Summary
TheWiiwas a huge success for Nintendo, especially financially. The console captivated a casual audience by offering the opportunity to play tennis at home, while hardcore gamers were given their fair share of epic games to keep them entertained. Naturally, this era saw the release of manyMariotitles.
Along with a couple of mainline entries, theMariobrand spawned various spin-offs during the Wii’s run, with the quality varying greatly from one game to the next. Nintendo published some masterpieces over the console’s lifespan, but they were not all home runs either. Which are thebestMariogames on the Nintendo Wii?
Updated June 05, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Even if this era had a few misses,Mario’s Nintendo Wii gameswere generally high quality, producing some of the franchise’s greatest ever masterpieces. To further highlight each project’s quality, new subheadings have been added for every game.
Every Mario Wii Game
Including a few ports, 18Mariogames exist on the Nintendo Wii, and they cover a wide range of genres and styles. Nintendo produced entries in the franchise in every year of the console’s lifespan save for 2006, and that exception can be credited to the Wii being available for less than two months. To make this information as accessible as possible, the following table contains all theMarioWii games.
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Mario Sports Mixcollects four popular sports that Nintendo presumably believed could not stand on their own as spin-offs. UnlikeMario Strikers ChargedandMario Super Sluggers,Mario Sports Mixdoes have something resembling a story, even if everything once again boils down to four tournaments.
TheMariosports games are never especially deep, butMario Sports Mixfound a way to make its mechanics even simpler. While the game offers volleyball, hockey, dodgeball, and basketball, neither one is enjoyable enough to be worth revisiting once the short campaign is completed. The result is a game that offers some quantity but very little in the way of quality.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Gameswas an underwhelming way to launch a crossover series featuring Nintendo and Sega’s iconic mascots. Mini-game collections can be entertaining, but 2007’s title was extremely shallow in nearly every department and failed to take advantage of the potential offered by the Olympic gimmick. The inconsistent motion controls also did not help.
Mario & Sonicwould produce a couple of decent games, but the first entry was not one of them. When it comes to the summer games, 2011’sMario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Gamesis the far better pick.
Mario Party 9deserves credit for trying to shake up the spin-off series' stale formula; unfortunately, most of the changes were not for the better. Rather than atraditional board game, all the characters inMario Party 9are placed in a car and sent to travel as a collective, a change that essentially eliminates any sense of strategy and individuality in matches. Due to this decision, the boards are generally quite one-dimensional and linear, making matches feel one note and devoid of personality.
Despite all those questionable decisions,Mario Party 9’s mini-games are generally decent. Peak Precision, Skyjinks, and Player Conveyor are all top-notch, and they are hardly the only ones. Unfortunately, they are stuck in one of the franchise’s most underwhelming entries.
Mario certainly got a good workout on the Wii, but Nintendo opted against releasing a new tennis game on the platform. As a substitute, the GameCube’sMario Power Tennisgot itself a remake that primarily focuses on adapting the game’s controls for the Wii remote.
Mario Power Tennisis still one of themascot’s best sports gamesand theNew Play Control!version retains quite a bit of the original’s charm. The controls are not as intuitive or easy to grasp as the GameCube original, but the game is still enjoyable and a worthwhile pick-up for people who only own a Wii. That said, it is difficult to give this release too much credit since, ultimately, there is very little new content here.
Fortune Street, akaItadaki Street, has a long legacy in Japan, but the franchise had to wait until 2007 to make its debut in North America. Developed by Square Enix, this Wii release brings togetherMarioandDragon Questin a board game setting.
Fortune Streetplays somewhat similarly toMonopoly, although the former is a more nuanced experience that doesn’t revolve quite as heavily around luck.Fortune Streetmight not be the type of crossover that will get everyone excited, but it does what it sets out to do quite well.
Back during a time when Nintendo’s multi-talented plumber was an expert in every sport under the sun, it was not unheard of forMario’s colorful cast to pick up a baseball bat and have a few matches. LikeMario’s other sports games,Mario Super Sluggersprioritizes accessibility over depth. And, for the most part, it succeeded in that endeavor, delivering a gameplay loop that most people can pick up and grasp regardless of their gaming experience.
While making great use of the Wii Remote,Mario Super Sluggersis nothing more than just fine as an overall package. Although not a terrible title on its own, itlacks much in the way of content and gets old rather quickly. Still, it is a decent way to spend an hour or two, especially if somebody can find a partner who is willing to join them. Beyond that,Mario Super Sluggersis just a mediocre reminder that the Switch was hardly the first console to struggle with the franchise’s sports spin-offs.
Compared toMario Kart,Mario Partyhas not proven to be quite as consistently good, and the spin-off series went through a particularly turbulent patch during the Wii era.Mario Party 8represented a franchise running on fumes, one that desperately needed an injection of creativity in its single-player content.
Despite not bringing much in the way of new ideas to the plate,Mario Party 8repeats the franchise’s standard formula to an acceptable degree, and it is generally looked back on more fondly than the more experimental sequels. The boards were good in 2007 and hold up pretty well, and they are elevated by Nintendo’s typical high production value.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Gamessuffers from series fatigue, especially since this franchise’s nature demands that certain events are repeated from entry to entry. 2011’s game is considerably better than 2007’s iteration, but the former shares quite a few common sports with the latter.
Now, in all fairness,Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Gamesimproves its repeat events and does a great job showcasing its location. While solid overall, this is still ultimately a forgettable and unoriginal game.
There is nothing particularly exciting about theDr. Marioseries, and the same holds true for its 2008 WiiWare entry. As a Nintendo-inspired take onTetris, these games tend to have just enough charm to elevate an otherwise competent but unspectacular gameplay loop.
Although it may not convert anyone who is not particularly into these types of arcade puzzle titles,Dr. Mario Online Rxis nevertheless a serviceable entry in a franchise that loves to play it safe. The highlight of the package is a mini-game taken fromBrain Age 2. Even though it is far from horrible,Dr. Mario Online Rxis one of the weaker games starring Nintendo’s mascot on the Wii.
Mario and Sonic coming together to compete in the Olympics might not have been exactly what most fans pictured for a crossover between these two behemoths of gaming, but theMario & Sonicseries did produce a pretty fun game at its second go of things.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Gamesis an improvement in nearly every area over its 2007 predecessor. This time around, the sports are quite fun to play, and the single-player mode is structured in a way that makes the whole thing feel far more epic and eventful. The controls are also more intuitive, opting to dial down on the motion controls. For those interested in trying this series,Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Gamesis the place to start.
