by in
Let’s face it. Every gamers have played at least five of the highly-acclaimed and massively popular video game franchises. Such franchises are in fact the cornerstone of the gaming industry. Many games in the market we enjoy are either sequels, prequels or spin-offs and they actually never fail to take the market by storm. With the introduction of new platforms and mixing genres, it seems that there will be an endless flow of new entries to series in all shapes and sizes. While we, as gamers, definitely enjoy entirely new games. However, a combination of something new and something familiar at the same time gives us the most involving and moving gaming experiences we have encountered.
We have compiled a list of top 10 video game franchises we all love, and we know you love them too.
10 Madden NFL
EA Sports probably could exist solely off the profits from this franchise alone. Madden NFL is not a game this list writer loves, but no one can deny the success of Madden NFL since its debut in 1989. It has now spawned a total of thirty-something sequels (we actually lost count). Most of the sequels are updated and released during the NFL season. In fact, EA Sports have licensing agreement with the NFL and thus Madden NFL have the real players’ and coaches’ names in game, the stadiums, and the official mascots. Basically, Madden NFL is the dominating game when it comes to NFL, and the quality is never been sub-par. In fact, the game developers have been giving us a quality product ever year that we have nothing to complain. We believe that as long as there is NFL, and as long as gamers are still willing to pay full price for a new version of Madden NFL game, this franchise will never die.
9 Grand Theft Auto
Debuted in 1997, Grand Theft Auto is a sandbox-y game which always thrived on rubbing people the wrong way. The game actually lets us delve deepre into shady side of our morality and explore our dark nature. Gun fights, car chases, automobile hijacks, robbery, murders, strippers and whatnot, you can do all in his game. Although the game is notorious in its criminal gameplay, Rockstar have been giving us consistently great titles which are also very innovative.
8 Call of Duty
Among the war games, the Call of Duty franchise is known for its innovative realism, graphic design, sound, and gameplay. Since its first release in 2003, Call of Duty has never failed to awe us with gripping storylines and incredibly addicting fast-paced actions. Until 2007 the series was all about World War II, but afterwards the franchise brought us to the wars in modern times. Every sequel has flown up the sales charts, and in fact Call of Duty franchise is in top 15 best selling franchises of all time. This is further cemented by the release of Modern Warfare 2 which garnered over half a billion dollars in just five days. Now if you excuse us, we are off to killing some Nazis…
7 Resident Evil
This game is not the first in its genre, but one that actually stormed the world with its wildly imaginative and horrifying story. Among the survival-horror games, Resident Evil is one of the most well-known and best. Dated gameplay had marred some of its sequels, but the last two games have totally changed that by introducing new and innovative style of gameplay. An evil corp, amazing back story, zombies, infections, outbreaks and gorgeous girls with guns – what’s not to love?
6 Pokemon
Developed by Nintendo, Pokémon is a top-notch quality RPG that literally millions of kids around the world know and absolutely love. The concept is fairly simple – capture and train cute little monsters to fight against each other and become the best trainer. We were hooked, until now we are still hooked. Pokémon franchise has grown out of its video game medium and now its presence in all kind of different media can be seen. Nintendo also releases more “color” games every few years to keep the interest in the game fresh. We actually don’t have equivalent game on other platforms such as iOS that can give us the same kick as Pokémon. What a shame!
5 Halo
Halo series didn’t revolutionize the FPS genre, but it did a damn good job in making it so addicting. Fantastic gameplay, amazing storyline, awesome graphics and the main antagonist Master Chief are all the right elements which cemented Halo as one of the greatest FPS games in video gaming history. Bungie is pushing the boundary for production of Halo games every time a new sequel is released, and the bar is continuously being raised. Not only that, Halo is the main reason why Xbox Live becomes so successful. Without Halo 2 and Halo 3, Xbox Live would be a deadbeat service.
4 Metal Gear Solid
One of the oldest game franchises in this list, Metal Gear Solid came out for the NES in 1988, and it basically invented a whole new gaming genre – stealth. You play as Solid Snake, a Special Forces agent oozing of badass-ness who has been put in charge of taking out a machine called Metal Gear. The game has gripping story, innovative gameplay and amazingly great production. Now that two decades have passed since then, and with half a dozen games already out in this franchise, Metal Gear Solid is still going solid (no pun intended). The plot lines are always thought-provoking, the characters are always memorable, and the production value is undeniably sky-high. The impact of this game on the gaming industry is just so obvious that it is not a surprising thing to see a giant cult following for Metal Gear Solid.
3 Final Fantasy
We actually had a dilemma in deciding if we should place Final Fantasy as #4 or #3, going directly up against Metal Gear Solid. However, our love for this RPG franchise won us totally. When you are talking about video game franchises, Final Fantasy is a must-talk topic. The first title hit stores in 1987, and since then it has accumulated a massive fan base and many sequels of highly-polished and top quality games. The storylines for each sequels are never the same, although some might share similar gameplay mechanics and character names. One notable thing in Final Fantasy is that they pay great emphasis on its soundtracks, which are composed by really talented musicians. The graphics are always at the top of the world too. The stories and plots from each sequel within Final Fantasy franchise never fail to awe any gamers and non-gamers alike.
2 Legend of Zelda
A total classic series, Legend of Zelda first made its debut in 1986 and had spawned dozens of sequels and spin-offs. This series is perhaps the most charming, totally fun, and enticing game title ever to grace us. Ocarina of Time, arguably the greatest game of all time, is among the most memorable in this series. Just based on the quality of Ocarina of Time alone, this game deserves a spot in the top. Unfortunately for Zelda, there is another franchise that must absolutely be in the top #1.
1 Super Mario
We are sure you absolutely made the right guess while reading the previous game about which one will be at #1 spot. Yup, that’s our legendary plumber, Mario! We all grew up playing Super Mario, and to put any other games above this will be just insane and we would possibly be incurring a lot of dead threat from gamers. No, seriously, it is that good. The most successful franchise of all time, Mario can easily surpass a combination of all the games in this list. In fact, it is not just about saving the pricless anymore. Do you love racing? Hop on Mario Kart. Do you love to golf? Just swing it with Mario Golf. Fighting against your buddies? Just load Super Smash Bros! Even if you are an RPG lover, there are Mario RPGs for you to choose. Every few years, there will be classic newest platformer title in this franchise that lets you save the Princess in new and fun ways.
We actually have other honorable mentions which we want to include in this list, such as Street Fighter, Tetris, Counter Strike and Half-Life. However, we feel that the contenders in this top 10 list absolutely deserve their spots. We will leave it to you to decide if any games in our list should be moved to another spot, or any additional game should be in this list. Leave your comments below so that we can write a future article with more additional information about awesome game franchises.
