RANKED: The 10 best Super Mario games ever made

A mustachioed Italian plumber with a penchant for jumping on the heads of his enemies is, unbelievably, one of the most popular video game characters in the world. Hell, he's one of the most popular characters in the world period.

I'm of course talking about your friend and mine, Super Mario:

In the nearly 40 years since Mario first appeared in 1981 arcade classic "Donkey Kong," he's been in, like, a lot of games (the Mario Wiki estimates somewhere in the neighborhood of 170). These range from classics like "Super Mario World" on the Super Nintendo, to more esoteric fare like "Hotel Mario" and "Mario's Time Machine."

And now, he's even on Apple's iPhone and iPad!

Perhaps you have young kids at home who are quickly falling in love with "Super Mario Run"? Or maybe you are?

Good news: That's a ton of history to dig through! That's where this list comes in: We put together the 10 best Mario games ever made and where to find them (excluding spin-offs like the "Mario Tennis" franchise, "Mario Kart," and even "Mario Party" and "Paper Mario"). Let's begin!