LoC 50 - Top Video Games of the '80s (And before!) - Today's High Scores

[Pak-Man]

OK. That's it for the bonus entries. This list will be finished tomorrow!

[Rattrap007]

Got Zelda, pac-man, and Space invaders on my list..

Got all but 6 of my list items thus far. 2 I'm VERY certain are on the list, 1 I am pretty sure, the other 2 are long long shots..

[Johnny Unusual]

I loves me some Mario Bros 2.  It was the first game I ever played and it's colourfulness and strangeness enchanted me.  And in those days the boss battles felt tense and it was actually scary to try to get the key away from the Masks.

Surprised Zelda is so low.  Eager to see what, aside from the obvious, was regarded as the best.

[Russell]

I'm going to be very... puzzled if Super Mario bros is number 1. I mean it's
a great game, but it's nothing compared to its sequel, and of course the
glorious 3rd entry in the series.

[Pak-Man]

TOP 5 TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

#5 – Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

(146 Points) 9 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 - Invader Quirk

Join the Nintendo Fun Club, Mac!

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Release Date:  1987

Just the facts/Stuff I wiki'd:
Punch-Out!!, originally known as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and later re-released as Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, is a boxing video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) developed and published by Nintendo in 1987. It is a port of both the Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!! arcade games (mostly the latter) with some variations. It has consistently been ranked among the best games released for the NES platform.

Genyo Takeda, who produced the Punch-Out!! arcade games, directed the NES versions. Because the NES was not as powerful as the arcade hardware, Takeda and his crew realized that it would be impossible for the NES port to faithfully emulate the arcade graphics. Instead of making the playable boxer wire-framed or transparent to see an opponent, they decided to shrink the playable boxer, so that players could easily see opponents over his head. Though the arcade's playable boxer didn't have an official name, he was referred to as "Little Mac", because of his small stature and the "Mac" part being a play on the popular McDonald's hamburger, the Big Mac. Other things added to the NES version that the arcade versions lacked were a rough plot, a background music track played during fights, animated cutscenes and a password system for saving progress.
 
Around the time the Gold Version was released, Nintendo of America's founder and former president Minoru Arakawa attended a boxing match featuring Mike Tyson. While watching the boxer fight, Arakawa became so astonished with the athlete's "power and skill", he was inspired to use the athlete's name and likeness in the upcoming port of the Punch-Out!! series to help the game sell well. Tyson was rumoured to have been paid 50,000 dollars for his likeness.

Punch-Out!! features a boxer named Little Mac working his way up the professional boxing circuits, facing a series of colorful, fictional boxers, leading to a final fight with real-life boxer, the then-World Heavyweight Champion, which is Mike Tyson in the original version and Mr. Dream in the later version.
 
Little Mac has a limited repertoire compared to most of his opponents. His punches are limited to left and right jabs, left and right body blows, and a powerful uppercut. The uppercut can only be used once the player earns a star, which is typically accomplished by counter-punching the opponent directly before or after certain attacks are launched. The player can acquire up to three stars. To perform the powerful uppercut the player needs to simply press the start button once a star is received. For defensive techniques, Mac can dodge left or right, duck, and block attacks.
 
Little Mac also has a heart meter, which decreases by three upon being struck by an opponent and one upon blocking an attack or an opponent blocking/dodging the player's attack. When the heart meter decreases to zero, Little Mac temporarily turns pink and appears exhausted, leaving the player unable to attack, but still able to defend. At this point, Mac can regain some hearts (and his normal color palette) only by avoiding the opponent's punches.
 
A bout can end by knockout (KO), if a fighter is unable to get up within 10 seconds after being knocked down; by technical knockout (TKO), if a fighter is knocked down three times in one round; or by decision, if the bout lasts three full rounds without a clear winner. In order to win by decision, the player must accumulate a high enough point total by punching the opponent and/or knocking him down. However, some bouts cannot be won in this manner and will automatically result in a loss for the player if the opponent is not knocked out.
 
