Super Mario Bros. 3!!!!

The game that was more successful than its predecessor, Super Mario Bros. 2.  This game features better graphics and more power-ups and more expansive worlds than the original Super Mario Bros. Instead of having a warp-zone it has power-ups that allow you to jump behind the screen and by-pass the level.  The ultimate suit in this game was the tanooki (raccoon-dog) suit.  There were other suits as well, a fireball suit, a frog suit, a boot suit and more.  The story-line is pretty much the same as the original game, but you go into castles and the kings servant, Toad, is freaking out about what happened to the royal family.

This game allows you to go backwards and move around the worlds in your own order and style.  There are also many hidden games (mini games) and more villains to defeat. This game showed that making a successful series of games was possible.  You can also share lives in two player mode, making the game last longer.  This was one of my childhood games that I am always up for playing.

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the most entertaining 8-bit games around.  It was originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES),but has been spread to many consoles and emulators.  It is considered one of the best, if not the best, video games ever made.  I would have to say if it wasn't for this game (and its close descendants) I would never be the enthusiast for video games that I am today.  You are a plumber on a mission to save the princess.  It is a side scroller and has many, many levels and worlds to go through.

The game has definitely influenced many games down the road.  It introduced the concept of multiple worlds to travel through to accomplish a goal, and sub-levels.  It also gives you an extra life for accomplishing a goal, 100 coins.  I love finding the hidden warp zones in the underground levels.  This is honestly one of my favorite games.

Donkey Kong...Help!

In Nintendo's attempt to break out into the American video game market a classic was born.  You play as a little plumber named Mario that has to climb up a building to reach the damsel in distress.  The villain Donkey Kong is constantly trying to stop you in your quest to save her.  He throws barrels at you and some of them catch on fire and move towards you.  I like the fact that there is constant music playing during the game.  It holds my attention longer than the previous games I have played.

This game started the story telling process of most games today.  Although it is very repetitive in the fact that the levels are all similar in look and idea, it does give a better story than all the games up to this point.  It inspired the movie Wreck-It-Ralph, along with coutless other games.  Almost all Nintendo games have been influenced by Donkey Kong in some form or another, for example, Mario, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, ect.

Galaga

Galaga is a game that connects generations.  It is a Namco game that has stood the test of time.  It is on every Namco classic game pack for multiple consoles.  It is very similar to Space Invaders with the ship stuck at the bottom of the screen and the enemy moving along the top of the screen.  However, it differs greatly in the fact that the enemies swoop down and get in order multiple times throughout the game.  You can also get captured by the top ship and shoot it to get a power-up to shoot two lasers at the same time.

In the modern day you can see the influence of Galaga in lots of games.  Any game with power-ups, like Mario games and The Legend of Zelda franchise, are good examples.  It also give you stats at the end of the game.  Most modern sports games have used this and games like Call of Duty and Battlefield also rely on this innovation from the 1980s.

Namco's Pac-Man

Pac-Man is one of the most iconic video games out there.  It is a bright, colorful static screen with lots of distractions.  The walls help you escape from the ghost, however, the opposite is true as well.  If you can see the patterns that the ghost move in it is very easy to do well at the game.

The avoidance of enemies and the big pills to stop or slow enemies reminds me of the Atari game, Adventure only limited to one screen only.  The big pills are like the spear.  The game also reminds me of Space Invaders or Galaga in the fact that you have to clear the board before you complete the level.  It is hard to relate this game to modern or more recent games, Pac-Man is its own game there is not many other ways to rewrite the game for modern day games.

Space Invaders!

This game almost needs no introduction. It is the classic arcade game by Atari, Space Invaders. You are a green tank moving between shields trying to shoot the little bug-like aliens. The aliens pick up speed as the move down the screen. If you hit the red spaceship you get more points.

I really like this game because, unlike most games around this time, it kind of has a nice rhythmic/musical element to it. It reminds me of the music in Mario that speeds up when time is close to the end. I got a chance at the 2013 Indiana State Fair to play this game on the arcade version. I played two-player with my mom. Needless to say she won, it is one of her favorite games.

Lunar Lander by Atari

This game can seem simple at first and then become a mess of strategy and skill. It is another vector-style game. This is more complicated than the previous vector games I have written about. You are the lunar lander trying to land on the very strangely mountainous terrain of the moon. There are about multiple difficulties that involve a change in gravity, rotation ability, and friction. If you do not slow down enough or come in at the wrong angle, you crash and either lose or get points based on how close you were to landing. The game ends when you run out of fuel.

This is the first game that let you see how much of supplies you have.  I like knowing what I have in my inventory and how I need to counteract forces that could harm me. When the rotation of the module is no longer restricted it make me laugh. The craft begins to spin out of control and nothing gets accomplished. I also really enjoy how the module breaks apart into tiny pieces.  This game has been remade many times as computer flash games. I remember playing it in elementary school during winter recess.