Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Mario stands before his own castle — and isn't allowed inside. Someone has occupied it, turned the whole island against him, and acts as though he's belonged there all along. That someone is Wario, and Super Mario Land 2 is the game that brought him into the world.

It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's team at Nintendo R&D1, not the main Mario team EAD, and you can tell. The game has its own, slightly different "feel" — more laid-back, more playful, at times bizarre. Its greatest contribution, though, is the villain: Wario was created as a parody of Mario, his name a pun joining the Japanese "warui" (bad) with Mario, and his greedy, mischievous nature was instantly captivating.

Compared to the austere first game, the sequel took a huge leap forward. Mario's sprite is markedly bigger and more detailed, the world more colorful, and above all — the map is nonlinear. You choose for yourself which of the six worlds to head into and in what order to collect the six golden coins that unlock the path to the final showdown. From a space zone through a giant house to Mario's own castle, the game offers an unexpected variety of settings and ideas.

The gameplay, meanwhile, is exactly that Mario reliability you can count on — precise jumps, secret exits, power-ups including the beloved bunny ears that let Mario glide through the air. On a handheld console it was smooth, readable, and fun, far more so than in the first Super Mario Land.

In the end, Wario steamrolled even the very game he debuted in. He won over players and Nintendo alike so thoroughly that he immediately got his own series — and a parodic villain became one of the most distinctive faces of the brand.

Why play it: Bigger, more colorful, and more playable than the first game — and on top of that it's the birth certificate of one of the best side characters Nintendo ever devised.