The prestigious awards and the affection of fans have turned these famous games into “legendary monuments.” Some game series, despite being around for a long time (over 30 years in some cases), have never lost their charm, and are even continually referenced in stories and the subconscious of players from years past…
Here are the top 10 most esteemed series in the history of the gaming industry, feel free to enjoy.
The Legend Of Zelda (The highest-rated game series on Metacritic)
The Legend Of Zelda is one of the highest-rated game series in history, with Ocarina of Time receiving universal acclaim. Alongside this, most of the other Zelda titles also have ratings of 95/100 or higher. As a result, this series has won a plethora of awards.
Notably, the latest installment, Breath of the Wild, has won the Best Game award from Famitsu, Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, and numerous other major publications. And this is just one series that has a total of 28 game versions!
Dragon Quest (Sold 80 million copies)
Dragon Quest is regarded as the series that created the JRPG genre. This means it won most of the awards in Japan upon its release in 1986.
This series has received the most Famitsu Grand Prizes, with Dragon Quest, II, III, IV, IX, and XI all winning awards in the year they were released. Dragon Quest VIII even received the Grand Award at the Japanese Game Awards in 2005.
The latest installment in the series has been nominated for numerous awards in the Best RPG and Game of the Year categories at Game Critics Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, Gamers’ Choice Awards, D.I.C.E Awards, and The Game Awards. Dragon Quest XI itself is a fantastic game, but in its release year, it faced many other strong competitors, hence it didn’t win as many awards.
Mario (The series with the most awards)
Although the Game Awards have only been operational for 6 years, it is one of the top awards ceremonies in the world for the gaming industry. And Mario is the game series that has received this award the most times.
Including:
– Mario Kart 8 won the family game and best racing game of the year award in 2014.
– Super Mario Maker won the family game of the year award in 2015.
– Super Mario Odyssey won the family game of the year award in 2016.
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle won the best strategy game award in 2016.
– And Luigi’s Mansion won the family game of the year award in 2019.
As you can see, most family game awards have been awarded to Mario, so it’s no surprise that this series has become legendary.
The Mario series has also received 4 BAFTA awards, including 2 for Super Mario Odyssey, one for Super Mario Galaxy, and the last for Super Mario Galaxy 2. This series is so iconic that it has even been adapted into animated films.
Grand Theft Auto (Won 9 BAFTA awards)
It can be said that Grand Theft Auto is the game series that has won the most BAFTA awards to date. This success largely belongs to Vice City, which won 6 BAFTA awards in 2003, and GTA V, which won 3 BAFTA awards in 2013.
Given the high quality of the GTA games, it’s no wonder that this series has achieved so many major awards, including Game of the Year from Game Developer Choice Award, Spike Award, Easy Allies, Edge, EGM, Eurogamer, Game Informer, GameSpot, Giant Bomb, and Time. The latest installment of the series, GTA V, has also won a total of 163 Game of the Year awards, ranking 9th among all games that have received the most Game of the Year awards to date.
The Last Of Us (won 560 Game of the Year awards)
The Last Of Us is the youngest game series mentioned in this list. Both the original and the second part have received much acclaim from players, and this has helped The Last Of Us become the game series with the most awards in gaming history.
The Last Of Us currently holds the top spot on the list of games with the most Game of the Year awards in the world.
The Last Of Us series has also won 10 BAFTA awards, including 3 for the second part. These awards include accolades for Best Narrative, Best Audio, and Best Animation. The Last Of Us has also received additional awards from D.I.C.E, The Game Awards, Game Developer Choice Awards, Golden Joystick, SXSW, Destructoid, Easy Allies, EGM, Empire, EW, Game Informer, Games Radar, Giant Bomb, and IGN.
Source: The Gamer, translated by gear