According to Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario and Donkey Kong were conceptualized only after Nintendo failed to secure the Popeye license for the game that would eventually become Donkey Kong. (The company apparently met with better success just a few months later.) Miyamoto's fondness for the brand is clearly evident in Popeye, an excellent game that sadly has fallen out of the public consciousness in recent years.

While from screenshots you might naturally assume that Popeye is just another Donkey Kong ripoff, it's actually a "falling objects" game that not only features DK-like stage design; it also looks, sounds, and arguably plays better than its more famous cousin. The title character here provides essentially an inversion of Mario's skill set -- Popeye can punch, but he can't jump -- and it's amazing how much that one variation, combined with great level design, can result in such a different game.

Popeye's relative absence from discussions of Nintendo's formative years is especially remarkable given the company's confidence in the game at the time. As one of three launch titles for the Famicom (alongside Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.), Popeye was effectively a brand ambassador for the very concept of home gaming. Even today, I would play the heck out of this on Switch -- and I bet a lot of other people would, too -- if Nintendo were to iron out the licensing issues and make it available for the first time in almost 40 years.