Welcome back! We’re mere days away from the releases of Sonic Superstars and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. (Well I think Sonic Superstars came out today, actually) so it’s time to finish off our Mario vs. Sonic battle extravaganza! 

Last time we ranked each of these series based solely on their mainline games. Their bread and butter, their coins and rings, as it were. Mario came out ahead, but only by two points, which isn’t an insurmountable lead. And this time, we’re pitting their non-traditional games against one another. Can Sonic mount a comeback, or is Mario truly the superior franchise? Let’s find out, but first, I have to remind everyone that these are merely my personal opinions! There is no definitive winner in the Mario vs Sonic debate! 

Okay, let’s pick a definitive winner. 

Racing games

We’re kicking things off with a very close contest. Obviously, everyone knows Mario Kart. It’s been around for ages, and has seen 8 (or more if you count mobile and arcade) extremely well-loved releases. They’re video game staples, and the Mario Kart brand itself has become one of the most lucrative in all of gaming. Mario Kart is an icon, and would be extremely difficult for Sonic to topple. 

Good thing Sonic has a pretty dang impressive racing career himself, but for a very different reason. Sonic has something Mario doesn’t in this arena, diversity. Sonic hasn’t just done kart racing. (Well technically Mario hasn’t either if you want to include cameo stuff like 3D Hot Rally for Famicom and F-1 Race for Game Boy, but we aren’t doing that.) Sonic did Kart racing in Sonic Drift for Game Gear. But he also did foot racing in Sonic R and Sonic Rivals. He did futuristic hoverboard racing in Sonic Riders. And he did crazy cool arcade-style racing in the Sonic & Sega All-Stars games. And you know what? Most of those are at the very least pretty good, and some are even spectacular. Sonic’s racing career is killer, and definitely stands up to Mario Kart. 

But in the end, for as close as it is, I still have to give the point to Mario on this one. There’s just something so perfect about the Mario Kart series, and for as great and interesting as Sonic’s racing attempts have been, they still aren’t Mario Kart. 

Winner: Mario

Tennis

This one’s a little lopsided, but it is a Mario vs. Sonic arena that both characters have competed in, so let’s see how things land! 

Mario Tennis has been around for ages, and has some truly excellent entries. It’s also had some real let downs. Mario’s Tennis for Virtual Boy did a great job of showing what the VB could do, but its lack of multiplayer and really any sort of interesting Mario-style mechanics leave it feeling pretty lackluster. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for Wii U was so threadbare that it honestly left people questioning if the game was even completed before releasing. 

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Sonic though, has only really been featured in one tennis game, Sega Superstars Tennis, and it’s actually pretty good. The Wii version lacked online play, but on the 360 and PS3, it was a really fun and clever Tennis game. It’s no Virtua Tennis, but then again, what is? 

But for as solid as Sonic’s offering is, Mario once again takes the point here. Mario Tennis for N64 is a bonafide treasure. The RPG mode in the Game Boy Color game is classic. Aces for Switch is a blast. When it comes to tennis, Mario wins. 

Winner: Mario

Puzzle games

You might look at Mario’s numbers here and assume this is an easy win for the plumber, but you’d be wrong. Yoshi, Yoshi’s Cookie, and Wrecking Crew 98 are good games, but they aren’t the kind that have a ton of staying power. 

On the other hand, Sonic Eraser isn’t really much to write home about either. 

No, this contest comes down to Dr. Mario, Mario’s Picross, and Wario’s Woods against Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. 

That’s still a 3 on 1, but let’s see what we have cooking here. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is effectively Puyo Puyo, one of the best puzzle games there is. It’s a classic for a reason, and while dressing it up in characters from that weird Sonic cartoon from the 90s is an odd choice, it doesn’t detract from the overall experience. This is still Puyo Puyo, and it’s still the game to beat. 

Wario’s Woods I’m biased on. I adore that game, and I think it's brilliant as heck. But I understand that I’m sort of in the minority there, so Sonic is still on top. 

Mario’s Picross is a genuine masterpiece, but it's strictly a solo affair. The lack of any sort of multiplayer option I’m afraid puts it juuuuust underneath Sonic. 

But then there’s Dr. Mario. This is another color-matching game, like Puyo Puyo, and it has endured just as long, if not longer. It’s had some really interesting iterations like the tragically defunct Dr. Mario World on mobile and Dr. Luigi on Wii U. Is Dr. Mario better than Puyo Puyo? No, I don’t think it is. I like it better myself, but if I’m being honest, Puyo is king. 

The only problem is, while Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean MAchine is in fact technically better than those other games, it’s not better than all of them combined. This time Mario takes it in sheer numbers. A well-met battle, but the plumber wins again. 

Winner: Mario

Pinball games

Ahh, pinball games. Pinball video games are great. Especially when they take advantage of the video game format and incorporate all sorts of things that could never happen in a real pinball table. So let’s see what we’ve got here. 

Mario Pinball Land is a decent game. It doesn’t do anything wrong, per se, but it doesn't really feel all that special, you know? It’s a fun distraction, but it never quite reaches Kirby’s Pinball Land levels. 

