Dragon Warrior (or Dragon Quest, if you're fancy) is where Japanese RPGs really took off. You play this lone hero—no party members here—wandering Alefgard's green fields and dark caves, grinding slimes for gold and XP while hunting down the Dragonlord. The combat's simple turn-based stuff, but back in '86, just having an overworld to explore felt huge.

Funny thing: the US version got this weird Shakespearean dialogue ("Thou hast perished!"), battery saves (thank god), and toned-down monster sprites because Nintendo thought Americans wouldn't get it. They were kinda right—it bombed here at first, while Japan went nuts for it. Now it's a cult favorite, mostly for nostalgia, but you can still feel how it shaped every JRPG after. That Akira Toriyama art (yeah, Dragon Ball guy) gives it charm even when you're fighting the same palette-swapped enemies for the tenth time.

Pro tip: Buy lots of herbs early. The princess rescue mission is way harder than it looks.