10
Super Mario Bros. 3
System: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), GameBoy Advance
Genre: 2D Platformer
Year: 1991
Rank last year: 9 (v 1)
Late in the NES's life, and three years after it's release in Japan, came the system's swansong. Personally I played it first on Super Nintendo on the Super Mario All-Stars compilation cartridge and the remaster's port on the GameBoy Advance years later, but I own the original as well. The newer releases include a handy feature which allows the player to save their progress, which the NES release lacks. This makes the game needlessly hard and it's the reason why I prefer the newer versions.
Bringing the ability to save takes away the only obstacle the game has however, and the result is a game that takes the 2D platformer genre to near perfection. It features all the power-ups you'd want as a player, an airtight control-scheme and inspired level-design. It beats it's successor in every way possible and it's a way more fun game because of it. This is 2D Mario done right, what all Mario games should strive for.
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