I'm surprised by the poll results; I never realized how many SMB3 fans there are here. Great game, of couse. All the Mario games are terrific.

Super Mario 64 is my favorite. The experience of playing that game, and wandering about for the first time, it's just about unsurpassed. You knew you were experiencing something that had never been created before, and that rush of discovery would never really be captured again. 3D games have just become tired and stale ever since then.

After that, I'd go with Super Mario World, which I slightly prefer over Mario 3, and Yoshi's Island, which is so vivid and quirky.

Hell, Donkey Kong is still fun every now and then. Mario just has the best luck; he's never been in a bad game.