Top 10 Lists: The Top 10 Games That First Defined Their Genres

The following is not a list of the "best" game in each genre... but the game that (arguably) made it possible for the genre to exist as a distinct genre. This is not always going to be the first game of that genre... but in some cases it will be. Note: The genres below will be ordered sort of according to a combination of a) current worldwide interest in the genre and b) historical significance of the game and/or genre... but there are some other factors involved as well. So don't worry too much about the exact numbering, and if your favorite genre isn't listed as #1... well, don't worry too much about it, because mine isn't either!

Anybody out there remember Infocom? Their mix of imagination, intelligence, wit, puzzles, and silliness... actually made graphics as unnecessary as illustrations in a classic novel. Enchanter, Planetfall, Suspect, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Trinity... but Zork is where it all began. And though the (non-Infocom) game Adventure does predate Zork (and indeed had a huge influence upon it), Zork is what essentially established the Text Adventure as a viable genre in the gaming marketplace... at least for a while. I miss Infocom. =/

Sure, Microsoft Flight Simulator gave us flight in a video game... but After Burner gave us fast-paced aerial combat. While the graphics were primitive compared to today's standards, some of the concepts established in After Burner (gun + missiles, moving cursor over target to "lock on" missiles, limited freedom of movement ("rails"), etc.) are still being used today, in such games as Rez, Panzer Dragoon Orta, etc.

A steering wheel on a video game? Pole Position made that possible. The game wasn't very realistic (nudging someone's bumper caused your car to explode), but it did establish certain standards that would affect Racing Games for years to come. You know how in many Racing Games, the other cars get a huge head start, and you have to spend your time catching up to them? It was Pole Position that first established that as a gameplay conceit for the Racing Game genre.

Any of you old enough to remember this classic of classics? Not only did Space Invaders essentially establish the Arcade Video Game Coin-Op market, but it also defined what would come to be the Vertical Shooting genre. Sure, compared to such games as Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Raiden... or even Galaxian, Space Invaders is fairly primitive. But that's where it all began.

A genre that is definitely more popular in Japan than in North America, the Versus Puzzle game emerged as a significant force in the video game market (at least in Japan) with the release of Compile's hugely successful PuyoPuyo 2. Featuring fast-paced action in a balanced gameplay environment (where luck almost never wins over skill), PuyoPuyo 2 became so popular that regional and nationwide PuyoPuyo 2 tournaments became quite common. And Compile opened at least one store (an actual store, not just an on-line website) completely devoted to PuyoPuyo products and merchandise. Yes, it was that big of a phenomenon. So it's no surprise that most Versus Puzzle games that followed were influenced (some more obviously than others) by the design aspects (two 6x12 fields, two attached pieces falling, four same-color adjacent pieces disappearing, etc...) of the PuyoPuyo games. And if you think about it, even seemingly unrelated Puzzle games like XI Jumbo arguably owe the concept of "doing well on your field will clutter up your opponent's field" to PuyoPuyo...

Wolfenstein 3D did precede Doom, but Doom is what really made the "First Person Shooter" into the lucrative genre (at least in North America) that it is today. Without Doom, there would be no Quake, no Unreal Tournament, no Thief, no Half-Life, no Deus Ex, no Perfect Dark, no Goldeneye 007, and no Halo.

What can be said about this game that hasn't been said before? Historically significant. A true classic. And the first genre-defining platform game.

Ever wonder why Dance Dance Revolution games bear the "BEMANI" mark? Well, it's because of BEatMANIa. Beatmania, a "DJ simulation" with a mini-keyboard (5 keys) and a turntable, never truly took off in North America, but it did do amazingly well in Japan. So well that the Music Rhythm genre was born... and Konami decided to market all of their future Music Rhythm games (Dance Dance Revolution, Pop'n Music, ParaPara Paradise, etc.) under the BEMANI label.

Ah yes. Versus Fighting. It's probably hard to imagine a time when this genre didn't dominate arcade gameplay. But previous to SFII, it was almost inconceivable that people would actually get in lines of six, seven, eight people (sometimes more!), just to spend money to play a video game for a mere couple of minutes (sometimes less!). Yet, when SFII first appeared in arcades, this is exactly what happened. And thus the Versus Fighting genre was born.

Are you a Final Fantasy fan? Or a fan of any other Console RPG? If so, you owe a word of thanks to Dragon Quest. A fact that is surprising to some English-speaking gamers, the very first Console RPG (way back in 1986) was actually not Final Fantasy (late 1987), but Dragon Quest (mid 1986). And if Dragon Quest hadn't existed, or if it hadn't been as successful as it was, the Console RPG genre probably would not exist today. And even today, the Dragon Quest series enjoys great popularity in Japan... though in North America (and other Western nations) the series (renamed "Dragon Warrior" for NA release) has come to be severely overshadowed by the Final Fantasy games. Although, considering the current popularity of Dragon Ball in North America, I'm somewhat surprised that Akira Toriyama's involvement in the Dragon Quest games hasn't made them more popular than they currently are. In any case, even if you're not a fan of the Dragon Quest games, say a word of thanks. Thanks!

And thanks to you for reading this! The genres above were chosen because they were interesting in some way (whether for reasons of history, economy, or influence), and not because they're the ten most popular or profitable or important genres in video games today. So if your favorite video game genre wasn't mentioned above, hopefully this list will inspire you to do a little research of your own, in order to discover the roots of your own favorite video games and video game genres!

List by ruyeyama (11/08/2005)