Is Zelda an RPG?

You play the role of Zelda, so yes.

Sure thing, faggot.

You don't use "an" only where the next word begins with a vowel, you use it when the next word is pronunciated like a vowel. "RPG" is pronunciated [arpidʒi]

Combines elements of the action genre and associated subgenre with puzzle solving elements of the adventure genre
It's called a hybrid

In zelda's case, its also called a dragon slayer-like

Zelda is adventure.

Nope.

RPG's are centered around character building and progression (either in the gameplay mechanics or in the story and game world), so the game will test the player's skill in those areas. While Zelda has elements of character progression, it's often a predetermined progression (with some optional things you can get through side-quests) and never the primary test of player's skill. There is much more focus in the game on the action mechanics and puzzle-solving, which would make it more Action-Adventure like said.

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how does it describe the qualities of the games game play

see above

The genre is action-adventure, so no.

Now, the SETTING is quasi-medieval fantasy, which a lot of RPGs are, so it's a very easy mistake for a very stupid person to make. I bet they'd also confuse Hexen for an RPG.

No, RPG's are centered around abstraction, basing the effectiveness of characters' actions on the player's strategy instead of their twitch reflexes. A real ARPG would be something like Witcher 3 or Beth's Fallout, you can shoot and avoid enemies but the damage and accuracy of the guns or attacks are based on RNG mechanics. Both your twitch actions of aiming and shooting, and the abstraction of skill profeciency and RNG, are the determining factors of winning the game.

not a real genre

So how they build their character and how that influences their choices rather than the action mechanics. You're not disagreeing with me.

That's point and click adventure, Zelda is an action oriented adventure.

"action oriented adventure" does nothing to describe the game play

Yeah, but a game doesn't need to have character building and progression to be an RPG. It just needs to be determined by choice and strategy, and MUCH less on the player reflexes. Games like Borderlands, STALKER, and Dark Souls can't be classified as RPG, there's too much player reflexes being involved.

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Yes it does, jackass.

action how? How does the action present itself? Adventure how? like point and click? The game is a top down, exploration centric action game. Top down action gets the point across. action adventure can mean anything from metroid to death trap dungeon to ocarina of time to shadow man. Pretty terrible description considering each of these games is tremendously unlike the last. Stop using such a shitty game journo thought up genre because they couldn't think of anything better. Let that shit die.

You explore to find items in order to progress, much like point and click adventures, hence it's an adventure game with the interaction with the world being action oriented as opposed to turn based or point-and-click style.

This isn't hard, you autistic little shit.

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lol, so how well does it describe the action part by just calling it action as opposed to a top down action game? People aren't going to be mistaking it for other genres by differentiating it that way. In fact, the description makes more sense.

no, it's better

>using wikipedia as a source

But when you go into the treasure rooms, it is no longer top down, so then how do you describe the game's genre? Let's ignore Zelda 2 because it's so different, but Link's Awakening has more extended platforming sequences. Not to mention the 3D games being more third person than top down. It's not a good descriptor of the game play either. For example, when you say isometric RPG, how I know what you mean when the only one I've played is Super Mario RPG? Camera angle only gives you so much info, it's how the gameplay is that matters most.

Yes.

The Legend of Zelda is a masterpiece that escapes our traditional understanding of genres and art.

well it's sure as hell not very good as an Action game

t. Ys

This. Ys is superior to Zelda in every meaningful way.

Dese niggas know what's up.

I'm curious of that list.

Fucking Hell, Kikepedia.

You play the role of Zelda in a game. So yes.

Zelda is not a role. She's not even a playable character. You can play Link who is the only playable character because he's the protagonist and therefore not a role.

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Yeah, ok.

Were you dropped on your head as a child?

Zelda never really tried to be a pure action game outside of Adventure of Link. So it's hard to actually compare them outside of superficial things.

Come on user. Surely by this point no one can be that stupid and unaware.
I realise my little remaining faith in the intelligence of others may be slightly misplaced though

The role… of… Mario…

Is Blood Omen 1 an RPG? It has a very similar setup to Zelda games, it's top down and has real time combat and a lot of puzzle solving and exploration. But unlike Zelda games fighting with your melee weapon is pretty janky and likely to get you hit without much of a way to avoid it. Choosing the right tools is more important than quick reactions, which signifies to me that it would be better described as an RPG than action-adventure.

Role playing games are called such because they are based on pen and paper role playing games in which you actually act out the role of your character. Of course this isn't ever done in any videogame because having the player "act" would at the most basic require the computer to understand arbitrary text written/spoken by the user- which to my knowledge no existing game does. What an RPG is actually based on is obviously the system of player stats and their progression typically by levelling up and choosing equipment, character customization, and ability for the player to make choices which affect the game.

