@RWP: 'tis easier (and makes you look like less of a jerk) to point out a problem like that instead of just facepalm.JPGing it and hoping they figure out what was wrong with their comment eventually. :/

to the point of the topic, i think they're about on-par. I still like playing older Mario games, and I still don't like playing older Sonic ones. :3

Sonic 1 will always be a classic, the level design is excellent. Mario's 8 bit stuff, though not as flash to look at, has equally excellent design. The main difference for me is that Mario games are consistently great, whereas poor sonic had his face slapped across al lot of lesser games, from pretty early on. I also think sonic has progressively become a bit like poochy the dog in SEGAs quest to represent him as a 'cool' character...
Its a shame because I think Sonic 1 is such a great 16-bit game.

I'd like to say both, but I grew up mostly with Mario. So, both?

Yeah, reading that would take, like...

Oh I already did that.

but you basically summed up the "Mario vs. Sonic War" in a nutshell, and you're probably the one that's summed it up the best without trying to kill the Sonic series, even when the games were good.

Thing is, you see, when peeps like Mario best they think for some reason they need to pretend Sonic was always bad, and when peeps like Sonic best they feel the need to pretend that mario was always bad.

And by 'peeps', I of course mean 'children'.

The truth, as I'm sure some of our more mature members know, is that both have had their fair share of great games, Mario games have sold more, got higher review scores on average, and been released to greater critical and commercial success, over a longer period of time. So there isn't really that much of a case to make for the blue hedgehog.

Big difference between that reality, though, and pretending Sonic never made a good game. Sonic I and Sonic II on the Genesis are both game of the very highest quality. Shame Sonic never quite nailed the transition to 3D though, like Mario did with Mario 64.

However, the question is which game has aged better. For me, that's probably Sonic (like many other people). That's mostly due to the fact that the Sonic games were once good. I stress "once" because Mario has ALWAYS been in good games. That's why the Plumber has not really aged well. For Mario, we'll almost always find a good game that he's been in. But as for Sonic, we'll only find a select few that are considered "traditional Sonic" games.

Hmm.

Not quite sure why Super Mario Galaxy being good, means, say, Super Mario World has aged worse, nor why Sonic Unleashed being average makes Sonic the Hedgehog II a better game. If you are saying that with less good Sonic games to choose from, you can appreciate the good ones more, then I agree.

What? are you kidding me, Mario wins easily i mean if you compare both games in every series from both mascots you would know Mario games are 10 times better, funnier, more levels, amazing power-ups, most important more created levels, besides that Sonic is just a Mario clone on steroid and Mario's Creator invent the platform/side scrolling genre so from my point of view Mario wins without question.

Neither of them wins. Bonk has aged the best.
If I had to choose, though, I would pick Mario easily. There is more in Mario games, and they have had a special place in my heart. Also, if you made a kid choose, they would choose Mario as well, due to the fact that they aren't as hard. They only people that are going to say Sonic are the SEGA fan boys from the console wars.

I had to give you a hard time ! I actually read it though and you make a lot of good points.

Awww shucks, you guys.

You actually read it through?

You crazy?

Mario. His early games played perfectly upon release, and still do. Sonic has never controlled particularily well at all.

i wasn't old enough to know what the sega-nintendo war was about but i still choose sonic. Even though sonic to me had the better games, and animation i think that the mario games had more levels if i'm not mistaken.

Alright, this is a hard one, love both.
Mario games have aged wonderfully, at least that is what I feel when I play a bit, I don't play them that much anymore. Sonic games... well I have this issue with those, I just played the first Sonic twice when it was released, I got obsessed with having it, but never was able to get a Genesis to play it again; years later, I got the Sonic Mega Collection for GC, and I was ecstatic, playing that compilation produce in me a strange feeling of happiness that no other game can.
I've noticed that, all the answers to this question involved some nostalgic inclination, but I feel I can be a little more neutral:
Nowadays, I don't play old Mario games that much, cause I played them to dead in the past, and I play old Sonic games regularly, cause I didn't get to play them before, so, I think both have aged well, and that all of them are classics that will always be remembered.

That's EXACTLY what I was trying to say!

Wait...

RUN PEOPLE!!!!! TRIN CAN READ MINDS!!!!!

Aha!

...

I disagree!

Only joking.

Probably about the same. It depends on what you're in the mood for. If you want creative, sometimes intricate platforming of the highest quality, then it's Mario all the way. If you want more of an adrenaline rush, then it's Sonic all the way. For me, though, Sonic I and II are the only games in the series that I still really enjoy. The third and fourth games didn't do much for me for some reason, and I haven't played enough of Sonic CD to make a firm judgment, though I was impressed by the music. Unfortunately, it happened to come in the mail from Gamefly the same day I got the check that allowed me to buy a Wii, so I was much more interested in Wii Sports and Super Mario Galaxy than an old Sonic game.

Mario. No contest.

Mario, most def. Sonic's still fun too, but his games never had nearly as much depth, creativity, or polish as Mario's. Just my opinion.

Seconded.

I've changed my mind. Thirded!

Ditto on the depth, creativity, and polish disparity.

I would say Sonic, but I was mostly a Sonic guy as a child until now. The high speed gameplay was amazing to me then, and it still is now. Mario games are definitely classics, but Sonic will always be my posterboy of childhood....with Pokemon.