Demon's Souls is known for kickstarting the Soulslike genre, but these earlier games have more than a few elements of it.

Super Mario Bros 3 (1991) on the NES With a host of new abilities ... which established the tropes we still see today. Ghosts ‘n Goblins (1986) Challenging doesn’t even begin to explain ...

Most games on the NES tasked players with finding and rescuing a princess in a castle. One such game is the notoriously difficult Ghosts ‘N Goblins. It’s a game starring a hero who loses a ...