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[64bitmodels]

TBH, I think Mario's the better franchise. Mario had a far worse 2000s than Zelda frankly (there's just Sunshine which isn't that great tbh, NSMB which is a good start for an otherwise forgettable franchise, and Galaxy which was excellently designed but also still was a downgrade from 64) while Zelda kept pumping out masterpiece after masterpiece (Majora's mask, Wind Waker, Minish Cap, Twilight princess, and Four Swords Adventures which is a great Co op take on the franchise) Zelda's best decade was in the 2000s. But in the 90s and 2010s, Mario dominated for the most part. Those 2 decades were so good for Mario, and Zelda's only really got one that they're better in. Plus, if i'm being frank, there's already a better version of Zelda out there- it's called Prince of Persia, and it's Zelda without the bullshit.

 

[cortadew]

Wind waker is not a masterpiece.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Zelda by a mile. Although Mario Odyssey is amazing and the best Mario game I've ever played.

 

[TLZ]

I like both just the same and don't have a preference.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Mario on account of spin offs like Mario Kart + its strong mainline games.

Wind waker is definitely a master piece tho and the poster above is on crack.

 

[cortadew]

Also the OG prince of persia from 1989 on the NES is the only game in my entire life that I have dropped out because of it's terrible controls something not even silent hill or og resident evil tank controls made me do.

 

[Banjo64]

The Chad Link

 

[TexMex]

Zelda has had higher highs, but I’ll take Mario for overall core gameplay and consistency.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Mario for me, but I still really enjoy Zelda.

Odyssey is one of the best games I’ve ever played. It’s amazing.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Mario 4 sho

Both awesome tho

 

[SEGA_2012]

Mario, of course.

 

[DragoonWalker]

Damn that's a hard choice. Both Mario & Zelda were pinnacles of their genres back in the day from the NES to the 64. Mario 64 remains a super tight platformer while Ocarina of Time hasn't aged as well. But then you got Majora's Mask, which is one of the best horror games ever. In between then and now, Sunshine was a chore, Skyward Sword was a bore. BUT Galaxy is the best platformer since 64, and Wind Waker is a zen like experience. Haven't played Odyssey or Breath of the Wild, maybe that's the tie breaker.

Shout out to Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, awesome gameboy Zelda games developed by Capcom as good as anything Nintendo made themselves. And to Camelot's Mario Golf and Mario Tennis on the gameboys, which was basically pokemon but tight sports tournaments in place of fighting furries. Would you also count Super Mario RPG/Mario & Luigi? That makes things more complicated.

Gonna need a tie option on the pole.

 

[Rex_DX]

Haven't played Odyssey or Breath of the Wild, maybe that's the tie breaker.

Fix this. Right now.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

I couldn’t vote because “fairy boy” isn’t a good term for the hero of time.

 

[clarky]

Mario for me, but I still really enjoy Zelda.

Odyssey is one of the best games I’ve ever played. It’s amazing.

I was a little disappointed with odessey tbh, still great mind but Galaxy 1+2, 3D world and Super mario World and ..... are my favourites ..... had to stop there I could just keep going lol, Mainline Mario games win on being consistently brilliant.

Zeldas still fantastic though.

As the poster mentioned above, some of the zeldas have aged really bad, most Marios all still play fantastic right back to SMB.

 

[DragoonWalker]

Fix this. Right now.

Don't have a switch, broke up with Nintendo since the Wii. Mostly PC now with a sprinkle of Playstation. Maybe someday.

 

[cortadew]

I was a little disappointed with odessey tbh, still great mind but Galaxy 1+2, 3D world and Super mario World and ..... are my favourites ..... had to stop there I could just keep going lol, Mainline Mario games win on being consistently brilliant.

Zeldas still fantastic though.

As the poster mentioned above, some of the zeldas have aged really bad, most Marios all still play fantastic right back to SMB.

Which Zelda has aged bad?

 

[clarky]

Don't have a switch, broke up with Nintendo since the Wii. Mostly PC now with a sprinkle of Playstation. Maybe someday.

 

[Paulistano]

Does this dolphin fancy some yuzu fruit too?

 

[phil_t98]

They are to different to compare to be fair. Like both the same

 

[IFireflyl]

I voted for Mario. It's iconic. But I did come across this gem that I wanted to share:

Spoiler

There is a video that goes with it, but it's annoying and will give you seizures...

Spoiler: Seizure and Annoyance Warning

 

[Moses85]

Link

 

[64bitmodels]

Also the OG prince of persia from 1989 on the NES is the only game in my entire life that I have dropped out because of it's terrible controls something not even silent hill or og resident evil tank controls made me do.

when i say prince of persia i mean the 2000s reboots. yknow, sands of time, warrior within, two thrones

 

[clarky]

Which Zelda has aged bad?

Mainly the early 3d ones , dont get me wrong fucking awesome games at the time, but i fired up the old N64 a couple of years ago and OOT did not look or play like the version that lives on in my brain.

