Super Mario Bros. on the NES was the first game I ever owned. Sure, I'd played my dad's Atari 2600 quite a bit, but nothing on that system could even approach the fresh brilliance of action platforming that Mario's first major outing provided. I've explored and exhausted every nook and cranny of every single Mario game since then, 2D and 3D. I view them as a sport, and--especially with the later levels in SM Galaxy 2--I feel like I'm using pure athletic skill to pull off some of the crazy challenges on tap. Nothing on Earth could possibly make me happier than being handed a new Mario game. I would gladly give up the opportunity to play every other game on this list if I had to choose between experiencing what Miyamoto-san has crafted or never being allowed to set foot in the Mushroom Kingdom. These games represent gaming at its purest, at least in my eyes.