Jon Ledford

The games may be original, but their covers were total rip-offs!

The '90s were a time when gamers were enthralled with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario and not so much with these 10 Worst Video Game Mascots. Toss in the average child's affinity for Saturday morning cartoons (how we miss you...

Three decades ago, Nintendo released a timeless, action-adventure classic that would redefine the video game experience. Link, Ganon, and Princess Zelda have all hit the big 3-0, and to celebrate, we're going to take a look back at this revolutionary game. First and foremost, we're referring to the game's original release on the Nintendo Famicom, the Japanese system that would be converted into the Nintendo Entertainment System when it went stateside.

Those adorable, anthropomorphic followers started walking in line and onto computer screens two and a half decades ago. It's time we celebrate an often overlooked classic in the puzzle-platformer hybrid genre. Lemmings has hit its big 25 year anniversary, so let's look back at the origins and impact these little guys had in video game history. AMA Design, previously known for their work on the '80s MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari, and Commodore 64 titles of Menace and Blood Money were starting to work on their next game, Walker. It was basically a big video game ripoff of Star Wars' AT-ST, but inadvertently spawned the development of a small character sprite.

After countless quarters eaten and far too many re-releases, we're celebrating the release of the original version of Street Fighter II across arcades in North America. That's right, Street Fighter II has officially turned 25—let that sink in for minute. Sure, Street Fighter II Turbo, Championship Edition, Super, and all the other versions of the game have their own subsequent anniversaries to come as well, but this is the anniversary of the one that matters the most. Let's not act surprised at how many times Capcom re-released Street Fighter IV when the company has been doing this from the get-go. More importantly, let's look at the monumental influence Street Fighter II had, as it basically introduced the fighting game genre to the masses when it started spawning crowds around its arcade cabinets in the '90s.

Two decades ago, 3D Realms revolutionized the first-person shooter genre by releasing Duke Nukem 3D for MS-DOS. After years of controversy and being used as a scapegoat for critics asking for stricter handling of Mature games, Duke 3D is remembered as the highest point of the character's history. Based on the ups and downs the Duke Nukem video game franchise has experienced, that isn't exactly saying much. Nevertheless, Duke Nukem 3D moved the genre forward for all the right (and wrong) reasons.

On January 18, 2010, millions of gamers were shocked, as BioWare killed Commander Shepard in the opening scenes of what is arguably one of the best action-RPGs of its generation, Mass Effect 2.

It's time to look at Dante's dark side as we explore the history of one of Capcom's worst sequels— a sequel that is shunned by so many fans of the franchise, people claim that it's not even Dante starring as the protagonist. In typical sequel fashion, after the original Devil May Cry turned out to be a huge success, Capcom decided to skip on DMC creator and director Hideki Kamiya to head Dante's next adventure. Capcom handed the reins of the series to Hideaki Itsuno, who by that point was known for directing Power Stone 1-2, Rival Schools, Project Justice and more. The series' creator was skipped in order to build the much project on a much grander scale that Kamiya was used to running.

Ryu vs. Captain America, Mega Man vs. War Machine, Gambit vs. Chun-Li, Zangief vs. the Hulk, and Venom vs. Morrigan are just some of the potentially amazing bouts you could have, thanks to the cornerstone crossover fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. 18 years ago, this fast-paced fighter started hitting arcades, forever changing the scene, especially with the sequels that would spawn from it.

17 years ago, Masahiro Sakurai and his team at HAL Laboratory introduced us to the crossover fighting game that featured Nintendo's most popular characters. In case you've been living under a rock, Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game that features the likes of Mario, Samus, Link, Fox McCloud, Pikachu, Donkey Kong, Kirby, and more. It allowed gamers to settle the schoolyard debates they had in the '90s as to who could win in a fight, Mario or Link. After all those times Donkey Kong kidnapped Princess Toadstool, it was nice to be able to play as Mario and finally punch that ape in the face.