Summary
Every popular series has to start somewhere, and it’s surprisingly easy to forget how your favorite game franchise began. Some of the most popular titles today have roots that reach back through decades of history, and the implications and narrative threads of those first adventures are still referenced in sequels many years later.
The worst thing about the first game in any series is that it is objectively older than anything else that came after it and might be hard to return to if it hasn’t received amodern remake or remaster. These initial entries might not be as popular as their sequels, but they are still worth checking out, even if you have to use a guide to get through them.
Before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt became one of the most universally beloved action RPGs of the century, The Witcher was a more niche series with a loyal fanbase who vouched for the first two games to anyone who would listen. Though The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings found a larger audience due to an Xbox 360 console port, the original game was stuck on the PC and hasn’t been played by some of the biggest fans of the series.
While The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia and contains core elements like decisions that affect the story, it’s a much slower experience than its sequels and progression can be more frustrating than fun. If you really want to play The Witcher to complete the original trilogy, a remake is in development and should come to consoles before The Witcher 4 arrives.
It’s often surprising to Persona fans when they find out the series is actually a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei, a popular JRPG series that began in 1987. While Persona distinguished itself enough to abandon the Shin Megami Tensei branding, the two still share a ton of DNA, and Revelations: Persona is worth checking out if you enjoy either series.
Launching on the PlayStation in 1996, Revelations: Persona follows a group of high school students who must navigate dungeons and defeat monsters to save the people they care about. It’s interesting how much of Persona’s identity comes from this first game, and while many fans will recommend starting with Persona 3, it’s worth going all the way back to Revelations for the complete journey.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has about 100 different fighters to choose from, an abundance of extra modes, and a soundtrack so large that it would take several hours just to listen to every song. These numbers can be very overwhelming for a lot of people, and if you’d rather play something with a tighter roster and less randomness, the original Super Smash Bros. is still a solid choice.
It might feel a bit slower by today’s standards, but Super Smash Bros. for the N64 has aged pretty well, and you can easily pick it up and understand how to play it within a couple of minutes. It might not feature niche characters like Mr. Game & Watch or the Wii Fit Trainer, but some of the most recognizable characters, like Mario, Link, and Pikachu, are here and are just as fun to control as they were almost three decades ago.
There are a lot of Yakuza games, from spin-offs to later titles that redefined the series by turning them into turn-based RPGs. It would take anyone a long time to play through them all, and it seems like most of the recent fanbase hopped in during the seventh mainline entry - Yakuza: Like a Dragon - with little desire to go back and witness Kazuma Kiryu’s story from the beginning.
Of course, the original Yakuza - not Yakuza 0, which was developed between the fifth and sixth mainline entries and acts as a prequel to the entire series - might be a little hard to go back to, but there is a remake of the game known as Yakuza Kiwami that’s a perfect entry point for anyone curious about where the legend of Kiryu began. Many of Yakuza’s plot points ripple through its sequels, so having this extra context is incredibly helpful.
Sonic has come a long way since he burst onto the scene in 1991. He might be more popular as a movie star than a video game protagonist in 2025, but the blue blur still has a massive library of past adventures for younger fans to revisit once they get the need for speed. As much as you might hear about Sonic Frontiers or even Sonic Mania, it feels like not a lot of love is dished out to the very first Sonic game.
The biggest thing holding the original Sonic the Hedgehog back from being as timeless as something like Super Mario Bros. for the NES is that it still feels like a blueprint to the drastically-improved Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The first game might not feature familiar faces like Tails or Knuckles, or iconic levels like Chemical Plant, but it’s still a blast to boot up and zip around courses as quickly as you can.
Not only did the original Final Fantasy lay the path for one of the most popular series in the industry, but it also launched the JRPG genre into the zeitgeist with its unique mechanics and engaging story. It’s hard to find anyone who thinks thatthe first Final Fantasy is the best one, but revisiting it has never been easier, thanks to a remastered collection of the first six games that launched in the early 2020s.
When most people think about playing any JRPG, they assume they are about to embark on a hundred-hour journey filled with needless grinding and obtuse side quests. The best thing about the original Final Fantasy is that it’s relatively short compared to its many sequels and should only take you around fifteen hours to complete the entire thing.
The Legend of Zelda is easily one of thebest games on the NES, but it’s usually not talked about as much as Super Mario Bros. or any of its magnificent sequels. Most fans haven’t traveled back to experience Link’s first adventure due to its obscure puzzles and tough combat, but it’s still a blast to play through as long as you aren’t ashamed of using a guide or the rewind feature on Nintendo Switch Online.
Like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the original Legend of Zelda allows you to go almost anywhere you like to explore and search for dungeons. There is a sense of freedom in the game that is very impressive for its time, but it can easily lead to confusion if you get lost. The Legend of Zelda is still a great game as long as you don’t mind some assistance to get you through it.
While its popularity has waned over the years, the Resident Evil series started to climb back up the survival-horror ladder with the terrifying Resident Evil 7 in 2017. Since then, faithful remakes of classic games and ambitious sequels and spin-offs have kept the brand at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but the first game seems to have been left behind for some reason.
The original Resident Evil was remade for the GameCube in 2002, and while that’s still the definitive way to play it, certain aspects of it, like fixed camera angles, don’t hold up as well after playing through something like Resident Evil 2 Remake or Village. If you’re a fan of the franchise, it’s worth going back to the first game to see how everything began and how it connects with its many sequels.
Red Dead Revolver feels like a prototype for the Red Dead Redemption games in many ways, but the PlayStation 2 title felt like an essential step for the developers at Rockstar to figure out how to create its later masterpieces. Despite not being as well-regarded as both of its sequels, Red Dead Revolver is still a great game with a riveting story and immersive gameplay.
Though Rockstar was known for creating massive open worlds with unlimited freedom during the PlayStation 2 era, Red Dead Revolver is a more linear and curated experience. The story in Red Dead Revolver is completely separate from anything to do with John and Arthur Morgan, but if you just want to go have some fun in the wild west for a few hours, it’s more than worth your time to saddle up for this classic adventure.
A lot has changed in the world since Pokemon became an international phenomenon, but the series' popularity somehow manages to grow as younger generations discover the joy of trying to catch ‘em all while older fans continue to chase that dream. With so many different mainline games and spin-offs, it can be hard to remember how simple everything was when the only options were Pokemon Red or Pokemon Blue.
Though these two games have been remade multiple times (FireRed and LeafGreen for the GBA, as well as Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee for the Switch), there’s a certain charm to the originals that feels timeless. With over 1,000 Pokemon out there now, it’s nice to go back to classic Kanto, where you only need to worry about catching 151 of them to complete your Pokedex and earn the title of Pokemon Champion.
