Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Among 2022 World Video Game Hall Of Fame Inductees

This year’s latest inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame are a quartet of influential titles. Ms. Pac-Man, Dance Dance Revolution, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Sid Meier’s Civilization will be placed in the Strong National Museum of Play’s hall of fame, standing alongside other influential games from history.

This year’s selection beat Assassin’s Creed, Candy Crush Saga, Minesweeper, NBA Jam, PaRappa the Rapper, Resident Evil, Rogue, and Words with Friends to receive top honors, and have had an impact on the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general.

For Ms. Pac-Man, its more sophisticated and challenging gameplay alongside a reimagined title character made it one of the five best-selling arcade games of all time, and it joins previous inductees Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Street Fighter II. With the character being replaced in recent releases–likely due to a legal issue–her induction is a great way to honor her legacy.

Dance Dance Revolution’s domination of arcades with its fast-paced rhythm gameplay made it a global hit when it landed in 1998, while Sid Meier’s Civilization quickly became the gold standard for simulation and strategy games after it was published in 1991.

Finally, The Legend of Zelda isn’t just considered to be one of the best Zelda games of all time–Though Stone Cold Steve Austin may disagree–but its 3D world, fluid combat, and complex puzzles inspired generations of games in its wake.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong Museum was established in 2015 and annually adds new games to its hall of fame. Last year saw Animal Crossing, StarCraft, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Microsoft Flight Simulator honored for their contributions to gaming.

If you’re ever in Rochester, New York, you can actually go see the games and learn of their history, as they’ll be on permanent view on the Strong Museum’s second floor.