History of Eastern role-playing video games
Encyclopedia
Eastern role-playing video games are role-playing video game
s developed in East Asia
, specifically Japan
, and, to a lesser extent, South Korea
and China
. For role-playing games developed in the Western world
, see History of Western role-playing video games
.
, due to the worldwide success of Japanese consoles beginning with the NES
, the country had in fact produced thousands of commercial personal computer game
s from the late 1970s up until the mid-1990s, in addition to dōjin soft
independent games
. The country's computer market was largely dominated by the NEC PC-8801
& PC-9801, though with some competition from the Sharp X1
& X68000
, FM-7
& FM Towns
, and MSX
& MSX2
. A key difference between Western and Japanese systems at the time was the latter's higher display resolution
s (640x400) in order to accommodate Japanese text
which in turn had an impact on game design
. Japanese computers also employed Yamaha
FM synthesis
sound boards
since the early 1980s, allowing video game music composers such as Yuzo Koshiro
to produce highly regarded chiptune
music for RPG companies such as Nihon Falcom. Due to hardware differences, only a small portion of Japanese computer games were released in North America, as ports to either consoles (like the NES or Genesis) or American PC platforms (like MS-DOS
).
Japan's earliest RPGs were released by Koei, the first being The Dragon and Princess (ドラゴン＆プリンセス) for the PC-8001
in 1982. It featured adventure game
elements and revolved around rescuing a kidnapped princess. Also in 1982, Koei released another early Japanese RPG, Danchizuma no Yuwaku (Seduction of the Condominium Wife), a PC-8001 title that also featured adventure game elements in addition to eroge
adult content
. In June 1983, Koei released Sword & Sorcery (剣と魔法) for the PC-8001, and it also revolved around rescuing a princess in addition to killing a wizard. That same year, Koei released Secrets of Khufu (クフ王の秘密), a dungeon crawl
RPG that revolved around a search for the treasure of Khufu
. ASCII
released their own RPG that year called Arfgaldt (アスキー), an FM-7 title also featuring adventure game elements.
A particularly important early Japanese RPG was Bokosuka Wars
, originally released for the Sharp X1
computer in 1983 and later ported to the NES in 1985. The game's success in Japan was responsible for laying the foundations for the tactical role-playing game
subgenre, or the "simulation RPG" as it is known in Japan, with its blend of role-playing and strategy video game
elements. The game revolves around a leader who must lead his army against overwhelming enemy forces, while recruiting soldiers along the way and with each unit able to gain experience and level up
through battle. The game is also considered to be an early example of a real-time, action RPG. Another important title released that same year was Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition
for Japanese computers in 1983. It was an early attempt at combining role-playing, turn-based grand strategy
and management simulation
elements, setting the standard for future simulation RPGs. This trend continued with its sequels and other Koei games such as 1989's Bandit Kings of Ancient China
as well as the Capcom
game Destiny of an Emperor
released that same year.
In 1984, Nihon Falcom released Dragon Slayer, a historically significant title that laid the foundations for the Japanese role-playing game industry. It was a real-time hack and slash
dungeon crawl
er that is considered the first action role-playing game
, a subgenre that it laid the foundations for, alongside the arcade game
The Tower of Druaga released the same year. Dragon Slayer was a major success in Japan, and led to the emergence of a distinct action role-playing game subgenre on Japanese computers during the mid-1980s, with Nihon Falcom at the forefront of this new subgenre. Dragon Slayer as well as The Tower of Druaga laid the foundations for future action RPG series like Hydlide, Ys and The Legend of Zelda
. Hydlide
, released for the PC-8801 in 1984 and the Famicom in 1986, added several innovations to the action RPG subgenre, including the ability to switch between attack mode and defense mode, quick save
and load options which can be done at any moment of the game through the use of passwords
as the primary back-up, and the introduction of a health regeneration mechanic where health and magic slowly regenerate when standing still, a feature also used in Falcom's Ys series from 1987 onwards.
