Sorry I was gone for so long. I started a new job and didn't have the time to update. Hopefully I can work on the blog with something resembling regularity now.

#4 Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES - 1989)

What it’s about: Come on, you know. King Koopa has kidnapped the Princess, and you, courageous plumber Mario (or Luigi), have to rescue her. Well, there’s a bit more this time, as Koops has stolen seven magic wands and given them to his kids, each of whom have taken over seven different areas, each with their own characteristic (Grass World, Water World, Plant World, etc.)

Why it’s here: After a strange detour in Super Mario Brothers 2 (where you fought a big frog in Dream Land), SMB3 brings the franchise back to basics while at the same time pushing the boundaries of what you could do in an NES game farther than anyone could have thought. Seriously, if I listed everything innovative and/or cool about this game, I would be here all day. Just as a sample, there’s raccoon tail flying (handled perfectly), the warp whistles, the airships, pipe elevators that go up, the Hammer brothers suit, the gambling mini-games, the ability to carry items around the board, Chain Chomp, sliding on your ass down a hill, the creepy music in the castles, the joke at the end, that fish that ate you whole in World 3, and most importantly, Kuribo’s Shoe.

Downsides: Maybe the final battle was a little anticlimactic, but beyond that, not a goddam thing.

Memories: Tracking down a copy of this at an old store called the Fair and playing it for about 10 hours that day. Finally beating it on the fourth of July, maybe 1990? Watching some guy beat the game online in like 11 minutes.

Next: the only convicted rapist on this list (I hope).