8. "Metroid"

Release date: August 6, 1986

Platform: Every Nintendo platform

Buy it here.

It's one of Nintendo's oldest and strongest intellectual properties: You play as the female bounty hunter Samus Aran as you protect the galaxy from Space Pirates, their dragon-like leader Ridley, and the parasitic organisms known as Metroids. You wear a cybernetic suit that gets powerful upgrades as you progress through the game. The shooter/platformer started as a 2D experience, but it really blossomed as a 3D first-person shooter in "Metroid Prime," which is widely considered to be one of the best games ever made, and it remains one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic.