Year: 1986 Platform: NES Metroid and Mario weren't the only iconic Nintendo IPs to come out of the '80s. The Legend of Zelda is a franchise that has since enjoyed huge commercial success and critical acclaim, all while being a household name even among non-gamers. The Legend of Zelda is incredibly basic when compared to its successors, but it introduced the three cornerstones that every game in the series has since followed; action, adventure and narrative. Audiences loved the game for its strong sense of exploration around a fantasy world, with the character of Link soon becoming an icon almost to the same scale as Mario.
