Many castles were pillaged and passed as we went from one Mario platformer game to another last week. Which game's flags gave us the most victory slides? Here are the top results:

• Super Mario World (33 votes) -- Winner!
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (23 votes)
• Super Mario 64 (15 votes)
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (9 votes) -- Tie!
• Super Mario Galaxy (9 votes) -- Tie!

As for the top results for the least favorite Mario platformer game that everyone wanted to see, here are all of the top ties for worst:

• Super Mario Sunshine (13 votes) -- Ouch!
• Super Mario Bros. 2 (13 votes) -- Ouch!
• Super Mario 64 (5 votes)
• Super Mario Land (5 votes)
• Super Mario Galaxy (4 votes)
• Super Mario Bros. (4 votes)

After looking at the games most disliked, it makes me think a lot of us haven't played the full spectrum of Mario games, and would probably (myself included) change our votes if we ever got around to some of the minor and obscure titles that barely got included in the series.

This week we're focusing on just the RPG Mario games in the series, such as Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi, etc). Which game do you like the most out of the entire RPG Mario series, and why? What aspects of its game design, gameplay, visual and audio experience made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some Super Mario friends to join in on the fun. Hit the jump for new bonus questions and next week's debate topic!

Talk about a nostalgia-fest! Last week had more lengthy bonus question comments than ever before, and I'm pretty sure I read every single one of them. There was so much insight that I even pulled out Wind Waker and replayed through all of it over the past week (I'm beating it after this debate!). So, what was the most legendary Legend of Zelda of them all? Here are the final results:

• Link to the Past (43 votes) -- Winner!
• Wind Waker (36 votes)
• Ocarina of Time (32 votes)
• Majora's Mask (20 votes)
• Link's Awakening (14 votes)
• Twilight Princess (11 votes)

The rest of the Zelda games had only one to three votes, and were omitted from the list. This week I've got an equally difficult decision for everyone to make. Excluding all Paper Mario, Mario RPG, Mario & Luigi, and all other non-platformer Mario games, here are the two questions for you to answer:

1. What is your favorite Super Mario platformer game in the series?
2. What is your least favorite Super Mario platformer game in the series?

And yes, Luigi's Mansion and New Super Mario Bros. Wii count for this debate. Next week I'll post the results, and then we'll do it all over again with the RPG Mario games to keep it fair and more exciting.

Which game do you like the most out of the entire platformer series, and why? What aspects of its game design, gameplay, visual and audio experience made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some Super Mario friends to join in on the fun. Hit the jump for new bonus questions and next week's debate topic!

Good gaming gods, last week's debate was epic, and I do not use that word lightly. I had to go through all 235 comments twice, just to make sure no tallying mistakes were made. The outcome broke almost every debate record imaginable, but despite setting even more records last week, Half-Life was given quite the competition this time.

It started off trailing slightly, then by a lot, then it surged and my eyes widened as it took the lead. Then, M.G.S. refused to be ignored, and temporarily reclaimed the crown. In the final 50 votes, Half-Life fought to the top once again, only to lose it yet again, then juggle the lead back and forth on the very last page. The final few votes were a nail-biting experience like no other debate has ever given me. Here is the breathtaking final result:

• Half-Life series (105 votes) -- Wow!
• Metal Gear Solid series (109 votes) -- WOW! (Winner!)

I want to thank you all by partaking in such an exceptionally intelligent game debate and offering so much insight from all directions. I sure do show appreciation in an odd way though, because I'm rewarding your great work by giving you all yet another unfathomably large game debate to tackle.

Which game do you like the most out of the entire series, and why? What aspects of its game design, gameplay, visual and audio experience made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some Zelda friends to join in on the fun. Hit the jump for new bonus questions and next week's debate topic!

[Update: I've included an expansive refresher summary of each game in the series, and also added this to the flash bar up top so that you can check back on the discussion for the next few days! Scroll down to take a nostalgia-filled trip down memory lane, and browse each game's story and main features list, as well as a trailer or gameplay video.]

