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So The Legend of Zelda is officially an RPG now?
- Thread starter Busaiku
- Start date
UnemployedVillain
Member
No, it's still an action/adventure game like it's always been
kraspkibble
Permabanned.
breath of the wild is but i wouldn't imagine every game in the series from now on would be an RPG. i still want to see more games like ALBW.
Earthbound64
Banned
No.
Zelda II sequel when?
Zelda II sequel when?
privitsan02
Member
It's about as RPG as Horizon is an Action-Adventure.
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
No. Action/adventure with some RPG elements. Always has been. Some lean into it more, like Zelda 2, which borders on action rpg territory.
Inferno313
Banned
Yeah, I think the robust gear system and the fact that you more or less "level up" at the goddess shrines, albeit in a simplified manner, make it such that calling it an "action RPG" wouldn't be a false categorization.
Dark Cloud
Member
It's Action Adventure with RPG elements.
nephilimdj
Member
Ubisoft adventure game with half-life 2 psychics and cooking mama cooking
Damn autocorrect. Will leave it for a giggle
Damn autocorrect. Will leave it for a giggle
James Scott
Banned
It's an action adventure game with RPG elements. It's always been simplified but hearts are basically how you level up
Though it has JRPG HD towns now which are really good.
Though it has JRPG HD towns now which are really good.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Everything is officially an RPG now.
Chinbo37
Member
Yes and also Bomb/Arrow upgrades, magic upgrades, better armor, shields, swords.
Just no technical "levels" except for Zelda II which was rad tho.
FreedomFighter
Member
Action/RPG.
Or action/adventure/RPG.
Hard to really say BotW, Witcher 3, Horizon aren't all in the same genre to me. I consider them all to be ARPG.
Or action/adventure/RPG.
Hard to really say BotW, Witcher 3, Horizon aren't all in the same genre to me. I consider them all to be ARPG.
And stamina.
I agree. Zelda II as well.
Dreamwriter
Member
The way I classify RPGs is a game where telling a story is the real point of the game - it has as much storytelling as a book or a movie. Especially in this day and age where most games have classic RPG elements like shops and leveling, a MOBA for example is definitely not an RPG, so you can't just say something with classic RPG elements is an RPG. Breath of the Wild fails this test. I'd call BotW an Open-World Action-Adventure.
I told you guys!
EDIT: Here's my post from 2014 arguing Zelda could be considered an RPG. Even more so now, I think, with the vastness of the armor (upgradable) and weapons.
EDIT: Here's my post from 2014 arguing Zelda could be considered an RPG. Even more so now, I think, with the vastness of the armor (upgradable) and weapons.
Triggerhappytel
Member
I don't understand this comment because action-adventure is an extremely broad term which Horizon would inarguably fall under.
Chairman Yang
if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Life Is Strange and Steinsgate are pretty cool RPGs
So it's an RPG then? I don't know, haven't played Zelda, but Horizon is more an Action-Adventure than RPG honestly so if you are going to say that then to me that says Zelda is an RPG. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Horizon, but it really isn't an RPG (or it's an even shittier RPG than Fallout 4 which is skirting the line of being an RPG). If I were going to judge it as an RPG, I'd honestly be super disappointed with it (which is why I'm glad they lowered expectations of it being one before the game came out). The skills are pointless really and don't do anything but give small improvements (and really the best improvement you'll see in the game is your own skills), there is very little roleplaying, and not all that much customization.
gregor7777
Banned
Funny because when Zelda for the NES was released we all called it an RPG.
privitsan02
Member
That's what I meant since Guerilla keep calling it an Action-RPG whereas it resonates far more as an Action-Adventure.
Dreamwriter
Member
There are more bits of course - the classic RPG elements like character advancement through XP leveling differentiates from "point and click" puzzle-based adventures or virtual novels. But without a story as the #1 importance you can't have an RPG. Zelda also fails those other tests, but the story is the most important bit in an RPG, so that's the easy test to make for Zelda.
