25 Best Video Games Of The 2000s

22. Super Mario Galaxy

Only Nintendo could apply a level of polish to their games so charming and endlessly endearing, it'd be a formula they'd only have to refine in the years to come. Whilst fans can never debate whether Mario 64 is still the one true king over Sunshine and Galaxy, I'm picking the latter purely because of how enjoyable the boss battles were, how infectiously addictive nabbing all those stars could be - and just how absolutely gorgeous everything looked in the process.

The Wii's reputation for delivering games to the hardcore masses might have gotten slightly overshadowed by motion controls and sugary Xmas adverts, but to focus on mainstream sales or technical specs was to miss the point entirely. Shigeru Miyamoto and his team of designers routinely create the best animated adventures in the business, ones that come with a potent sprinkle of Pixarian magic, before Nintendo throw their stamp of approval on top.

3D platformers have all but died out in the modern era, but you need only look back a few years to get a feel for just how consistently impressive and reliable Nintendo's output has always been.