Japan’s gaming icons are getting midlife makeovers as they hit their 40sSonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania’s Alucard and the weak yet lovable Slime from Dragon Quest are just some of Japan’s iconic gaming franchises celebrating midlife anniversaries in 2026.Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania’s Alucard and the weak yet lovable Slime from Dragon Quest are just some of Japan’s iconic gaming franchises celebrating midlife anniversaries in 2026. |For the start of his anniversary year, Nintendo’s poster boy was the undisputed belle of the ball. However, 2026 holds more milestones than a 1990s memory card could have possibly stored.
Japan’s gaming icons are getting midlife makeovers as they hit their 40sSonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania’s Alucard and the weak yet lovable Slime from Dragon Quest are just some of Japan’s iconic gaming franchises celebrating midlife anniversaries in 2026.Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania’s Alucard and the weak yet lovable Slime from Dragon Quest are just some of Japan’s iconic gaming franchises celebrating midlife anniversaries in 2026. |For the start of his anniversary year, Nintendo’s poster boy was the undisputed belle of the ball. However, 2026 holds more milestones than a 1990s memory card could have possibly stored-
Some of these franchises have sustained success by reinventing their approach to gameplay, while others have left their digital roots behind to become cultural and economic institutions in their own right. With so many of Japan’s gaming icons ensconced firmly in adulthood — or worse: middle age — it pays to have a look back at where they’ve come from, where they’re going and what we’ve learned from all the game overs and extra lives along the way.
A red carpet in Hyrule
If you grew up alongside YouTube and the Legend of Zelda series — which celebrates its 40th anniversary on Feb. 21 — you’ll remember an annual April Fools’ ritual: A live-action Zelda trailer would spread like wildfire across a nerdy corner of the internet before being exposed as a prank.
The varying production value of these trailers was proportional to the cruelty of the joke, but they all conveyed the same message: Die-hard Zelda geeks
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