in the sun was shorter.
The biggest inclusion with this release was co-op. It was broken at the time of release in that it wasn’t easy to setup. Connections also seem to be lost easily but Nintendo stabilized it to a usable degree. Four players could compete and test out levels together or two players could co-op and create levels together. The latter of the two was the most interesting setup.
NEXT: Super Mario Fan Games Every Nintendo Fan Should Know About