Sonic Spinball, on the other hand, is freaking great. Well, it’s almost freaking great. It’s a spectacular idea that doesn’t quite stick the landing, but it’s still an incredibly cool game, particularly the Toxic Caves area and its phenomenal theme song. Honestly, that alone would be enough to beat Mario’s Pinball Land, but Sonic Pinball Party just happens to ALSO be fantastic. It’s also on the GBA and handily outdoes Mario’s offering in just about every way. It’s a blast, and more than enough to earn Sonic the point. 

Winner: Sonic

Party Games

Yeah, this one really isn’t fair, so I won’t dwell on it too much. Sonic Shuffle on Dreamcast is kind of a disaster, and Sonic Superstars was basically an Eye Toy minigame compilation that was at best “okay.” 

Mario Party is a freaking institution. Sega did try to compete in this arena, and I give them credit for that, but this is unquestionably a point for Mario. 

Winner: Mario

RPGs

Again, this one’s a bloodbath. I really wish it wasn’t though because considering all the bonkers lore the Sonic comics have come up with over the years, a Sonic RPG is a great idea. Get the right team to make it, and it could be spectacular. But sadly, we don't live in that world. Sonic Chronicles for Nintendo DS is a decent game, but Super Mario RPG? The entire Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series? Even accounting for the Paper Mario games people have a weird hatred for, it’s not even close. 

Winner: Mario

Mobile games

Ahh, the mobile Mario vs. Sonic arena. Now this is a playground that Sega has a lot more experience in than Nintendo, and it shows. 

Super Mario Run is a pretty solid game. I had a blast with it, and I feel I got my money’s worth. I guess we could throw Mario Kart Tour in here, as well as Dr. Mario World, but even if we do, I still think this category belongs to Sonic. Nintendo gets credit for really trying to put something different in the world, but those Sonic mobile games are, well, mobile games. They understand the platform better, and while they don't reach any sort of spectacular highs, I think they take it in numbers. I’m not an expert here, so I’m going with my gut. Sonic owns mobile gaming. 

Winner: Sonic

Classic compilations

And here we are again with another bloodbath, but in the opposite direction. When it comes to classic compilations, Sega has been doing a magnificent job of keeping their classic Sonic adventures readily available. 

Nintendo, on the other hand, only really started properly re-releasing their classic Mario games on the Wii via their Virtual Console service, but there they were only sold one at a time. Of course, before that they gave us the absolutely amazing Super Mario All-Stars, which consisted of 16-bit remakes of Mario’s legendary NES outings, but that was really about it. 

Super Mario All-Stars was re-released on Wii in pitiful form, as a simple ROM dump on a Wii disc. Super Mario 3D All-Stars was nice on Switch, with added widescreen support to Mario Sunshine and traditional controls for Galaxy, but for as good as that and the original All-Stars was, let’s look at Sega’s output. 

Sonic Jam on Saturn had the original Genesis games and a crazy cool playable 3D Sonic arena. Sonic Mega Collection on GameCube had a ton of games in it, and it was followed up by the Gems Collection that had a bunch of Game Gear games and other oddities. Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection doesn’t just have a bunch of Sonic classics, but other Genesis games as well, but the real killer here, in my humble opinion, is Sonic Origins. 

Now, I’m aware that Sonic Origins has its issues. I’m heartbroken by the music changes in Sonic 3, and while I’ve never noticed anything wrong with its physics, I know some Sonic die-hards out there have been less than pleased. But for my money, those are a small price to pay for what’s actually on display here. They took the original Sonic games, but instead of doing what Mario All Stars did and remaking them with modern visuals, they applied modern sensibilities to the original games instead and just enhanced them. These are the original games, with their original graphics and sounds (mostly) with crystal clear visuals, native widescreen gameplay, and some amazing enhancements that overcome the Genesis’s limitations, like the 3D half pipe bonus stages from Sonic 2 running at 60fps. Sonic Origins is amazing, and I would LOVE to see Nintendo do something similar to their classic Mario games. There’s a pretty impressive widescreen mod for Super Mario World out there, and I want that in an official manner. 

But that’s not going to happen. Nintendo can’t even make Super Mario World fit a widescreen TV properly on Switch for some reason. 

The winner here is unequivocally Sonic

Winner: Sonic

Alright, let's tally up those points. 

Mario: 5

Sonic: 3

And if we add them to last week’s total

Mario: 11

Sonic: 7

And there you have it. Looks like Mario reigns supreme, but seriously, that score is much closer than I think some folks may have expected. Sonic isn’t exactly known for his quality products anymore, and has been the star of some true stinkers, but he really outdoes Mario in a few areas. I know Sonic can be looked at as a bit of a joke by some, but it deserves respect. 

And Mario, well, Mario is wonderful. I do wish Nintendo would take a page our of Sega’s book in terms of retro stuff, but all in all I couldn’t be happier with where Mario is right now, especially with Wonder looking so darn good. 

So with that, I’m going to put this to rest and clear my schedule for the weekend. Between Wonder and Superstars, I’ve got my hands full! What do you think? Will you be playing Superstars and Wonder? Do you agree with my assessments? Let me know!