The Legend of Zelda

The 1986 release (1987 in North America) of The Legend of Zelda was a revolution in gaming. The open-ended play, enormous map, top-down view, and puzzle-solving elements were vast changes from the common side-scrolling games with a definite goal for every level. This first game sparked a long line of successors, all of which reframe the basic concept in any number of ways, and even a short-lived TV series. The connection between the games appears to be on a loose chronology that's nearly impossible to decipher without outside assistance, but each game can be played independently of the others. The innovation of the Zelda games has always been in the gameplay, rather than the story, yet Link, the silent hero of all the games, is consistently one of the most popular game characters of all time. Also worthy of mention is the memorable music, which can be heard here.

The evil Ganon has stolen the Triforce of Power—one of the three mystic triangles containing untold power—from the kingdom of Hyrule. The princess Zelda, before her capture, fractured the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and hid them throughout the land and sent her nursemaid Impa out in search of a hero to help them. Ganon's minions catch up to her, but fortunately Link happens on the scene, saves her, and begins his quest to reunite the Triforce and save Zelda and Hyrule.

That's all there is to the story, and even that is only mentioned in the instruction booklet, but even twenty plus years later, the game draws back old fans and enraptures new ones alike. Later games have refined and expanded on the theme, but the skeleton of a gaming dynasty was built here.

Images:

Booklet art of Link with his collection of items
A classic screen and a phrase that's entered gaming history
The world of Hyrule (and where to find absolutely everything)
Game opening