There are a lot of Mario games that have come out over the years. The Italian plumber has been in over 200+ games, which is truly incredible and goes to show just how incredible his presence in the video game industry really is. The guy has been a painter, a plumber, a street cleaner, a referee, a death fight combatant, a racer, and just about any other occupation players can imagine. The good old days of Mario on the GameCube are truly fascinating and provide a great glimpse of this character on Nintendo's ever-evolving hardware.
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Given that Mario is Nintendo's mascot and has continued to be the face of most of their games for quite some time, it's easy to see why there are so many games featuring this Italian plumber on the console. These titles are all pretty fun in their own right, and many are fondly remembered to this day. Almost every Mario game boasts a certain level of quality that shows just how careful Nintendo is when it comes to giving this character the screen time he deserves, but some projects are obviously better than others.
Updated on November 3, 2025, by Mark Sammut: Galleries have been added for all the Mario GameCube games.
Every Mario Game On The GameCube
To make the information as readily available as possible, the following list contains every Mario GameCube game, listed in the order they came out.
- Luigi's Mansion
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Mario Party 4
- Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
- Mario Party 5
- Mario Kart: Double Dash
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Mario Power Tennis
- Mario Party 6
- Mario Superstar Baseball
- Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
- Mario Party 7
- Super Mario Strikers
Now, onto the rankings. Which are the best Mario games on GameCube?
14 Mario Party 7
A Solid Enough Mario Party That Does Not Do Anything All That New
Mario Party 7
- Released
- November 7, 2005
- ESRB
- Everyone // Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Hudson Soft
- Genre(s)
- Party Game
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
There's a long lineup of Mario Party titles for the GameCube. With this game being the fourth Mario Party title on the system, it's clear that Mario Party 7 was a sign of the franchise running out of steam a bit, but the game is still a blast to enjoy with friends in its own way.
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The boards in Mario Party 7 tend to be more gimmick-based than previous titles in the series, and, unless players have the included microphone with the game, landing on a Microphone space will do absolutely nothing important. That being said, the game still deserves some credit for bringing 8-player Mario Party to the GameCube, which was a pretty big deal.
13 Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
A Marriage That Works Better Than Expected
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
- Released
- October 24, 2005
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Konami, Nintendo SPD, Hudson Soft
- Genre(s)
- Rhythm
- How Long To Beat
- 5 Hours
Dance Dance Revolution is one of the most popular rhythm games around, with the simple yet addictive gameplay making it an arcade classic in every way. However, many people were skeptical about the crossover of this franchise with Mario's. Shockingly, Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix is fantastic as well and a unique gem that fans should check out for themselves.
It's very well-made and innovates on the established Dance Dance Revolution mechanics in unique ways that make it pretty great to play through. Fans who want to check out a unique rhythm game with familiar faces will love what Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix brings to the table.
12 Mario Party 5
A Good Mario Party That Is, Arguably Surrounded By Better Games
Mario Party 5
- Released
- November 10, 2003
- ESRB
- Everyone // Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Hudson Soft
- Genre(s)
- Party Game
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
Since Nintendo had their feet set on the GameCube after Mario Party 4 introduced the classic board game series to the system, Mario Party 5 is where Hudson Soft showed off what can be done on the purple lunchbox console.
Unlike other Mario Party games, players must pay to use items that can be polarizing, but it does make players think about which items are worth using. The boards are more imaginative than others on the system without resorting to cheap gimmicks. There are quite a few great mini-games as well like "Dodge Bomb" and the extremely tense "Night Light Fright", making this one of the best Mario Party games that fans can check out for themselves.
11 Mario Party 4
Mario Party's GameCube Debut
Mario Party 4
- Released
- October 21, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo, Hudson Soft
- Genre(s)
- Party Game, Action, Strategy
- How Long To Beat
- 80 hours
Graphically speaking, the first Mario Party game on the GameCube was a massive leap forward for the franchise. It set the stage for the other titles in the series to completely wow players with their gameplay systems, and players will certainly get a kick out of this game as they try to beat their friends in this brilliant game.
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Mario Party 4's boards do tend to drag on and on with no loop around in sight, which can become tiring. The minigames tend to all blur together, but they still end up being quite fun when players are battling against each other to emerge victorious. However, after the release of Mario Party 5 & 6 on this console, most people promptly forgot about this title, which was a shame.
