"Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind."
This page features my favorite games from a bygone era.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is Mario's third and final outing on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Bowser has once again kidnapped the Princess, but this time he's not alone, as he's brought his seven "koopalings" to fight and cause terror alongside him. Mario and Luigi set out on their biggest adventure yet to rescue the princess and restore peace among the lands.
This game and it's equal, Super Mario World, are my mother's all time favorite game, so naturally I learned to play this game from a very early age. I quickly fell in love with this game for multiple different reasons. The game overall isn't very challenging and is very easy to get into and learn, although it does increase in difficulty. This game is also very accessible, with it re-releasing on the SNES, GBA, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and Nintendo Switch, meaning I could play it pretty much where ever I wanted. The game also has a timeless look, helping it stand.
After a teleportation experiment gone wrong, a portal to hell is opened on the surface of mars, welcoming an army of demonic soldiers. You play as Doom Guy, later known as the Doom Slayer, who is a marine sent to deal with the planetary invasion, along with other marines. Doom Guy ultimately becomes the last man standing and is tasked with defeating the hellish army all by himself.
One day I decided I wanted to like this franchise so I just sat down and played all of these games. While they're all great, except for Doom 3, Doom has the most consistent map design, game play and soundtrack. It's only fault is not having the best weapon in the entire franchise, which is later corrected by it's successor Doom II.
Sonic CD is the true sequel to Sonic The Hedgehog, taking place in between the first and the second game. Dr. Eggman has invaded Little Planet, a nearby planet that is accessible from Sonic's only a few days out of the year. Eggman is looking for the Time Stones, native to Little Planet, in order to travel through time and ensure his takeover before Sonic could've ever stopped him. To make sure Sonic can't foil his plans to collect the Time Stones, Eggman creates a robotic doppelganger of Sonic.
From an early age this is the only Sonic game I was ever good at, automatically making it my favorite. Sonic CD was always a more obscure Sonic game until it was ported to mobile for free, making it easier to play than ever. Besides being more of an obscure Sonic game, it focuses a little more on exploration than speed, and thanks to the capabilities of the Sega CD add on, it could look and sound better than the other Sonic games.
Video Game Hall of Fame, created and curated by Austin Chmielewski @ HVCC, Fall 2025