When Little Mac loses his first bout to a ranked opponent, he will have a chance to fight a rematch. However if he loses a Title Bout, he will fall one or more places in the rankings. Losing a rematch causes him to fall one place (unless he is already at the bottom of his circuit), forcing him to fight his way back up. A third loss (not necessarily a consecutive one) ends the game. The exception is the final fight against Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream; a loss to them automatically results in a game over.

Pak's Thoughts: This game was my first "all-nighter". I had a friend sleeping over, and we had rented Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! I didn't have super high-hopes for it, since I'm not really a fan of boxing. Fortunately, this isn't really a boxing game. I don't know what you'd call it. It's some strange combination of face recognition, rhythm game and fighting game. It hooked me and before we knew it we were stuck on "Soda Popinski" and it was 5 AM. I’ve been stuck on him ever since. :^)

I find it interesting that of everyone who listed this game, nearly all of them specified "Mike Tyson". The only difference between the two, of course, is a sprite swap on the last fight, but somehow, Tyson's name stayed etched into the title in all of our minds.

[Pak-Man]

#4 – Metroid

(146 Points) 9 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 - Tyrant, Asbestos Bill

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Release Date:  August 6, 1986

Just the facts/Stuff I wiki'd:
Metroid is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and the external company Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988. The game was re-released for the Game Boy Advance in October 2004, and for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe in July 2007, in North America in August 2007, and in Japan in March 2008. Metroid was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and directed by Satoru Okada, with music composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.
 
Set on the planet Zebes, the story follows Samus Aran as she attempts to retrieve Metroid creatures that were stolen by Space Pirates, who plan to replicate the Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then use them as biological weapons to destroy Samus and all who oppose them. The game's style, focusing on exploration and the search for power-ups that are used to reach previously inaccessible areas, influenced other video games. Its varied endings for fast completion times made it a popular game for speedrunning. Metroid was lauded for being one of the first video games to feature a female protagonist. Nintendo Power ranked Metroid 11th on their list of the best video games made on a Nintendo video game console. On Top 100 Games lists, Metroid was ranked 7th by Game Informer and 69th by Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Metroid is an action-adventure game in which the player controls Samus Aran in sprite-rendered two-dimensional landscapes. The game takes place on the planet Zebes, a large, open-ended world with areas connected by doors and elevators. The player controls Samus Aran as she travels through the planet's caverns and hunts Space Pirates. She begins with a weak gun as her only weapon, and with only the ability to jump. The player explores more areas and collects power-ups that grant Samus special abilities and enhance her armor and weaponry, granting access to areas that were previously inaccessible. Among the power-ups that are included in the game are the Morph Ball, which allows Samus to curl into a ball to roll into tunnels and use the Bomb weapon, and the Screw Attack, a somersaulting move that destroys enemies in its path. In addition to common enemies, Samus encounters bosses whom she needs to defeat to progress. Defeating an ordinary enemy typically yields additional energy or ammunition, while defeating a boss expands Samus's capacity to carry ammunition and opens the door to the final area.

Chronologically, Metroid takes place first in the fictional Metroid universe. Space Pirates attack a Galactic Federation-owned space research vessel and seize samples of Metroid creatures. Dangerous floating organisms, Metroids can latch on to any organism and drain its life energy to kill it. The Space Pirates plan to replicate Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then using them as biological weapons to destroy all living beings that oppose them. While searching for the stolen Metroids, the Galactic Federation locates the Space Pirates' base of operations on the planet Zebes. The Federation assaults the planet, but the Pirates resist, forcing the Federation to retreat. As a last resort, the Federation decides to send a lone bounty hunter to penetrate the Pirates' base and destroy Mother Brain, the mechanical life-form that controls the Space Pirates' fortress and its defenses. Considered the greatest of all bounty hunters, Samus Aran is chosen for the mission. Samus lands on the surface of Zebes and explores the planet, traveling through the planet's caverns. She eventually comes across Kraid, an ally of the Space Pirates, and Ridley, the Space Pirates' commander, and defeats them both. Eventually, Samus finds and destroys Mother Brain, triggering a self-destruct mechanism and forcing Samus to escape the collapsing lair.