Last week's bonus questions brought in even more discussion than the week before, and when you outdo a Zelda and Final Fantasy debate, that's saying something. And boy did you guys and gamer girls have plenty to say. I'm thrilled the new bonus question format is getting so much love! The Half-Life series also got plenty of love, and set a new game debate record for the most winning votes ever:

• Half-Life series (198 votes) -- WOW!
• Halo series (38 votes)

To see one of the best selling game series of all time get put in its place turned into quite the exciting comments section. For those of you who thought Half-Life was miles beyond Halo's reach, I hope you're ready for what's in store this week.

A few of you trembled in fear last week at just the thought of this debate. It may not be easy, but do your best to choose which series you like better as a whole, and tell us why! What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Is your choice mainly due to support for that series, or your dislike of other series? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some gaming friends to join in on the fun.

New Bonus Questions! Hit the jump to see not one, but all of the bonus questions. From now on I'm going to try a slightly new format to encourage more discussion! Feel free to suggest bonus questions of your own that you'd like to see used in next week's debate topic, which is also listed below.

Last week I introduced a new format for these weekly game debates, and it went great! I used two of the most loved series in the game industry of all time, and the result was just as vicious from both sides as I expected to see. It was a lot of fun to read through everyone's extra commentary on the additional bonus questions, and it offered a whole lot more insight into what we considered before casting our votes. Here was the outcome:

• Legend of Zelda series (91 votes) -- Winner!
• Final Fantasy series (57 votes)

First of all, yes, spinoff games like Halo 3: ODST and Half-Life episodes are included, but Counter-Strike and all other mods of either game are not counted. From there, the choice is up to you.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Is your choice mainly due to support for that series, or your dislike of other series? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some FPS friends to join in on the fun.

New Bonus Questions! Hit the jump to see not one, but all of the bonus questions. From now on I'm going to try a slightly new format to encourage more discussion! Feel free to suggest bonus questions of your own that you'd like to see used in next week's debate topic, which is also listed below.

Last week's debate turned out pretty close considering each series has opposing goals, but there was plenty of Dtoid Army support on both sides. Here's are the racing results:

• Twisted Metal series (37 votes) -- Winner!
• Gran Turismo series (23 votes)

I've been noticing in the comments lately that some of you are wondering why on Azeroth some of these debates are being chosen. There's a simple answer and a complex one. The simple answer is not just that we've already covered many of your suggestions in previous debates over the past three years, but more importantly that the goal from day one has always been to step outside our comfort zones and tackle debates you wouldn't find on any and every other forum on the net. Doing this forces you to think less like a gamer and more like a game designer, which helps produce even more interesting discussions.

The complex answer is that -- not only as a game design graduate but also as just a guy who loves games and movies and all forms of entertainment -- it's my belief that any two works of art can be compared and contrasted with one another. Can we not compare the detailed works of Da Vinci with the abstract works of Picasso? Is it really impossible to talk about a comedy and horror movie in the same discussion by showing how a few film techniques from one genre could benefit the other? You can't tell me that you don't love songs by two drastically different bands, and often give thought to which group you like better if forced to choose. Why is it that we're more accepting of comparing paintings, music and movies to one another regardless of their complexities, timelines, and art styles, yet we're so resistant to comparing any two games to one another? Just some food for thought; feel free to poison my food in the comments.

Despite all of what I just wrote, I'm still a big fan of revisiting epic-scaled cliché debates each year to look back and see how opinions have changed as games/series continue to age and expand and stand or fall against the test of time. This week we have two of the most well known and highly praised series in the entire industry, and I'm eagerly awaiting the outcome.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Is your choice mainly due to support for that series, or your dislike of other series? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy gaming friends to join in on the fun.

New Bonus Questions! Hit the jump to see not one, but all of the bonus questions. From now on I'm going to try a slightly new format to encourage more discussion!

