Zelda is an RPG you play the role of a character in an action game.
By that definition, almost every game is a RPG since you are playing the role of a character in the game. In Mario, you play as a plummer trying to save the princess, however, everybody characterizes that as a platformer. That is why I say it is an adventure game.
Zelda is an action-adventure game with heavy RPG elements.
So where is the “Sorta” choice?
The Legend of Zelda series are, save for the the second, Adventure-RPG games.
I have always considered it a A-RPG. It has many RPG elements, and the main thing in a RPG is that your character grow and develops. I say that Link grows and develops throughout the game whether he used new weapons or techniques.
Action games have levels. Zelda has dungeons. FF’s have dungeons. FF’s are RPG’s. Therefore, Zelda is also an RPG.
rushes to the defense of these poor shrines
Harvest Moon shrines are accepted since they were accepted way back in the days of Jim, so it would be hypocritical of us to stop accepting them now.
Star Fox Adventures is as much an RPG as the 3D Zeldas.
River City Ransom is a unique case. Anybody who’s played RCR knows how statistically oriented the game is. Your stats increase just like in any RPG, and there’s an inventory system, currency, as well as new moves to learn and other RPG fodder. Is it a beat-em-up? Sure. But it more than has enough RPG-ness to make it legit. Just as you can call Castlevania: SoTN an “Action RPG”, you can call River City Ransom a “Beat-em-up RPG”.
My two cents.
So if Kojima (for no reason) decided to put a dungeon into MGS3, it would be an RPG? I don’t think so.
actualy parasite eve does have magic/swords/and dragon dudes.
in parasite eve 2 you can win a gunblade and use it as a weapon. on magic when you start the game aya starts learning eve powers witch pretty much is just a long word for magic, and during the game you fight a mutant t-rex witch is like a dragon dude. :moogle:
Or the flip side, if FF got rid of dungeons it wouldn’t be a RPG. Alhough, MG games sort of take place in one massive dungeon. I associate RPGs with some form or contraint on battling and/or stats of some sort, mostly experince points. Like PE has a cirle for a battle and menus and such. Most RPGs have a seperate sceen and do stuff like that, however some action RPGs have contraints too. SoM has the sword charge. SD3 has the time before each strike. In Zelda, if you are stuck on a boss or something, for the most part, you just have to suck it up and get better skills. In a RPG, if you are stuggling, you can usually battle a bit, get up some levels and try again. Such as in the first Zelda, and probably others too, if you have mad skills, you could beat the game with only 3 hearts. In a RPG, it is impossible to beat the game without leveling. If you played Zelda straight without doing anything extra, it’d be very similar to the Metal Gear series. Go through the game, gradually gaining life and equipment to help you through the game.
So if Kojima (for no reason) decided to put a dungeon into MGS3, it would be an RPG? I don’t think so.
You misunderstand me Crotanks. By dungeons I don’t actually mean a physical dungeon, I mean a place where you have to take your hero without playing “levels”. The difference between a dungeon and a level is a level you have to play, and can do nothing else. A dungeon you can go to at any time, but you still have to follow a certain sequence. Also, you can backtrack to previous dungeons. And there are things between dungeons, there is only a pause, a blank screen, and maybe a level selection menu between levels. Levels lack the freedom of RPG’s, which is what RPG’s really are, games which provide a certain degree of freedom to the player. I could ramble on more if you still don’t get it, but the basics are there and I’m too lazy to go into further details, so I’m going to end it here.
Oh, and I’d like to point out, why does everything have to be classified anyway? I don’t care if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, it’s a god damn tomato, can’t we just leave it at that?!
By your definition of a dungeon, that makes games like Spyro RPGs, on account of the playability of the “dungeons”. There is some degree of order that you have to play in, but you can go back and repeat previously completed ones.
I do consider Spyro an RPG, to a degree.