The Anatomy of: Console Action RPGs

As a kid, my first experiences with Action RPGs started with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Being the first genre of games that I really felt a connection to, Action RPGs have remained one of my favourite game categories. Bringing fast paced battles and light storylines pointing you in the direction of new areas; it’s a simple formula that works. In this article, we take a look at the evolution of Action RPGs on home consoles, ranging from Adventure titles through to the heavily number-based Japanese influenced titles.


Zelda games may not be classed as a proper Action RPGs (which I will be labelling ARPGs throughout this article), but they do share a fair amount of themes and gameplay elements that most games under this genre include. Melee, magic and ranged battles? Check, Fantasy themes? Check, Large sprawling over world littered with monsters? Check. While the stories of the Zelda series is by no means an industry leader in plot and writing, it is however a perfect stepping stone for younger generations to get a taste for the genre.

Soon after Zelda made its appearance, we started seeing a number of Squaresoft ARPG titles popping up, namely the Secret of Mana series or Seiken Densetsu in the eastern lands. These mixed the Zelda formula with a “Dungeons and Dragons” inspired stat based attribute system and revolutionary co-operative play. This added a new layer of strategy into the mix, allowing up to three players to work together; chaining magic spells and special weapon abilities. While the stats took more of a back seat, players did see themselves monitoring their weapon skill levels, waiting for that next special attack level that would give them the edge against a frustrating boss.


In this era we saw the release of Beyond Oasis / The Story of Thor, which saw the Zelda formula make its way onto the Sega MegaDrive. The Y’s series tried breaking new ground by incorporating a side scrolling “Zelda 2” style of ARPG in the same vein as Seiken Densetsu did with the typical top down formula. Kicking off a long running series, Tales of Phantasia, took the now traditional random battle system and added an action real-time layer to the mix. Other notable titles include the Illusion of Time and Terranigma.

While home systems had a decent library of ARPGs, local arcades also saw a game or two. Cadash was an APRG in the vein of Y’s, utilizing beefy sprites and a steep difficulty curve which was standard of the arcade era. Capcom released two Dungeons & Dragons licensed games – Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara, which allowed up to 4 players to hack and slash their way over a number of visits with a saved name system.


The jump to 32 and 64bit systems saw RPGs being redefined and somewhat lacking in the early years. Adapting to 3D almost seemed like a hurdle for some companies, putting more resources into how the games looked, rather than how they played. Blaze & Blade for Playstation was an early 4 player ARPG, it didn’t push any boundaries outside of 3D environments and came across as vanilla as possible.

Within a year or two, we started to see a number of higher res 2D titles popping up. Alundra by Working Designs saw the Zelda formula revisited once again, featuring anime cut scenes and beautiful sprites. The era of the Playstation also saw the Mana series get a new iteration – Legend of Mana. This Mana title gave the player a number of missions to complete, while creating their own world map from items they had received from adventures. Although some titles struggled to make their mark, Zelda for the Nintendo 64 managed to hack and slash its way into some gamers’ hearts as one of the best games ever created. Ocarina of Time broke new ground with vast 3D environments and new equipment mechanics, such as Bow and Arrow aiming and locking on to enemies.


Continuing the partnership of Action RPG and Co-operative play, SEGA’s Sonic Team decided in 2001 to take the formula one step further. Phantasy Star Online allowed online multiplayer lobbies, where players could communicate between players of different language backgrounds with the use of a simple chat system comprised of pre-defined and auto translated topics. Outside of these lobbies, players could form 4 player parties to participate in quests, player vs player battles and challenges.

Squaresoft experimented with multi-peripheral partying - much too many a gamers’ disgust - with the title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. By combining a Gamecube with 4 Gameboy Advances and 4 link cables, each player could quest together with their own unique character stats and info centre (the Gameboy Advance), making it a more micro-managed experience. The biggest failure with this was the price of admission in the event that you didn’t have friends with GBAs or cables. After learning from this, Nintendo decided to start releasing all future multiplayer FFCC games on the Nintendo DS.


Odin Sphere saw the Y’s / Cadash side scrolling ARPG styling brought into the HD era with high resolution sprites and painstakingly drawn backdrops. In actual fact, Odin Sphere was a new iteration of a Saturn game; Princess Crown, which never got released outside of Japan. This series is known for battles taking place in a looped environment, where players must destroy monsters and bosses to progress to the next screen.

The PS2, Xbox360 and PC saw the second online Phantasy Star game with Phantasy Star Universe. PSU adds up to 6 player support, with a move from lobbies to actual towns and instance channels to cope with population. By this stage in the series’ life, players had started to become disenchanted with a series known for its lack of content updates and mediocre events. Phantasy Star Universe’s servers are closing this year due to lack of interest.


However, in possibly the smartest move that Sonic Team has ever done, they decided to release Phantasy Star Portable and Zero to PSP and DS respectively. Both games support local multiplayer, and the DS version allows for international wireless play. The PSP game, Phantasy Star Portable, is basically a rehash of Phantasy Star Universe, the difference being that it’s a much faster game to progress in and all of the content is readily accessible from purchase. Phantasy Star Zero for DS is a unique game, mixing elements from both Phantasy Star Online and Universe.

With the current gen platforms, we’re starting to see ARPGs merge with Turn Based RPGs, giving the player more freedom in movement and strategic options. Will we see a return to the classic formulae? Or will the genres continue to blend with each other?