5. Unagi the Eel (Super Mario 64)
Super Mario 64 was home to two moments that haunted children back in 1996. The first was the piano from its Haunted Mansion level, which would provide a jump-scare when players dared to venture near it, revealing itself to be a sentient, demonic instrument with sharp fangs to boot. The second was Unagi the eel, who can be found in the Jolly Roger Bay with his terrifying head poking out of a hole in the wall of the level’s underwater cavern.
Swimming near Unagi will prompt him to attack, though doing so is unfortunately necessary as a star is attached to the tip of his tail. Unsuspecting players would often find themselves succumbing to Unagi, with him providing a rather nasty surprise whenever he launched out of his tunnel, making for one of the most terrifying moments young players had experienced in a video game up until that point.
4. Kuribo’s Shoe (Super Mario Bros. 3)
Kuribo’s Shoe (now known as Goomba’s Shoe) has only appeared in one level of one Super Mario Bros. game, but in that one level it somehow managed to leave an indelible impact upon players. But why?
The simple answer is that Kuribo’s Shoe is plain fun to use. Arguably the oddest Mario power-up of them all, which is a mean feat considering he’s transformed into both a Tanooki and a spring, when Mario hops into that giant green shoe in World 5-3 of Super Mario Bros. 3 he becomes ultra powerful, able to destroy any enemy in his path with a simple jump on their head whilst simultaneously leaving him invulnerable to various traps such as Piranha Plants and Munchers.
The Kuribo’s Shoe was ultimately an example of how even Nintendo’s throwaway ideas wind up becoming so beloved, with the company having thus far refused to return to the power-up (save for a very similar item that could be collected in Super Mario 3D World in which the shoe was turned into an ice skate), instead leaving it to linger in the memories of those who played SMB3. Perhaps this is for the best, given that its exclusion in subsequent Mario games is discussed just as often as its inclusion in the third game in the series.
3. Meeting Yoshi (Super Mario World)
It was a stroke of absurd genius when Nintendo decided that the Italian plumber should be accompanied by a friendly, bright green dinosaur that would warmly welcome our hero onto his back during his adventures throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Yoshi introduced a whole new element to the gameplay of Super Mario World and the series as a whole, granting the player a weightier stomp attack, the ability to gulp down power-ups and enemies with his lengthy tongue and, of course, allowing Mario to escape certain death by jumping off his back, sending his dino sidekick to his demise in his place.
Yoshi has been a mainstay of the Super Mario series ever since his introduction and has remained a firm fan favorite, with him eventually evolving to assume a more upright stature in order to drive go-carts, play tennis and fight with other famous Nintendo characters in the Smash Bros. series.
The moment we first met him solidified his place in video game history as one of the best sidekicks ever featured in the medium, and he has remained loyal to Mario to this day, jumping to his defense in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the New Super Mario Bros. series and more.
2. Mario vs. Sonic (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
We can all look back now and agree that the Mario vs. Sonic debate that raged in the ’90s was more than a tad juvenile, but back then it was a big deal and stood to separate playgrounds worldwide with young SNES and Genesis owners exhibiting the kind of brand loyalty that has (unfortunately) remained in place to this day with the PS4 and Xbox One.
The feud between the cuddly Nintendo mascot and SEGA’s rebellious, spiky-haired hedgehog stood to represent the ethos of both of their respective companies, with Ninty being perceived as the more “kid-friendly” of the two while Sonic was depicted as being the mascot for the cool elder brother. However, while time was exceptionally kind to Mario, Sonic suffered from a series of diminishing returns which eventually led to SEGA allowing Nintendo to use their most popular property in their Mario Vs. Sonic at the Olympic Games mini-game series. While that was a big deal in and of itself, many hoped for Sonic to eventually appear in Nintendo’s fighting game series Super Smash Bros. In October 2007, it was finally announced that Sonic would be joining the franchise in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.
Finally those ridiculous playground arguments of who win in a fight between the hedgehog and the plumber (surely nature’s most unlikely feud?) would be answered, and the trailer revealing that the two would finally go toe-to-toe was met with a frenzied response. Unfortunately, when the game was released it was quickly discovered that Mario and Sonic were two of the worst combatants in the entire line-up, with the pair dwindling at the bottom of the game’s tier lists. That doesn’t discount that initial excitement we felt when Sonic was first unveiled, though.
1. Warp Zone (Super Mario Bros.)
Before cheat codes there were warp zones. Though Super Mario Bros. may look primitive by today’s standards, back in the day playing this game genuinely felt as though you were being transported into another world, and the multiple secrets in which you could uncover during your travels heightened the sense that you were in this otherworldly universe of oversized turtles and talking mushrooms.
The first warp zone could be found in World 1-2, with Mario able to walk along the very top of the level before plopping down by three pipes, each allowing him to be transported to later stages in the game. Selecting the right combination of warp pipes to enter in each warp zone could see the player able to beat the game in record time, and once you had discovered the first warp zone you immediately felt inclined to explore every nook and cranny of each level, in order to see what other secrets Nintendo had hidden away from you.
Discovering the first warp zone for the very first time was one of those great gaming moments, and was an early example of the ingenuity Nintendo would continue to implement throughout the series’ history.
