This is where it all began. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy popularized traditional turn-based RPGs, while Zelda opened a generation of gamers' eyes to the joys of action RPGs. Zelda took off in the United States, becoming the first "next generation" title to sell more than one million units. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy found cult success, but mainstream victory eluded them both.

Today, many of the titles seem to blur into one another - did we really need this many action RPGs? - but most of them still have a distinguishing characteristic. The early days of RPGs were ripe with new ideas, and it's fun to compare their innovations with today's titles to see what worked... and what didn't.

Now show me Dragon Quest