Might have to get the old Nintendo's out of the loft again soon now you've got me thinking.
In fact i might have been a little hasty there the more i think on it . Its probably a tie for me.

 

[cortadew]

when i say prince of persia i mean the 2000s reboots. yknow, sands of time, warrior within, two thrones

I know I just wanted to tell the world how much I hate those controls lol

 

[cortadew]

Mainly the early 3d ones , dont get me wrong fucking awesome games at the time, but i fired up the old N64 a couple of years ago and OOT did not look or play like the version that lives on in my brain.

Might have to get the old Nintendo's out of the loft again soon now you've got me thinking. If fact i might have been a little hasty there the more i think on it . Its probably a tie.

I was playing OOT a couple of minutes ago on my crt and the worst thing are the 20 fps and the lack of a free camera but yeah it definitely has aged but still it was the best there was for it's time.

 

[clarky]

I was playing OOT a couple of minutes ago on my crt and the worst thing are the 20 fps and the lack of a free camera but yeah it definitely has aged but still it was the best there was for it's time.

Great game, I remember it got an Edge 10, a you must play this game at all cost type deal. I did, and it did not disappoint. lol good times

 

[cortadew]

Great game, I remember it got an Edge 10, a you must play this game at all cost type deal. I did, and it did not disappoint. lol good times

As a kid I always loved the variety it had because other series are so monotone in gameplay, OOT is not just about combat it is about adventure and puzzles, even the ocarina segments are fantastic.

 

[Thabass]

Ocarina of Time is the sole reason to pick Zelda. The only game that has come close in Mario was either Galaxy (1 or 2) or Odyssey.

At least, it was Ocarina until BOTW came out. Now, something has to trump that. I don't see any Mario game doing it for me.

 

[Calverz]

used to love the fat plumber but the latest odyssey game was pretty average in my opinion. Also the ending was very woke. I imagine in the next game, peach will be fully playable with half her head shaved and blue hair. Wearing motorcycles leathers.

 

[P.Jack]

Good games don’t age. Ocarina of Time was ass then and still is. I mean, Half-Life released around the same time. If you had a capable PC back then, you’d be hard pressed to enjoy OOT. I know I didn’t.

On the other hand, I thought the N64 was a terrible console back in 1998, no matter the game. I think this sentiment had a lot to do with the release of the Voodoo2 graphics card, which really made N64 look like the turd it is. But still, I enjoy many games from psx and saturn to this day. With N64, original hardware is out of the question, even if I still have my N64 hooked up, if only to remind myself what a shitty console it is, 4-player mariokart/goldeneye notwithstanding.

Other than that, Zelda is dope but I think the series has fewer GOATs than Mario.

 

[nkarafo]

Good games don’t age. Ocarina of Time was ass then and still is. I mean, Half-Life released around the same time. If you had a capable PC back then, you’d be hard pressed to enjoy OOT. I know I didn’t.

I had a Pentium 3 + Voodoo 3 but i don't see your point. OOT is a completely different game than Half-Life. I don't see how one replaces the other.

I even prefer Goldeneye over Half-Life because i don't like linear level designs. Go figure.

Also, it's odd how the voodoo 2 release made your N64 obsolete, yet it didn't affect your view of the PS1 or Saturn? You have a thing for wobbling, unstable 3D then?

 

[Rockondevil]

Love both but I think I enjoy most Zelda games slightly more. It's very close though.

 

[SeraphJan]

Mario Galaxy

 

[P.Jack]

I had a Pentium 3 + Voodoo 3 but i don't see your point. OOT is a completely different game than Half-Life. I don't see how one replaces the other.

I even prefer Goldeneye over Half-Life because i don't like linear level designs. Go figure.

Also, it's odd how the voodoo 2 release made your N64 obsolete, yet it didn't affect your view of the PS1 or Saturn? You have a thing for wobbling, unstable 3D then?

I got a Voodoo3 aswell but that released after OOT.

Ofcourse it affected my view of other consoles, didn’t say otherwise. But there are many 60fps games on both psx and saturn and they both also have a ton of great 2D games. And still, many non-arcade games still had way better performance on saturn and psx than most of what you’ll find on N64. I can cope with unstable 30fps but 20fps just isn’t playable to me. And the video output on the N64 is terrible, where as psx and saturn both have full RGB.

But yeah sure, Half-Life and OOT is apples and oranges I agree. I can give it some merit as an early 3D adventure but it wasn’t really revolutionary since Tomb Raider released two years prior.

 

[Knightime_X]

Bad poll.
Can't pick accurately because they're radically different and both are equally good in different ways.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Zelda: better in 3d.

Mario: better in 2d 20+ years ago.

 

[Robb]

If I was forced to pick one I’d go with Mario. But I love both.

