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Anaction role-playing game (often abbreviatedaction RPG orARPG) is avideo game genre that combines core elements from both theaction game androle-playing game genres.
Action role-playing games emphasizereal-time combat where the player that challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, as opposed toturn ormenu-based combat. These games often useaction game combat systems similar tohack and slash orshooter games. Action role-playing games andaction-adventure games differ as the former includerole-playing game mechanics like player driven characters creation,[1] decision-making regarding player character development,[2]skill trees, or direct control over a customizable team of game characters, usually called aparty. The player character'sstats determine relative strength, effectiveness or abilities and can increase when a character gains alevel.MMORPGs with real-time combat systems are also ARPGs.[3]
Several games prior to 1984 are considered precursors to the action RPG genre.Allgame citedTemple of Apshai (1979)[4] and its sequelGateway to Apshai (1983),[5]Beneath the Pyramids for theApple II (1980),[6]Bokosuka Wars (1983),[7] andSword of Fargoal (1983).[8] Jeremy Parish ofUSgamer citedAdventure (1980).[9] Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton cited theIntellivision gamesAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons (1982) andTreasure of Tarmin (1983).[10] Shaun Musgrave ofTouchArcade notes thatAdventure lacked RPG mechanics such as experience points or permanent character growth, and argues thatGateway to Apshai is "the earliest game I'd feel comfortable calling an action-RPG" but notes that "it doesn't fit neatly into our modern genre classifications", though came closer thanBokosuka Wars released the same year.[3]
Jeremy Parish of1UP claims that the action role-playing game genre was established by severalJapanese developers in 1984, who combined the role-playing genre witharcade‑styleaction andaction-adventure elements.[11] Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade also traces the genre's roots to Japan, and notes that the "Western game industry of the time had a tendency to treat action games and RPGs as separate things for separate demographics". Jeremy Parish has reported action RPGs were popularized byThe Tower of Druaga in Japan.[11] It was released for arcades in June 1984, and was intended as a "fantasy version ofPac-Man, with puzzles to solve, monsters to battle, and hidden treasure to find".[3] Its success in Japan inspired the development ofDragon Slayer (1984)[11] andHydlide (1984).[3]Dragon Slayer,Hydlide andCourageous Perseus (1984) "vie for position as genre precedent" states John Szczepaniak, and there was an ongoing rivalry between theDragon Slayer andHydlide series over the years.[12] Falcom'sDragon Slayer, created by Yoshio Kiya,[13] is "the very first action-RPG ever made" as claimed by GameSetWatch.[14] Originally released for the PC-8801 computer in September 1984,[15] it abandoned the command-based battles of earlier role-playing games in favor of real-time hack-and-slash combat that required direct input from the player, alongsidepuzzle elements.[13] In contrast to earlier turn-basedroguelikes,Dragon Slayer was a dungeon-crawl role-playing game with real-time, action-oriented combat,[14] combined with traditional role-playing mechanics.[11]Dragon Slayer'soverhead action role-playing formula was used in many later games.[16]The Tower of Druaga,Dragon Slayer andHydlide were influential in Japan, where they influenced later action RPGs such asYs, as well asaction-adventure games likeThe Legend of Zelda.[17]: 38 [13]
T&E Soft'sHydlide, released in December 1984,[18] was created by Tokihiro Naito, who was influenced byThe Tower of Druaga.[17]: 42–49 It was the first action RPG with anoverworld.[3] The game was immensely popular in Japan, and sold 2 million copies across all platforms.[19] John Szczepaniak claims that it "cannot be overstated how influential Hydlide was on the ARPGs which followed it".[12] The same year,Courageous Perseus was also one of the earliest action RPGs.[20]Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, released in 1985 (billed as a "new type of real-time role-playing game"), was an action role-playing game with manycharacter stats and a large quest.[14] It also incorporated aside-scrolling view for exploration and an overhead view for battle,[16] and an early "Karma" morality system where the character's Karma meter will rise if he sins (kills "good" enemies), which in turn causes the temples to refuse to level him up.[14]Xanadu Scenario II, released in 1986, was anexpansion pack, created to expand the content ofDragon Slayer II: Xanadu.[16]Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness (1985) also featured a morality system.[3]Eurogamer citesFairlight (1985) as an early action RPG.[21]
