By Steph Ferns
Video games have helped shape our world since the 1950s. They have given us glimpses of possible futures, a window into the past, and a look at fantastical worlds outside the realm of our reality.
Many video game franchises have withstood the test of time amongst countless other games and, I firmly believe, will continue to endure and influence in the decades to come.
No.10: Elder Scrolls
With the first game coming out in 1994, the Elder Scrolls series has helped shape the RPG (Role-Playing Game) genre of video gaming for the past 30 years. Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim are the five games that make up the main part of this franchise, with side games and DLCs (Downloadable Content) fleshing out the rest of the land of Tamriel.
Tamriel is where these games all take place, a single massive continent split up into several provinces. In each game, the player plays as a character (different for every entry) who ends up saving the land from evil, whether that be dragons, undead creatures, evil wizards or corrupt lords. You can kit your character out with different armour, weapons and spells to combat the evils surrounding you.
During your quest you can level up certain skills that will help you: Speech helps you to get better prices at shops, One-Handed ups the damage you dish out with one-handed weapons, Light Armour strengthens the defence of light armour like leather and cloth. There are many other skills to hone along the way.
No.9: Halo
Some would say that Halo is the pinnacle of the FPS (first-person shooter) genre. First released in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved, the series has been going strong for more than 20 years, and even has its own TV show. With a dozen main and side games to play, the series doesn’t look like it’s slowing down any time soon.
The games take place in the 2550s, where humankind has taken to the stars and is at war with a hostile alien race known as the Covenant, who wish to wipe out humanity in the name of their gods. You play as Master Chief, a Spartan solider. Spartans are humans who have been chemically, surgically and hormonally engineered to be super soldiers. Each level is a different setting, with you mowing down enemies as you’re making your way through, picking up grenades and swapping out guns as you go.
No.8: The Sims
The Sims is a unique franchise on this list in that it isn’t focused on combat. Released in 2001, The Sims is a Life Simulation game, where you make your way through life with your Sims. There have been four main games, each one having from seven to 16 DLCs, each DLC further expands on what you can do in the game. Some add new furniture for your house, others give you a new town to start your Sim family in, and some even let you create special Sims like Vampires and Fairies.
There isn’t a plot to the game. The simple goal is to carry on your family of Sims into the next generation, helping the children through all forms of school and eventually into adulthood where they get a job. Despite this, the game is deceptively complex, with your Sims being able to create varying types of relationships with other Sims in the town. You also have rent to worry about, promotions in jobs, keeping straight As in school, and with the DLCs you can even take care of pets.
No.7: Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy is vast, with the first game coming out in 1987 and the most recent in 2024. The series has 16 mainline games and over 30 spin-off games, along with several movies. Very few games in this series are actually connected, with each mainline game acting as a new adventure in a new world, with all-new characters. Some spin-offs are sequels to these mainline games, though their titles make it helpful to keep track of what is a sequel and what isn’t.
The gist of the main series goes like this: something bad happens/is going to happen, a group of heroes rises up to travel across the land and save the world from doom. Seems simple enough. Combat is interesting, as it can vary from game to game, though the basic outline is as you run around you encounter enemies randomly. Depending on the game, three to four of your heroes are pitted against the enemies you face, which – again, depending on the game – can range from four to nine. You kit your heroes out with weapons and armour, can summon powerful monsters to help you in combat, and cast various spells to harm the enemy or buff up your heroes.
No.6: Metroid
A classic, Metroid first came out in 1986 and producing an additional 15 games, with a 16th set to come out in 2025. While the series is made by Nintendo, not many consider it a core part of their catalogue. It is, however, a revolutionary game of its time, with the main character – Samus Aran, who is clad in full body armour – being revealed to be a kickass woman, something unseen in the early days of video games.
You play as Samus, a space-faring bounty hunter, as she makes her way through various adventures. The game is usually a side-scroller, where you move from side to side to make your way around the environment. Much like the old Super Mario games. Progress on the map is locked via items that you have to get throughout your exploration, whether finding them in a hidden room or taking them from a boss after it is defeated. You shoot, run and explode your way through enemies as you traverse the map to get to the end.
No.5: Minecraft
Probably the franchise with the least games on this list, Minecraft first became available in 2009 under the name Cave Game. After going through several alpha and beta versions, it was fully released in 2011. Since then, it has received countless updates, expanding the world and what you can do in it with each one. There are a small few spin-off games, but the franchise is mostly known for its original game as it is still receiving updates to this day.
