Super Mario Kart

Nobody back then suspected that sitting a plumber in a go-kart meant founding an entire game genre. Super Mario Kart from 1992 wasn't just another spin-off for Mario — it was the moment when something was born that dozens of games have imitated ever since, but few have surpassed. Nintendo EAD took racing and seasoned it with chaos, humor and a competitiveness that still wrecks friendships today.

The technical heart of the game was again Mode 7, thanks to which the flat track tilted and rotated into a pseudo-3D perspective, along which the karts zipped at a surprisingly brisk pace. The stroke of genius, however, lay in the items: shells, banana peels, lightning bolts and stars turned a straight race into an unpredictable battle where the leading driver could never rest easy. And then there was the battle mode for two players — a duel in an arena where you popped each other's balloons, which founded a separate tradition of multiplayer clashes.

The game ran on a split screen, where the bottom half served either the second player or the track map. The controls were subtle and demanded feel — drifting, collecting speed boosts and dodging obstacles formed a depth you discovered gradually. The characters differed in their attributes, so choosing Bowser, Toad or the Princess affected your driving style.

Commercially it was a huge success — it sold over 8 million copies, placing the title among the console's best-selling games. More importantly, though, it laid the foundation for the Mario Kart series, today one of the most successful and most profitable gaming brands of all. Every later installment, from Mario Kart 64 to modern hits, grew out of the foundations laid right here.

Why play it: It's the historically first and still immensely fun kart racer — ideal for a nostalgic sit-down with a friend, where an entire genre was born.