Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
Developed by Nintendo
Released for Game Boy (1992)

Yes, yes, you’re thinking that Mario and friends are the exact opposite of a forgotten game and of course you are correct.  What earns Mario his place in this list, however, is the fact that despite a decade’s worth of games that have been released since his second Game Boy adventure, there has not been an original traditional side-scroller in the bunch.  Super Mario Land 2 is, for the moment, Mario’s last 100% pure side-scrolling adventure.  Wario took over the 2D adventure mantle in Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land and true to greedy form he hasn’t given it back.  Mario went on to star in racing games, party games, fighting games, sports games, role playing games, and most any other genre that you can think of, but with the exception of ports of his greatest adventures to the Game Boy Advance as the Super Mario Advance series, Mario has not gone side-scrolling in twelve years.