Nintendo attempted to set Metroid apart from other games by making it a nonlinear adventure-based game, in which exploration was a crucial part of the experience. The game often requires that players retrace their steps to progress, forcing the player to scroll the screen left in addition to moving it right, as was the case in most contemporary games. This element, called backtracking, was a new concept at the time. Metroid was also considered one of the first to impress a feeling of desperation and solitude on the player. Following The Legend of Zelda, Metroid helped pioneer the idea of acquiring tools to strengthen characters and help progress through the game. Up until that point, most ability-enhancing power-ups like the Power Shot in Gauntlet (1985) and the Starman in Super Mario Bros. offered only temporary boosts to characters, and they were not required to complete the game. In Metroid, however, items were permanent fixtures that lasted until the end. In particular, missiles were mandatory to finish the game.

Pak's Thoughts: Metroid is insanely fun. Also very challenging, but fun all the while. I could never beat Kraid, but I beat the game once using the Justin Bailey code. Someday, I'll beat the game legit. The formula is intoxicating. It encourages you to bomb every wall and fall down every pit until you've seen every nook and cranny in the game. This game was also terrifying to me and my brothers. We loved playing it, but the strangely ambient 8-bit music always left us with goosebumps. They don't get much better than this.

[Pak-Man]

#3 – Super Mario Bros. 3

(161 Points) 9 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - 4  #1s - Tyrant, Asbestos Bill, Johnny Unusual, Invader Quirk

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Release Date:  October 23, 1988

Just the facts/Stuff I wiki'd:
Super Mario Bros. 3, also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and is the third game in the Super Mario series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, in the United States in 1990, and in Europe in 1991. Development was handled by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, who directed the game along with Takashi Tezuka.
 
The game centers on the quest of Mario and Luigi to save the rulers of seven kingdoms from Bowser, the series' antagonist. The two brothers must travel across eight worlds to restore order to the Mushroom World. It built on the game play of previous Mario games by introducing new power-ups that augment character abilities, and established conventions that were carried over to future games in the series.
 
Prior to its private consumer North American release, game play footage from Super Mario Bros. 3 appeared in the Universal Studios film The Wizard, which helped fuel the game's anticipation among fans. Upon its release, the game was commercially successful and has since become one of the best-selling video games in the industry. Super Mario Bros. 3 was well received by critics and has been included in numerous lists of top 100 video games. The success of the game resulted in an animated television show based on its elements, and in the game's re-release on later Nintendo consoles.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a two-dimensional platform game in which the player controls the on-screen protagonist (either Mario or Luigi) from a third-person perspective. The game shares similar game mechanics with previous titles in the series—Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Super Mario Bros. 2—but introduces several new elements. In addition to the running and jumping moves found in past games, the player can fly and float with the aid of special items, slide down slopes, and execute new types of jumps. Super Mario Bros. 3 is set after the events of previous games. Mario and Luigi embark on a mission on behalf of Princess Toadstool to stop Bowser and his children—the Koopalings—from terrorizing the kings of seven regions in the Mushroom World. The Koopalings stole the kings' magic wands and transformed them into animals. Each region serves as a game world that is divided into stage levels, and an eighth region is included as the final world, Dark Land. The eight worlds feature distinct visual themes; for example, the second world, "Desert Land", contains sand-covered levels with pyramids, while the levels in the fourth world, "Giant Land", are populated with obstacles and enemies four times as large as other worlds.

The player navigates through the game via two game screens: an overworld map and a level playfield. The overworld map displays an overhead representation of the current world and has several paths leading from the world's entrance to a castle. Paths connect to action panels, fortresses and other map icons, and allow players to take different routes to reach the world's goal. Moving the on-screen character to an action panel or fortress will allow access to that level's playfield, a linear stage populated with obstacles and enemies. The majority of the game takes place in these levels, with the player traversing the stage by running, jumping, and dodging or defeating enemies.
 
Completing stages allows the player to progress through the overworld map and to succeeding worlds. Each world features a final stage with a boss to defeat; the first seven worlds feature an airship controlled by one of the Koopalings, while the player battles Bowser in his castle in the eighth world. Other map icons include large boulders and locked doors that impede paths, and special minigames that provide the player a chance to obtain special power-ups. A new feature is the player's option to save power-up items obtained in minigames for later use via a menu accessible at the overworld screen.
 
