Top 10 Classic Nintendo Games

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   The Xbox 360 hits shelves Nov. 22. As gamers are frothing at the mouth waiting for the next big thing, I think it's important to take a step back and examine the roots of video gaming. Most hardcore gamers cut their teeth on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Here is a salute to the old school..

   1. Super Mario Brothers - The franchise that quickly became the face of Nintendo. As Mario, you are on a quest to rescue your main squeeze, Princess Peach, from King Koopah. Most old school gamers will remember the Duck Hunt combo pack that came bundled with it.

   2. The Legend of Zelda - The theme to this game will haunt you forever. Once again, you are on a quest to save a princess as the pint size hero Link. On the way, you find all the standard fantasy accessories: a sword, a shield, a lantern, a boomerang and a magic candle.

   3. Metroid - One of the first Nintendo games to feature a playable female character. You play as a bounty hunter with kick-ass metal armor designed to kill aliens (as if there is any other kind). The last boss battle still gives me flashbacks.

   4. Contra - Back before “imperialist aggression” became a buzzword, there was Contra. Twenty years later, and I still cannot figure out the plot to this game. Nevertheless, this is not a game you play for the story; you kill and kill and kill with a wide variety of weapons. It all works out in the end.

   5. Mike Tyson’s Punchout - Remember when Tyson was not so crazy? You play as Little Mac, working your way up to the title fight with Iron Mike. One punch from Mike and you were damn near KO’d, but at least he did not bite your ear or threaten to eat your children.

   6. Double Dragon - The epitome of side scrolling beat-em ups. Double Dragon offers an interesting spin because instead of rescuing a princess, you are rescuing some street urchin named Roxanne. Remember, it’s easer to kill Abobo if you knock him on the treadmill first.

   7.Castlevania - The game that features the most hardcore boss ever. In Castlevania you fight Dracula, and all you have is a whip. Van Helsing, eat your heart out. You also run through the wolfman, a mummy and medusa.

   8. Final Fantasy I - Another game that started a near cult following. FF is also the first extensive role-playing game for any system. You form a party of four, either a fighter, white mage, black mage, red mage or thief. Recently re-released on the Game Boy Advance.

   9.Tetris - As addictive as they come. Even my mother was hooked on Tetris. You will lose yourself in this game and panic as block after block falls from the sky. Who knew Russian mathematicians could make such great games?

   10. Kid Icarus - Similar in style to Metroid, but set in a Greek style world. Kid Icarus features all the mainstays of Greek mythology, including king of the gods, Zeus. Oh, you are saving a goddess in this one. That is a step up in the gaming world.