One of the greatest old-skool games I remember is Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES. I bet my mother remembers it even better as she actually beat the game before I ever got to :>
MacTijn stumbled upon the coolest thing since Mario on the NES: Super Mario Bros 3 in a Java app. Now you can play the game without needing to bother with emulators or the NES. Of course you can also buy it for the Wii if you have one, but this is a cute alternative. And another asset remains intact: you cannot save and quit the game, just like on the old NES ^_^
I must say I ran into some small problems. For me, the game was way too fast, and the sound wasn’t playing. Those issues might actually be related, if the Java engine is even a bit like old consoles: dividing CPU-time over video- and audio-processing.
YMMV, since for Wi11ow (like me, a proud mac user) it worked. Maybe I should do that 10.5.6 update…