In addition to special items from previous games like the "Super Mushroom" and "Fire Flower", new power-ups are introduced that provide the player with new options. Items vary in scarcity; for example, 1-up mushrooms, which give the player an extra attempt to play after the character dies, are abundant, while the "magic whistle", which enables the player to bypass certain worlds, only appears three times in the game. The "Super Leaf" and "Tanooki Suit" give Mario raccoon and tanuki appearances respectively and allow him to fly for a short period of time. Other suits include the "Frog Suit," which increases the character's underwater speed and agility and improves jumping height on land, and the "Hammer Suit," which gives Mario the appearance of the Hammer Bros. enemy and allows him to throw hammers at enemies and resist fire attacks. Some abilities provided by the suits are intended to give the player more navigation options in stages. For example, the Frog Suit allows the player to access underwater pipes, and the Tanooki Suit can temporarily transform Mario into an invincible statue, reducing the threat of damage. During the game, Mario can find a Warp Whistle, which will take him to a new area of the game. When using the Whistle, the tune played is the exact melody used from the Whistle in The Legend of Zelda.
 
Super Mario Bros. 3 includes a multiplayer option which allows two players to cooperatively play the game by taking turns at navigating the overworld map and accessing stage levels; the first player controls Mario, while the other controls Luigi. Through this mode, players can also access several minigames, including a remake of the original Mario Bros. arcade game.

Pak's Thoughts: I have to admit, I had this one pegged at #1. It would sure deserve the honor. Maybe its performance was hampered by the fact that it didn't come out in the US 'til 1990. Should I decide to host a list of the games of the '90s (Much, much, later...) we'll have to deliberate on whether to qualify Mario 3 a second time.

I dug the Koopa Kids. Every one of them had a nice little bit of personality that showed through their animations and character designs. This is also the first game I remember playing where, from level to level, instead of just a matter of "Do what you did in the last level, but harder" there were elements that would change the whole way you played. One level might be automatically scrolling, the next might be a maze of pipes, then you might have to explore a castle with some sort of puzzle-solving required to get out. Then on top of THAT, there were themes in every set of levels that gave them even more personality. Giant Land was always my favorite. The game was always fresh from start to finish. You weren't spending hours playing the same game over and over. You were spending hours simply playing it once.

[Pak-Man]

#2 – Tetris

(163 Points) 11 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - Doctor Who?

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All the time, is Tetris, Tetris, Tetris, they vant to play.

Release Date:  August 6, 1984

Just the facts/Stuff I wiki'd:
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. He derived its name from the Greek numerical prefix tetra- (all of the game's pieces, known as Tetrominoes, contain four segments) and tennis, Pajitnov's favorite sport.
 
The Tetris game is a popular use of tetrominoes, the four element special case of polyominoes. Polyominoes have been used in popular puzzles since at least 1907, and the name was given by the mathematician Solomon W. Golomb in 1953. However, even the enumeration of pentominoes is dated to antiquity.
 
The game (or one of its many variants) is available for nearly every video game console and computer operating system, as well as on devices such as graphing calculators, mobile phones, portable media players, PDAs, Network music players and even as an Easter egg on non-media products like oscilloscopes. It has even inspired Tetris serving dishes and been played on the sides of various buildings, with the record holder for the world's largest fully functional game of Tetris being an effort by Dutch students in 1995 that lit up 15 floors of the Electrical Engineering department at Delft University of Technology.
 
While versions of Tetris were sold for a range of 1980s home computer platforms, it was the hugely successful handheld version for the Game Boy launched in 1989 that established the game as one of the most popular ever. Electronic Gaming Monthly's 100th issue had Tetris in first place as "Greatest Game of All Time". In 2007, Tetris came in second place in IGN's "100 Greatest Video Games of All Time" (2007). (What a coincidence!!! - Pak)  It has sold more than 70 million copies. In January 2010, it was announced that Tetris has sold more than 100 million copies for cell phones alone since 2005.

