
An Action RPG (ARPG) is a subgenre of Role-Playing Game that focuses on real-time action-based combat as opposed to turn-based or menu-based combat. In practice, "action RPG" usually means that the RPG in question gives the player direct control over the player's character in real-time battles if you have to press a button (and/or move the input device) for every attack, it's probably an action RPG. Even though you will often hear "action RPG" touted as a "subgenre" of role-playing video games, there is no consensus about that, since it only narrows down how combat works in a game. Those who expect more than combat from RPG gameplay think of it as more of a "genre modifier" (see Video Game Genres).
The ARPG genre largely originated from the Eastern tradition, with the Ur Examples being the 1983 titles Panorama Toh and Bokosuka Wars
, and the Trope Makers being the 1984 titles The Tower of Druaga, Dragon Slayer, Hydlide, and Courageous Perseus
. This eventually culminated in The Legend of Zelda I (1986), an influential Action-Adventure inspired by Druaga and Hydlide. The rival Turn-Based Combat mechanics were then rigidly codified by series like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy (though the latter eventually moved away from it to its signature more action-y, but still menu-based Active Time Battle), and ever since then, the "turn-based RPG" and "action RPG" camps became firmly separate in the East, before eventually blurring the line between the two in more modern times.
Meanwhile in the West, the long-missing link between traditional and action RPG appears to be The Caverns of Freitag, which was developed in 1982 by the future Ultima contributor David Shapiro, featured a hybrid turn-based/real-time combat system, and directly inspired Yoshio Kiya to create Dragon Slayer, laying the foundations for Eastern ARPGs. Gateway to Apshai (1983) was an actionized take on the 1979 RPG Temple of Apshai, but was not an ARPG as it lacked RPG mechanics, making it an action-adventure like Zelda. Western RPGs largely remained turn-based in the 1980s, up until Zelda began influencing the emergence of Western ARPGs such as the 1987 title The Faery Tale Adventure (and to an extent Dungeon Master in a semi-real-time form) and the 1988 title Times Of Lore
. It was not until the 1990s that Western ARPGs started becoming popular.
By the time the move to real-time (and, as it happens, to 3D) was completed, the term "action RPG" came to describe several types of gameplay:
- Top-down ARPGs, set by Falcom with Dragon Slayer and Ys in the 80s and followed by franchises like World of Mana. There are also games that change from a top-down view to a side view when entering combat sections like the first titles in the Tales Series and Star Ocean.
- 3D Third-Person Action RPG, sometimes with an open-world approach some times not, this category would include most of the games from the 6th generation of console onwards like The Witcher Series, later Tales Series games, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, Fable, later Final Fantasy titles, the Dark Souls trilogy and Code Vein.
- Isometric dungeon crawlers. These games are often referred to as Diablo clones.
- TPS/RPG hybrids. This style was largely influenced by TPS like Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War.
- First-person ARPGs, represented in modern-day gaming by The Elder Scrolls, Fallout from 3 onwards, The Outer Worlds and Cyberpunk 2077.
- This style gave birth to other genre that was codified by the Immersive Sims Ultima Underworld, System Shock 2, and Deus Ex, while the Ur-Example of this style is Star Cruiser
(1988).
- This style gave birth to other genre that was codified by the Immersive Sims Ultima Underworld, System Shock 2, and Deus Ex, while the Ur-Example of this style is Star Cruiser
Combat-oriented games that did not fall under any of these categories (such as the Icewind Dale series, which featured a tactical Real-Time with Pause) were not considered action RPGs, while those that did, even when combat was just one type of gameplay they offered (such as Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, which had FPS-like ranged combat and Hack and Slash-like melee), were. In the early 2000s, so-called "RPG Elements" started bleeding into Action Game subgenres, leaving role-playing video games with a severe identity crisis: What is an RPG? When does an RPG become an action RPG? And when does an action RPG stop being an RPG?
By the strictest definition, an ARPG is an RPG where combat success depends on player skill and Player Character skill with each game developer choosing if their games will rely more on the technical action or on the stats and loot gathered by the player. But the loose and more commonly accepted definition of ARPG (at least, of the contemporary ones) basically boils down to "the fights in this RPG occur in real-time and you can play it with a controller". It's no surprise, then, that games as The Witcher 3 (a choice-driven narrative open-world game), Final Fantasy XV (a choice-driven narrative open-world game), Assassin's Creed Origins (a choice-driven narrative open-world game), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (a character creation open-world game), Diablo III (isometric online character creation game), Dark Souls (character creation game) and Fable II (character creation open-world game) all get labeled "action RPG". Despite some of the flagship franchises having way different gameplay elements and progression systems, many games in this genres borrow gameplay elements from each other.
- Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel
- Avalon Code
- Avarice
- Avencast: Rise of the Mage
- Bastion
- Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
- Beyond Oasis
- Black★Rock Shooter
- Bokosuka Wars
- Brain Lord
- Brandish
- Brave Fencer Musashi
- Briganty
- Buck Saturday Morning Cartoon Apocalypse
- Cadash
- Car Battler Joe
- Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
- Chantelise
- CIMA: The Enemy
- ClaDun: This is an RPG!
- Contrast Soul
- Courageous Perseus
- CrossCode
- Cryamore
- Crystalis
- Crystar
- Dark Cloud
- Dark Chronicle (aka Dark Cloud 2)
- Dark Savior
- Dark Seal
- Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
- Dragon Ball:
- Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku
- Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy Of Goku II
- Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury
- Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
- Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku
- Dragon: Marked for Death
- Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
- Dragon Project
- Dragon Slayer
- Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu
- Faxanadu
- Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia
- Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family/Legacy Of The Wizard
- Legacy of the Wizard
- Dragon Slayer V: Sorcerian
- Dragon Slayer VI: The Legend of Heroes
- Dragon View
- Dragon's Crown
- Dragon's Dogma
- Drakengard
- Dual Hearts
- Dungeon Maker II: The Hidden War
- Dungeon Munchies
- Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
- Dust: An Elysian Tail
- EndCycle
- Eternal Senia
- Evergrace
- Ever Oasis
- EvilQuest
- E.V.O.: Search for Eden
- Faria
- Faraway Story
- Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
- Final Fantasy XV
- Final Fantasy Type-0
- Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Folklore
- Fortune Summoners
- Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
- Freedom Wars
- Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
- The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa
- Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
- Genshin Impact
- Gestalt: Steam & Cinder
- God Eater
- Golden Axe Warrior
- Golf Story
- Granblue Fantasy Relink
- Guardian Tales
- Guardian Heroes
- .hack
- Hades
- Hiryū no Ken
- Holy Umbrella
- Hydlide
- Inazuma Eleven
- Indivisible
- Infinite Undiscovery
- Inquisitor Martyr
- Kingdom Hearts
- Kingdom of Paradise
- King's Field
- Lagoon
- The Last Story
- Legasista
- Lichdom Battlemage
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
- Linkle Liver Story
- Lord of Arcana
- Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven (mixed in with the Turn-Based Strategy genre)
- Machina of the Planet Tree -Unity Unions-
- The Magic of Scheherazade (Arabian Dream Scheherazade in Japan)
- Magna Carta
- Mantra
- Mega Man Battle Network
- Mega Man Legends
- Mega Man Star Force
- Metal Walker
- Monkey Hero
- Monster Hunter
- Mount & Blade
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- Nayuta no Kiseki
- Nekro
- Nights of Azure
- Odin Sphere
- Omensight
- OTHER: Her Loving Embrace
- Otogi: Myth of Demons
- Overworld
- Panorama Toh
- Pandora's Tower
- Panzer Dragoon Saga
- Parasite Eve
- Persona 5 Strikers
- Phantasy Star Online
- Popful Mail
- Princess Crown
- Princess Remedy In a World of Hurt
- Punishing: Gray Raven
- Pyre
- Quest 64
- Radia Senki Reimeihen
- Radiata Stories
- Ragnarok Odyssey
- Ravensword: Shadowlands
- Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
- Resonance of Fate
- River City Ransom
- River City Girls
- Rogue Galaxy
- Sakura Wars (2019)
- Shining Wisdom
- Shodai Nekketsu Koha Kuniokun
- Solatorobo
- Soma Bringer
- SoulBlazer
- Scarlet Nexus
- Soul Sacrifice
- Soul Sacrifice Delta
- Space Siege
- Spectrobes
- Starcom: Nexus
- Star Cruiser
- Star Ocean
- Steambot Chronicles
- Stick Ranger
- Stories: Path of Destinies
- Sudeki
- Summon Night Series
- Summoner 2
- Sundered
- Super Chinese
- Super Fighter M - All Star
- Super Mario 3D
- Sword Dancer
- Sword of Vermilion
- Tales Series
- Tales of Phantasia
- Tales of Destiny
- Tales of Eternia
- Tales of Destiny 2
- Tales of Symphonia
- Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
- Tales of Rebirth
- Tales of Legendia
- Tales of the Abyss
- Tales of Innocence
- Tales of the World
- Tales of Vesperia
- Tales of Hearts
- Tales of Graces
- Tales of Xillia
- Tales of Xillia 2
- Tales of Zestiria
- Tales of Berseria
- Tales Of The Rays
- The Vagrant
- Threads of Fate
- Tokyo Xanadu
- Tom Clancy's Elite Squad
- Toukiden
- Transistor
- Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll
- The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang
- Ultraman Be ULTRA
- Valdis Story: Abyssal City
- Valkyria Chronicles
- Valkyrie Profile
- Vattroller X
- Virtua Quest
- Wibarm
- Wild Frontier
- The Witch and the Hundred Knight
- The World Ends with You
- World of Mana (Seiken Densetsu)
- Final Fantasy Adventure (Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden)
- Sword of Mana (Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu)
- Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2)
- Trials of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 3)
- Dawn of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 4)
- Legend of Mana
- Children of Mana
- Secret of Evermore: Not part of the series but plays the same.