An important influence on the action RPG genre was the 1986 action-adventureThe Legend of Zelda, which served as the template for many future action RPGs, even though it does not strictly fit the definition of later action RPGs.[22] In contrast to previous action RPGs, such asDragon Slayer andHydlide, which required the player to bump into enemies to attack them,The Legend of Zelda featured an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen.[13][23] It was also an early example of open-world,nonlinear gameplay, and introduced new features such as battery backup saving. These elements have been used in many action RPGs since.[24]
In 1987,Zelda II: The Adventure of Link implemented a more traditional RPG-esque system, with experience points and levels with action game elements.[25] Unlike its predecessor,Zelda II more closely fits the definition of an action RPG.[3]
AnotherMetroidvania-style action RPG released that year wasSystem Sacom's Sharp X1 computer gameEuphory, which was possibly the onlyMetroidvania-stylemultiplayer action RPG produced, with two-player cooperative gameplay.[26] The fifthDragon Slayer title,Sorcerian, was also released that year. It was a party-based action RPG; the player controls 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, players could choose from 15 scenarios, orquests, to play through in the order of their choice. It was also anepisodic video game, with expansion disks later released with more scenarios.[13] Falcom also released thefirst installment of itsYs series in 1987. While not very popular in the West, the long-runningYs series has performed strongly in the Japanese market, with many sequels,remakes and ports in the decades that followed its release. Besides Falcom's ownDragon Slayer series,Ys was also influenced byHydlide, from which it borrowed certain mechanics such as health-regeneration.[27]
The Faery Tale Adventure offered one of the largest worlds at the time, with over 17,000 computer screens without load times.[28]
In 1988,Telenet Japan'sExile series debuted and was controversial due to its plot, which revolves around a time-travelling Crusades-era Syrian assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as 20th-century political leaders,[29] The gameplay ofExile included both overhead exploration and side-scrolling combat and featured a heart monitor to represent the player's Attack Power and Armor Class statistics. Another controversial aspect of the game involved drugs (instead of potions) that increase/decrease attributes, but with side effects such as heart-rate increase/decrease or death.[29]Origin Systems, the developer of theUltima series, also released an action RPG in 1988, titledTimes of Lore, which was inspired by various NES titles, particularlyThe Legend of Zelda.[30]: 182, 212 Times of Lore inspired several later titles by Origin Systems, such as the 1990 gamesBad Blood (another action RPG based on the same engine)[30]: 183 andUltima VI: The False Prophet, based on the same interface.[31]: 83–84
Also in 1989, the enhanced remakeYs I & II was one of the first video games to useCD-ROM, which was utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animated cut scenes,[32][33] aRed Book CD soundtrack,[34][33] and voice acting.[32][34] ItsEnglish localization was also one of the first to usevoice dubbing. The game received theGame of the Year award fromOMNI Magazine in 1990, as well as other prizes.[32] Another 1989 release,Activision'sProphecy: The Fall of Trinadon, attempted to introduce "Nintendo-style" action combat to North American computer role-playing games.[35]
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Action RPGs were far more common on consoles than computers, due to better suitability ofgamepads to real-time action than the keyboard and mouse.[36]: 43 Early-’90s consoles refined the real-time, stat-driven formula. Though there were action-oriented computer RPGs created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, very few saw any success.[36]: 43 Times of Lore was one of the more successful attempts in the American computer market,[36]: 43 where there was a claimed generally negative attitude from some players towards genres combination and an emphasis on the purity of the RPG genre.[11] For example, a survey in the 1991 issue ofComputer Gaming World criticized several computer role‑playing games; includingYs,Sorcerian,Times of Lore, andProphecy, for their resemblance to "arcade" or "Nintendo-style" action combat.[35]
In 1991,Square releasedSeiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden, also known asFinal Fantasy Adventure orMystic Quest in the West, for theGame Boy. LikeCrystalis, the action inSeiken Densetsu bore a strong resemblance to that ofLegend of Zelda, but added more RPG elements. It was one of the first action RPGs to allow players to kill townspeople, though laterMana games removed this feature.[37]Arcus Odyssey by Wolf Team (nowNamco Tales Studio) was an action RPG that featured an isometric perspective and co-operative multiplayer gameplay.[38] In 1993, the secondSeiken Densetsu game,Secret of Mana, received considerable acclaim,[39] for its innovative pausable real-time actionbattle system,[40] and its innovative cooperative multiplayer gameplay,[39] where the second or third players could drop in and out of the game at any time, and did not have to join the game at the same time.[41] The game has remained influential through to the present day, with its ring menu system still used in modern games and its cooperative multiplayer mentioned as an influence on games such asDungeon Siege III (2011).[41]
