Super Mario Bros (1985)
Though the Atari 2600 ruled the early ‘80s home gaming market, it had lots of competition…and by the mid ‘80s one company stood supreme. The Nintendo Entertainment System was under a whole lot of Christmas trees in 1985 and included in every box (along with “Duck Hunt” and that weird game with the gyroscope robot) was everyone’s new favorite plumber. Though Mario had appeared before, most notably in Donkey Kong, this was the moment for him to shine. The NES brought a new level of graphics, color and speed to home gaming and Mario himself would be endlessly spun off in ways that seemed unimaginable in ‘85.
