Mario Kart for racing games - be it realistic or cartoonish. None are anywhere near as fun.
Hollow Knight for (modern) metroidvanias. Even the Ori games and Metroid Dread left me wanting to go back to HK.
Ogre Battle 64 - and more recently - Unicorn Overlord for tactical role-playing games.
Eden Ring for Open World games in general. Tho this is probably an unfair standard cause there really isnt anything like Elden Ring in an open world format.







