The Best Franchises That Started on the NES

The release of the NES was nothing short of a major turning point for both Nintendo and the entire video games industry. Following a disastrous crash in the second generation of home consoles that left Western markets weary of new hardware, Nintendo took a massive gamble by bringing its ultra-successful Family Computer (or “Famicom”) over to the West. If Nintendo were going to revitalize the video game market in North America, it would need both a clever marketing tactic and some strong software. As history would show, the company had both. Debuting in test markets in 1985 as the Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES arrived alongside a little game called Super Mario Bros., introducing millions to one of the best gaming franchises and altering the course of history.

Some of the most pivotal franchises in the history of video games got their start on the NES, with many persisting to this day as major commercial pillars of the industry. While the NES would initially start as a machine geared mostly toward home console ports of popular arcade titles, an entire generation of innovative developers (primarily spearheaded by luminaries such as Shigeru Miyamoto, Gunpei Yokoi, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii, and other Japanese software developers) would rethink the utility and purpose of the home console to deliver experiences that simply wouldn’t have been possible in the arcades. In fact, without the NES and its legendary library of games, it’s highly likely that the whole concept of video game console “generations” and popular game franchises wouldn’t exist, at least not in the form that they do today.

Sweet Home (Resident Evil)

• Release Date — December 15, 1989
• Publisher — Capcom
• Developer — Capcom
• First Game in Franchise — Sweet Home (NES, 1989)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Resident Evil 4 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, 2023)
• Total Franchise Sales — 160 million units

While we didn’t know it at the time, Capcom’s Sweet Home would lay the foundations for what would becomeResident Evil a full 7 years before that game’s debut on the Sony PlayStation. Originally conceived as a mystery/puzzle RPG adaptation of a popular Japanese horror film, Sweet Home plays somewhat similar to games of the era like Maniac Mansion or even Dragon Quest. What set Sweet Home apart, though, was its emphasis on survival, puzzle solving, and managing a limited inventory and resources, all of which would become staples of the genre Resident Evil coined the name for: survival horror. That Resident Evil was originally conceived as a 3D remake of Sweet Home establishes the NES original as the first prototypical game in what is now Capcom’s most successful franchise.

Ninja Gaiden

• Release Date — December 9, 1988
• Publisher — Tecmo
• Developer — Tecmo
• First Game in Franchise — Ninja Gaiden (NES, 1988)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection (PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, 2021)
• Total Franchise Sales — 7.9 million units

While the first Ninja Gaiden game would technically debut in the arcades, it’s the home console release on the NES that would establish the franchise as one of the best action games. Ninja Gaiden‘s NES port was ahead of its time and still holds up as one of the best (and toughest) side-scrolling action platformers. Later, its 6th and 7th-generation reimagining as a character action series only further underscored Ninja Gaiden as a force to be reckoned with, while also laying the foundations for the work that Team Ninja would do in subsequent years on games like Nioh, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and this year’s Rise of the Ronin. Character action games and soulslikes are still incredibly popular genres, and they can trace their roots back to the punishing (yet rewarding) 1988 NES Ninja Gaiden.

Contra

• Release Date — February 20, 1987
• Publisher — Konami
• Developer — Konami
• First Game in Franchise — Contra (NES, 1987)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Contra: Operation Galuga (PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 4 million units

Similar to Ninja Gaiden, Contra would technically begin in the arcades. But it’s the 1987 NES release that most players remember fondly, as well as the true starting point for Contra becoming one of the most renowned run ‘n gun franchises. Between its seamless 2-player co-op, use of the Konami Code to get 30 lives for each player, and incredible reimagining of the stages from the arcade version (as well as some NES-exclusive stages), the NES Contra is nothing short of a masterpiece and far superior to the arcade original. In fact, the franchise has some great (and some not-so-great) games in its long and storied history, but few titles can compare to the NES version of the original Contra, which is why it seems to find its way into several modern games in the series as a bonus unlockable.

Kunio-kun (River City)

• Release Date — April 17, 1987
• Publisher — Taito
• Developer — Technos Japan
• First Game in Franchise — Renegade
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next (PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 6 million units

The Kunio-kun games have one of the more interesting localization stories of all the franchises that made their way to the West from Japan. While the first game in the franchise, Renegade, would launch almost simultaneously on the Famicom and NES following a short tenure in the arcades, the sequel would come to the West as River City Ransom. River City Ransom is famous for mixing elements of RPG-style progression into its beat ’em up gameplay, effectively making it one of the earliest action RPGs. Innovation aside, though, the Kunio-kun franchise would be responsible for some of the best-hidden gems on the NES (Super Dodge Ball, Crash N’ The Boys) and Arc System Works continues to do right by the series with the new River City Girls entries that put a modern spin on classic beat ’em ups.

