Influencial Game Franchises

[Majora's Cat]

Hi, I wanted to discuss which game franchises have left a crater in the gaming world. Franchises that have changed the face of gaming, provided endless entertainment for gamers and have garnered an insane amount of fanbases. These are gaming's most influential figures.

The Legend of Zelda

Of course, this is the video game series that we at Zelda Dungeon worship. Zelda has become a household name - most people know of it, and many have played the magnificent games in its lineup. Sometimes I think about what gaming would be like without the Zelda series. We can see its influence directly (Okami, 3D Dot Game Heroes, etc.), but also indirectly. Zelda has helped shape the gaming landscape, setting a new high bar for 2D and 3D gaming. Where would the gaming world be without The Legend of Zelda? I'll tell you what - several action franchises would not exist, for Zelda was their inspiration. How many developers and gaming legends have been influenced by Shigeru Miyamoto's masterful franchise? How many generations have tried to follow in Zelda's footsteps? How many people would not be gamers today? These are questions I cannot answer, as the numbers of people affected by the Zelda series is not measurable. Truly, The Legend of Zelda is a franchise. Many view gaming as a waste of time - a roadblock and a distraction. Gaming is so much more because of Zelda. Gaming is art. Some people may disagree, but I would bet playing Ocarina of Time would change skeptics' minds. Zelda games are beautiful - some have nearly moved me to tears. Seeing the credits roll in any Zelda game is simply beautiful - there is a sense of accomplishment, of joy, of beauty, and of sweet sorrow, for you have completed the adventure. That is the reason Zelda is not only a fun afternoon after school, but also a legend in gaming. Yes, Zelda is certainly a legend.

Mario

Ah, we'll never let the mustached plumber out of our hearts. Without a doubt, our Italian plumber has done quite a service for platforming. The Mario franchise defined platforming - wait, scratch that - it is platforming. What comes to your head first when you think of gaming? If you're normal, that would be Mario. But don't be fooled by his cute red cap - Mario is a complete package of kick butt and brick punching. Mario has been plagued by horrific games over the years - the real gems are often buried in the mass of mediocrity. It seems that Mario's named has been abused - games like the Mario Party franchise and others are only a few among the pieces of trash that is dumped on top of those truly legendary Mario games. But after digging through piles of filth, you will eventually find a handful of diamonds. Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are all legendary games known to all gamers. Mario may have reached superstar status because of his cute appearance and overload of games and advertising, but it was games like Super Mario Bros. 3 that made him a phenomenon. Though considered "lame" and "childish" by idiotic, biased FPS fans, the truth is the exact opposite. I would say that the recent FPS game overload is what's really "lame", and the developers trying to cash in on that crowd of gamers are even lamer. Seriously, developers these days need to be original (like Mario). Mario may be a senior citizen in the gaming community, but his popularity is still that of a newborn baby.

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy is a controversial franchise, but it is vastly considered the greatest RPG franchise ever. Granted, not all of its entries have been stellar (I'm talking to you, Crystal Chronicals), but the good games in the series are more than just good - they are masterpieces. Setting the technological high bar for RPG games multiple times, there is no doubt that throughout its history, FF has not only been a gorgeous series to look at, but also has the best RPG games to date - and that's final. FF X had breathtaking graphics for its time, FF VI was the pinnacle of RPG gaming in the SNES generation, FF VII featured the legednary Sephiroth, and even newly released FF XIII has something to offer - out of this world graphics and storytelling. Although many Final Fantasy games do not live up to FF's top-notch 23 year old reputation, Final Fantasy is most definitely one of the greatest and most influential franchises of all time.

Grand Theft Auto

Let's get this out of the way first - GTA is not for everybody. Fans don't seem to appreciate GTA games as much as critics, and that's certainly a weakness GTA has. It's greatest strength is its reputation in high ratings. About half of its games have a 90% or higher rating on GameRankings, as well as other aggregate sites, making it one of the highest-rated franchises of all time - or possibly the highest rated, period. GTA's mindless destruction and violence will probably never have anyone calling it art, but one thing's for certain - GTA shaped and perfected open world games. GTA III's influece is shown everywhere, with copycat games being released here and there. Though many people don't like the franchise, everyone can agree that GTA is ambitious, and ambition pays off.

Halo

Halo may not be so old, but it is already considered one of the greatest game franchises of all time by lots of fans. Halo: Combat Evolved did indeed evolve FPS combat forever. It's innovation was rewarded with extremely high critical praise and several Game of the Year awards. Halo 2 was no different. The highest point of the XBOX's lifespan, Halo 2 featured improvements on the first and included the popular Blood Gutch map. Then there's Halo 3... the best Halo so far. A multiplayer and sales juggernaut, Halo 3 was a humongous step up from Halo 2, featuring smoother graphics and gameplay. The Halo franchise is usually considered the greatest FPS franchise of all time, and for good reason.

Metal Gear Solid

Who could forget Solid Snake? No one. Probably one of the most popular franchises, a startling amount of gamers consider MGS the greatest franchise of all time, though critics would politely disagree. Many installments in the series have received universal acclaim, and most of that is ue to Snake's sneaky tactics. This action/stealth franchise is one of the staples of the decade - although the franchise has not been released on a lot of consoles, the overall sales for MGS are staggering. Most developers could only dream of producing games as good as Metal Gear Solid 4, and if I worked for a game developer, I would probably be green with envy as well.



That's it - my most influencial game franchises. I hoped you enjoyed. These are just my opinion, and you are not allowed to disagree with me (just kidding).

