Super Mario Land (Game Boy, 1989)

This game is the first Nintendo game for a handheld console. No pressure. It’s probably the most quirky Mario game, but in a good way. Mostly line art and 2 Gradius-like flying levels. It’s a short game and rather difficult at the end, but a lot of fun. A worthy adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. formula for the weaker handheld.

Have a look at “How to play retrogames?” if you don’t know how to play retrogames.