Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Super Mario Land 2 was a massive leap from the first: enormous sprites (Mario filled a sixth of the screen), 6 worlds selectable from the map in any order, and Wario's debut — the villain who stole Mario's castle. Settings were delightfully bizarre: Space Zone in a spaceship, Macro Zone where tiny Mario explored a house, horror Pumpkin Zone. Wario was so charismatic he immediately got his own series. Game Boy proved it could host a full platform experience, not a reduced version.