10 Video Game Franchises You Can Jump Into At ANY Point

10 Video Game Franchises Anyone Can Jump Into

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 extensive video game franchises that any newcomer can enjoy! Just because they’ve been around for a while doesn’t mean you should feel intimidated to play them. Any time is a good time to start!

“DOOM” series (1993-)

To be fair, “DOOM” is probably the least intimidating franchise for newcomers to jump into. To become a fan of this FPS series is all dependent on if you think demons are cool and if you have an obsession with heavy metal. But with “DOOM: Eternal” placing a greater emphasis on narrative, lore nerds might be unsure of where to start. Thankfully, “DOOM’s” story isn’t all that complicated, and if you care more about seeing the evolution of the games, you can play almost every title on modern hardware. The only ones you can’t play are a couple mobile games, but trust us, you aren’t missing out on anything crucial to your enjoyment.

“The Legend of Zelda” series (1986-)

Hardcore fans might disagree with us on this, and we can understand why. “The Legend of Zelda” does have a timeline that binds all of the games together, and they all follow a different version of Link. Don’t worry - we won’t bog you down with all that. You can play and enjoy each “Zelda” game as its own thing. Very rarely do the games have direct connections to each other in terms of explicitly acknowledging a sequel (e.g. “Ocarina of Time” and “Majora’s Mask” or “Wind Waker” and “Phantom Hourglass”). So, feel free to pick the “Zelda” game that looks interesting to you and enjoy!

“Grand Theft Auto” series (1997-)

Now, GTA is an obvious choice for a list like this. For starters, every game in the franchise tells its own story with little to no connection to previous games. So, feel free to choose between Nico, CJ, Tommy, or the GTA V trio. The biggest draw factor for GTA is in its flexibility. Some players do want to see the story unfold. Others simply play GTA to mess around, whether it’s to blast down every street as fast as possible or see how long you can go surviving a high Wanted level. And the best part is that the game doesn’t ever put pressure on you to play a certain way unless you’re doing a mission. So, you can take as much time as you want to toy with the physics and gunplay, relieve stress, whatever you want to do.

“Dark Souls” series (2011-18)

In this day and age where developers are competing to make the hardest Soulslike games, “Dark Souls” may seem like a bad series to hand over to newcomers. On the contrary, it’s the friendliest entry point into this subgenre of action RPGs. Not everything feels super obtuse, and each of the three “Dark Souls” games is just hard enough to provide a challenging playthrough (the second game being the hardest of the trilogy). Speaking of, each game is already available on today’s platforms and does not require much knowledge of the previous games to understand their stories. Just pick whichever game appeals to you so long as you do a bit of research into which games might give you some trouble. Who knows - maybe this will open some of you up to even more Soulsborne games.

“Pokemon” series (1996-)

Another obvious choice for a list like this, though we can understand why some newcomers might halt at the thought of jumping into “Pokemon”. There are so many games–SO MANY GAMES in this franchise that it’s almost hard to fathom what to point someone towards for a good starting point. It doesn’t help that we’ve had different eras where quality has fluctuated and new mechanics have been integrated, not to mention the fact that most of the older titles are commercially unavailable. However, they all play virtually the same way and simply depend on you bringing the right Pokemon into battle. In other words, jump into the game that has the most appealing starters to you. Most of us buy the games depending on that anyways.

“Ace Attorney” series (2002-)

Whereas our previous entries mostly allow players to play without any prior knowledge, the “Ace Attorney” games are best experienced in sequential order as they follow Phoenix Wright throughout his career. His evolution from novice lawyer to one of Japan’s best attorneys really makes the games feel like one long odyssey through the legal system. You can even take a break from Phoenix’s story and go through the cases solved by Apollo Justice, Miles Edgeworth, and Ryunosuke Naruhodo. And what really makes us recommend this series to newcomers is thanks to Capcom’s efforts in preserving the games. Whether you play on PC or console, every game in the franchise is commercially available through four collections: “Phoenix Wright Trilogy”, “Apollo Justice Trilogy”, “The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles”, and the upcoming “Ace Attorney Investigations Collection”. So, you don’t need to worry about finding older hardware to play these great titles.

“Final Fantasy” series (1987-)

An outsider might shudder at the sight of a series going on for sixteen games, and that’s not counting the sequels some entries have of their own! In reality, every “Final Fantasy” is its own game, and sometimes, they offer vastly different mechanics in traversal and combat. Really, it all boils down to which story and cast of characters attract you the most. And if you aren’t into online games, well, you don’t need to worry about XIV, really. That said, all you have to do to get into “Final Fantasy” is just pick one. Just about every mainline game is available on modern hardware, and entries like X and XIII still have their sequels available as well. Maybe give some of the spin-offs a try to see which characters are appealing to you before you go starting their respective games.

“Yakuza / Like a Dragon” series (2005-)

On the surface, the “Like a Dragon” games may seem more restrictive to a newcomer, and many hardcore fans may tell you that “Yakuza 0” is the ultimate entry point in the franchise. And yeah, that is true in some sense…if you want to follow Kiryu’s story specifically. However, you do have two other entry points to jump into the series. If you want to familiarize yourself with the action-driven games before tackling Kiryu’s story, then “Judgment” and its sequel are excellent introductions to “Yakuza’s” gameplay and mechanics. If you want to jump into a newer story that has somewhat looser ties to Kiryu’s past, then Ichiban’s journey in “Yakuza: Like a Dragon” and “Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth” are great games to jump on the “Like a Dragon” train as its barreling through the station. Of course, if you really want to experience every game in chronological order, then absolutely, play “Yakuza 0”! It is the starting point of everything in the franchise, and with every game being available on modern hardware (save for a spin-off or two), now is an excellent time to choose whether to start your pilgrimage with Kiryu, Ichiban, or Detective Takayuki Yagami.

“Fallout” series (1997-)

Much like “Like a Dragon”, your starting point in the “Fallout” games will all depend on whether you want to focus on gameplay or story. If you care a great deal about following the timeline, then you should hop on your PC to play the original “Fallout”. If you would rather play “Fallout” as the FPS RPG we know today, then you can’t go wrong with “Fallout 3”, “4”, or “New Vegas”. And if you’re someone who is coming in because you saw the amazing TV show first and want to know more about “Fallout” before Season Two, then your only option is “New Vegas”. Keep in mind that not every game in the franchise plays the exact same way or has the same level of focus in certain areas.

Just About Every Nintendo Series

Okay, we know that this entry is cheating, but with Nintendo having been around for so long as it continues pumping out great titles every month, one might be stunted by the sheer number of games across its massive catalog of franchises. The thing about Nintendo’s games is that almost every franchise treats its games as their own game. Even if it’s a sequel, the stories aren’t heavily peppered with beats that would only impact veteran players. Whether you’re into Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby, “Metroid”, “Pikmin”, or even “Fire Emblem”, you can safely jump into the newest game without needing to know the events of past titles. And if they do reference previous events, they provide enough context clues to get a sense of the history between characters and the world.

But what do you think is a series that’s friendly enough for newcomers to start on? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!