Super Mario Bros.

After the video game crash of 1983, Super Mario Bros came to the rescue and eventually sold around 40 million copies worldwide, more than any other game in history.  Mario continues today with Super Mario Galaxy, but the original basically invented the 2D landscape that paved the way for Sonic and practically all other games like it.  The music, with five main theme songs, was also revolutionary at the time and stays at the heart of every true gamer.  Mario may have rescued the video game industry to some degree after a number of companies went bankrupt in the early eighties, and from there games evolved into better and greater 2D landscapes which took on characteristics of the RPGs we know today.  Without Mario, the rapid evolution of the gaming industry could have been much slower, and in 2008 we might all be stuck with Playstation One graphics and games like Shaq Fu, Waterworld, Superman 64 and, dare I say, House of the Dead.

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Final Fantasy

Believe it or not, Final Fantasy had its roots in Nintendo and the name “Final Fantasy” came from the reality that the game was Square’s last hope to get out of financial ruin.  Hironobu Sakaguchi had also planned to retire after the game’s completion, but it became so successful that he obviously did not.  The first game included most of the aspects we know today from Final Fantasy, including “Fight, Magic, Drink, Item, Run,” and went to become one of the most successful RPGs.  Final Fantasy VII, as we know it, has also been labeled the “Best Video Game of All Time.”  For that, we have to remember the original.

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The Legend of Zelda

This title speaks for itself.  With Zelda claiming the fame on each system thereafter, especially including Nintendo 64 and Wii, Zelda has come a long way since 1987.  Zelda still, however, just as Mario, was preoccupied with saving that princess.  The eight parts of his sword were scattered throughout the world of Hyrule, and you must find and assemble them to defeat Gannon and save the princess.  Sounds pretty similar to modern day Zeldas, and you had to know your way around the map or you’d be running in circles just like in modern day games.  We can only wonder where Zelda will go next.

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Mega Man

The original game consisted of six stages where Mega Man’s goal was to stop some insane doctor from taking over the world with high powered robots programmed with their own unique abilities.  Mega Man would race through levels to conquer the robots one by one in order to prevent their conquest.  He would also gain the special powers of these robots and use them to make himself more of a Mega Man on his quest.  Like Vectorman, this game is responsible for setting up a number of detailed stages that raised the bar for future stages in other games.  Mega man is obviously still around and has become incredibly popular on handheld systems like PSP, but Nintendo is responsible for the origin of this character and so many others.

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Contra

Guess what, the world is under attack again, and this time its due to a massive army of alien soldiers and their leaders.  Concept sound familiar to anyone?  While we’ve seen this concept played out again and again, Contra was one of the first games to make this game successful with multiplayer capability.  Older gamers will probably remember playing this with friends for hours on end, picking up special items that dropped from the sky, or acquiring powerful new weapons, such as flamethrowers, which helped you eliminate those pesky aliens that came from all directions.  As a co-op game, Contra made people realize how valuable multiplayer gameplay really was.  Today we limitless capabilities with online play, and we see upwards of 30 people in some servers, but it all started with two player games like Contra, and with saving the world from evil forces.

Other NES Classics

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Metal Gear

Crystalis

Maniac Mansion

Ninja Gaiden

StarTropics

Tetris

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

Metroid

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

Battletoads

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Excitebike

IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II

Dr. Mario

Bionic Commando

Dragon Warrior III

DuckTales

Base Wars

Shadowgate

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Castlevania

River City Ransom

Super Mario Bros. 2

Tecmo Super Bowl

Dragon Warrior IV

Super C

Faxanadu

Adventure Island

Blades of Steel

Mega Man 5

Mega Man 4

Kirby's Adventure

Gradius

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Little Nemo: The Dream Master

Pirates!

Dragon Warrior

Blaster Master

A Boy And His Blob: Trouble On Blobolonia

Willow

Paperboy

Kid Icarus