Also in 1984, Henk Rogers
' The Black Onyx
was released on the PC-8801 in Japan, where it became one of the highest-selling computer games of that year and was considered the game of the year by Login
, the largest Japanese computer game magazine at the time. The game is thus sometimes credited for bringing wider attention to computer role-playing games in the country. The cyberpunk
RPG Psychic City, released by HOT・B for the FM-7 and PC-8801 in 1984, departed from the fantasy
theme common in other RPGs at the time (such as Hydlide and The Black Onyx) in favour of a science fiction
plot, set in a post-apocalyptic
city devastated by World War III
and where the protagonist fights using psychic/telepathic abilities. The game later served as the basis for the 1987 NES RPG Hoshi wo Miru Hito.
Dragon Slayers success led to a 1985 sequel Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu
, which became the best-selling PC game in Japan. It was a full-fledged RPG with character stats and a large quest, with action-based combat setting it apart from other RPGs, including both melee combat and projectile magic attacks, while incorporating a side-scrolling
platform game
view during exploration and an overhead view during battle. Xanadu also featured innovative gameplay mechanics such as individual experience for equipped items, and an early Karma
morality system, where the player character
's Karma meter will rise if he commits sin which in turn affects the temple's reaction to him. It is also considered a "proto-Metroidvania" game, due to being an "RPG turned on its side" that allowed players to run, jump, collect, and explore. The way the Dragon Slayer series reworked the entire game system of each installment was an influence on Final Fantasy, which would do the same for each of its installments. According to GamesTM
and John Szczepaniak (of Retro Gamer
and The Escapist
), Enix
's Dragon Quest
was also influenced by Dragon Slayer and in turn defined many other RPGs. Falcom would soon become one of the three most important Japanese role-playing game developers in the 1980s, alongside Enix and Square, both of which were influenced by Falcom.
Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness in 1985 featured an early morality meter, where the player can be aligned
with justice, normal, or evil, which is affected by whether the player kills evil monsters, good monsters, or humans, and in turn affects the reactions of the townsfolk towards the player. Magical Zoo's The Screamer, released for the PC-8801 in 1985, was an early example of a real-time shooter-based RPG. Set after World War III
, the game also featured elements of post-apocalyptic science fiction as well as cyberpunk and bio-horror themes. Square
also released their first RPG that same year, which was an early futuristic sci-fi RPG for the PC-8801, Genesis: Beyond The Revelation, featuring a post-apocalyptic setting. Other sci-fi RPGs released in 1985 include The Earth Fighter Rayieza
by Enix
, and Kogado Studio
's MSX
game Cosmic Soldier
, which introduced an early dialogue conversation system, where the player can recruit allies by talking to them, choose whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to the later more famous Megami Tensei
.
. It was a 1986 role-playing shooter released by Arsys Software for the PC-88
in Japan and ported to MS-DOS
for Western release by Brøderbund
. In WiBArm, the player controls a transformable mecha
robot, switching between a 2D
side-scrolling
view during outdoor exploration to a fully 3D polygonal third-person perspective inside buildings, while bosses are fought in an arena-style 2D shoot 'em up
battle. The game featured a variety of weapons and equipment as well as an automap, and the player could upgrade equipment and earn experience to raise stats. Unlike first-person RPGs at the time that were restricted to 90-degree movements, WiBArm's use of 3D polygons allowed full 360-degree movement.
Another 1986 release was Falcom's Xanadu Scenario II, an early example of an expansion pack
. The game was non-linear, allowing the eleven levels to be explored in any order. Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia simplified the RPG mechanics of Xanadu, such as removing the character customization and simplifying the numerical statistics into icons, and emphasized faster-paced platform action, with a strict 30-minute time limit. The action took place entirely in a side-scrolling view rather than switching to a separate overhead combat screen like its predecessor. These changes Romancia more like a side-scrolling action-adventure game
. Square's 1986 release, Cruise Chaser Blassty
, was a sci-fi RPG that had the player control a customizable mecha
robot from a first-person
view. That same year also saw the arcade release of the sequel to The Tower of Druaga, The Return of Ishtar
, an early action RPG to feature two-player cooperative gameplay
, dual-stick control in single player, a female protagonist, the first heroic couple in gaming, and the first password
save system in an arcade game.
