#46: Golden Axe (1989)
Platform: Genesis
Developer/Publisher: Sega
In a Nutshell: Three muscular, oiled-up friends battle across the backs of massive animals on a quest to rid the world of evil and obtain the titular weapon.

Will says: I spent a lot of time playing Golden Axe, first in the arcades and then on the Genesis. Despite having already beaten the arcade version several times, I picked up the console port to check out the new multiplayer mode, which allowed two players to duel each other. Alas, it didn't deliver the goods (no magic -- seriously?), so I went back to playing through the single-player campaign, which featured several stages that didn't appear in the arcade game.

Although I'm traditionally a hack-'n'-slasher in games like this, the most enjoyable moments for me occurred when I let loose with my magic attack (after collecting enough potions, natch) to obliterate every enemy on the screen. My favorite was the Amazon's most powerful spell, which summoned a massive dragon head that proceeded to scorch the entire area. Two things I didn't love: trying to get my potions back from those shifty, snickering little thieves, and riding the purple and yellow chicken... thing.



#45: Donkey Kong (1986)
Platform: NES
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
In a Nutshell: Soon-to-be-world-famous mustached plumber scales scaffolds to rescue his girlfriend from a barrel-tossing ape.

Brian A. says: As a kid, the tall, inviting Donkey Kong arcade cabinet lingering in the corner of my neighborhood laundromat was my first videogame experience, so it is with a tinge of nostalgia that I suggested the NES port of the classic platformer for this list, despite its widespread reputation as an inferior adaptation. I managed to suffer through a few wildly incompetent Donkey Kong knockoffs by the time I got my hands on the vivid (and seemingly pixel-perfect) NES adaptation, making this version feel like it was the king of kongs when it came to enjoying the quarter vampire from the comfort of my couch.

Sure it was missing the infamous Pie Factory level -- a stage that never managed to make it into any of Nintendo's official ports (although it appeared as an easter egg in Rare's Donkey Kong 64) -- but it was a small price to pay, given the rest of this port's quality. Climbing ladders, dodging barrels, and picking up the captive Pauline's fallen accessories for points en route to drop that kidnapping simian to his doom is a delight that will never grow stale for me, even if the game itself is entirely predicated on repeating the same actions over and over again.