Super Mario 64

The camera controls took a few minutes to get used to, but once I nailed the triple jump, I was hooked for hours. Mario’s moves feel so fluid, and that penguin race down the slide is still the most fun I’ve had on a console. It’s pure Miyamoto magic, plain and simple.

Finally found a game that justifies buying the console again—the freedom to explore that castle and dive into any painting still feels revolutionary. The way Mario controls in 3D, from triple jumps to long jumps, is so intuitive I never get tired of it. Even the penguin racing never gets old, though

I’m 35 and I still get a little thrill every time I jump into that dream world. The controls feel just as tight now as they did back in the day, and the bob sled course still makes me laugh out loud.