On PC, the genre's inflection point wasUltima Underworld (1992) which has been cited as the first RPG to feature first-person action in a 3D environment.[42][43] In 1998,PC Gamer declared it the 18th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "Light-years ahead of their time, and still regarded as some of the best roleplaying games ever created".[44] A poll conducted in May 2023 byGQ among a team of video game journalists listed it as the 95th-best video game of all time.[45]The Elder Scrolls: Arena (1994), the first game in theElder Scrolls series, was released forMS-DOS in 1994.Diablo (1996/97),Blizzard North’s click-to-move, real-time “dungeon crawl” stripped friction from combat and loot, while the launch ofBattle.net alongside Diablo brought always-available online co-op. Contemporary reports noted Battle.net's explosive uptake within a week of launch.[46]Diablo's effect on the market is significant, inspired many imitators. Its impact was such that some use the term Action RPGs exclusively toDiablo-style games.[11] Other games influenced byUltima Underworld includeDeus Ex,[47]Deus Ex: Invisible War,[48]Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines,[49] andHalf-Life 2.[50]
Some action RPGs used a side-scrolling perspective typical of beat 'em ups, such as thePrincess Crown and its spiritual successors, which includesOdin Sphere andMuramasa: The Demon Blade. Princess Crown had a more cartoon-like visual appeal. It still had quality visuals due to the George Kamitani style.[51]LandStalker's 1997 spiritual successorAlundra[52] is considered "one of the finest examples of action/RPG gaming", combined platforming elements and puzzles with an innovative storyline about entering people'sdreams and dealt with mature themes.[53]
Right as the decade turned,Diablo II (2000) scaled the formula with class variety, seasons-like ladder play, and deeper itemization that moved millions of copies quickly and entrenched the “loot chase” as a genre pillar.Phantasy Star Online (2000) then brought real-time, instance-based ARPG play to consoles over the internet.
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The early 2000s pushed ARPGs in multiple directions.On consoles,Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2001) popularized silky, pad-first hack-and-slash co-op (often called the “Snowblind engine” lineage after the developer ), and led to a wave of couch-co-op ARPGs. In the5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as theD.I.C.E. Awards), theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Dark Alliance with "Console Role-Playing Game of the Year".[54]
Kingdom Hearts (2002), the first game inthe series, was released in Japan on March 28, 2002, forPlayStation 2 continuing the trend of character action orhack and slash role-playing games.[55][56] It is acrossover of various Disney properties based in an originalfictional universe. This series has been critically and commercially successful. As of March 2014, the series had sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[57]
PC saw continuedDiablo-style games and fresh spins:Titan Quest (2006) and laterTorchlight (2009) kept isometric, loot-centric ARPGs vibrant, with Torchlight explicitly positioned by ex-Diablo developers as a modern, fast-moving take on the formula. Meanwhile, real-time, first-person/third-personopen-world ARPGs likeThe Elder Scrolls entries andGothic built action combat atop simulation-heavy RPG systems, and broadened what “action role-playing” encompassed.Ultima Underworld's influence has been found inBioShock (2007),[58] and that game's designer,Ken Levine, has stated that "all the things that I wanted to do and all the games that I ended up working on came out of the inspiration I took fromUltima Underworld".[59]Gears of War designerCliff Bleszinski also cited it as an early influence, and stated that it had "far more impact on me thanDoom".[60]The Witcher series began in 2007 with the release ofThe Witcher, and concluded with 2015'sThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The series has three main standalone games, two expansion packs and seven spin-off games. 2007 also saw the release ofMass Effect which sold over one million units worldwide in less than three weeks after launch.[61] TheMass Effect series had sold a total of 14 million units by July 5, 2014.[62]Bethesda acquired theFallout franchise fromInterplay and releasedFallout 3 (2008) as an action RPG in departure from previous titles.
