Four us of struggled through the final Bowser level nearly 20 times before that one glorious moment when it all clicked: We stomped, bubbled, and leapt blindly as one. It was magical. On more than one occasion the last player alive would appear to fall to a fiery doom, only to pop another player's bubble as they fell. We hit upon the perfect combination of luck, skill, and teamwork, and we were unstoppable. When we finally stomped the switch that sealed Bowser's fate, I literally fell out of my chair in exhilaration.

That's why we play video games -- we want to capture those moments of pure fun. And NSMBW had more of those than any other game I played this year.