Mario vs Zelda vs Pokemon

[Hopeless Opus]

zelda > pokemon > mario for me. i LOVE all three of these, they are like my top three game franchises put into 1 poll so this was hard for me. pokemon was my childhood obsession which translated over into adulthood. same with zelda and mario as well. but i LOVE zelda on another level.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

Another hard choice. I love all three franchises: Pok?mon, Zelda and Mario and I've had great experiences with all three, too.

On one day I may say I prefer Zelda because it's a little harder on difficulty and the exploration element is really fun. The characters are all memorable, the story tends to be less light hearted and more darker than Mario and Pokemon which I also like. And it has great music all around.

On another day, I might change my mind and say I prefer Mario games because they're a relaxing and carefree experience, and because they tend to be more light hearted, you might even get a laugh from the story, as repetitive as they may be. Some the gameplay can be monotous too, but you have Mario Kart, Mario Maker and Mario Party to escape that (the older Mario Party titles anyway). Mario games can also have good music.

Then I might go with Pokemon because I tend to play those games more and also have fond memories of them. You can find challenge in Mystery dungeon if that's what you're after and Mystery Dungeon also has good music and grest story. The mainline Pokemon games can be repetitive and are getting easier and easier and if tutorials aren't your thing, you'll be in for a surprise in the newer games, but if you stick with it you may find a good story behind it and also music you can add to your playlist.

-Tie-

 

[Corrie]

Pokemon by a mile.

I've always loved the games growing up and the show too.

 

[Stella-Io]

Gotta go with Legend of Zelda.

I'm probably biased in my opinion cause I haven't played true versions of Mario (does 64 for the DS and Super Mario World for Wii count as main?) nor Pok?mon, but overall the Legend of Zelda series is just so much more appealing. There's more story and generally more to it as a game. In Twilight Princess not only do you have to defeat baddies but hunt bugs for an avid big fanatic, collect souls to reform a guy who loved cats and money, transport a Zora Prince, find pieces of the Broken Shadow (I forgot what it was called) solve puzzles in dungeons, reunite a monkey with her family, save the village kids, all while ultimately restoring light to the land of Hyrule, which will bring everyone back from their ghost-like state.

This is just part of my play throu so far, I haven't made it far into the game yet. But already it's alot more then fighting the enemy in dungeon after dungeon after dungeon after-

 

[Alyx]

I'm not really all that amazing at any Mario games (save for Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix), and I've never completed a Legend of Zelda game, and out of all of them, I definitely prefer Pokemon. I'd pick up Pokemon before I'd pick up Mario or Legend of Zelda (even though I do like them... mostly).

 

[MelloDimensions]

Zelda
Its the funnest with what I feel has the most creativity behind it.
Mario being a close second for the same reasons, though I've seen more of the same formula through it.

 

[Balverine]

that's a really hard choice lol
probably zelda > pokemon > mario, because I like all of the zelda and pokemon games, but I'm really only into the sport games as far as mario goes (save for a few older games)

i'd say zelda and pokemon are close to tied though lol

 

[auroral]

I have a childhood friend who'd kill me for not saying Zelda, but Pokemon. As I've gotten older and my life's gotten more and more stressful, I've realized I don't want to play video games that are going to stress me out even more, which Zelda.... def does lol. Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons / Rune Factory / Stardew Valley / y'know just.... pretty much every farming game.... are my go-to relaxation games, so needless to say they're also my currently most played titles. And while Mario can be relaxing, depending on the title, I find it has less replay value than games like Pokemon.

 

[Geoni]

Zelda > Pokemon > Mario

Ocarina of Time basically changed gaming forever and was a great game, Majora's Mask is my personal favorite, and many of the other titles I love as well. Aside from Zelda 2 there isn't a main Zelda game I don't enjoy (BotW pending).

Pokemon is great and it was -huge- when I was younger and I think the series speaks to the animal person in me but there's a lot to like about it. They have designs for just about everyone out there and people having so many different favorites is a testament to that. My only issue is that it has gotten way too easy ever since Gen 6 and the handholding is just insulting at this point.

Never really cared for Mario as much as the other two. In fact the day I got Ocarina of Time is also the day I got Super Mario 64. Barely touched Super Mario 64 until I played through Ocarina twice. Sunshine was solid. The rest I've tried have just been a big nope. I think Mario really lacks a good setting/atmosphere the other two have but I'll have to see if Odyssey has changed that.

 

[John Wick]

Mario..

I had Mario World 64 and Mario Kart on many platforms and loved them.

Never played any Zelda games, and haven't played Pokemon since FR/LG.