Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 2 is the strangest and most magical black sheep of the whole series — a game Western players love precisely because it differs so conspicuously from the rest of Mario. Its secret is well known: the Japanese sequel was too cruel for Americans, so Nintendo repainted its game Doki Doki Panic in Mario garb and released it in 1988 in the West as a full-fledged sequel.

All the oddities spring from this. You do not jump on enemies' heads — instead you pull vegetables from the ground and throw them at foes, lift and carry objects and opponents, and fight your way through the dreamlike world of Subcon. For the first time you also choose from four characters: the balanced Mario, the high-jumping Luigi, the strong Toad and the floating Princess Peach, each with different abilities suited to different sections. Iconic enemies who later became fixtures of the whole series appear here — Shy Guy, Bob-omb, Birdo and Pokey. Even though it is really a repainted different game, retro gamers embrace it as a classic in its own right, full of imagination and colour. To this day it feels refreshing precisely because of how boldly it overturns the rules we are used to in Mario.