Ah, I haven't played Zelda so have no idea if I'd call it an RPG (sure sounds like I would from what I hear) but that kind of statement is usually made when you say something isn't something so that was what my mind went to.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
It was an RPG in '87
manueldelalas
Time Traveler
It has always been. When you track the origins of jRPGs, you get to two series, Zelda and DQ.
When you compare both games, they have a lot in common, it's like both developers were trying to do the same thing and arrived at both solutions.
Both series have evolved looking mostly at itself, and BOTW is a game whose heritage can be tracked to the original LOZ.
The main difference in both styles of JRPG is that in DQ you gain strength while training, the more you fight, the more powerful you get, at a fundamental level. In Zelda you gain strength while exploring, and this remains true in BOTW.
The rest is just difference in UI. Zelda has always had HP (hearts), armor stats (different clothes), attack stats (different weapons), etc, just not shown in numbers, but they are there.
When you compare both games, they have a lot in common, it's like both developers were trying to do the same thing and arrived at both solutions.
Both series have evolved looking mostly at itself, and BOTW is a game whose heritage can be tracked to the original LOZ.
The main difference in both styles of JRPG is that in DQ you gain strength while training, the more you fight, the more powerful you get, at a fundamental level. In Zelda you gain strength while exploring, and this remains true in BOTW.
The rest is just difference in UI. Zelda has always had HP (hearts), armor stats (different clothes), attack stats (different weapons), etc, just not shown in numbers, but they are there.
ReConstructDead
Member
Team Filler
Member
I agree. Unfortunately, some people have a tendency to react very strongly at the idea of calling Zelda an RPG series, so look forward to goalpost moves and semantic arguments.
It's certainly my favorite RPG series.
Buddha Beam
Banned
I don't consider it an RPG at all. It has a handful of RPG elements as it always has, but it just has a few new RPG elements that are more or less new to the series. Otherwise, it's still very much still in the action/adventure mold it's always been. At one point in the past like around the timeOcarina of Time came out, if not ALTTP it was referred to as an Action RPG, but I haven't really heard anyone call it that in ages.
gregor7777
Banned
Yep. "Back in my day", my 3 favorite RPGs on NES were Zelda, Dragon Warrior, and Final Fantasy.
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
everything is an rpg now so sure why not
LegendofLex
Member
The original The Legend of Zelda was an RPG, borrowing conventions from other open-world RPGs and mixing in Nintendo's trademark action and charm. It's not as complex as many other RPGs, but that's because Nintendo focused more on action and made the RPG elements simpler.
If you doubt that the original Zelda was an RPG, just look at history:
Inspired by RPGs, marketed as an RPG, received as an RPG. It's definitely an RPG.
Breath of the Wild takes inspiration from that game, adding even more conventions from other open-world RPGs and mixing in even more of Nintendo's trademark action and charm. And it continues to not be as complex as other RPGs, focusing instead on action (physics) with simple RPG elements.
If you doubt that the original Zelda was an RPG, just look at history:
I Am Error (gaming retrospective book) said:
Nintendo Fun Club Newsletter said:
Computer Gaming World said:
Inspired by RPGs, marketed as an RPG, received as an RPG. It's definitely an RPG.
Breath of the Wild takes inspiration from that game, adding even more conventions from other open-world RPGs and mixing in even more of Nintendo's trademark action and charm. And it continues to not be as complex as other RPGs, focusing instead on action (physics) with simple RPG elements.
gregor7777
Banned
I think a lot of us are saying: it originally was an RPG, it's just that many of you are too young to remember it being classified that way.
Modern Paper Mario now falls into Action-Adventure, just to point out how broad that phrase is.
And ironically enough for the context of this thread, it was once an RPG.
They slapped it on the Japanese N64 cover if you look it up on one of the wikis.
Might be more true than ever though.
Phoenix RISING
Banned
Roleplay pre-existed the concept of the action/adventure genre. Zelda came out in '86 while Metroid in '87. So at the time of those games, there was no an appropriate genre or categorization for it. So it defaulted to RPG.
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