- Final Fantasy Adventure (Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden)
- Xenoblade
- Yakuza (Ryu Ga Gotoku)
- Ys
- Ys I & II
- Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
- Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys/Ys IV: Mask of the Sun
- Ys V: Kefin, The Lost City of Sand
- Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
- Ys SEVEN
- Ys Origin
- Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
- Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Linknote
- Zeliard
- Zenonia
The Progenitors
Western RPGs with real time combat from before the Diablo era.
- Dungeon Master
- Gauntlet
- The Elder Scrolls
- The Faery Tale Adventure
- Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic
- Times Of Lore
- Ultima VIII: Could be considered a "proto-Diablo-clone", as it implemented the real-time click-to-strike isometric combat almost two years before Diablo.
- Ultima Underworld
Top-Down Dungeon Crawlers
...a.k.a. Diablo-clones. And, of course, the Diablo series itself.
- Ancient Evil
- Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance
- Champions of Norrath
- Children of Morta
- Darkspore
- Darkstone
- DeathSpank
- Diablo
- Digimon World 4
- Dink Smallwood
- Divine Divinity
- Dungeon Siege
- Fabular: Once upon a Spacetime
- FATE
- GREED: Black Border
- Grim Dawn
- The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
- Insignificant 2019
- Kult: Heretic Kingdoms (also known as Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition)
- Minecraft Dungeons
- Nox
- Path of Exile
- Revenant
- Sacred
- Silent Hill Bookof Memories
- Silverfall
- Star Wars: Uprising
- Throne of Darkness
- Titan Quest
- Torchlight
- Untold Legends
- Victor Vran
- Warhammer Chaosbane
- Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem
- Yaga
Role-Playing Shooters
First- or third-person shooters with RPG Elements or RPGs with emphasis on ranged combat. Often sci-fi.
- Alpha Protocol
- The Borderlands series:
- Consortium
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Deus Ex
- Fallout
- Mass Effect
- NeonXSZ
- The Outer Worlds
- STALKER
- Ratchet & Clank
- System Shock
- Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines: A case can be made for placing it into the next category, as well.
- ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal is a very weird case: it is a High Fantasy game split between Action-Adventure and RPG at an almost perfect 50/50 ratio, but the fairy combat, where most of its RPG Elements come to bear, is 100% First-Person Shooter.
Role-Playing Slashers
3D Hack and Slash games with RPG Elements or RPGs with elaborate melee combat. Often fantasy.
- Anvil of Dawn
- Ashen
- Astral Chain
- Barony
- Bloodborne
- Bound by Flame
- Code Vein
- The Dark Meadow
- Dark Messiah
- Dark Souls
- Darksiders
- Dauntless
- Demon's Souls
- Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Drox Operative
- The Elder Scrolls
- Godfall
- Gothic
- GreedFall
- Hand of Fate
- Infinity Blade
- Jade Empire
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
- Krater
- Lords of the Fallen
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- Nioh
- Of Orcs and Men
- Risen
- Scalebound
- Soulbringer
- Stonekeep
- The Surge
- The Tower of Druaga
- Two Worlds
- Ultima IX
- Underworld Ascendant
- Untold Legends
- Vampyr
- Warriors of Might and Magic
- The Witcher
Miscellaneous
- Big Sky Trooper
- Bombshell
- Breach
- Dark Sun Dome
- Dungeon Defenders: Combined with elements of Tower Defense.
- Fort Zombie
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Justice League Heroes
- Kid Mystic
- Legacy of Kain: Defiance
- Marvel Future Fight
- Marvel Heroes
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot (attack phase)
- Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight
- Shadowmaster Chronicles
- Too Human
- Unepic
- Valkyria Revolution
- X-Men: Destiny
- X-Men Legends