Konami has a stained reputation these days, but there was once a time when seeing its logo pop up at the start of a game meant a great, refined experience. The series detailed in the entries below proves this. Konami’s games had variety, heart, and often innovated within the medium.

While some of these series are hard to access these days on modern hardware, Konami has at least been gracious enough to release collections of some of them. Whichever franchise is the absolute best depends on personal taste, but there is no denying the great gaming that lies within each of them.

7 Zone Of The Enders

Futuristic Mech Combat With A Focus On Story

Because it only has two games and a single spin-off, Zone of the Enders only qualifies for the highest spot on the list. It is a plus that both entries are tight action games where players control mechs in a futuristic setting.

Both the debut entry and its sequel are extremely short, but that only means there is no padding. The sequel, The 2nd Runner, makes especially good use of its mechanics to ensure every mission feels different.

6 Lethal Enforcers

Light-Gun Series That Evolved To Use Motion-Sensing Tech

• Platform(s): Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Sega CD, PlayStation
• Released: 1992
• Developer: Konami
• Genre: Light Gun Shooter

Light-gun games are not as exciting as they once were, but they used to easily create a line at an arcade. Lethal Enforcers took players through urban environments, taking out ruthless criminals using digitized sprites as graphics.

The console versions had a special peripheral that looked like a small revolver. As the series evolved, Konami put out Police 911, which cleverly added motion-sensing so players’ movements would be reflected in the game. It is not impressive these days with VR and games like Super Hot, but it was a neat gimmick when it was released and it worked well.

5 Contra

The Most Iconic Side-Scrolling Shooter

It is hard to go wrong with 2D Contra. Even the debut entry has a simple, irresistible charm. The franchise becomes less reliable once it adds a dimension, though. The PS1 Contra games are infamously clunky, but Shattered Soldier on the PS2 is a shining example of updating a classic genre for a new generation.

Related

Every Contra Game, Ranked

There have been a lot of great Contra games created over the years. Here’s a look at all of them, ranked.

The intense, side-scrolling action will give players countless game overs, but it is this difficulty and trial-and-error that makes the best Contra games so compelling. The only thing it has not had in many years is a tried and true AAA game.

4 Dance Dance Revolution

Innovated Rythmn Game Peripherals Before Guitar Hero

Before Harmonix came along with Guitar Hero and revolutionized rhythm games, Konami innovated in the genre with games like Beatmania, Guitar Freak, and Dance Dance Revolution.

The latter in particular became a phenomenon all its own. The cabinets had a commanding presence in any arcade where they sat, and people would gather around the machine to watch when a master was at the helm.

The home console versions had a peripheral in addition to support for regular controllers. One can look at Just Dance as a successor, but nothing beats the physicality of dancing on those trademark boards.

3 Castlevania

Evolved From An Action Game Into Innovating The Metroidvania Genre

Castlevania started its life on the NES with an intensely difficult side-scrolling action game. The sequel, Simon’s Quest, added more elements of adventure games to the mix, while the following two games returned to a more streamlined approach.

It is impossible to go through every title in the series, but Symphony of the Night deserves special praise for how it includes RPG elements and an interconnected map reminiscent of Metroid. It has not had the same fortune and praise in the 3D era, but the Lords of Shadow game from 2010 is fondly remembered. Playing the classics today in the Castlevania Collection shows how well the simpler gameplay has aged along with the art design.

2 Silent Hill

Revolutionized The Survival Horror Genre

Silent Hill on the original PlayStation already differentiated itself from its peers with its fully 3D graphics. Silent Hill 2 blew the doors open on what was possible in video game storytelling. The third game completes a trilogy, but the franchise is not done yet.

Entries after Silent Hill 3 become less reliable, but there are still some interesting additions, like Shattered Memories on the Wii where conversations with a therapist change parts of the game. Silent Hills, a famously canceled collaboration between Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and director Guillermo del Toro showed promise of bringing the series back some prestige, but gamers will never know if it would have been the shot in the arm it needed.

Every Game Changed The Formula In Some Way

Metal Gear did not start with 1998’s Metal Gear Solid, but that third game is what many fondly remember as their introduction to the series that would go in so many wild directions. Metal Gear Solid 2 perfected the stealth mechanics while also telling a haunting story about the incoming digital age.

From there, each subsequent entry did something a little different with the genre, never quite giving gamers what they expected, but usually leaving them satisfied. Since 2015’s The Phantom Pain, it is difficult to know if the series will ever return to its old glory. Series creator Hideo Kojima founded his own studio and made Death Stranding. However, what fans have now is one of the finest runs of any video game franchise.