In 1987, Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family
(Legacy of the Wizard) returned to the deeper action-RPG mechanics of Xanadu while maintaining the fully side-scrolling view of Romancia. It also featured an open world
and nonlinear gameplay similar to "Metroidvania" platform-adventures, making Drasle Family an early example of a non-linear, open-world action RPG. Another "Metroidvania" style open-world action RPG released that year was System Sacom
's Sharp X1
computer game Euphory, which was possibly the only Metroidvania-style multiplayer action RPG produced, allowing two-player cooperative gameplay. The fifth Dragon Slayer title, Sorcerian
, was also released in 1987. It was a party-based action RPG, with the player controlling a party of four characters at the same time in a side-scrolling view. The game also featured character creation, highly customizable characters, class-based puzzles, and a new scenario system, allowing players to choose which of 15 scenarios, or quests, to play through in the order of their choice. It was also an episodic video game, with expansion disks released soon after offering more scenarios. Falcom also released the first installment
of its popular, long-running Ys series in 1987. Besides Falcom's own Dragon Slayer series, Ys was also influenced by Hydlide, from which it borrowed certain mechanics such as health-regeneration when standing still, a mechanic that has since become common in video games today. Ys is also known for its 'bump attack' system, where the protagonist Adol automatically attacks when running into enemies off-center, making the game more accessible and the usually tedious level-grinding task more swift and enjoyable for audiences at the time. The game also had what is considered to be one of the best and most influential video game music soundtracks of all time, composed by Yuzo Koshiro
and Mieko Ishikawa. In terms of the number of game releases, Ys is second only to Final Fantasy
as the largest Eastern role-playing game franchise.
Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, released for the MSX
in 1987 and for the Mega Drive as Super Hydlide
in 1989, adopted the morality meter of its predecessor, expanded on its time option with the introduction of an in-game clock setting day-night cycles and a need to sleep and eat, and made other improvements such as cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system closer to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between four distinct character classes, a wider variety of equipment and spells, and a weight system affecting the player's movement depending on the overall weight of the equipment carried. That same year, Kogado Studio
's sci-fi RPG Cosmic Soldier: Psychic War
featured a unique "tug of war
" style real-time combat system, where battles are a clash of energy between the party and the enemy, with the player needing to push the energy towards the enemy to strike them, while being able to use a shield to block or a suction ability to absorb the opponent's power. It also featured a unique non-linear conversation system, where the player can recruit allies by talking to them, choose whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to Megami Tensei
. Also in 1987, Shiryou Sensen: War of the Dead, an MSX2
title developed by Fun Factory and published by Victor Music Industries
, was the first true survival horror RPG. Designed by Katsuya Iwamoto, the game revolved around a female SWAT
member Lila rescuing survivors in an isolated monster-infested town and bringing them to safety in a church. It was open-ended
like Dragon Quest
and had real-time side-view battles like Zelda II
. Unlike other RPGs at the time, however, the game had a dark and creepy atmosphere expressed through the story, graphics, and music, while the gameplay used shooter-based combat and gave limited ammunition for each weapon, forcing the player to search for ammo and often run away from monsters in order to conserve ammo. That same year saw the release of Laplace no Ma, another hybrid of survival horror and RPG, though with more traditional RPG elements such as turn-based combat. It was mostly set in a mansion infested with undead
creatures, and the player controlled a party of several characters with different professions, including a scientist who constructs tools and a journalist who takes pictures.
In 1988, Arsys Software's Star Cruiser was an innovative action RPG released for the PC-8801. It was notable for being an early example of an RPG with fully 3D polygonal graphics, combined with first-person shooter
gameplay, which would occasionally switch to space flight simulator
gameplay when exploring outer space with six degrees of freedom
. All the backgrounds, objects and opponents in the game were rendered in 3D polygons, many years before they were widely adopted by the gaming industry. The game also emphasized storytelling, with plot twists and extensive character dialogues. Star Cruiser was later ported to the Mega Drive console in 1990. Another 1988 release, Last Armageddon
, produced for the PC-8801 and later ported to the PC Engine CD and NES consoles in 1990, featured a unique post-apocalyptic storyline set in a desolate future where humanity has become extinct and the protagonists are demon monsters waging war against an alien species. The Scheme, released by Bothtec
for the PC-8801
in 1988, was an action RPG with a similar side-scrolling open-world
gameplay to Metroid
. That same year, Ys II introduced the unique ability to transform into a monster, which allows the player to both scare human non-player character
s for unique dialogues as well as interact with all the monsters. This is a recurring highlight in the series, offering the player insight into the enemies, to an extent that very few other games allow to this day. Also that same year, War of the Dead Part 2 for the MSX2 and PC-88 abandoned certain RPG elements of its predecessor, such as random encounter
s, and instead adopted more action-adventure elements from Metal Gear
while retaining the horror atmosphere of its predecessor.