A random sequence of tetrominoes (sometimes called "tetrads" in older versions)—shapes composed of four square blocks each—fall down the playing field (a rectangular vertical shaft, called the "well" or "matrix"). The objective of the game is to manipulate these tetrominoes, by moving each one sideways and rotating it by 90 degree units, with the aim of creating a horizontal line of ten blocks without gaps. When such a line is created, it disappears, and any block above the deleted line will fall. When a certain number of lines are cleared, the game enters a new level. As the game progresses, each level causes the tetrominoes to fall faster, and the game ends when the stack of tetrominoes reaches the top of the playing field and no new tetrominoes are able to enter. Some games also end after a finite number of levels or lines.
 
All of the tetrominoes are capable of single and double clears. I, J, and L are able to clear triples. Only the I tetromino has the capacity to clear four lines simultaneously, and this is referred to as a "tetris". (This may vary depending on the rotation and compensation rules of each specific Tetris implementation. For instance, in the Super Rotation System used in most recent implementations, certain situations allow T, S, and Z to 'snap' into tight spots and clear triples.)

Pak's Thoughts: Hands up if you could make the large space shuttle launch in the original Gameboy version! *Raises hand*

Another surprise! I knew Tetris would make the list, but I didn't expect to see it waaay up in the #2 slot. Can't say it doesn't belong here, though. I'd wager that Tetris has passed more time in more people's lives than even the longest and most popular of RPGs. There's something soothing about it. It gets you in a nice Zen state. Studies show it might even make our brains healthier and ward off mental disorders later in life if played regularly. The formula hasn't really grown all that stale, either. There have been tweaks and competitive modes and such, but it always comes back down to the simple joy of seeing how long you can last against an endless avalanche of blocks.

[Pak-Man]

Mandatory and now probably expected FAKE #1 – Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom

(1337 Points) 18 of 18 Lists - Highest Topping - #1 - Bleu Cheese Crumbles

"Many growing seasons ago, there was a place where vegetables lived happily, and in perfect harmony. One day, Minister Pumpkin betrayed King Broccoli. He kidnapped Princess Tomato and stole the Turnip Emblem. He took them to his castle in the Zucchini Mountains. He sent his cruel Farmies out to terrorize all the vegetables in the Salad Kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the poor King died from the loss of his beautiful daughter. But he promised you, brave Sir Cucumber, the Princess' hand and the kingdom if you bring them back safely. God speed Sir Cucumber! Hurry! Saladoria is down this path. The Zucchini Mountains are over yonder."

Box Art:



Release Date:  May 27, 1988

Just the facts/Stuff I wiki'd:
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom is a video game by Hudson Soft originally released in 1984 for the NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-6001, FM-7 and MSX Japanese home computers.
 
It was ported on May 27, 1988 to the Famicom, and February 8, 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. It was also released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on January 19, 2010 and in North America on February 8, 2010.
 
The characters are primarily cartoon-like anthropomorphic fruit & vegetables. In recent years the game has developed a small cult following through the use of NES emulators. The game cartridge is increasingly difficult to find, and has been sold on sites such as eBay for as much as $30 U.S. but can be found at short prices such as $2.50.

Taking the role of Sir Cucumber, a knight, the player is assigned by King Broccoli (now deceased) to defeat the evil Minister Pumpkin who has kidnapped Princess Tomato. Early on, Sir Cucumber gains a sidekick, Percy the baby persimmon, who offers advice and helps throughout the quest (and always calls Sir Cucumber "Boss").

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom plays similarly to a text adventure, though due to the NES's lack of a keyboard accessory, the possible commands are represented by buttons which line both sides of the screen. The commands are fixed and do not change during gameplay. Primarily, the game consists of still screens with the exception of the "finger wars", mazes and occasional animated character, such as the octoberry and fern birds.
 
Commands within the game are: MOVE, LOOK, CHECK (used to examine things), TALK, TAKE, USE, GIVE, BUY, HIT, FIGHT (also called "finger wars", challenges enemies to rock, paper, scissors), PRAISE (for flattery), DUMP (for getting rid of inventory items, since you can only carry a limited number), ITEM and PERCY (to get help from the sidekick character).
 
