#23: Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo, NES, 1988/1989)

Princess Toadstool, AKA Peach, will go on to be a regular feature in the playable cast list of most Mario games. Naysayers will point out that this does not include the ‘main’ Mario series, the platformers, where she will regrettably return to a damsel in distress role and not break out of it again for a good 25 years or so, but if there’s one thing that this ridiculous project is good for, it’s treating all genres of games as equally worthy of discussion. As a kart racer, as a tennis player, in just about any discipline besides jumping on things and collecting coins, Peach gets to be an equal.