Games like Super Mario Bros. 3 · Find similar →
We filtered the 50 games similar to Super Mario Bros. 3 down to the 6 that fit the “Dark” category. New Super Mario Bros., Super Paper Mario and Super Ghouls'n Ghosts top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Super Mario Bros. 3.
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Quick answer
Within the “Dark” category, the closest game to Super Mario Bros. 3 is New Super Mario Bros. — scoring 69/100 on our similarity scale. Super Paper Mario and Super Ghouls'n Ghosts follow close behind.
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Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Super Mario Bros. 3. Each one has been evaluated across 6 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.
What carries over from Super Mario Bros. 3 is dark, oppressive atmosphere, single-player focus and 2D presentation. What it adds of its own: adventure storytelling and melee combat.
Released 18 years after Super Mario Bros. 3.
Same family as Super Mario Bros. 3: dark, oppressive atmosphere, fantasy world and single-player focus. The common ground extends to 2D presentation. Where the two diverge is game mode and visuals: a third-person camera.
Released 19 years after Super Mario Bros. 3.
Same family as Super Mario Bros. 3: dark, oppressive atmosphere, fantasy world and single-player focus. Both also lean on 2D presentation. The distance is in game mode and setting — its own ground is horror setting.
Released 3 years after Super Mario Bros. 3.
The genre is the same as Super Mario Bros. 3’s, and with it dark, oppressive atmosphere, fantasy world and single-player focus. Both also lean on 2D presentation. The distance is in game mode and setting — its own ground is horror setting.
The thread back to Super Mario Bros. 3 runs through dark, oppressive atmosphere, single-player focus and 2D presentation. They part company on game mode: this one brings pixel art.
Its point of contact with Super Mario Bros. 3 is dark, oppressive atmosphere, single-player focus and 2D presentation. Where the two diverge is game mode: adventure storytelling and magic-based combat.
Released 5 years after Super Mario Bros. 3.
If Super Mario Bros. 3 left you wanting more, this is where you narrow it down. Was it the dark or the fantasy that hooked you? There is a list of just that. And if you play on PC, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.
Sometimes what you want is not a Super Mario Bros. 3 look-alike but simply the best 2D Platformer Games there are. That is what these rankings are for: no comparison to anything, just the highest-rated games. And if you feel like widening the net, the Platformer Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.