The following titles appear as featured works in the metroidvania evolution timeline charted in Metroidvania: The First Decade. That is not to say these games “Metroidvania Works 1980-1990”
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
Every story has a beginning, and every author has to drop a pin somewhere on the map of history and proclaim, “Here’s where it all “Zork I: The Great Underground Empire”