23. Super Mario Bros 3
One of the first games to have a battery backup save file. The first Mario game to sport an overworld, or a hub world. Excellent graphics for the NES' power output. The only other game that looks as good is Kirby. The final world of this game is just nuts, with auto-scrolling bullet hell levels, where Mario has to dodge hundreds of bullet bills, and cannonballs. Also, the music is pretty good.
22. Super Mario World
This is the first of what I call "The Big 5". Five SNES games that have aged like a fine wine. Seriously, if you haven't played these games you need to do yourself a favor and play them. Back in the day I had a Sega Genesis, but I knew SNES was better based on just this one game. SMW has more levels in it than all four Sonic games combined. It also has Yoshi, who as everybody knows is a ton of fun to ride. This game was a massive leap in 2D tech at the time. Seriously, almost every level showcases some new and previously impossible feat in 2D graphics. Books have been written on the number of 2D tricks Nintendo invented just for this game.
21. Batman Arkham Asylum
I love a good Metroidvania game, and Arkham Asylum was pretty much a Metroidvania beat'em up starring Batman. I like this game over Arkham City, because wide open spaces often create downtime in games, whereas small tightly packed levels keep you busy and entertained. A lot of people say the combat of this game is bad, because you can just hit Y or Triangle over and over again to beat any jobbers in the game. But they are missing the point. The point of the combat is to see how high of a combo you can rack up. Jobbers never pose a threat unless they have guns. This makes the list for being the best super hero game ever made. Too bad Rocksteady and WB went down the Microtransaction rabbit hole.
