10 Most Influential Video Game Sequels Of All Time
2. Super Mario 64
The biggest selling franchise and unquestionably the most well recognised gaming series of all time, the Mario games and all its various tie-ins began back in 1985 with the original Super Mario Bros and its subsequent 2D sequels.
2D Mario could only simply run and jump, but now players were given full 360-degree control of Nintendo's moustached mascot in Super Mario 64, who could do a double or triple jump, a backflip, punches and a whole host of other moves. Super Mario 64 was also the first game to allow complete control of the camera, giving players the ability to change perspective as they saw fit, traversing a myriad of different intricate levels in search of power stars.
Following the success of Super Mario 64 a number of other platformers soon followed, Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation as well as Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong on the Nintendo 64.
The core Mario series has of course gone from strength to strength since 1996, still releasing immensely popular 2D and 3D titles, but the legacy this game left behind is almost unfathomable. Any game that has used this once revolutionary camera system, made the conversion from 2D to 3D gameplay or almost any platformer released since owes itself to Super Mario 64.