Introducing the Mario Cinematic Universe! It’s a name I just coined in order to list all the games that are related to the Mario universe but don’t have “Mario in the title”. So it’s about the friends of the mustachioed plumber who have their moment of glory in turns in titles with their names: Toad, Luigi, Peach, Wario, Yoshi and Donkey Kong. So many different games and series that allows Nintendo to experiment more with new concepts.
For Mario games, check out our article here.
Table of Contents
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (2018)
An excellent 3D puzzle platformer with Toad who can’t jump and has to move through limited environments that look like cubes. We manipulate Toad and the camera that rotates the cube and often hides things.
Very easy and short, it is perfect for casual or beginner players.
For 1 player.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2018)
An excellent 2D platformer featuring Donkey Kong’s family in fabulous levels that each look like a roller coaster. The art direction is great, everything is well animated, but the game is quite difficult to defeat. Luckily, this Switch version contains the character of Funky Kong who can’t lose lives. You’ll still need to be dexterous to jump on the platforms precisely and sometimes in limited time.
Recommended for the most persistent players.
For 1 or 2 players.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD (2024)
A remake of Luigi’s Mansion Dark Room from the 3DS. So the game is remade with nice graphics and contains the same structure. This is Luigi’s second adventure as he explores a haunted mansion full of ghosts and must fight them with a ghost vacuum cleaner.
It’s nice and enjoyable to play but way too repetitive and long for my taste. Puzzles are especially frustrating because the player keeps walking past them when they don’t yet have the keys or items to solve them. So we try a lot of things to open the door or the mechanism without knowing that it’s going to be opened later.
For 1 player.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (2019)
This title is an action/adventure game in 3D. Luigi, Mario’s brother, must explore a haunted hotel to rescue his friends from a wicked ghost who has imprisoned them in paintings. If the theme of the game is horror, everything is of course represented in the form of a cartoon.
The main story mode lasts 20 hours, it is mainly intended for solo intermediate players.
For one player.
(2-player mode unlocks after a few hours of solo play)
(It is possible to play up to 8 players in some multiplayer modes)
Princess Peach: Showtime! (2024)
An adventure game featuring the Princess Peach. She will have many costumes and will have to solve puzzles. More information around its release.
For 1 player
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
A great 2-dimensional fighting game with Mario and his friends, but also many other characters and levels from other video games. A must for fans of fighting games but it is quite difficult to take in hand for neophytes, and the online mode is poorly done. Those who linger there will have a lot of fun.
From 1 to 8 players.
Yoshi’s Crafted World (2019)
An excellent 2D platformer with Yoshi, set in a DIY-like universe. It’s inventive, beautiful, and suitable for beginner players. However, you will have to collect all the flowers in each of the levels in order to unlock the last levels of the game and the end.
Playable from 1 to 2 players locally.
WarioWare: Get It Together! (2021)
A collection of mini-games featuring Wario and his friends. Mini-games must be played in a row in series with the buttons on a controller. A lot of reflexes and dexterity required.
Playable from 1 to 4 players locally.
WarioWare: Move it! (2023)
A collection of mini-games featuring Wario and his friends. Mini-games must be played by moving your arms with the joy-cons. A lot of reflexes and dexterity required.
Playable from 1 to 4 players locally.
More details in our article here.
Which game to choose?
For beginner players: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker and Yoshi’s Crafted World are awesome.
For experienced or persistent players: Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is fabulous.
For chaotic multiplayer games: One of the 2 WarioWare.
For a great fighting game that requires a lot of learning: Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a masterpiece.
