Gaming's greatest series — from a single coin-op to generational legacies
Gaming's most successful franchise, spanning platformers, kart racers, RPGs, and sports games. Mario debuted in Donkey Kong (1981) and has appeared in over 200 games across every Nintendo platform.
Nintendo's action-adventure series defined the genre's vocabulary: item-gated progression, dungeon structure, and overworld exploration. Ocarina of Time extended this language to three dimensions with equally enduring results.
Square's RPG series named after its creator's last attempt before leaving the industry. From an 8-bit Famicom RPG to the most commercially successful JRPG franchise, each numbered entry has reinvented itself.
Sega's answer to Mario: a speed-focused platformer built around momentum, attitude, and a character designed to embody the Genesis's identity as the cool alternative to Nintendo.
Capcom's blue robot action franchise defined precision platforming on the NES: defeat Robot Masters, acquire their weapons, conquer Dr. Wily's fortress. Eleven numbered entries and dozens of spin-offs over four decades.
Konami's gothic action franchise spanning the linear whip-and-sub-weapon NES originals through Symphony of the Night's Metroidvania revolution. The series gave its name to an entire genre of exploration-based action games.
Capcom's fighting game franchise created the competitive fighting game genre with Street Fighter II (1991). The six-button layout, special move inputs, and character roster became the template for every fighting game that followed.
Midway's digitised fighting game franchise defined controversy in gaming: its Fatality finishing moves triggered congressional hearings and directly caused the creation of the ESRB age rating system in 1994.
The highest-grossing media franchise in history. Satoshi Tajiri's insect-collecting childhood became a game about capturing, training, and trading pocket monsters — and a cultural phenomenon that has never fully diminished.
Nintendo's original arcade franchise introduced Mario (as Jumpman) and spawned the Donkey Kong Country SNES trilogy, one of the best-selling series of the 16-bit era. The franchise spans platformers, puzzle games, and racing titles.
The highest-grossing arcade game of all time. Toru Iwatani's maze game sold over 400,000 cabinets, generated $2.5 billion in quarters by 1990, and made the yellow dot-eating character the most recognised video game icon before Mario.
Konami's run-and-gun franchise defined two-player co-operative action on the NES. The Konami Code giving 30 lives made it the first game whose cheat code spread virally through playground word of mouth.