1988 also saw the debut of Telenet Japan
's Exile, a series of action-platform RPGs, beginning with XZR: Idols of Apostate. The series was controversial for its plot, which revolves around a time-traveling Crusades
-era Syrian Islamic Assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as modern-day political leaders, with similarities to the present-day Assassin's Creed
action game series. The gameplay of Exile included both overhead exploration and side-scrolling combat, featured a heart monitor to represent the player's Attack Power and Armour Class statistics, and another controversial aspect of the game involved taking drugs (instead of potions) that increase/decrease attributes but with side-effects such as affecting the heart-rate or causing death. An early attempt at incorporating a point-and-click
interface in a real-time overhead action RPG was Silver Ghost, a 1988 NEC PC-8801
game by Kure Software Koubou
. It was an action-strategy RPG
where characters could be controlled using a cursor. It was cited by Camelot Software Planning
's Hiroyuki Takahashi as inspiration for the Shining series of tactical RPGs. According to Takahashi, Silver Ghost was "a simulation action type of game where you had to direct, oversee and command multiple characters." Unlike later tactical RPGs, however, Silver Ghost was not turn-based, but instead used real-time strategy
and action role-playing game
elements. A similar game released by Kure Software Koubou that same year was First Queen
, a unique hybrid between a real-time strategy, action RPG, and strategy RPG. Like an RPG, the player can explore the world, purchase items, and level up, and like a strategy video game
, it focuses on recruiting soldiers and fighting against large armies rather than small parties. The game's "Gochyakyara" ("Multiple Characters") system let the player control one character at a time while the others are controlled by computer AI
that follow the leader, and where battles are large-scale with characters sometimes filling an entire screen.
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes
in 1989 departed from the action-oriented gameplay of previous Dragon Slayer titles, and instead used a more traditional turn-based combat system. In 1990, Data East
's Gate of Doom was an arcade
action RPG that combined beat 'em up fighting game
play with fantasy role-playing and introduced an isometric perspective. That same year, Enix
released a unique biological simulation action RPG by Almanic
that revolved around the theme of evolution
, 46 Okunen Monogatari, a revised version of which was released in 1992 as E.V.O.: Search for Eden
. That same year, Alpha Denshi's Crossed Swords
for the arcades
combined the first-person beat 'em up
gameplay of SNK
's The Super Spy
(released the same year) with RPG elements, while replacing the first-person shooting with hack & slash combat. Also in 1990, Hideo Kojima
's SD Snatcher
, while turn-based, introduced an innovative first-person shooter-based battle system where firearm weapons (each with different abilities and target ranges) have limited ammunition and the player can aim at specific parts of the enemy's body with each part weakening the enemy in different ways. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square's Vagrant Story
(2000), a pausable real-time RPG that uses both melee and bow & arrow weapons, as well as Bethesda
's Fallout 3 (2008) and Nippon Ichi
's Last Rebellion
(2010).
In 1991, Nihon Falcom's Brandish
was an early overhead action RPG to use mouse controls, where the player could move forward, backward, turn, strafe and attack by clicking on boxes surrounding the player character
. The 1991 Dragon Slayer title Lord Monarch
departed from the action RPG gameplay of its predecessors, instead using an early form of real-time strategy
gameplay. The erotic
adult
RPG Dragon Knight III
, released in 1991 for the PC-8801 and as Knights of Xentar for MS-DOS
, introduced a unique pausable real-time battle system, where characters automatically attack based on a list of different AI
scripts, though this meant the player had no control over the characters during battle other than to give commands for spells, item use, and AI routines. That same year, Arcus Odyssey
by Wolf Team (now Namco Tales Studio
) was an action RPG that featured an isometric perspective and co-operative multiplayer gameplay. The sequel to the first-person shooter role-playing game Star Cruiser, simply called Star Cruiser 2, was released in 1992, for the PC-9821 and FM Towns
computers.
and Sony PlayStation became increasingly powerful in the console market while the computer market became increasingly dominated by the IBM Personal Computer and Microsoft Windows 95
. This led to many Japanese PC manufacturers either continuing to develop for Windows 95 or moving over to the more lucrative console market. While most developers turned their attention to the console market, some developers dedicated to content unsuitable for consoles (such as eroge
and complex military strategy game
s) continued their focus on the PC market.