FromSoftware'sDemon's Souls (2009) emphasized hard enemies and environments, combined with risk-and-reward mechanics such as limited checkpoints, "souls" that can be collcted and consumed as experience points to increase the player's stats, or as a currency to purchase items, and player death penalties instead of an outright failure state. It also incorporatedonline features and allowed players to: leave messages in the overworld that can be read by other players, to temporarily join other players' sessions to assist them cooperatively, or "invade" another player's session to engage inplayer versus player combat. Especially after the release of its spiritual successorDark Souls (2011) and its sequels, other action RPGs emerged in the 2010s that incorporated mechanics influenced by those ofDemon's Souls, which have been popularly referred to as "Soulslike" games.[63][64][65][66]Borderlands is the first game in theBorderlands series.
This decade saw continued global popularity of Action RPGs with new and old game series seeing success.Bastion developed byindependent developerSupergiant Games published in 2011 sold over 3 million copies by January 2015.[67] Bob Mackey of1UP.com called it "the perfect mesh of game and story",[68] and McKinley Noble ofGamePro said that it "raises the visual and narrative bar for downloadable titles".Diablo III (2012) launched with a real-money auction house that Blizzard ultimately shuttered in 2014 after it undermined the loot-hunt core; theLoot 2.0 overhaul restored the series’ feedback loop and became a cautionary case study in ARPG commerce.[69][70]
Capcom'sDragon's Dogma (2012) blended responsive action combat with systemic RPG depth (pawns, vocations). In 2013,Vanillaware released the fantasy beat 'em up ARPGDragon's Crown, a spiritual successor toPrincess Crown and a "deeply moving product" of Vanillaware director George Kamitani. Kamitani cites many classic RPGs as his inspiration, states in theDragon's Crown Artworks foreword: "The motif within Dragon's Crown is all the fantasy works that has affected me until now: the PC RPG Wizardry that I first came into contact with as a student;Ian Livingstone's gamebooks; games likeTower of Druaga,Golden Axe andThe King of Dragons." He also cites his early 20s work onDungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom as "truly something that I had aspired for".Dragon's Crown was re-released with a PS4 "Pro" edition in 2018.
Assassin's Creed, a previouslyaction-adventure franchise ofUbisoft, shifted towards the action RPG formula, inspired by the successes ofThe Witcher 3 and theDark Souls series,[71][72] with its titlesOrigins (2017),Odyssey (2018) andValhalla (2020).Persona 5 Strikers(2020) is an action RPG offering from the turn basedPersona series. By November 2023, the game had sold over 2 million units.[73]
Horizon Zero Dawn(2017) is an action role-playing game set inpost-apocalyptic United States and played from athird-person view.[74][75] InNier: Automata (2017) avant-garde narrative coexists with high-tempo action-RPG combat.Monster Hunter was followed byMonster Hunter: World (2018) which became Capcom's best-selling title ever, and popularized cooperative, animation-driven “hunting” ARPGs.[76] 2020 saw the popularity of live andfree-to-play ARPGs:Genshin Impact (2020) fused open-world action, character progression, andgacha monetization to enormous commercial success.[77]
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The popularity of Action RPGs continues to grow. In 2022, FromSoftware'sElden Ring mixedopen-world exploration with Soulslike combat and systems, and swept Game of the Year honors and surpassed 25M sales within its first few years (the DLC itself set records).[78]Avalanche Software releasedHogwarts Legacy in 2023. Set inHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and nearby areas, the game is played from a third-person perspective.[79][80] Players can customize theirplayer character, who learns to cast spells, brew potions, and master combat abilities, and eventually develop their own special combat style.[81][79] As of March 2022, theKingdom Hearts series has shipped more than 36 million copies worldwide.[82] As of November 2022, more than 77 million copies ofBorderlands games had been shipped, with 26 million fromBorderlands 2.[83] An additional five million copies ofBorderlands 3 were sold within five days of release, bringing the total series' net revenues to overUS$1 billion.[84]TheWitcher series is critically acclaimed and commercially successful, selling over 75 million units by March 2023.[85][86] Blizzard'sDiablo IV (2023), launched as the fastest-selling title in Blizzard's history, and signaled sustained appetite for shared-world, seasons-driven ARPGs on PC and console.[87][88]
The latest games in long term turn based RPG series ofFinal Fantasy andDragon Age;Final fantasy XVI andDragon Age: The Veilguard respectively have been Action RPGs.Diablo-style ARPGS continue to be popular.
