Three NES games make a strong case for lasting influence: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. They foregrounded different possibilities for home-console play—continuous action, adventure built around discovery, and maze exploration where new abilities open new routes. “Changed gaming forever” is an argument about their legacy, not a measurable fact; the clearest evidence comes from Nintendo’s release histories and the creators’ accounts of what they set out to make.
Why these three NES games stand out
Nintendo brought the NES to North America in 1985, following the 1983 video-game crash. The company describes the launch as revitalizing the industry, though its history does not quantify the scale of that recovery. (Nintendo Careers, “Our History”)
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Within that context, these games illustrate three distinct design contributions rather than a single invention. Nintendo’s historical records establish release dates, while interviews with developers help explain the ambitions behind the games. Their influence is best understood as a lasting design argument, not proof that each was the first game to use its defining idea.
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Super Mario Bros.: action designed for home play
Nintendo dates Super Mario Bros.’ NES release to October 18, 1985. (Nintendo, “The official home of Super Mario – History”) Its significance here is the way it made fast, continuous platforming a centerpiece of a home-console game.
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Satoru Iwata, then Nintendo president, later put that home-first design intention plainly: “But Super Mario Bros. was clearly designed for home use from the very start.” (Nintendo UK, “Iwata Asks: A Game You Can Play Years Later”) That is a useful industry perspective on the game’s design, not evidence that no earlier home game shared those qualities.
The Legend of Zelda: adventure built around discovery
Shigeru Miyamoto described wanting to bring adventure into games, recalling the team’s idea as an adventure built around treasure hunting: “Right, I wanted to bring that sense of adventure to a video game.” (Nintendo UK, “Nintendo Classic Mini: NES special interview – Volume 4: The Legend of Zelda”) That account supports a claim about deliberate adventure design, not a claim that Zelda invented exploration or treasure hunting.
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The same retrospective interview says development on Zelda began before Super Mario Bros. and recalls shared staff and ideas crossing between the projects. The two landmarks therefore emerged from overlapping creative work, rather than from wholly separate acts of invention.
Metroid: upgrades that change where you can go
Nintendo dates the first Metroid to August 6, 1986, on Japan’s Family Computer Disk System; it later came to NES in North America in 1987. (Nintendo, “Metroid Dread Report Vol. 3”) Nintendo’s retrospective describes a maze-like world where acquiring weapons and abilities opens access to new locations. That connection between exploration and progression is the game’s clearest design legacy in the available account.
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It is more precise to describe that structure directly than to call the original game the inventor of “Metroidvania.” The label is retrospective, and Nintendo’s cited history describes the mechanics without making that genre-origin claim.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What their influence means—and what it does not prove
Together, the three games make a persuasive case for lasting influence through different design priorities: Super Mario Bros. emphasizes continuous action suited to home play; The Legend of Zelda centers adventure and discovery; and Metroid makes exploration interact with abilities that unlock new paths. This comparison is an interpretation of their design and documented history, not a quantified measure of their impact.
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The evidence does not establish that any one of the three invented a genre or that their influence can be ranked numerically. It does show why they remain useful reference points when discussing how NES games made distinct forms of play memorable.
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