 

[Turo602]

The Legend of Zelda (of course)
Super Mario (There's no one who doesn't know him?)
Sonic the Hedgehog (If you know Sega you know Sonic)
Halo (FPS will never be this great if it weren't for Halo)
Resident Evil (There's no survival horror like Resident Evil)
Splinter Cell (Just pure awesomeness)
Metroid (Who can forget about the first video game Heroine?)
Grand Theft Auto (Perfected Sandbox gaming)

 

[DuckNoises]

There are tons of individual games I can think of, but not as many franchises.

Franchises:

I'd mention Ultima for introducing the morality notion, consequences, and differing game play based on your decisions. This existed way before Fallout and Mass Effect, but they are continuing the trend very nicely.

Civilization was a big one for the RTS, which was really expanded upon by games like Starcraft and Age of Empires. Civilization still continues to exist, though, which is a phenomenal thing.

Individual Games:
Chrono Trigger was also a pioneer in the time travel mechanic, as well as decision-making that would alter game play and endings.

I'd also like to mention GoldenEye 007 for modernizing and revolutionizing the FPS, and introducing multiplayer FPS to the extent it has come to today. I commend Halo for its work on expanding this idea through online multiplayer, but the very core of multiplayer FPS hearkens back to GoldenEye, in my opinion.

I'd also mention World of Warcraft for pretty much perfecting the MMORPG, to an almost "unhealthy" extent. I suppose it could be considered a franchise because there are expansion packs.

 

[J Oh]

Kingdom Hearts! The standard for action rpgs.

 

[athenian200]

I would agree with the first three, Mario, Zelda, and Final Fantasy. However, I've never picked up Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, or Halo.

I'd like to replace the last three with Pokemon, Sonic, and Metroid. Three franchises that I DO feel were influential.

Pokemon

Pokemon is influential, there's no doubt about it. It has spawned several games, a trading card game, movies, manga, imitators, and fan fiction. Too many things to name here, honestly. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Pokemon has affected our culture, not just our games. Pikachu is a household name. It was a pioneer in social gaming before the advent of the Internet, because it encouraged you to find other people owning your game in order to trade Pokemon, unlock new evolutions, and fight. It fully realized the potential of the Game Link cable, and was the first to take advantage of connectivity on several other Nintendo consoles. The ideas in Pokemon were somewhat ahead of their time, and probably inspired many of the games we enjoy today, including MMORPGs.

Sonic

Mario's longtime rival has been the other strongest influence in platforming. Mario may be the first name that comes to mind, but Sonic is not far behind. Sonic the Hedgehog has slowly taken us to a new kind of platformer, one that has story elements and yet retains a fast pace. This has culminated in Sonic Adventure titles as the series having almost the story depth of an RPG, something unheard of previously in platforming. Sonic was also one of the inspirations for the idea of a platformer that uses different characters with different abilities, though it certainly wasn't the only one. It spawned imitators as well, such as Bubsy.

Metroid

Along with the Zelda series, this series played a role in encouraging more open environments and exploration, and in some ways may have carried on that tradition better than Zelda has. It has a truly unique style of gameplay, and was one of the first popular games to feature a female protagonist. The concepts introduced, such as finding suit upgrades, backtracking during exploration, and going into Morph Ball mode (which dynamically modified the abilities available to you in ways that were integral to progress), were all revolutionary at the time.

So, what do you think?

 

[Majora's Cat]

@ athenian200

I only chose the last three because of my experiences with other gamers. From experience, I can tell most gamers consider GTA, Halo and MGS to be among the best. I do understand why these modern franchises are so popular with people, but I also think your three are more deserving because they are classic franchises. My theory is classic franchise lovers (like Zelda fans) tend to lean in favor of Pokemon and Metroid, while fans of more modern masterpieces and new generation franchises seem to appreciate franchises like Metal Gear Solid. It's strange - I never really got it, but I think it may have to do with critics' high praise as well as a recent popularity trend. I know I should've included Metroid as well, but I had only one thing holding me back. Metroid was amazing, but I like to do my research on franchises and individual games. Although I myself like Metroid, I think it lives in the shadow of Nintendo's two more popular franchises. Metroid is great, but you must remember games like MGS have also shaped the modern gaming landscape. The only thing I would have to say I disagree with you on is Sonic - sure, Sonic is quite famous, but like I said, I do my research. While well-known, I believe marketing and TV shows have boosted Sonic's popularity. When you really get down to the real facts, Sonic did not sell many copies, was not as highly rated as a lot of other games, and really doesn't show how it has stood the test of time. Sonic appears more influential than he really is - that's what I think, anyway. Pokemon is completely deserving of a spot as one of the most influential franchises of all time, but everyone at my age thinks it's... you know. I never liked it, but I'm sure try gamers don't see Pokemon as complete trash - we gamers see Pokemon as an amazing RPG franchise. The TV shows and all those stupid marketing tricks have really sullied the franchise's name.

Anyway, that's all I have to say.

 

[SavageWizzrobe]

I think Mario, Zelda, and Metroid are all very influential.

Mario's influence is fairly obvious. Mario more or less popularized the platforming genre not to mention it marked the end of the video game crash of the early 1980's. As such, it has become the icon of Nintendo.

Zelda is influential because of its successful mashing of various elements from different genres, like action, adventure, puzzle, and even RPG. I shouldn't really need to explain this much.

Metroid is influential for several reasons. First, because of better portrayal of women in video games and the first heroine. Second, because of its nonlinearity and exploration, forcing the player to figure out how to progress. Third, because of its rewards to competent players. It helped spawn speedrunning because of its better endings for faster players.

 

[Majora's Cat]

@ SavageWizzrobe

I never thought of Metroid in that way. I guess I was thinking more of its commercial and critical success.