Bentendo64: The greatest Mario game?

So it's a common debate on which Mario game surpasses all other Mario games in gameplay quality and pure fun. First off, it's obvious that no Mario Party, RPG, or even sports game would ever be named such a game, seeiing that none of them (well, possibly some RPG's) have the same Mario charm and pureness of the platformers. Super Mario Bros. is a classic, though the very fact is I'd rather play other Mario games than it, and thus can not be named the greatest Mario game of all time, same goes for Super Mario Bros. 2 and Donkey Kong...

Super Mario Sunshine, to some, is a great game. I'm one of those people who trully enjoy the game and can jump in whenever I want and play. I'm not ashamed to say that I actually enjoy Super Mario Sunshine more than Super Mario 64... You may think I'm crazy, but just hear me out - When Super Mario 64 was released, obviously it could be, and probably was considered the greatest game of all time... I know I thought it was. Though the simple fact is Super Mario Sunshine has way better physics and if I had a choice to either play 64 or Sunshine, I'd actually go with the later.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is surprisingly one game that stands up to even today's standards. It has great gameplay for not even an NES game, but for any game all together. It blows the other two in the series way out of the water, and the secrets are plentiful and great. It also includes some of the greatest suits that Mario ever put on - the Raccoon Suit, frog, hammer bro., and the list goes on! Still, Super Mario World is just so much better than number 3 in my opinion. I could play SMW all day long and not get bored - while I just can't say that with SMB3. The music, suits, physics, enemies, levels - everything is what a Mario game should be...

I would include Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, though the very fact is, even if it include's Mario's name in there, I just can't say it's a true Mario game seeing that Yoshi's the star. But still - it's one of my favorite platforms on any console, and on some days I even consider it to be better than any other Mario game listed...

New Super Mario Bros. was an instant classic, though still, not as good as Super Mario World in my opinion, so it's out of the list.

So it comes down to two games - The side-scroller Super Mario World and the 3-D game Super Mario Sunshine. I'm sure no one expected the later to be on my list, though it is. Sunshine included great physics, lovable new characters, and a great new mechanic where you could hover above the air with FLUDD. Super Mario World on the other hand introduced Yoshi and the cape, the former being one of the most popular characters in the video game universe to date. Though as aforementioned I'm not basing this on what the game gave us but on how fun it is. And you know what - Everything in Super Mario World is mighty fiine and perfectly executed. The challenges are great and the amount of secrets and levels are just outstanding. This probably comes to know surprise, but in my opinion, and probably thousands of other gamers, Super Mario World is the greatest Mario game of all time. Now, if you're woundering where the others go in, then I'll put up a list -

1. Super Mario World
2. Super Mario Sunshine
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
4. New Super Mario Bros.
5. Super Mario 64