While Ocarina of Time has some of these aspects- getting better equipment and 'leveling up' health, these few aspects take a definite back seat. Look at the differences between Demon's/Dark Souls and OoT- very similar in terms of combat, but De/aS have actual character customization, many stats for the player to choose what to upgrade, and significant choices for the player to make which affect the game world and ending. Anyone can see the Souls games are action RPGs whereas Zelda is much more focused on action and adventuring.

Is the "Zelda is an RPG" debate the video game equivalent of Asuka vs Rei?

No, they're action-adventure game. I know that term gets thrown around so much that it doesn't have much meaning any more, but in Zelda's case it's exactly what it sounds like. They're adventure games(like point-and-click adventures, text adventures, etc.) with Gauntlet-style action. That's it. RPGs don't even factor into it's DNA.

I've seen people compare Zelda to Ys, Gothic, Dragon Slayer, Hydlide, and basically any other not completely linear game with real-time combat, but that's like comparing Super Mario World to Symphony of the Night. The Zelda series, aside from Zelda II and maybe Skyward Sword, has absolutely nothing to do with RPGs.

Action/Adventure. Simply "Adventure" implies walking sim that requires no skill, or point and click moon logic bullshit.

if it doesn't have skill checks, it isn't an rpg

If it's not DnD, then it's not RPG

Are you a nigger?

You're pretty much showing how retarded the "adventure game" label for point and click games were.
Adventure has nothing to do with pointing and clicking at stuff, It even has nothing to do with advancing by solving puzzles by interacting with certain objects/persons.

I could call it a top-down melee-focused hack&slash action game with exploration and puzzle solving elements

but that would run into the same problem as Carl Linnaeus when he invented species taxonomy: if you actually describe the whole of a creature you end up with paragraphs of data

I guess this makes Gradius III an RPG.

DnD is a terrible RPG

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Shame Ys VIII won't be translated for a while, but yeah new Ys will probably be better than Zelda: Skyrim with a simpler assassins class from Dragon's Dogma.

X-Com is an RPG.
It fulfills your quota.

Top Down Metroidvania sounds like a more acurate description for me

guaranteed replies

excuse me user?

haha how will no image guarantee any reply you faggot?
Hang on a minute…

True, but remember the definition of "RPG" isn't "game where you play a role", but "game with mechanics to assist roleplay", i.e: Statistical abstraction.

The same cancer that allows player-skill to overwhelm character-skill in vidya RPGs also exists on tabletop in the form of "rules-lite" faggotry, and disassociative mechanics like "fate points".

Noh.

ffiv tho fam is dat an adventure tho fam?
is contra a platformer?

yea yea bruh it don even denote none o' da action or adventure that's up in dat bitch and can describe almost all games w/ plots.

but u ain't put no fukn article up in dat shit nigga

dam nigga u dum

"Adventure game" just means "puzzle game with multiple puzzles". In spite of such games being rather unadventurous, the name is inherited from the first such game.

Does a bear shit in the woods?

Yes, dumbass.

Of course it's an RPG:

But I know what you're going to say:

Plenty of RPGs don't have experience points (for example: Mana Khemia)

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f43a4f please mcfucking kill yourself
Zelda is Action Adventure, simple, sweet, accurate.

pokemon is a shotter game?

Zelda II is, albeit a very simplistic one. It had simple skill point allocation allowing you to customize Link's abilities as you saw fit, you weren't fixed into a linear growth pattern. Fat lot of good it did since going into the endgame with anything less than a maxed out Link was borderline suicidal but the point still stands. Every other Zelda features vague RPG elements at best like magic, towns and health upgrades, and you might as well call Rayman 2 a RPG for all that much is worth.

By modern standards, it's an RPG.

Problem is, modern standards are fucking retarded and people will call anything a fucking RPG if it has some sort of loot treadmill or leveling up. They'll say something like Borderlands is a fucking RPG while Zelda isn't because Zelda doesn't have as many obvious stats.

In reality it's not an RPG, and to be honest you can't really make a 'real' RPG in videogames.

I suggest you at least try Temple of Elemental Evil before you nix the genre entirely

If we just go by the words "Role Playing Game" Any game where you do not play as an embodiment of yourself is an RPG

oversimplifying the concept is never productive
playing cops & robbers is a game of pretend
playing cops & robbers with rules for arbitration is an RPG

Bingo! Anything without rules isn't a game, and rules which specifically enhance roleplay are necessary for RPGs. By that metric, a lot of the "roleplay not rollplay" gayness in tabletop doesn't qualify as an RPG.

I think he was referring to human arbitration, like Neverwinter Nights.