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Cool Action Games History

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Action role-playing games (abbreviated action RPG, action/RPG, or ARPG) form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat. These games often use combat systems similar to hack and slash or shooter games.[1]

Contents [hide]

1 Early real-time elements

2 Classic action RPGs / hack & slash

2.1 Early 1980s

2.2 Late 1980s

2.3 Early–mid-1990s

2.4 Late 1990s–present

3 Other subgenres

3.1 First-person dungeon crawl

3.2 Point and click

3.3 Role-playing shooter

4 Choices and consequences

5 See also

6 References

Early real-time elements [edit]

Early dungeon-crawl video games used turn-based movement: if the party didn't move, neither did the enemies.[2] Dungeons of Daggorath, released for the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1982, combined a typical first-person dungeon crawl with real-time elements, requiring timed keyboard commands and where enemies move independently of the player.[3] The game lacked numerical statistics such as hit points or vitality, but instead used an arcade-like fatigue system where the heart pulsates to indicate the player's health,[4] a concept inspired by the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders where a heartbeat-like sound gradually increases pace as enemies advance towards the player.[5]

The following year, ASCII released the Sharp X1 computer game Bokosuka Wars,[6] considered an early example of an action RPG,[7][8] though it is also considered an early strategy RPG.[9] In Bokosuka Wars, each soldier was able to gain experience and level up through battle,[10] while the action occurred entirely in real-time.[11]

Classic action RPGs / hack & slash [edit]

See also: History of Eastern role-playing video games and Hack and slash

Early 1980s [edit]

While Western computer developers continued to explore the possibilities of real-time RPG gameplay to a limited extent,[12] Japanese developers, with their recently aroused interest in the RPG genre, created a new brand of action/RPG, combining the RPG genre with arcade and action-adventure elements.[13] The original pioneering company of this new genre, Nihon Falcom,[1] produced the Dragon Slayer series and won its reputation as the progenitor of the action RPG genre,[14] by abandoning the command-based battles of previous RPGs in favour of real-time hack-and-slash combat that requires direct input from the player, alongside puzzle-solving elements.[1] The original Dragon Slayer, released for the NEC PC-88 computer in 1984,[15] is considered to be the first action-RPG.[16] In contrast to earlier turn-based roguelikes, Dragon Slayer was a dungeon crawl RPG that was entirely real-time with action-oriented combat.[16] The game also featured an in-game map to help with the dungeon-crawling, required item management due to the inventory being limited to one item at a time,[15] and introduced the use of item-based puzzles which later influenced The Legend of Zelda.[14] Dragon Slayer's overhead action-RPG formula was used in many later games.[17] Another early action RPG, The Tower of Druaga, was an arcade game released by Namco the same year. Both Dragon Slayer and The Tower of Druaga laid the foundations for future action RPG series such as Hydlide and Ys.[15]

Screenshot of the original NEC PC-8801 version of Hydlide (1984), an early action RPG

Another influential early action RPG was Namco's 1984 arcade release Dragon Buster,[18] the first game to feature a life meter, called "Vitality" in-game.[19] It also introduced side-scrolling platform elements and a "world view" map similar to Super Mario Bros. released the following year.[20] Another 1984 release, T&E Soft's Hydlide, while influenced by Dragon Slayer or The Tower of Druaga,[15] introduced its own innovations. For example, Hydlide introduced the ability to switch between attack mode and defense mode, quick save and load options which can be done at any moment of the game through the use of passwords, and the introduction of a health regeneration mechanic where health and magic slowly regenerate when standing still.[21][22]

Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, released in 1985 (billed as a "new type real time role-playing game"), was a fully-fledged action RPG with many character stats and a large quest,[16][23] with action-based combat setting it apart from other RPGs.[1] It also incorporated a side-scrolling view during exploration and an overhead view during battle,[17] though some rooms were also explored using an overhead view. The game also allowed the player to visit towns, which had training facilities that can improve statistics, and shops that sell items, equipment that change the player character's visible appearance, and food that is consumed slowly over time and is essential for keeping the player alive. It also introduced gameplay mechanics such as platform jumping, magic that can be used to attack enemies from a distance,[16] an early Karma morality system where the character's Karma meter will rise if he commits sin which in turn affects the temple's reaction to him,[16][23] and individual experience for equipped items.[23] It is also considered a "proto-Metroidvania" game,[24] due to being an "RPG turned on its side" that allowed players to run, jump, collect, and explore.[25] The game gained immense popularity in Japan, setting records for PC game sales by selling more than 400,000 copies.[23] Xanadu Scenario II, released the following year, was also an early example of an expansion pack.[17] The way the Dragon Slayer series reworked the entire game system of each installment is considered an influence on Final Fantasy, which would do the same for each of its installments.[26]

Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness, released in 1985,[27] introduced an early morality meter, where the player can be aligned with Justice, Normal, or Evil, which is affected by whether the player kills humans, good monsters, or evil monsters, leading to townsfolk ignoring players with an evil alignment, denying access to certain clues, dialogues, equipment, and training. The game also introduced a time option, allowing the player to speed up or slow down the gameplay.[21] Magical Zoo's The Screamer, a 1985 post-apocalyptic cyberpunk horror RPG released for the PC-8801,[28][29][30] featured gameplay that switched between first-person dungeon crawl exploration and side-scrolling shooter combat, where the player could jump, duck and shoot at enemies in real-time.[30]

Late 1980s [edit]

The Legend of Zelda (1986), while often not considered a true RPG, was an important influence on the action RPG genre

The next two years, 1986 and 1987, would see the release of games that would further define the action/RPG genre in Japan. An important influence on the genre was the 1986 action-adventure, The Legend of Zelda, which is not considered an action RPG since it lacked key RPG mechanics like experience points, but had many features in common with RPGs and served as the template for future action RPGs.[31] In contrast to previous action RPGs such as Dragon Slayer and Hydlide which required the player to bump into enemies in order to attack them, The Legend of Zelda featured an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen.[15][21] It was also an early example of open world, nonlinear gameplay, and introduced innovations like battery backup saving. These elements have been used in many action RPGs since.[32] The game was largely responsible for the surge of action-oriented RPGs released since the late 1980s, both in Japan as well as in America, where it was often cited as an influence on action-oriented computer RPGs.[33] When it was released in North America, Zelda was seen as a new kind of RPG with action-adventure elements, with Roe R. Adams (who worked on the Wizardry series) stating in 1990 that, although "it still had many action-adventure features, it was definitely a CRPG."[34] The Legend of Zelda series would continue to exert an influence on the transition of both console and computer RPGs from stat-heavy turn-based combat towards real-time action combat in the following decades.[35] Due to its similarities to action RPGs and its impact on the genre,[36] there continues to be much debate regarding whether or not The Legend of Zelda should be considered an action RPG.[37] That same year also saw the arcade release of the sequel to The Tower of Druaga, The Return of Ishtar,[38] an early action RPG[39] to feature two-player cooperative gameplay,[38] dual-stick control in single player, a female protagonist, the first heroic couple in gaming, and the first password save system in an arcade game.[40] Other 1986 titles were Rygar and Deadly Towers, which were notable as some of the first Japanese console action RPGs to be released in North America, where they were well received for being a new kind of RPG that differed from both the console action-adventures (such as Castlevania, Trojan, and Wizards & Warriors) and American computer RPGs (such as Wizardry, Ultima, and Might & Magic) that American gamers were previously more familiar with at the time. Deadly Towers and Rygar were particularly notable for their permanent power-up mechanic, which at the time blurred the line between the power-ups used in action-adventures and the experience points used in RPGs.[13]

In 1987, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link implemented an RPG-esque system, including experience points and levels, with action game elements,[41] making it closer to an action RPG than other Zelda games.[42] Zelda II was also one of the first video games where non-player characters (NPCs) walked around and seemingly had their own agendas, giving the world a life of its own rather than being a simple stage for the story to unfold.[43] Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was an action RPG that combined the platform-action mechanics of the original Castlevania with the open world of an action-adventure and RPG mechanics such as experience points.[44] It also introduced a persistent world with its own day-night cycle that affects when certain NPCs appear in certain locations and offered three possible multiple endings depending on the time it took to complete the game.[45] Another "Metroidvania" style open-world action RPG released that year was System Sacom's Sharp X1 computer game Euphory, which was possibly the only Metroidvania-style multiplayer action RPG produced, allowing two-player cooperative gameplay.[46] That same year also saw the release of several Dragon Slayer titles, including Faxanadu, a spin-off of Xanadu and a fully side-scrolling action RPG,[17] and Dragon Slayer IV: Legacy of the Wizard, another early example of a non-linear open-world action RPG.[47] The fifth Dragon Slayer title, Sorcerian, was also released that year. It was a party-based action RPG, with the player controlling a party of four characters at the same time in a side-scrolling view. The game also featured character creation, highly customizable characters, class-based puzzles, and a new scenario system, allowing players to choose which of 15 scenarios, or quests, to play through in the order of their choice. It was also an episodic video game, with expansion disks released soon after offering more scenarios.[15][48] Falcom also released the first installment of its Ys series in 1987. While not very popular in the West, the long-running Ys series has performed strongly in the Japanese market, with many sequels, remakes and ports in the decades that followed its release. Besides Falcom's own Dragon Slayer series, Ys was also influenced by Hydlide, from which it borrowed certain mechanics such as health-regeneration when standing still, a mechanic that has become common in video games today.[21][22] Ys was also a precursor to RPGs that emphasize storytelling,[49] and is known for its 'bump attack' system, where the protagonist Adol automatically attacks when running into enemies off-center, making the game more accessible and the usually tedious level-grinding task more swift and enjoyable for audiences at the time.[50] The game also had what is considered to be one of the best and most influential video game music soundtracks of all time, composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Mieko Ishikawa.[50][51][52] In terms of the number of game releases, Ys is second only to Final Fantasy as the largest Eastern role-playing game franchise.[50]

Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, released for the MSX in 1987 and for the Mega Drive as Super Hydlide in 1989, adopted the morality meter of its predecessor, expanded on its time option with the introduction of an in-game clock setting day-night cycles and a need to sleep and eat, and made other improvements such as cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system closer to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between four distinct character classes, a wider variety of equipment and spells, and a weight system affecting the player's movement depending on the overall weight of the equipment carried.[21] Another 1987 action RPG, The Magic of Scheherazade, was notable for several innovations, including a unique setting based on the Arabian Nights, time travel between five different time periods, a unique combat system featuring both real-time solo action and turn-based team battles, and the introduction of team attacks where two party members could join forces to perform an extra-powerful attack.[53] That same year, Kogado Studio's sci-fi RPG Cosmic Soldier: Psychic War featured a unique "tug of war" style real-time combat system, where battles are a clash of energy between the party and the enemy, with the player needing to push the energy towards the enemy to strike them, while being able to use a shield to block or a suction ability to absorb the opponent's power. It also featured a unique conversation system, where the player can recruit allies by talking to them, choose whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to Megami Tensei.[54] Wonder Boy in Monster Land combined the platform gameplay of the original Wonder Boy with many RPG elements,[55] which would inspire later action RPGs such as Popful Mail (1991).[56]

1988 saw the debut of Telenet Japan's Exile, a series of action-platform RPGs,[57] beginning with XZR: Idols of Apostate. The series was controversial for its plot, which revolves around a time-traveling Crusades-era Syrian Islamic Assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as modern-day political leaders,[58] with similarities to the present-day Assassin's Creed action game series.[59] The gameplay of Exile included both overhead exploration and side-scrolling combat, featured a heart monitor to represent the player's Attack Power and Armour Class statistics, and another controversial aspect of the game involved taking drugs (instead of potions) that increase/decrease attributes but with side-effects such as affecting the heart-rate or causing death.[58] The developer of the Ultima series, Origin Systems, released an action RPG that year, Times of Lore, which was inspired by NES titles, particularly The Legend of Zelda.[33] In turn, Times of Lore inspired several later titles by Origin Systems, such as the 1990 games Bad Blood, another action RPG based on the same engine,[60] and Ultima VI: The False Prophet, based on the same interface.[61] That same year, World Court Tennis for the TurboGrafx-16 introduced a new form of gameplay: a unique tennis-themed sports RPG mode.[62]

In 1989, Sega released a Metroidvania-style open-world action RPG for the Master System console, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.[46] Dungeon Explorer, developed by Atlus and published by Hudson Soft for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1989, is considered a pioneer title in the action RPG genre with its cooperative multiplayer gameplay,[63] which allowed up to five players to play simultaneously.[64] That same year, River City Ransom featured elements of both the beat 'em up and action RPG genres, combining brawler combat with many RPG elements, including an inventory, buying and selling items, learning new abilities and skills, needing to listen for clues, searching to find all the bosses, shopping in the malls, buying items to heal, and increasing stats.[65] It was also an early sandbox brawler reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto.[66] Also in 1989, the early enhanced remake Ys I & II was one of the first video games to use CD-ROM, which was utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animated cut scenes,[67] a Red Book CD soundtrack,[68] and voice acting.[67][68] Its English localization was also one of the first to use voice dubbing. The game received the Game of the Year award from OMNI Magazine in 1990, as well as many other prizes.[67]

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