In 1996, Night Slave
was a shooter RPG released for the PC-98 that combined the side-scrolling shooter gameplay of Assault Suits Valken
and Gradius
, including an armaments system that employs recoil physics
, with many RPG elements such as permanently levelling up the mecha
and various weapons using power-orbs obtained from defeating enemies as well as storyline cut scenes. These cut scenes also occasionally contain lesbian adult content
.
Lastly, towards the end of the 1990s, a new Internet fad
began, owing to simplistic software development kit
s such as the Japanese RPG Maker series (1988 onwards). Influenced by console RPGs and based mostly on the gameplay
and style of the SNES
and Sega Genesis games, a large group of young programmer
s and aficionados across the world began creating independent console-style computer RPGs and sharing them online. In an interview with GameDaily
, MTVN's Dave Williams remarked that, "Games like this [user generated] have been sort of under the radar for something that could be the basis of a business. We have the resources and we can afford to invest more... I think it's going to be a great thing for the consumer."
The earliest role-playing video game
on a console was Dragonstomper
on the Atari 2600
in 1982. Bokosuka Wars
, originally released for the Sharp X1
computer in 1983, was ported to the NES
console in 1985, and was a commercial success in Japan, where it laid the foundations for the tactical role-playing game
subgenre. Other notable early console RPGs included ports of Namco
's 1984 arcade
action role-playing game
s: The Tower of Druaga, which was ported to the NES in 1985, and Dragon Buster
, the first video game to feature a life meter (called "Vitality" in-game), also ported to the NES in 1987.
In 1985, Yuji Horii
and his team at Chunsoft
began production on Dragon Quest
(Dragon Warrior). After Enix
published the game in early 1986, it became the template for future console RPGs. The game was influenced by the first-person random battles in Wizardry
, the overhead movement in Ultima, and the mystery storytelling in Horii's own 1983 visual novel
game Portopia Serial Murder Case
. Horii's intention behind Dragon Quest was to create a RPG that appeals to a wider audience unfamiliar with the genre or video games in general. This required the creation of a new kind of RPG, that didn't rely on previous D&D experience, didn't require hundreds of hours of rote fighting, and that could appeal to any kind of gamer. Compared to statistics-heavy computer RPGs, Dragon Quest was a more streamlined, faster-paced game based on exploration and combat, and featured a top-down view in dungeons, in contrast to the first-person view
used for dungeons in earlier computer RPGs. The streamlined gameplay of Dragon Quest thus made the game more accessible to a wider audience than previous computer RPGs. The game also placed a greater emphasis on storytelling and emotional involvement, building on Horii's previous work Portopia Serial Murder Case, but this time introducing a coming of age
tale for Dragon Quest that audiences could relate to, making use of the RPG level-building gameplay as a way to represent this. It also featured elements still found in most console RPGs, like major quests interwoven with minor subquests, an incremental spell system, the damsel-in-distress storyline that many RPGs follow, and a romance element that remains a staple of the genre, alongside anime
-style art by Akira Toriyama
and a classical
score by Koichi Sugiyama
that was considered revolutionary for console video game music.
The gameplay of Dragon Quest itself was non-linear, with most of the game not blocked in any way other than by being infested with monsters that can easily kill an unprepared player. This was balanced by the use of bridges to signify a change in difficulty and a new level progression that departed from D&D, where in the 1st and 2nd editions, players are given random initial stats and a constant growth rate. Dragon Quest instead gave the player some extra hit points at the start and a level progression where the effective rate of character growth decelerates over time, similar to how the more recent editions of D&D
have balanced the gameplay. Dragon Quest also gave players a clear objective from the start of the game and a series of smaller scenarios to build up the player's strength in order to achieve that objective. The ending could also be altered depending on the moral dialogue choice of whether or not the protagonist should join the antagonist on his evil conquest towards the end of the game. The game also had a limited inventory requiring item management, while the caves were dark, requiring the use of a torch to display a field of vision around the character. With Dragon Quest becoming widely popular in Japan, such that local municipalities were forced to place restrictions on where and when the game could be sold, the Dragon Quest series
is still considered a bellwether for the Japanese video game market. Dragon Quest did not reach North America until 1989, when it was released as Dragon Warrior, the first NES RPG to be released in North America. The release of Dragon Quest was followed by NES remakes of the early Wizardry and Ultima titles over the next several years by Pony Canyon
.
