Action role-playing game
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An action role-playing game or action RPG is a common name for a type of computer or video game. Although the precise definition of the genre varies, the typical action RPG features a heavy emphasis on combat, often simplifying or removing non-combat attributes often associated with more traditional role-playing games, such as statistics and the effect they have on the character's development[1] Additionally, combat always takes place using a real-time system (hence the "action") that relies on the player's ability to perform particular actions with speed and accuracy to determine success, rather than mainly using the player character's attributes to determine this. However, RPGs that use this style of combat system give equal focus to non-combat elements such as non-player character interaction and character development (such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) are often referred to as computer role-playing games.
Although certainly not the first, Diablo and its sequels helped revitalize the action RPG genre. Other examples include Crystalis, the Mana series, Kingdom Hearts, and Dungeon Siege.
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[edit] Genre blurring
Some RPGs decrease the importance of character attributes far enough to also be considered action-adventure games, and some recent action-adventure games (such as Grand Theft Auto IV) have begun including RPG-like attributes along the lines of those in an action RPG. Action-adventure games that do not include character statistics (including the Legend of Zelda series but excluding Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) are also sometimes referred to as action RPGs, although this is often debated.[2] It is fair to say that the RPG genre, and the Action-Adventure genre have greatly influenced each other, and are closely related.
[edit] History
[edit] Classic Action RPGs
One of the first games to fuse real-time action with RPG elements (such as an overworld, in most cases) was the cult hit Dungeons of Daggorath for the TRS-80 Color Computer. Released in 1982, Daggorath combined a typical dungeon crawl with real-time gameplay requiring quick keyboard presses.
While Western developers continued to explore the possibilities of real-time RPG action, Japanese developers, with their recent interest in the RPG genre, tweaked the formula a bit to create a new brand of action/RPG. The company at the forefront of this was Nihon Falcom.
Falcom's Dragon Slayer, released in 1984, was a simple real-time treasure grab game. However, its sequel, Xanadu, released in 1985, was a full-fledged RPG, with character stats and a large quest. What set Xanadu apart from other RPGs was its action-based combat. The game was immensely popular in Japan, setting records for PC game sales.[citation needed]
The next two years would see the release of two games that would further define the action/RPG genre in Japan: Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda in 1986 and Falcom's Ys in 1987. While not strictly an action/RPG since it lacks RPG elements, The Legend of Zelda influenced later games in the action-RPG genre.[3] Zelda II also implemented an RPG-esque system with action elements, making it closer to an action-RPG than other Zeldas. Ys, on the other hand, used true RPG principles. While not very popular in the West, the long-running Ys series has been very strong in Japan with many sequels, remakes and ports in the decade that followed its release.
In late 1987, FTL Games released Dungeon Master, a critically acclaimed dungeon crawl game that redefined the genre and set the standard for real-time 3D action/RPGs for the next several years. When released in Japan in 1990, Dungeon Master became the first action/RPG to achieve the number one sales rank in both Japan and the U.S.[citation needed]
1990 would see the release of Crystalis for the NES and also Golden Axe Warrior for the SEGA Master System. Both games featured Zelda-like gameplay blended with genuine RPG elements, such as experience points, statistics-based equipment, and a magic-casting system.
In Japan on Super Famicom, Tales of Phantasia was released in Japan in 1995, featuring real-time side-scrolling combat mode and an exploration mode similar to classic console RPGS. In 1996, Star Ocean was released that also has real-time combat and classic exploration but features bird's eye view. Namco and Enix did not publish these two revolutionary titles in America, even though sequals in the two series would become wildly popular on future generations of consoles in U.S.
Fifth generation era saw several popular action RPGs, such as Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean, Parasite Eve and Shining Wisdom. All consoles on Sixth generation era have several action/RPGs, such as Sudeki, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Kingdom Hearts, .Hack, and Super Paper Mario.
[edit] First-person view
As a revolutionary step, Blue Sky Productions released Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss in 1992. This innovative game was a technological marvel, using a fully 3D first-person perspective combined with real-time action and a surprisingly deep role-playing experience. One of the game's developers, Warren Spector, would go on to help develop more games combining action and RPG gameplay, such as System Shock and Deus Ex.
Other first-person RPGs include Shadowcaster by Raven Software and id Software in 1993 created with an early version of the Doom engine, The Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines by Troika Games, Baroque by Sting Entertainment and recently Hellgate: London by Flagship Studios which was formed from Blizzard North executives and developers responsible for the Diablo franchise. (also supports third-person view)
[edit] Beat 'em Up / Hack & Slash
In 1991, Squaresoft released Seiken Densetsu for the Game Boy, also known as Final Fantasy Adventure in the West. Like Crystalis, the action in Seiken Densetsu bore a strong resemblance to that of Zelda, but added more RPG elements. Seiken Densetsu 2, also known as Secret of Mana, implemented an innovative multiplayer function, and further developed its combat with more diverse weaponry and spell-casting.
Unique among video games are Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1993) and Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996). These games were released for the arcades, and featured a blending of beat 'em up and RPG characteristics. The games were later released for the Sega Saturn together as the Dungeons & Dragons Collection (1999).
[edit] Diablo, the Point-And-Click Genre
In 1996, a stagnant PC RPG market was revitalized by Blizzard's Diablo, an action/RPG that used a point-and-click interface and offered gamers a free online service to play with others that maintained the same rules and gameplay.
Diablo's effect on the market was significant; it had many imitators and its style of combat went on to be used by many MMORPGs that came after.[citation needed] For many years afterwards, games that closely mimicked the Diablo formula were referred to as "Diablo clones." The definition of a Diablo clone is even vaguer than that of an action RPG, but typically such games have each player controlling a single character and have a strong focus on combat, with plot and character interaction kept to a minimum. In some examples, non-player characters have only one purpose—be it to buy or sell items or upgrade the player's abilities—or issue them with combat-centric quests. Such characters might only have dialogue relating to their function rather than providing small talk or rumors perhaps unrelated to actual gameplay elements. They also have few or no puzzles, with all problems instead having an action-based solution (such as breaking a wooden door open with an axe rather than having to find its key).
Blizzard later gave birth to a sequel, Diablo II in 1999, and it became an international sensation in America, Europe, and Asia, spawning even more clones all over the world for years to come.
[edit] Return to Role-Playing
While most Action-RPG focuses on hack & slash while exploring a world and building character stats, some titles contain many dialogue choices with consequences in the game world. Some games such as Star Ocean and Fable allow player to make many game-altering choices in dialogues and events. However, a full-fledged dialogue system with highly impressionable NPC as seen in pure PC-RPGs did not appear in an action rpg until the release of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines in 2004. In 2007, Bioware's Mass Effect and CD Projekt's The Witcher increased the amount of world-altering choices in dialogue to the point of rivaling and even exceeding the amount found in pure classic RPG.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Turner, Brian (2004-07-01). The Action RPG Revolution (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-03-02. “RPGs ... are ... difficult to define ... For the most part, action RPGs are action games first and foremost, often with frenetic realtime combat against overwhelming hordes of enemies.”
- ^ Zelda Is NOT An RPG. Game Design Novice. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ GameSpy's 30 Most Influential People in Gaming. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-04-01.
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