Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 2, released for the NES in 1988 in the West, has one of the most unusual origin stories in Nintendo's history. The Japanese sequel was deemed too brutally difficult for Western audiences, so Nintendo instead reskinned an existing game called Doki Doki Panic with Mario characters. The result plays nothing like the original: instead of stomping enemies, you pluck vegetables from the ground and hurl them, pick up and throw enemies, and dig through sandy terrain to progress.

That reinvention gave the series ideas it kept forever. This is where you could first choose between four characters, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad, each with distinct traits like Luigi's floaty jump and the Princess's brief hover. Enemies such as Shy Guy, Bob-omb, Birdo and Pokey debuted here and went on to become Mushroom Kingdom regulars, despite this game technically taking place in the dream world of Subcon.

Because it broke so sharply from the template, Super Mario Bros. 2 was once seen as the odd one out, but time has been kind to it. Its bright, varied levels and inventive verticality feel fresh even next to its more famous siblings, and playing it now is a fascinating look at a road not taken for the platforming genre. It remains one of the most distinctive entries in the entire Mario canon.