Adungeon crawl is a type of scenario inrole-playing games (RPGs) in which players navigate amaze (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find.[89]
In late 1987,FTL Games releasedDungeon Master, a dungeon crawler that had a real-time game world and some real-time combat elements (akin toActive Time Battle), required players to quickly issue orders to the characters, and set the standard for first-person computer RPGs for several years.[30]: 234–236 It inspired many other developers to make real-time dungeon crawlers, such asEye of the Beholder andLands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos.Dungeons of Daggorath meanwhile for theTRS-80 Color Computer had first employed real-time combat in 1982.
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, released in 1992, has been cited as the first RPG to feature first-person action in a 3D environment.[90]Ultima Underworld is considered the first example of animmersive sim, a genre that combines elements from other genres to create a game with strong player agency and emergent gameplay, and has influenced many games since its release.[91] The engine was re-used and enhanced forUltima Underworld's 1993 sequel,Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds.[92] Looking Glass Studios planned to create a thirdUltima Underworld, but Origin rejected their pitches.[93] AfterElectronic Arts (EA) rejectedArkane Studios' pitch forUltima Underworld III, the studio instead created aspiritual successor:Arx Fatalis.[94]Toby Gard stated that, when he designedTomb Raider, he "was a big fan of ...Ultima Underworld and I wanted to mix that type of game with the sort of polygon characters that were just showcased inVirtua Fighter".[95]Ultima Underworld was also the basis for Looking Glass Technologies' laterSystem Shock.[96]
The 1988 Origin Systems titleTimes of Lore was an action RPG with an icon-based point-and-click interface.Bad Blood, another Origin Systems game from 1990, would use the same interface.[97] The designers were inspired by console titles, particularlyThe Legend of Zelda, to make their interface more accessible.[98] The 1994 titleUltima VIII used mouse controls and attempted to add precision jump sequences reminiscent of aMario platform game, though reactions to the game's mouse-based combat were mixed. In 1997 Blizzard'sDiablo was released and became massively successful. It was an action RPG that used a mouse-oriented point-and-click interface and offered gamers a freeonline service to play with others that maintained the same rules and gameplay.[36]: 43 Commonly, these games used a fixed-cameraisometric view of the game world, a necessity of the limitations of 2D graphics of early computers; even with 3D graphic engines, such point-and-click games are still presented from a similar isometric view, though provided options to rotate, pan, and zoom the camera to some degree. As such, these are often grouped with other "isometric RPGs".[99]
The popularity of theDiablo series spawned such franchises likeDivinity,Torchlight,Dungeon Siege andSacred.[100] Commonly, these games used a fixed-cameraisometric view of the game world, a necessity of the limitations of 2D graphics of early computers; The Diablo series spawned many terms like reference as "dungeon crawler" "slasher RPG" "hack and slasher", the series was also heavily criticized by players and media as not a proper RPG due to focus more on enemy fights and character builds than a proper narrative and dialogue-heavy journey.[citation needed] After its success many other games tried to mix its influences with different structures and narratives, there are multiple games likeDivine Divinity that were an attempt to have a more dialogue-heavy experience akin to theBaldurs Gate games and even older series like Falcom'sDragon Slayer/Xanadu series hadXanadu Next with similar Diablo influences.[101][102] The influences also come full circle as the firstDiablo game was inspired by rogue-likesUmoria andAngband[103][104] and in more recent years many games in the rogue-like genre likeHades series are inspired by more classic dungeon crawler ARPGs thatDiablo helped spawn.[105][106][107][108][109]
In this sub genre there are many recent titles likePath of Exile (2013),Grim Dawn (2016),Zenonia S: Rifts In Time (2015),Book of Demons (2018),Shadows: Awakening (2018),Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl Gold (2017),Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition (2016) and its expansionsTitan Quest: Ragnarök (2017) andTitan Quest: Atlantis (2019),Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem (2020) andMinecraft Dungeons (2020).[110]
The prominence ofDiablo 2 in the video game market and its influence on themassively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) genre[111][112][113][114][115][116][117] later popularized the strongly used mouse-oriented point-and-click combat. While in theDiablo series this type of combat does not have a lock-on key,World of Warcraft and most MMO games use some kind of key to target an enemy, usually TAB, to lock into it, usually referred to as "tab-target".[118][119][120] In tab-target combat, the player's character automatically performs attack animations with some kind of regular attack, while the player can focus on activating other skills and items by pressing other keys. Usually this type of combat is not heavily based on aim or hit boxes, and thus the player can hit enemies from different distances and even from afar. Some tab-target MMOs have other target options such as an "Action mode".