The game is merciful to polite on the standard interactive fiction cruelty scale- the only way to "lose" is by not being able to determine which action is required to advance forward (i.e.: there is no way for the player, Sir Cucumber, to "die" except for in one specific "finger wars" battle).

Pak's Thoughts: Wow. The really real #1 entry is really Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom for Reals!


OK, I put it up as a joke, but have any of you played this thing? It's actually pretty awesome, if you're into the whole point and click adventure scene, and you can get past the dialogue that's loaded with more bad fruit puns than an episode of Strawberry Shortcake. Why not give it a try? http://www.virtualnes.com/play/?id=NES-RT&s=9

THE REAL #1...

Has not been written yet. There will be a pause while I finish the last entry of this list and to build suspense! Have you figured it out? (Probably, but try to act surprised. ;^) )

[Russell]

CUT CUT CUT!!!! WTF?! I was VERY careful to make sure that none of the games on my list were from 1990 or after!
SO WTH is with this Super Mario 3 shit?! I'm sorry, normally I wouldn't make such a big deal out of this, but when somebody
asks me to make a list of top songs from the 1960's, I guarantee you my list isn't going to include any songs by Queen!

[Pak-Man]

Super Mario 3 was released in Japan on October 23, 1988. We discussed this back in the original topic thread, and I mandated that as long as it was released somewhere in the world in the '80s, it was an '80s game.

[Pak-Man]

REAL #1 – Super Mario Bros. (In the Mushroom Kingdom)

(227 Points) 12 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - D.B. Barnes

Our Princess is in another castle.

INSIDE EDITION - Super Mario Bros.:
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Release Date:  September 13, 1985

Just the facts/Stuff I wiki'd:
Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario (and in a two-player game, a second player acts as Mario's brother Luigi) as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist Bowser.
 
For over two decades, Super Mario Bros. was the best-selling video game of all time (before being outsold by Nintendo's own Wii Sports in 2009), and has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. It was largely responsible for the initial success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as ending the two-year slump of console game sales in the United States after the video game crash of 1983. As one of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka's most influential early successes, it has inspired many clones, sequels, and spin-offs. The game's theme music by Koji Kondo is recognized worldwide, even by those who have not played the game, and has been considered a representation for video game music in general.
 
The success of Super Mario Bros. has caused it to be ported to almost every one of Nintendo's major gaming consoles. In late 2010, as part of the 25th anniversary of the game's release, Nintendo released special red variants of the Wii and Nintendo DSi XL consoles in differently re-packaged, Mario-themed, and limited edition bundles in all regions.

Super Mario Bros. is the successor to the 1983 arcade title Mario Bros., and was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, both of whom belonged to Nintendo's former Creative Department at the time. The game's development was motivated by a desire to give Famicom (i.e., Nintendo Entertainment System game cartridges) a swan song in light of the forthcoming Famicom Disk System, and to further progress Nintendo's work on "Athletic games". Originally, the game was based around a shooting mechanic with very different controls. This may have made the final product as a special level, but a desire to focus on jumping and the mapping of the mechanic to the A button resulted in its being dropped. Unlike in Mario Bros., where Mario would be hurt by stomping on turtles without first flipping them on their backs, Mario could defeat turtles by stomping on their shells, as the developers decided the previous method had been illogical. The ability to have Mario change size was a result of basing level design around a smaller Mario, then intending to make his size bigger in the final version. They later decided it would be fun to have Mario become bigger as a Power-up. Early level design was focused on teaching players that Mushrooms were distinct from Goombas and would be beneficial to them: In World 1, level 1, the first Mushroom is difficult to avoid if it is released. Using Mushrooms to change size was influenced by folk tales in which people wander into forests and eat magical Mushrooms; this also resulted in the game world getting the name "Mushroom Kingdom". The "Infinite 1-Up" trick was by design, but the developers did not expect players to be able to master it as well as they did. Development was aimed at keeping things simple, in order to have a new game available for the end-of-year shopping season. Originally an idea for a shoot-'em-up stage in which Mario would jump onto a cloud and fire at enemies was to be included; however, this was dropped to maintain the game's focus on jumping action, but the sky-based bonus stages still remained.

