OMG Nintendo: "There's a lot of talk about story and plot in video games these days, which frankly baffles me. I mean, I like RPGs, but I still can't conceive of playing a video game just for the story. Video games, to me, are primarily about character and setting. Your characters in games are primarily vectors for letting you do things and making you care about the game's action. Setting is always going to be intimately tied to gameplay, as it represents the sum total of what a game makes possible for you to do.
Nintendo, as a developer, has a good grasp on the importance of setting. I can't think of too many Nintendo games that are primarily memorable for their narratives, but there are a lot of levels and areas in Nintendo games that left huge impressions on me. Sometimes an area has a cool gimmick, flashy art design, or manages to pose an exceptional challenge. Here's a list of the ten greatest Nintendo levels (or areas) that I've ever had the pleasure of playing through. Go play them yourself if you haven't, and hopefully you'll find something truly memorable in them, too."
