In case you don't know what I mean by the title - No matter how classic and influential certain characters or games are, you will always find that one guy (especially on the internet) who has the gall to criticize Halo, Metal Gear Solid, and Grand Theft Auto. Some will even go as far as to insult Mario - and other classic characters. Overrated is their battle cry.

Todd Ciolek examines the top 10 sacred cows that unfortunately many would like to be taken out back and turned into hamburgers.

This list is probably going to be too retro for most of you gamers, but there are a select few that will really appreciate it. To those who may not remember most of these games (at least not on their original release) - gaming had to start somewhere, this is its roots.

• Splatterhouse
  
• Q*Bert
  
• Castlevania
  
• Pac-Man
  
• Gradius
  
• Ys Book I and II
  
• Ghosts ’n Goblins
  
• Skies of Arcadia
  
• Kid Icarus
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

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Konami’s Castlevania wasn’t the first side-scrolling action game on the NES. It was, however, the first one that dug into the vast Americanized history of monster lore and put Dracula, the Grim Reaper, Frankenstein’s folly, Medusa and a giant bat in the same game. Castlevania even helped established many new trends for its genre: life meters, special weapons, and, uh, breakable walks. But Castlevania isn’t a particularly good game, and perhaps it never was. Simon Belmont, the whip-cracking hero in furred shorts, walks slowly. He jumps slowly. And he dies over and over in situations that a reasonably nimble game character would easily survive. That’s perhaps why Castlevania’s levels are so frustrating and sluggishly paced, notable only for their sense of 8-bit gothic atmosphere.

Deathsythe via toplessrobot.com »