Settling the debate: What makes a “core” Mario game?

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Nintendo's mascot Mario has appeared in literally hundreds of video games, from featured appearances to small cameos. But simply considering every game with "Mario" in the title equally and flatly as a "Mario game" isn't a very useful categorization. Surely there's some way to draw a line between the games like Super Mario Bros. and games like Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

But where is that line? How do we define what is a "core" Mario game and what isn't?

You probably think the answer is obvious and are developing your own list of "core" Mario games in your head right now. But I can assure you, your "obvious" answer is probably different from the "obvious" answer given by any other gamer you'd care to ask in some significant ways.

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