Last week's debate will hopefully be a wake up call to those responsible for the Mortal Kombat series' future. The numbers from our microcosm debate poll may show that a small group of people are happy with the series overall, but the comments suggest otherwise. I'm not surprised at all by the outcome, but it still needed to be done to shine a spotlight on a series that continues to fall more and more behind its competition in popularity and replayability. Here's the landslide results:

• Street Fighter series (108 votes) -- Winner!
• Mortal Kombat series (22 votes) -- Babality!

However, that's not to say that Street Fighter is near perfect, and you all offered a lot of great insight on what could or should be improved in the series in the future.

This week we have a classic case of fun versus realism by taking a look at one of the most interestingly divided genres in all of gaming. Some prefer only realistic racers, while others prefer realistic graphics with fudged physics to allow for gameplay to be as fast and intense as possible in a variety of real world locations where it would surely be illegal to try in real life. Others desire less serious racing games that focus instead on fictional tracks and circumstances. And then there's the crowd who just wants to blow stuff up . . . while driving.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Is your choice mainly due to support for that series, or your dislike of other series? Give it some serious thought, share your thought process with all of us, and then get some racing genre friends to join in on the fun.

Bonus Question: What are you hoping to see in the future from the series you voted for?

I guess last week's debate was a Super Smash Bros. battle on stock mode set for 82 lives each -- truly a debate to the death. The result was not pretty, and reminiscent to those times when you were so drunk you could only lift your head high enough to see the stock score at the bottom of the screen plummet further each time your corpse fell off the map next to it. I had expected equally memorable drunken party moments to boost Mario Party's overall score, but the series aspect of the debate really did it in for good.

• Mario Party series (7 votes) -- Sad toadstool mushroom man noise!
• Super Smash Bros. series (82 votes) -- Watch Luigi fall on his face!

This week we return to one of our most notorious debates over the past few years. However, this time we will not just be comparing two games, but instead debating their entire series against one another. Neither series needs any introduction, but I do want to stress that this is a series debate, and all games from both sides should be taken into consideration.

Bonus Question: What are you hoping to see in the future from the series you voted for?

Last week's debate made me pretty nervous. On paper, comparing a cartoony and speedy shooter to a realistic and slow stealth shooting game made perfect sense. But this was Metal Gear -- could any series compare with it in a debate? With the possibility of an impending total landslide on my mind, I put the debate up anyways, and I'm really glad I did. The feedback from both sides was a pleasure to read, and the votes did both classics justice. It was close, but in the end it was the slow and steady shooter that won the race:

• Metal Gear series (65 votes) -- Winner!
• Metal Slug series (54 votes)

This week we have another great debate on paper. However, unlike last week, I could see the outcome of this week's discussion being even more close. Both games offer a huge arsenal of Nintendo characters to play as, but in totally different ways with the pacing and context of them being completely different. Most of us that enjoyed one ended up enjoying both of them, which should make choosing which series as a whole is better even harder on the Dtoid army. But that's exactly what we need to do.

Bonus Question: What is one thing you do not enjoy about the series you voted for?

Last week we stepped on another sports course to watch another industry rivalry. With a long line of games on other consoles in both series' pasts, it was tied for the first half of the votes. However, long before it was time for a sudden death hole, one side blasted five votes in a row -- an albatross and an eagle if you will -- to take the lead to the finish. Here's the results:

• Mario Golf series (26 votes) -- Winner!
• Tiger Woods series (11 votes) -- Golf clap!

This week brings another series showdown, but this time with hugely different play styles facing off against one another. Don't let the titles fool you, the pacing and action setup for these two well acclaimed series are complete opposites, and it will be interesting to see how it polarizes the Dtoid army this week. And I do mean Dtoid army. This one could get ugly.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, get your gamer friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner who will receive a five hour cinema.

Bonus Question: What is one thing you do not enjoy about the series you voted for?

Time to tee off and debate until you're tee'd off! From turf to rough we move on from last week's debate to another sports series Dtoid discussion.

