[#03] Mario Bros. (NES)

Genre: Platform
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Original release: June, 1986

Just so we're all clear on this, let's go over exactly how this happened. Giant ape steals woman. Plumber saves woman. Plumber gets a brother and his own spin-off title. Yup, all in a days work for what would soon become the most popularized video game character in history. It's really rare when you can call a character the most popular ever without getting an argument, but when you're talking about Mario, what's to argue?

What makes Mario Bros. such a timeless game is its incredible uniqueness and ability to be easily differentiated from the crowd - something you don't see very often anymore. Contemporary games like Halo are on the right track to coming into their own so to speak, but when it comes to totally unique and identifiable characters, Mario Bros. is leaps and bounds ahead of its time, heck, our time. The side scrolling adventure platformer from the mind of Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto boasts not only an incredibly well-paced single-player experience, but more importantly co-op play. There are few things as entertaining in this world as competing against a friend in Mario Bros. for the best score, all the while bashing the shells off of Koopa Troopas.

Throw in literally dozens upon dozens of levels and enemies and you make for one surreal experience. The memories of playing as a child are eternally sketched into my brain, and few things have come close since. If any title is deserving of a top 3 spot on our count down, it's most definitely the Mario Bros. It's really the standard pick, but it's a game everyone needs to have in their library. I'm actually kind of surprised Nintendo didn't include it for free with every system - now wouldn't that be one hell of a throw back?


It's hard to get anymore classic than Mario Bros. and it's even more difficult to put not one, but two titles ahead of it on our list. We suspect you've already guessed our #01 title by now, but what on Earth is #02? Well, actually it's out of this world... literally. You'll need to strap on your funky shoes and come up with some mean raps to hang with our next title.