Goombas begat The Covenant, and fireballs led to the Spiker. Ganon somehow became Ganondorf (weird when you think about it, right?), and bits became mega-bits became it-better-rock-with-antialiasing. The world of videogames sure has changed, hasn’t it? But get this: A lot of it is still the same.

Sure, the Triangle button on your DualShock is probably more powerful than an entire Sega Master System, but today’s high-tech games still rely on the same core mechanics that made that Mario fella a star. And if you still don’t believe us, this list of indispensable game mechanics should clear things up quite nicely.

By Ebenezer Samuel