7 Old-School Video Games That Will Inspire Your Inner Gamer-Girl ...

I have to apologize in advance, a lot of my favorite old school video games played on the SNES or PlayStation, because those were the systems I remember playing the most. Of them all, Mario Kart for SNES is my favorite. It's my obsession. I remember spending rainy weekends in the back of beyond trying to beat every level, first place, on as many characters as possible. I still loathe using Bowser and Donkey Kong, and still have an affinity for Princess Peach even though I curse her ruthlessly in other games.

Whether you played Final Fantasy II on NES, Final Fantasy VI on SNES, or Final Fantasy X on PlayStation, you loved them. I've never been good at any FF games, honestly, but I played them all anyway, because even in the earliest games, the graphics were always gorgeous (for the times and the technology) and the stories were always interesting – well, more or less.

I loved the Super Mario Bros. trilogy on the NES, but Super Mario World on the SNES is my passion. It's one of only two video games I've ever had the power or skill to play through to the very end, and beat the end boss. I know every secret level and every infinite life trick, even if it meant trekking through 5 different worlds to get back to the first screen. I mean, Yoshi! Flying Blue Yoshi, especially!

This was the second game I ever completed, and it's still my very favorite. Sir Dan is probably my favorite game hero ever. All of my friends were all over Castlevania, which is also an awesome game, but no. Daniel Fortesque has my heart. It's a beautifully done game anyway, from the story to the graphics, but that jawless corpse is just … he's special.

I never got into the Zelda Universe, exactly, although I've always kind of wanted to go back and play Ocarina of Time. I just had the one game, and I sucked at it, but I was a persistent and stubborn child, and wouldn't ever give up trying.

My dad is an avid gamer from way back, and happily passed down his Atari – along with any records and 8-tracks he thought I might enjoy (my dad is a pop culture hoarder). We had lots of great games, which sparked my interest in games immediately. I loved Frogger and Space Invaders, but Dig Dug was just the bee's knees.

Okay, so this technically isn't a game, but this was my first taste of painting anything. Mario Paint introduced me to my first mouse! I created awful pictures and animations with nauseating strobe lighting, but it was my first step toward a lifelong love affair with Photoshop.

Did you love playing Mario Kart? Were you a Final Fantasy fanatic? Updated versions for newer consoles are coming out soon, but the classics are some of the best. Let me know the older games you still love to play!