Everyone’s favorite plumber started off rescuing princesses and traversing hostile worlds full of giants, dragons, and sentient bullets. With such an exciting beginning, it’s no wonder gameNintendoneeded to branch out in unexpected ways to keep theSuper Mariofranchise fresh and exciting.
Related:Nintendo Franchises With the Best Spin-Off Games
Seeking to take advantage of another genre besides platformers, Nintendo began releasingMario-themed sports games. This novel use of their most recognizable characters immediately grabbed the interest of fans and has not let go since. Many games take a fresh approach to established sports like tennis and golf, although some titles fail to meet the mark and end up feeling like stale air.
Updated on August 09, 2025, by Blaise Santi:In April 2023, newer, younger audiences will be introduced to the world of Mario and his friends through Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The cinematic experience promises to deliver for both hardcore fans of the series and for those unacquainted with the Mickey Mouse of video games. With that in mind, there will be plenty of kids and families looking for some breezy fun featuring the usual cast of characters in the Super Mario Bros franchise. Thankfully, these five additional sports games in the series make use of the franchise’s lovable roster while giving players an energetic and competitive experience.
10Mario Golf: Super Rush
The Nintendo Switch edition ofMario Golfwas released in 2021, as the first entry since 2014’s 3DS titleMario Golf: World Tour.Mario Golf: Super Rush, however, comes with a pretty big change to theMariosports formula, particularly with the new mode “Speed Golf.” This new mode encourages players to speed-run through courses against their opponents.
Related:Characters We Hope Cameo In The Super Mario Bros Movie
To make sure they’re not wasting time, “Speed Golf” requires players to run to find their ball throughout the course, which gives them the opportunity to trick out other players and slow them down. It overall takes a breezy series likeMario Golfto a whole new level, one that allows players to get even more competitive with each other during games.
9Mario Hoops 3-On-3
This title for the original Nintendo DS was the first time Mario and his friends got together to play basketball. The game, as the title suggests, finds the player selecting a team of three characters to compete against another team in a traditional game of basketball. However, the biggest plus ofMario Hoops 3-on-3was its surprising roster of characters.
Due to being developed by Square-Enix,Mario Hoops 3-on-3features several playablecharacters from theFinal Fantasyfranchise, including Cactuar and Black Mage. Its one flaw, according to critics, was the inability to play online against others, only allowing for versus matches locally. Nevertheless, it’s a fun, memorable entry in the Mario sports series.
8Mario Superstar Baseball
ManyMariofans view the GameCube as the best era ofMario-centric sports games, which certainly applies to a title likeMario Superstar Baseball. The game finds players assembling a baseball team ofMariocharacters, choosing their captains, which will round out the other players on their team, which include minions and NPCs from GameCubeMariotitles.
The game eventually got a sequel,Mario Super Sluggers, for Nintendo Wii, which featured many similar gameplay features and the addition of motion controls. However, manyMariofans still prefer the nostalgia of the GameCube title, especially with its character roster including memorableMariocharacters like Petey Piranha and Monty Mole.
7Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games
Though most video game fans look atSuper Smash Bros Brawlas the first crossover between longtime rivals Mario and Sonic, it actually came an entire year before.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Gameswas released in 2007 ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics, featuring rosters of bothMarioandSoniccharacters competing in various Olympic sports.
Related:Video Game Mascots Inspired By Nintendo’s Mario
While theMarioteam features the obvious cast of 8Mariosports characters, theSonicteam features some surprising choices, like Blaze the Cat and Vector the Crocodile. Nevertheless, it’s a historic moment in video game history, and also happens to be a pretty fun time, especially when players play alongside their friends.
6Super Mario Strikers
One of the most belovedMariosports games wasSuper Mario Strikers, which was released for GameCube in 2005. Notably, this game features an art style and tone that’s wildly different from many otherMariospin-offs, which are usually bright and playful. InSuper Mario Strikers, the characters are drawn as ruthlessly as they are on the soccer field.
While otherMariosports games are usually family-friendly fun,Super Mario Strikersis bound to create some heated competition between players. Fortunately, the stylistic approach to the title won over many fans, who still have a nostalgic feeling for the GameCube game. Thankfully, Nintendo has kept that art style forfuture releases in theMario Strikersseries.
5Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Although not the firstSuper Mariogame to take on golf, fans who loved the Nintendo 64 version greatly enjoyed this newer iteration on the GameCube. Wonderfully designed courses, new characters, andpolished mechanicsmake this golf game many people’s choice for virtual sporting.
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tourplays like a digital vacation, where the player can travel about lovely landscapes to enjoy many holes of relaxing, yet challenging, golf.
4Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Unlike many otherMariosports games, this Game Boy Advance title does things a bit differently. The developers behind this one are the same people who made the renownedGolden Sungames for the same system. Sticking with what they know best, Camelot Software Planning introduced a lot of dialogue and RPG elements that allowed players to get immersed in the world.
Related:Every Mario Tennis Game, Ranked
Furthermore, the studio tied these elements to rewards and things the player can do through the game, making them feel organic. On top of this, the tight controls, fun gameplay, and loveable characters makeMario Tennis: Power Toura hit.
3Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Golf is meant to be a relaxing pastime, and this is whereMario Golf: Advance Tourhits the sweet spot withlongtime franchise fans. The user interface, controls, and visuals are refined, yet simple. They convey the required information without overloading the player’s brain or crowding the GBA’s relatively small screen.
The gameplay, much like previousMario Golftitles,is fun and satisfyingdue to being intuitive and having a balanced difficulty level for most courses.
2Mario Tennis
Mario Tenniswas one of the very first sports games to feature Mario and his friends. At first, the cast of classic Nintendo characters makes people assume it will be a cartoony experience with little consequence, but that is not the case.
The controls and gameplay are tighter than many other tennis games, realistic or otherwise, while simultaneously providing lots of things for players to do. With challenging tournaments, fun local multiplayer, and immense quantities of charm,Mario Tennisis not only the bestMariotennis game out there, but one of the best tennis games of all time.
1Mario Golf
Despite being released over 20 years ago,Mario Golfforthe Nintendo 64has yet to be surpassed in the eyes of gamers around the world. Incredible balance, infinite charm, and refined gameplay make this one of the best golf games ever made. The wealth of fun characters, variation in game types, and decades worth of replay value rightly have placed this game on the throne above all otherMariosports games.
Furthermore, this charismatic exploration of unique courses is equally fun for hardcore gamers seeking to take on the toughest tournaments as well as casual players simply looking for a few rounds of minigolf. Anyone who enjoysSuperMariogames or sports games should check this one out.
More:Nintendo Switch Sports: Sports That Should Be Added Later Down The Line
