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The game that launched the Super NES and went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide, Super Mario World is still Nintendo's greatest triumph. Taking the basic platform-hopping template of the 8-bit Super Mario Bros and polishing it to within an inch of its life, SMW introduced secret worlds, new powers and lizard superstar Yoshi into the retina-sizzling mix, along with a range of clever graphical flourishes that made flat characters look 3D and gave game developers across the globe new levels of excellence to strive for. The gaming world's Shawshank Redemption, Battleship Potemkin and Citizen Kane rolled into one, Super Mario World is an astonishingly polished title that still holds its own with the best of them 17 years down the line.

Memorable for...
Great expectations. When the game came out, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto claimed SMW wasn't as good as he'd hoped, and that it would've been better if he'd had more development time. It may be the greatest game ever but, if it hadn't been rushed onto the shelves to compete with Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog, it could have caused all of us to transcend to a higher state of being.

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