The 2D Super Mario Bros. box art quality has had its fair share of ups and downs over the decades since the first NES game launched, much like the games themselves. The olden days of pared down, brutally minimalistic art for international releases thankfully gave way to something more colorful and fun, though even some of the more recent Mario art leaves something to be desired. There’s only so many times you can create something cover art for Super Mario Bros. U before it gets a little stale, after all.
We’ve sifted through and put them all in order in our 2D Super Mario Bros. box art list, but if you’re looking for something more game-flavored, check out our Super Mario game rankings as well.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Famicom edition)
I would say “name a bigger downgrade” here, except you can’t. Super Mario Bros. 2’s Famicom box art is a choice and not a very good one. Gone is the detailed artwork from the original, with Koopas and princesses and, well, any semblance of personality. In its place is Mario in a circle.
Super Mario Bros 2 (NES edition)
Not that the rest of the world got anything better. The NES version – for a different game – shows Mario flying through the air with a radish. Bonus points to the artist for actually conveying a bit about the game, but it’s not the most exciting or detailed piece of art.
For reasons best known to them, Nintendo also slapped “Mario Madness” across the bottom, which is very late-’80s of them, but also very tacky.
Super Mario Bros. (NES edition)
The iconic Super Mario Bros. box art isn’t much better. It trades the color and whimsy of the Famicim version for a big, blocky Mario, a fireball, something I always thought was an ice block but is apparently a stone wall, and a reminder that this is an “action series.” Which is ironic for a series that pioneered platforming, but American audiences apparently needed convincing that this was worth parting with their money for.
European fans had a decent compromise – a sheared version of the Famicom box art on a black background.
Yoshi's Island - Super Mario World 2 (Super Famicom edition)
I want to like the Super Famicom art for Yoshi’s Island, with its soft pastels and adorable Yoshis. But I can’t. It’s just a pile of Yoshis and a baby in a bubble. The bigger boss Yoshi in the corner is looking strangely smug and mildly sinister too, like he orchestrated Mario’s kidnapping and has no plans of releasing him from that bubble anytime soon.
New Super Mario Bros (DS)
I freely admit I’m biased against this game’s art. It mostly does a solid job at communicating what’s special about New Super Mario Bros. It’s the 2D style you (maybe) grew up with, but jazzed up and made prettier for modern audiences on the DS.
But there’s that Mega Mario to contend with. The Mega Mushroom plays such a non-role in the game, despite the marketing and the cover art. It’s just a little dishonest and more than a bit disappointing to suggest this super fun new item is a huge game changer like Yoshi or the Tanooki suit, unless by game-changing you mean “destroys the level so you can’t even explore it all.”
Super Mario Run (Mobile devices)
This is cheating a little since, as a mobile game, Super Mario Run technically doesn’t have cover art, but I’m adding it anyway. It’s a 2D game after all.
Anyway, it does what it needs to do and not much more. The lines in the Run part of the logo and in the background make it pretty clear that this game is about running, in case the running Mario and Run in the title didn’t say that clearly enough. That’s about all there is to see here, which is fitting since that’s all there is to do in the game.
Super Mario Bros 3 (NES edition)
Why would you do this, Nintendo. You take out all the creative bits and pieces that make the Famicom box art look so special and just leave flying Mario on a yellow background. Flying Mario is, admittedly, pretty cool, but it’s so flat and tame compared to the original version.
Super Mario World (SNES edition)
Nintendo took a similar approach with the American Super Mario World box. Here, we see Mario with a cap, sitting on Yoshi. And that’s it. Granted, the cape and Yoshi are smart additions, especially the dino-pal who we’d never seen before. There’s just nothing to suggest how much more creative and expansive World is, though.
New Super Luigi U (Wii U)
Coming up with a fresh design idea for a game that’s basically the same as its predecessor can’t have been fun, but credit to the team for not just putting Luigi in there. The art gets a green motif, with Nabbit and a few other features that speak to this being a new-ish adventure, but that’s about it.
Super Mario World (Super Famicom edition)
I’m torn on this one. Functionally, it works quite well. The world motif tells you this is a bigger, more ambitious Mario, which it certainly is, and you get a small glimpse of that with the baby Yoshis, the Magikoopas, and the other new enemies. Aesthetically, it’s a bit of a mess.