Shooter-based action RPGs includeStar Cruiser (1988),[121]Strife (1996),System Shock 2 (1999), theDeus Ex series (2000 onwards) byIon Storm,Bungie'sDestiny (2014),Irem'sSteambot Chronicles (2005),[122] Square Enix'sthird-person shooter RPGDirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (2006), which introduced an over-the-shoulder perspective similar toResident Evil 4,[123] and theMMO vehicular combat gameAuto Assault (2006) byNetDevil andNCsoft.[124] Other action RPGs featured both hack and slash and shooting elements, with the use of both guns (or in some cases, bow and arrow oraerial combat) and melee weapons, includesCavia's flight-basedDrakengard series (2003 to 2005),[125] andLevel-5'sRogue Galaxy (2005).[126]
Other RPS games include theMass Effect series (2007 onwards),Fallout 3 and subsequentFallout titles (2008 onwards),White Gold: War in Paradise (2008), andBorderlands (2009).[127]Borderlands developerGearbox Software has dubbed it as a "role-playing shooter" due to the heavy RPG elements within the game, such as quest-based gameplay and also its character traits and leveling system.[128]Half-Minute Hero (2009) is an RPG shooter that features self-referential humour and a 30-second time limit for each level and boss encounter.[129] Other action role-playing games with shooter elements include the 2010 titlesAlpha Protocol byObsidian Entertainment andThe 3rd Birthday, the third game in theParasite Eve series, features a unique blend of action RPG,real-time tactical RPG, survival horror and third-person tactical shooter elements.[130][131] Shooter-based RPGs includeImageepoch's post-apocalypticBlack Rock Shooter (2011), which employs both first-person and third-person shooter elements,[132][133] and Square Enix'sFinal Fantasy XV (2016), which features both hack and slash and third-person shooter elements.[134]
The online live service version gained a lot of popularity on the 2010s with titles such asWarframe (2013),Destiny (2014) andDestiny 2 (2017),The Division (2016) andThe Division 2 (2019).
ASoulslike is asubgenre of action role-playing games known for highdifficulty level and emphasis onenvironmental storytelling, typically in adark fantasy setting. It has its origin inDemon's Souls and theDark Souls trilogy byFromSoftware, the themes and mechanics of which directly inspired various other games.
Amonster-taming game (also known as amonster-catcher orcreature collector game, and share core mechanics such as ability to capture creatures, train them, and use them in battle against similar creatures.[135] Many of them likePokémon Legends: Arceus,Palworld and to be releasedPokémon Legends: Z-A have real time combat.
As suggested by the name, TRPGs are played face-to-face (around a table, most likely), and involve players 'acting out' a role. This acting is not always literal. Players do not arrive in costume or speak exclusively in character – something that differentiates TRPGs from live-action role-playing games (LARPs). Instead, players develop characters based on certain rules and are responsible for deciding what those characters do over the course of the game.
By borrowing from Atari's action RPG, Utopia created a platformer classic.
Mattel's lineup included the classic action role-playing gamesAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons Cartridge (1982) andAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons Treasure of Tarmin Cartridge (1983).
It cannot be overstated how influential Hydlide was on the ARPGs which followed it, nor how popular it was on both computers and the Famicom in Japan. But it is imperative you compareHydlide only to games released that same year, to fully appreciate the merit in its ideas. There were two other similar titles in 1984,Courageous Perseus andDragon Slayer, and all three vie for position as genre precedent – amusingly, a friendly rivalry even developed with Dragon Slayer's creator Yoshio Kiya, of Falcom, as over the years T&E Software and Falcom competed against each other.
Courageous Perseus is one of the earliest if not the first Action-RPG
[T]here were potions and food to collect as well, making Fairlight an early entry in the action RPG genre seen so commonly today.
It was hailed at the time as having the largest in-game world of any RPG (almost 17,000 screens)...
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