Debate dare: read the rest of this in your best Madden voice. "Well, yuh, you see, it's like this. EA had first possession with a strong Samit offense, but then Midway came down the middle with a hard blitz. Hyuhehehe, this, this, this is where things get interesting. EA responds with a zig here and a zag around the back, but that didn't work. So then they decide to call out Samit and send in Detry with 4 votes and inches to go. Wait -- what? I lost?!" Okay, enough of that. Interestingly, last week's football debate score turned out much like a football score:

• Blitz series (21 votes) -- Winner!
• Madden series (6 votes) -- Fumble!

This week brings probably the last sports debate for a while. Don't worry, I do not plan on going through each Mario sports spinoff series one by one, it ends here. However, I do have a few more series debates planned, and I'm up for adding a few more if you leave suggestions in the comments.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, get your golf friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner who will receive quiet golf claps as a reward.

Bonus Question: What is one thing you do not enjoy about the series you voted for?

The debate destruction trail continues hot off the heels of Guitar Hero's corpse from last week. Another week, another homicide. This one wasn't as horrible to witness, but it still made you want to watch because you just knew it was going end bad. So why compare these kinds of series if it's expected to have a slaughterhouse score of an outcome? Because both sides are part of million dollar industries, and should have no excuses for going head to head against any of their genre's competition. Hate the games, not the game debates. Here's the autopsy from last week:

• Mario Kart series (93 votes) -- Winner!
• Gran Turismo series (28 votes) -- Banana peel!

This week brings a head-to-head debate for a full contact feud in the game industry. In this classic case of fun versus realism, we're up against the exact opposite odds of last week. Financially speaking, this time the realistic game is the profitable protagonist of its genre, with Blitz enduring the pariah plague despite knowing it will never go to the profit playoffs. All of this will be taken into consideration, but in game debates all bets are off and it's up to you to decide the winner.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, get your football gaming friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner.

Bonus Question: What is one thing you do not enjoy about the series you voted for?

Last week I think we killed a game series. No one checked to see if it was breathing, we just all ran in fear and guilt. Could we have done anything to save the series? We might have to make a pact to never tell anyone about that night, ever. Not even that hot girl you want to confide in to get into her pants. What we did was wrong:

• Rock Band series (136 votes) -- What the . . .
• Guitar Hero series (17 votes) -- Oh wow . . .

It was so bad that several of the votes for Guitar Hero were from first time posters . . . who have yet to comment since then. Should I suspect that maybe this corpse was passed around Activision and Neversoft emailers in an attempt to soften the blow of this legendary landslide? Doubtful, but last week certainly felt painful to watch. It had to be done though -- Dtoid will always be the voice of gamers everywhere. Besides, I suppose it's a good thing when the Dtoid army can damn near unanimously agree on something. Let's see how this week goes, but this time I'm not going to be the one who has to bury the victims.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, get your racing friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner.

Bonus Question: What was one thing you did not enjoy about the series you voted for?

Last week we all went down guns ablazin' as everyone duked it out over what the better FPS gun was. One side was armed with a gravity gun, and man did they do a lot of damage. Unfortunately, the other side was equipped with a portal gun, and dodged just about all the incoming attacks. I loved reading the very logical discussion over the very illogical game physics and concepts applied in our own world, proving many robotic readers have certified Dtoid debate degrees. Once the energy field dust settled, here were the final results:

• Gravity gun (28 votes) -- No cake for you!
• Portal gun (67 votes) -- Cake winners! Just kidding!

This week we widen the scope for a debate that focuses on not just two weapons, not two games, but two entire game series. Let me repeat myself: this is a Guitar Hero series versus Rock Band series debate. To choose a winner this week you must ponder plenty of playlists, half a dozen instrument controllers and their corresponding interfaces, and enough extra audio and visual information to make an A/V club member cream his or her RCA connectors.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, get your bando' friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner.

Bonus Question: What was one thing you did not enjoy about the series you voted for?