When you start a new game, the world is randomly generated. No new world is the same, though you can choose them via the number assigned to each of the countless worlds. The main goal of this game is to get to a dimension known as The End and kill the Ender Dragon. When you first appear in the main world you have absolutely nothing, and have to use the land around you to make armour and weapons. You can make a farm, mine, trade with villagers, and explore to your heart’s content. There are potions to make, animals to befriend, bad guys to fight and you can even play with friends.
No.4: Sonic the Hedgehog
Dashing into our lives in 1991, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise shows no sign of slowing down over 30 years later. With over EIGHTY video games, ranging from 2D side scrollers to racing games to versing Super Mario characters in the Olympics, there’s no shortage of things to do in the Sonic franchise. It’s become so popular that there’s several comics, cartoons, board games and not one but two live-action movies with a third set for release in December this year.
With dozens of video games out there, one would think that it would be hard to narrow down a defining central goal that each Sonic the Hedgehog game shares. But if you take out the games that have no plot (Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, games that are just about racing) then we start to get a clear picture. The simple goal is to save the day, usually from Sonic’s arch-nemesis, Dr Robotnik/Dr Eggman. Only when you look at which game this is in do you see a difference on how this is done, though the most common theme is running and jumping on the heads of enemies. Much like a certain plumber.
No.3: The Legend of Zelda
And now we get to the three titans of Nintendo’s video game line-up, starting off with The Legend of Zelda. This franchise is so popular that the late Robin Williams named his own daughter Zelda simply because he loved the series so much. While not as impressive as the previous entry, at 45 games released since 1986, the series is still a monumental part of video gaming history. There have been attempts to connect the different games into a cohesive timeline, but Nintendo has since scrapped this idea, leaving each game as a standalone adventure unless stated otherwise.
The goal is an arduous one, where the player is put in the shoes of Link – who is normally depicted as a silent protagonist – showing his humble beginnings before he must set out to save the world. Saving the world usually entails rescuing the lovely Princess Zelda from the clutches of the evil Ganon(dorf) and rebuilding the legendary artefact, the Triforce. Like Metroid, there are multiple instances where the player’s progress is halted due to lack of certain items, which are again received by defeating specific bosses.
No.2: Pokémon
The youngest of the three titans, Pokémon was first released in Japan in 1997, then to English-speaking countries the following year. Since then there have been 122 games released, with more being made every year. While the first game started off with 151 Pokémon, there are now over 1000 Pokémon, with more still being made for each new entry to the franchise. The series has sprouted comics, an incredibly famous cartoon spanning over 1000 episodes, dozens of movies and a card game that is still releasing new cards to this day.
There are several goals that one achieves by the end of a Pokémon game, the first being becoming the Pokémon Champion. Throughout the game you battle Pokémon Gyms, getting a badge for beating the Gym’s Leader. Only once you have all eight can you face the Elite Four, four insanely strong Pokémon Trainers who you fight one after the other with barely a chance to rest. Then after them is the Champion, who you must beat to become the new Champion. Over the course of your journey the player usually has to defeat an evil team of some kind, whose goal can range from world domination to the destruction of reality as you know it. Did I mention the character you play as is typically just 10 years old?
No.1: Super Mario
The pinnacle of gaming, the titan of titans, Nintendo’s flagship franchise, is none other than the Super Mario series. The titular plumber hopped on to our screens in 1983, and has brought forth over 200 video games in the years since. Once again these range from 2D side scrollers to racing games to versing Sonic the Hedgehog characters in the Olympics, along with many other forms of video games to take part in. The franchise has inspired movies, comics, cartoons, board games, racing car toys. The list is endless. No other video game series can even begin to compare to the enormity that is Super Mario.
The main goal of the games with a plot is to stop Mario’s arch-nemesis, Bowser Koopa. To do this the player must control Mario or one of his many friends and make their way through many different worlds, jumping on or avoiding enemies as they go. Such a simple premise has been expanded on in many ways over the years, including Super Mario Odyssey’s Mechanic Hat, where Mario’s hat is alive and putting it on other creatures allows Mario to control them. Then there’s the interesting take on gravity in Super Mario Galaxy one and two, where the player goes from little planet to little planet, flying about the cosmos to collect star pieces.
So, there we have it, the top 10 most enduring and influential video game franchises to date.
Featured Image: Load up on some heavy hitters. Photo: Ben Hamler/CC/Unsplash