Kid Icarus

• Release Date — December 19, 1986
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 1
• First Game in Franchise — Kid Icarus (NES, 1986)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS, 2012)
• Total Franchise Sales — 3.2 million units

While it lacks the same kind of prolificness of many of the other best franchises on the NES, Kid Icarus is no less important in the history of both Nintendo and its groundbreaking 3rd-generation console. One of the first Famicom Disk System games to make its way to the West, Kid Icarus was a hugely important title in terms of helping other major franchises make their way to North America such as Metroid and The Legend of Zelda. Beyond its historical importance, though, Kid Icarus is just a great action platformer that has a criminally limited number of follow-ups. Both the Game Boy sequel and the later 3DS on-rails shooter are excellent games that beg the question as to why Nintendo has yet to do a proper sequel on its current hardware.

Fire Emblem

• Release Date — April 20, 1990
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 1, Intelligent Systems
• First Game in Franchise — Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (NES, 1990)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Fire Emblem: Engage (Nintendo Switch, 2023)
• Total Franchise Sales — 20 million units

Despite it not being much of a success in the West for Nintendo until the series’ 3DS iteration, Fire Emblem can trace its beginnings back to the NES as one of the console’s few tactical RPGs. In fact, Fire Emblem and the Advance Wars series would both see their debut as Famicom-exclusive titles that never made their way to the West. And while the first Fire Emblem game (Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light) would eventually be remade and localized, that original Famicom version holds up surprisingly well, making it clear why Nintendo would continue putting resources into the series regardless of it remaining a bit of a niche in the West. Thankfully, Fire Emblem is a lot more widely known in North America now thanks to Fire EmblemAwakening and its follow-ups, and there’s every likelihood that Nintendo will continue to support Fire Emblem on future hardware.

Megami Tensei

• Release Date — September 11, 1987
• Publisher — Namco
• Developer — Atlus
• First Game in Franchise — Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (NES, 1987)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 39 million units

Though most players tend to associate the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and its Persona spin-offs with later-generation hardware, the series actually got its start on the NES. Like Sweet Home, the original Megami Tensei is an adaptation of a piece of popular Japanese media, though in this case, it’s a novel instead of a movie. Regardless, the original Digital Devil Story is an excellent dungeon-crawling RPG with some very interesting design choices to set it apart from contemporaries like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy; a trend that continues to this day with the striking difference between Atlus and Square Enix RPGs. The Persona series (especially the later entries helmed by Katsura Hashino) wouldn’t exist without Shin Megami Tensei, which, in turn, wouldn’t exist were it not for the 1987 original Megami Tensei on the Famicom.

Mega Man

• Release Date — December 17, 1987
• Publisher — Capcom
• Developer — Capcom
• First Game in Franchise — Mega Man (NES, 1987)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Mega Man 11 (PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, 2018)
• Total Franchise Sales — 42 million units

Arguably one of the most important and influential action-platformers of all time, Mega Man is nothing short of a legendary franchise. The strange Western box art aside, the NES versions would retain full feature parity with the Japanese Famicom originals, making Mega Man one of the few series that would prove to be cross-cultural in terms of its popularity and acclaim during the third console generation. While Mega Man would go on to spawn a massive franchise consisting of several spin-offs — Mega Man Legends, Mega Man X, Mega Man Battle Network, and many, many more — the core numbered entries in the franchise remain some of the strongest titles in the action platformer genre, with an astounding 6 (!) titles on the NES alone. Mega Man is one of Capcom’s most successful and iconic franchises, and it put its roots down on the NES.

Mother (Earthbound)

• Release Date — July 27, 1989
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo Tokyo R&D, Ape Inc.
• First Game in Franchise — Mother (NES, 1989)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Mother 3 (Game Boy Advance, 2006)
• Total Franchise Sales — 3.5 million units

Similar to Fire Emblem, the Mother series (known better in the West as EarthBound) is an underrated RPG gem whose popularity in Japan would, for whatever reason, not translate in North America. Perhaps it’s because of the witty and sardonic tone the game takes and its irreverence and commentary toward American culture. Or, it could be the fact that the game’s setting and mechanics run counter to the high fantasy atmosphere and gameplay of most RPGs of the era. Whatever the case, Mother (EarthBound Beginnings) is a wholly original game with some incredible RPG systems, an undeniable sense of charm and personality, and some fairly challenging difficulty that would go on to make it a cult favorite. Nintendo hasn’t done anything with this franchise in over a decade, and it still remains influential (just look at Undertale).