 

[nkarafo]

And still, many non-arcade games still had way better performance on saturn and psx than most of what you’ll find on N64. I can cope with unstable 30fps but 20fps just isn’t playable to me

I agree about the PSX but the Saturn? I also had one and it's overall far worse than the N64 performance wise if you exclude 2D games. Both Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are sub-20fps fests, Daytona USA is 20fps, the Wipeout port is 20fps (the N64 port is 30fps). And let's not even talk about Saturn DOOM vs DOOM 64. There is nothing on either PSX or Saturn that can be remotely compared to DOOM 64 visual and performance wise.

I guess, it's a matter of what games you ended up with. I get that a lot of games by RARE had unstable performance on the N64, and these games are some of the most popular. But a game in the scope of OOT, running at 20fps isn't that bad (for the time). It's not comparable to Tomb Raider either. That one is a very simple puzzle-platformer with no analog movement, no camera control, etc and very simple, boxy environments with short draw distances. It was surpassed by Mario 64 (bigger environments, proper analog 3D movement, unlimited draw distances, stable 30fps).

OOT is way more advanced and ambitious than that. And Tomb Raider also had frame rate issues, especially on the Saturn, OOT at least was locked 20fps.

 

[lostinblue]

They're different.

Zelda is more my cup of tea, but that's a personal preference, IMO, Mario has been more consistent in it's quality, in the Wii generation they were pumping out the Mario Galaxy games after all, meanwhile Nintendo pumped Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword who were definitely lows in the franchise (even if they don't suck)

I enjoyed Breath of the Wild massively, but I didn't feel it was a return to form for zelda fans, no dungeons.

 

[CS Lurker]

Mario 2D/3D vs Zelda?

Zelda is the winner for me, but it's not by a huge margin.

Now, my favorite franchise is Mario Kart.

 

[lostinblue]

I guess, it's a matter of what games you ended up with. I get that a lot of games by RARE had unstable performance on the N64, and these games are some of the most popular. But a game in the scope of OOT, running at 20fps isn't that bad (for the time). It's not comparable to Tomb Raider either. That one is a very simple puzzle-platformer with no analog movement, no camera control, etc and very simple, boxy environments with short draw distances. It was surpassed by Mario 64 (bigger environments, proper analog 3D movement, unlimited draw distances, stable 30fps).

OOT is way more advanced and ambitious than that. And Tomb Raider also had frame rate issues, especially on the Saturn, OOT at least was locked 20fps.

Yes, in a lot of ways OoT felt next gen when it came out. A lot of things are still the way they're made today.

20 fps sucked, but now that we have the source code that might change (30 fps seems possible). It seems like they'll be able to patch Mario 64 to run at 60 fps on vanilla hardware soon.

What pisses me off the most are the lower poly LOD models.

 

[RCU005]

I buy Nintendo consoles because of Zelda so go course I like it more.

To me, Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 have been the best Mario games ever released (and definitely the one with the best music).

Mario Odyssey is great in terms of gameplay, but I was disappointing that the majority of the moons were basically glorified coins (as in not even attempted to be hidden). It does have its great moments though.

Both Zelda and Mario need an epic game. Zelda should already be a game like Final Fantasy in terms of epicness, battles, story and set pieces. I don't care if the game has BOTW graphics, give me something epic. BOTW showed that having great cinematic works perfectly for Zelda.

And Mario needs a game that incorporates everything learned from every game and make a huge platforming game with so much variety.

 

[brian0057]

Metroid.

 

[CosmicComet]

Mario edges it though I love Link more as a character.

Mario Odyssey and 3D World were fucking great games that I enjoyed the hell out of on my Switch whereas Breath of the Wild...I put down somewhere after maybe two Sacred Beasts. I just couldn't deal with the shittiest durability system of all time.

 

[Kev Kev]

Fat plumber and fairy boy?

What are you a 12 year old?

 

[kraspkibble]

both are good for their own reasons. quite different games.

also your options are stupid. i know you're trying to be funny but cmon.

 

[Hohenheim]

Zelda. Wind Waker is probably in my top 5-10 of all time. No Mario games quite up there, although I loved Odessey. And Sunshine was absolutely brilliant in its time. I don't dare try to replay that one though.
Never really got into Majoras Mask and Skyward Sword, but finished and loved every other main Zelda game since Link to the Past. Will definitiy give Majoras another go at some point, but I had to quit the new Skyward Sword version due to the terrible controls in it.

 

[clarky]

Good games don’t age.

Utter nonsense.

 

[Elder Legend]

Mario edges it though I love Link more as a character.

Mario Odyssey and 3D World were fucking great games that I enjoyed the hell out of on my Switch whereas Breath of the Wild...I put down somewhere after maybe two Sacred Beasts. I just couldn't deal with the shittiest durability system of all time.

Wow a post where we both agree. Now I never played 3D World. But just do want a sequel too Mario Odyseey. And yes BotW Durability made me quit after 2 hours. Game just bored me. Wasn't for me.