10 Mario Party 6
The Best Mario Party On GameCube
Mario Party 6
- Released
- December 6, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Hudson Soft
- Genre(s)
- Party Game, Platformer, Shooter, Fighting, Strategy
- How Long To Beat
- 13 hours
As the third Mario Party released on the system, one might think that this title would be phoning it in, but that would be selling the game short. With a unique day and night cycle for its boards that alter them depending on the "time of day" and some great times in its mini-game collection, Mario Party 6 is the best time players are going to have with Mario and his party on the GameCube.
This is certainly hefty praise, given the wealth of Mario Party titles on the GameCube. However, there's just something incredibly special about Mario Party 6 that makes it infinitely playable to this day!
9 Mario Superstar Baseball
The Best Mario Baseball Game Ever
Mario Superstar Baseball
- Released
- July 21, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Namco, Nintendo SPD
- Genre(s)
- Sports, Simulation
- How Long To Beat
- 4 hours
No Mario game is bad (well, barring a few subjective exceptions). After all, Mario is Nintendo's golden goose, and they always make sure to put the time and money into his games so they're all of a certain level of quality. Mario Superstar Baseball is another title that is pretty fun in its own right, even if some people may argue that it's not amazing per se.
Its sequel, Mario Super Sluggers, was immensely successful and beloved on the Nintendo Wii. It was a game that innovated the blend of Mario and baseball mechanics much more masterfully than this GameCube gem, with Mario Superstar Baseball setting the foundation for what many people argue to be one of GameCube's more overlooked games.
8 Super Mario Strikers
The Best Mario Soccer Game Ever
Super Mario Strikers
- Released
- December 5, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Next Level Games
- Genre(s)
- Sports
This soccer game feels like one of the bigger risks Nintendo took in terms of style and overall tone. It's not often that a Mario game takes any sort of big risks, but this and Super Mario Sunshine are the two best examples that people can think of. Mario Strikers is over-the-top bombastic soccer action at a level almost reaching the classic film Shaolin Soccer.
The art style they used is great, the Captains each having their cronies made every team feel unique, and the game just played fantastically! The sequel game, Mario Strikers: Charged, fell a tad in quality, but overall this is one of the Mario Sports games that players simply can't get enough of. There's a reason why Mario Strikers: Battle League was a huge disappointment for many fans, given the high standards set by this GameCube title.
7 Mario Power Tennis
The Best Mario Tennis Game On Home Consoles
Mario Power Tennis
- Released
- October 28, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Camelot Software Planning, Nintendo SPD
- Genre(s)
- Sports, Simulation
- How Long To Beat
- 4 hours
Once again, the GameCube era seemed to be the time Nintendo chose to try out the whole Mario Sports thing, and luckily for fans, it worked out. Kart racing, golf, and soccer games were all huge hits, and the realm of tennis was also done justice to with this title. Mario Power Tennis was a truly great game that fans can still enjoy to this day, and Mario Tennis Aces makes it infinitely clear that this particular sport seemed to do well with fans.
Something about the sport of tennis just translates so well with Mario characters, and the variety of tournament types, character types, and game modes made for one of the best quality sports games on the entirety of the GameCube. It helps that arcade-y tennis gameplay with a familiar cast of Mario characters makes for a near-perfect combination.
6 Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
The Best Mario Golf Game
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
- Released
- July 29, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Camelot Software Planning
- Genre(s)
- Sports
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour is a game of great quality, even if some people thought that it didn't build upon the cult classic that was Mario Golf on the N64. Maybe they were worried that it would be like reinventing the wheel, but Nintendo took very few risks with this sequel in a way that felt a bit too safe for most fans' liking.
However, the game should be praised for its strengths. The title itself had a good difficulty curve, plenty of content, and a great cast of golfers. It's just a shame that the formula wasn't reinvented, with the improvements in this game feeling marginal at best. Still, fans who wanted a more arcade-y take on golf with their favorite Mario characters would be more than elated by what this title brings to the table.
5 Luigi's Mansion
The Best GameCube Launch Game And A Great Mario "Horror" Experience
Luigi's Mansion
- Released
- November 18, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
Luigi's Mansion was released as a launch title for the GameCube, and while it isn't the most ambitious Mario game on the console, it is extremely unique and a refreshing change of pace. From the title starring Luigi to taking on a campy horror aesthetic, Luigi's Mansion surprises gamers at every corner with something different.
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Its mechanics and gameplay, while simple, are still quite enjoyable to play, and the graphics hold up very nicely for a launch title in 2001. This is a game that deserves more respect, and certainly received the same as more and more people warmed up to this classic title over time. Luigi's Mansion 3 continues the legacy of this title in great fashion, being jam-packed with detail and making the act of sucking up ghosts more engaging than ever before.