The yellow Koopas blend in with the yellow background, baby Yoshi is greeny-yellow and not distinct at all – basically, the color scheme needed a redesign.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
After the brilliantly bizarre Super Mario Land box art, the sequel looks pretty tame. Oh look, there’s an owl-thing and a castle. The shark with the boxing gloves is neat, but you only get a glimpse of how truly bizarre and unique 6 Golden Coins is if you squint at the right side of the box, where the witch and giant Mario robot are.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch)
I feel for the art team who had to come up with yet another design concept for Mario Bros. U. The Switch version is decent, and the gold background underscores the idea that you’re getting something shiny and luxe here. Putting the Joy-Con on either end of Deluxe is a nice touch as well, for those consumers wondering what the difference is between this and the other Mario U they probably bought at some point.
The sublime chaos of the original box art is gone, though. Luigi and Yoshi are hanging out in the bottom left, while the new Peach-and-Toadette combo – one of the key features – is sort of far away in the upper right.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a decent enough 3DS game. Sure, the coin gimmick is, well, a pretty blatant gimmick, but the platforming and level design are stronger than the first New game. The box art is better from a design standpoint as well. The focus is on the center, with important objects in that sweet 1/4 spot, and unlike the first game, what you see is what you get – Mario and Luigi grabbing a lot of coins.
The return of the stink-eye Goomba from the Wii art is a nice touch too.
Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
Look at this. There’s so much weirdness going on – a giant octopus, spaceships, fire-breathing sphinxes, submarines. It’s chaos, which is exactly what Super Mario Land is. Rarely has a game’s cover art conveyed so well just what kind of fresh madness awaits you inside.
Super Mario Bros. (Famicom edition)
The original Mario art for the Famicom is so much better than the NES version. Cloud turtle with a spiky pet? Hammer duck? Big dinosaur man? Just what is going on here!? It’s whimsical, fun, a bit strange, and it really plays on the idea that this is something creative and new.
Plus those Toads just look so darn happy and cute while they’re being kidnapped. You can’t help but admire that “look on the bright side” attitude.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii, of course)
The New Super Wii box art puts the multiplayer components front and center and perfectly captures the frantic fun of the game as a result. Yoshis, flying Toads – two of them! – and Luigi show this is a step above the DS game, and most important of all, everyone looks happy, just like, hopefully, you and your friends would be while playing.
Except the stink-eye Goomba that’s about to get stomped, but that’s kind of understandable.
Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch)
Mario Maker 2 has the unenviable task of iterating on what’s almost perfection, but it does a pretty good job of it. With no big, new features to spotlight, it takes a kitchen sink approach and throws everything new you can do in there. New enemies! New characters! 3D worlds! There’s a lot going on here, just like the game itself, even if it’s not quite as fresh and exciting as the original.
Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)
The Wii U Mario art does what the Wii art did, but even better, kind of like the game itself. There’s an unmistakable sense of joy in every part – the squirrel Toad, the bubble Yoshi, the giant flying Yoshi, heck, even the Goomba in a bubble has a kind of cartoonish humor about it.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)
If I didn’t cover games for a living and saw the Super Mario Bros. Wonder art in a store without having a clue what the game was, it’d definitely catch my attention. It’s a clever mix of the New Super U style with some extra flourishes that leave no doubt that this is something completely new, and if there was actually some doubt left, the literal elephant in the room should dispel it pretty quickly.
Big-Hat Luigi, sentient bendy pipes, and the fact that Nintendo remembered Daisy exists outside a spinoff game give the Wonder art a dreamlike quality that shows this isn’t just another New Super game.
Super Mario Bros 3 (Famicom edition)
The Famicom art for Super Mario Bros. 3 is packed with whimsy and excitement, and it’s such a better representation of the game. There’s Mario flying through the air with new powers, while Peach and Luigi flee a wave of incoming Koopas, a fun touch, despite it definitely never happening in the game. It’s the first we see of the Koopalings, Bowser’s sporting a fancy new cape, music is literally in the air – it’s just such a fun piece of art.
Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
The original Super Mario Maker box art is simply brilliant. It effortlessly conveys what the game is with just three visuals – Mario in a construction hat, a stylus, and a grid. Having the design focus on a creation you’ve never seen might seem like an obvious choice, but it really sells that main idea, that sense of freedom where you can use these design tools to make anything* you want.
*As long as it doesn’t violate copyright laws.
Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island (SNES edition)
The SNES Yoshi’s Island art is such an evocative piece. It’s hard to say which part is more striking – the childlike painterly style that immediately tells you this is a different kind of Mario experience or the fact that Mario is a baby.
Babies traditionally have a hard time running, jumping, and stomping on bad guys, so even standard enemies like the blue blob shown in the water presented a big, new threat – hence the fact that it’s shown as a fearsome foe, unlike the cartoony villains in previous cover art. This was bold, new territory for the series, and the box art captures the spirit of it in excellent fashion.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
