1. Would not put Shadows of Colossus on the list. Even if it is in the same universe, I don't see it as a sequel any more than Mario Kart or HALO Wars.

2. I would not include SMB2 for precisely the reason you mention: It wasn't designed as a Mario game.

3. Games I would include:

Grand Theft Auto 3
Metal Gear Solid
Resident Evil 4
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Doki Doki Panic (SMB2) and Sands of Time weren't improvements and Zelda II was trash. I can think of far more deserving sequels such as Panzer Dragoon Saga and Metroid Prime.

Zelda 2 is my favorite Zelda game. . .

Man, i died inside a little when i read the "For the second game, Konami...", if there are three franchises Capcom is known for in this industry, those are Megaman, Resident Evil and Street Fighter. If they mixed up with really hardcore games that's one thing, but a recognized franchise??? and in a gaming article???... Man, that really got me into my nerves...

Why not? Call of Duty 4 brought the series out of the mediocrcity that was CoD3.

One thing that never gets noted about Doki Doki Panic is that while it wasn't originally intended to be a Mario game, it was made by Miyamoto and was still awesome, so I don't see what the big deal was. Miyamoto changes his mind about what characters to put in a game all the time. He toyed with making a Mario game or a Zelda game at one point, but fell in love with the wave effects and put in generic characters and made Wave Race instead. What could've become Mario 128 became Pikmin instead. Doki Doki Panic became SMB2 and it's a legitimate Mario game made by Miyamoto and is incredible.


I remember seeing kiosks advertising The Sands of Time before it came out, at a Classic Gaming Expo I went to. They had some video on loop comparing the original to the new one, basically going "The prince is back! In 3-D! Omg radical hardcore!" The original was amazing and inspired several amazing games, like Out of This World, Flashback: Quest for Identity, Blackthorne, and the original Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssey. The sequel was... a generic 3-D action/adventure/turd and not half as important to the gaming world. I think it's the only bad example on the list. The other 6 actually make sense, because they're either steps sideways or forward. The Sands of Time is a step backwards and not related to the first in any way.

I agree with Dune II. Despite all the other great RTS games I played after Dune II, this is the most legendary one. The gameplay felt so new and fresh, It blew me away. Westwood Studios!

Dune (I) by Cryo Interactive...well, it got extremely mixed reviews back then and I think it would be nearly forgotten today if Dune II wouldn't have become one of the most influential RTS games.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is the worst of the Mario series, I don't know why it would be included.

Konami doing stree fighter ?? :S

Since when???

Somehow I've played Dune but not Dune II.  The first one was really awkward.  But it did come in a really awesome pop-up sandworm box.

Complaining about the worst Mario game is like complaining about the worst Beatles album.  For shame, sir.