Castlevania

• Release Date — September 26, 1986
• Publisher — Konami
• Developer — Konami
• First Game in Franchise — Castlevania (NES, 1986)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Castlevania Dominus Collection (PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 24 million units

Undoubtedly Konami’s best franchise to make its debut on the NES, Castlevania is a unique game for its time. Though it would have its beginnings in the arcade as Haunted Castle, the NES/Famicom version was distinctly its own thing, setting a trend that many other games would follow by having the home console release be a completely different and original product from the coin-op cabinet. Additionally, Castlevania is similar to Contra and Ninja Gaiden in that it’s the first NES title that’s responsible for both establishing the gameplay conventions of future entries and the continued popularity of the franchise across multiple hardware generations (and even crossovers into a successful animated series). But, one thing Castlevania can claim (along with the next game on this list) that many others can’t — it helped invent its own subgenre.

Metroid

• Release Date — August 6, 1986
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 1, Intelligent Systems
• First Game in Franchise — Metroid (NES, 1986)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Metroid Dread (Nintendo Switch, 2021)
• Total Franchise Sales — 21.45 million units

Like Castlevania, Metroid‘s importance as a game transcends its respective franchise to reach out into the world of gaming at large by helping to create an entire subgenre of action platformers. Prior to the original Metroid, most action-adventure or platformer games consisted of scrolling screens that players progressed through in a linear fashion. Metroid throws all that convention out the window by throwing players into a massive, interconnected map that they can explore semi-nonlinearly, tasks them with making their own maps to keep track of where they’ve been and where they still need to go, and incorporates a (for its time) cutting-edge password save system to pick back up where you left off in this absolutely massive adventure. Metroidvanias wouldn’t exist were it not for both Metroid and Castlevania, but they get most of their core elements from the template established in this 1986 classic.

Dragon Quest

• Release Date — May 27, 1986
• Publisher — Enix
• Developer — Chunsoft
• First Game in Franchise — Dragon Quest (NES, 1986)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 90 million units

Square Enix’s second-best-selling franchise of all time and one of the twin pillars of the conglomerate’s business, Dragon Quest is undoubtedly one of the most important and foundational games (and series) of all time. Aside from establishing many of the core elements and mechanics that would come to be synonymous with Japanese-developed RPGs (JRPGs), Dragon Quest is an incredibly influential game with an undeniable sense of charm and magic bursting through every pixel. That the game’s iconic characters and monsters are designed by the late, great Akira Toriyama only adds to the series’ legendary status, and the franchise’s continued place as JRPG “comfort food” remains a reliable constant in the face of shifting trends within the genre. The classics, as they say, never go out of style.

Final Fantasy

• Release Date — December 18, 1987
• Publisher — Square
• Developer — Square
• First Game in Franchise — Final Fantasy (NES, 1987)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PlayStation 5, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 190 million units

Together with Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy would write the rule book for entire generations of JRPGs, and the franchise stands today as Square Enix’s single best-selling property. Across video games, movies, animated films, toys, clothing, and more, Final Fantasy has grown from a single game from a failing developer/publisher to one of the most successful franchises in the medium’s history, behind only Pokemon as the best-selling RPG franchise in history. The first Final Fantasy may be rudimentary by today’s standards, but so many of the core franchise elements that players have come to love are on full display in the 1987 classic. Many franchises are lucky to have one game be considered one of the greatest of all time. Final Fantasy has no less than 6.

The Legend of Zelda

• Release Date — February 21, 1986
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 4
• First Game in Franchise — The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1986)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch, 2024)
• Total Franchise Sales — 164 million units

While it doesn’t have the same kind of commercial success as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda is arguably Nintendo’s most important franchise. For decades, and across multiple hardware generations, Zelda has been a monolith that towers above the industry. Always innovating, always leading, and always inspiring, the Zelda franchise is as close as video games get to capturing actual magic. The first entry in the series still remains one of the greatest games nearly 40 years after its release. That they only get better from there (with a few exceptions) is a testament to the fact that Nintendo treats the Zelda franchise with an almost spiritual reverence, using the series as a display of the passion and creativity of the company’s most talented visionaries and developers.

Super Mario Bros.

• Release Date — September 13, 1985
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 4
• First Game in Franchise — Super Mario Bros. (Famicom, 1985)
• Most Recent Game in Franchise — Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo Switch, 2023)
• Total Franchise Sales — 495 million units

Were it not for the original Super Mario Bros., there’s every chance video games wouldn’t be the billion-dollar industry they are today. Along with the NES, Mario helped endear entire generations of players to Nintendo, the Super Mario franchise, and video games as a whole. And while the sales of just the core Super Mario franchise are impressive on their own (nearly 500 million units worldwide), the sales of the entire Mario franchise and all its spin-offs and side games are even more astounding. All told, Nintendo has sold roughly 1.5 billion units of games bearing the Mario name or featuring the Italian plumber, making it one of the small handful of video game franchises to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Pokemon, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto. All franchises, that, without Super Mario Bros., would never exist.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Matt Karoglou.