The Legend of Zelda(NES - 1987 - 14 games total)
With nothing but vague hints and a grab-bag of random items, it's up to you to save Hyrule from impending doom. So little has changed in this series over the years, but that hasn't stopped millions from falling in love with Link, Zelda and their eternal quest to reunite the Triforce.
What it did for the franchise
Much like Super Mario Bros. began everything we know about the jump-happy plumber, so did Zelda for Link and his quest to stop Ganon. The concept of slowly discovering crucial items was introduced here too. Each dungeon would contain some new doodad that would allow you to access new areas of the sprawling map (if you didn't take your time and explore every room, you'd likely be lost for hours). Life-restoring fairies, the incessant "near death" beeping and the iconic "you found it!" jingle all came from this first attempt as well. In fact, pretty much everything you know got its start here, as even the most recent Zelda titles do not stray far from the formula set in place 20 years ago. Despite its constant borrowing of ideas, the franchise remains one of the most well-known names in the world, familiar to gamers and non-gamers alike.
Who it inspired
Zelda was the prototype for adventure games, and, to lesser extent, console RPGs as a whole. The idea of actually having a narrative, however slight, to push the player forward was used to great effect here. An entire world hangs in the balance, threatened by a specific antagonist who's bent on reshaping the world - such an idea wasn't as common then as it is now, especially on the NES. Any adventure game released after Zelda, for better or worse, tried to incorporate some kind of story element to better involve the player. Not many games try to directly imitate the franchise, though, possibly out of respect or silent acknowledgement that no one beats Link at his own game. In our opinion, Okami is the only game that even comes close.