The Minus Cave is a glitch in Super Mario Bros. By passing through a solid wall near the World 1-7 exit, it is possible to travel to "World -1", also known as the "Minus World" or "World Negative One". This stage's map is identical to Worlds 2-2 and 7-2, but upon entering the warp pipe at the end, the player is taken back to the start of the level, thus trapping him/her in the level until losing all of his/her lives. The same glitch in the Japanese Famicom Disk System version takes the player to a world that is considerably different and has seven levels. World " -1" is a version of World 1-6 that has a glitched black colour palette, underwater game physics, and contains Bowser, Hammer Bros., and multiple copies of Princess Toadstool. World " -2" is an identical copy of World 7-3. World " -3" is a copy of World 4-4, but with altered colors, flying Bloopers, no Bowser, and water instead of lava. After completing these levels, the player returns to the title screen as if he/she had completed the game. This glitch was fixed in Super Mario All-Stars and subsequent remakes; however, the Virtual Console release of Super Mario Bros. is an exact copy of the original, allowing players to perform the glitch.
 
Although the level name is shown as " -1" (note the leading space) on the HUD, it is actually World 36-1; the game displays tile #36, which is a blank space, to the left of the hyphen.

Pak's Thoughts: Whew. At last we come to the end of our journey. Super Mario Bros. is certainly a worthy game. I still remember playing it for the first time in an arcade. The growth-mechanic and the ability to smash blocks when grown tickled me pink back then. We didn't get very far, and me and my friend discussed on the way home how cool it would be if you just kept getting bigger and bigger with every mushroom. I've played the game many times since, and it's still a blast.

And that wraps up our top 50 '80s games list. Thanks to everyone who tossed in their Top 25, and be sure to vote on the next topic if you haven't already
Here:
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,22389.0.html
And Here:
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,22390.0.html
(We all get 2 votes because the forum is still broken)

GAME OVER!

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

Heh i remember when i was a kid i had a babysitter who could get nearly unlimited lives by bouncing a shell against a wall, and would go until the lives went high enough that it had to use symbols instead of numbers.  When you are 6 and 7 it sure seemed cool. 

[Pak-Man]

Here's my Top 25 (I don't feel like typing out the bold code for all the entries, so I'll just mark the ones that made it with an asterisk:

1. Space Quest
2. Quest for Glory
3. Super Mario Bros. 3*
4. Ghostbusters*
5. Q*Bert*
6. Donkey Kong Jr.
7. Jumpman
8. Maniac Mansion*
9. Metroid*
10. Pac-Man*
11. Mega Man 2*
12. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)*
13. The Legend of Zelda*
14. Dragon's Lair*
15. Rampage*
16. Castlevania*
17. King's Quest
18. Donkey Kong*
19. Punch Out!*
20. Sid Meier's Pirates!
21. Joust*
22. Sim City*
23. Duck Tales*
24. Zork
25. Choplifter

[D.B. Barnes]

#2 – Tetris

(163 Points) 11 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - Doctor Who?

I still play this on my phone from time to time, many years after I stopped playing video games.

REAL #1 – Super Mario Bros. (In the Mushroom Kingdom)

(227 Points) 12 of 18 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - D.B. Barnes

Countless hours. If I wasn't playing it a the pizza joint, I was playing it at home. First game I ever beat.

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Arkanoid
3. Shinobi
4. Tetris
5. Golf (NES)
6. Dig Dug
7. Final Fantasy
8. Spy Hunter
9. Super Off Road
10. Pole Position
11. Pac-Man
12. Baseball (NES)
13. The Legend of Zelda
14. Frogger
15. Donkey Kong
16. Burgertime
17. Paperboy
18. Tennis (NES)
19. Metal Gear
20. Prince of Persia
21. Star Wars
22. Balloon Fight 
23. Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
24. Metroid
25. Joust

I'm surprised Final Fantasy didn't make the list.


Thanks for crunching the numbers, Pak!