The first in the franchise of Souls, a little crude and simple, but still 'The Best' compared to the rest of the games that came after it. Graphics were great and controls were simple yet effective, making it get to the top in the list. There are a lot of weapons and equipment to choose from with an appealing way of narrating the story, fulfilling every aspect of a perfect RPG.
Be it the castle of "Boletaria" or the open and vast lands of "Shrine of the Giants", there is this feeling of action and adventure, blended in a marvelous way that mere words could not express it. The aspects of the story line were made in such a way that a person playing this game would willingly involve himself/herself trying to know further about a lot of thing this game has to offer. Character upgrading techniques were too good unlike the later games in the franchise like the Dark Souls or especially the Dark Souls 2. The challenge set by this game was in a lot of ways up to the skill of a gamer and less based on the game mechanics, like the quick and prompt responses of the character in terms of controlling, unlike the Dark Souls games.
On the whole it is the first and the best in the Souls game series, be it in terms of challenge or the story.