An important influence on the action role-playing game
genre came from the 1986 action-adventure game
, The Legend of Zelda, which is often not considered an action RPG since it lacked key RPG mechanics such as experience point
s, but had many features in common with RPGs and served as the template for future action RPGs. In contrast to previous action RPGs such as Dragon Slayer and Hydlide which required the player to bump into enemies in order to attack them, The Legend of Zelda featured an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen. It was also an early example of non-linear open world
gameplay, and introduced innovations like battery backup saving
. When it was released in North America, Zelda was seen as a new kind of RPG with action-adventure elements, with Roe R. Adams (who worked on the Wizardry
series) stating in 1990 that, although "it still had many action-adventure features, it was definitely a CRPG." It was largely responsible for the surge of action-oriented RPGs released since the late 1980s, both on consoles as well as computers; it was often cited as an influence on action-oriented computer RPGs, such as the 1988 Origin Systems
game Times of Lore
, for example. The Legend of Zelda series
would exert an influence on the transition of both console and computer RPGs from stat-heavy turn-based combat towards real-time action combat in the following decades. Due to its similarities to action RPGs and its impact on the genre, there continues to be much debate regarding whether or not The Legend of Zelda series should be considered action RPGs.
Other releases at the time were the action role-playing games Deadly Towers
(1986) and Rygar (1987), which were notable as some of the first Japanese console RPGs to be released in North America, where they were well received for being a new kind of RPG that differed from both the console action-adventures
(such as Castlevania
, Trojan
, and Wizards & Warriors) and American computer RPGs
(such as Wizardry, Ultima, and Might & Magic
) that American gamers were previously more familiar with at the time. Deadly Towers and Rygar were particularly notable for their permanent power-up mechanic, which at the time blurred the line between the power-up
s used in action-adventures and the experience points used in RPGs.
's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
for the Famicom Disk System was an early action RPG, combining the action-adventure
framework of its predecessor The Legend of Zelda with the statistical elements of turn-based RPGs. Dragon Quest II
introduced a party system where, instead of beginning the game with an entire party like in previous computer RPGs, the player begins the game with only one character and gradually recruits more party members during the course of the game. The game also introduced a sailing ship that could be landed anywhere, allowing the entire game world to be explored in an open-ended manner, and an expanded inventory management system giving each character an individual inventory that holds up to eight items, placing a greater emphasis on conservative item management between the characters. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
by Atlus
for the NES abandoned the common medieval fantasy setting and sword and sorcery
theme in favour of a modern science-fiction setting and horror theme. It also introduced the monster-catching
mechanic with its demon-summoning system, which allowed the player to recruit enemies into their party, through a conversation system that gives the player a choice of whether to kill or spare an enemy and allows them to engage any opponent in conversation. Sega
's original Phantasy Star for the Master System established a number of genre conventions, with its "strong plot that involved quest for revenge and corruption by power, background stories for party members, individual spells that required magic points," and combined sci-fi & fantasy setting that set it apart from the D&D staple. It was also one of the first games to feature a female protagonist and animated monster encounters, and allowed inter-planetary travel between three planets. Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord
was a third-person RPG that featured a wide open world
and a mini-map
on the corner of the screen. The Dragon Slayer series also made its debut on the NES console (and thus to American audiences) in 1987, with the release of Legacy of the Wizard
(Dragon Slayer IV), a non-linear action RPG featuring a Metroidvania-style open world
, and Faxanadu
, a side-story to Xanadu.
The Magic of Scheherazade, released in 1987, was notable for several innovations, including a unique setting based on the Arabian Nights, time travel between five different time periods, a unique combat system featuring both real-time solo action and turn-based team battles, and the introduction of team attacks where two party members could join forces to perform an extra-powerful attack. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
was an action RPG that combined the platform-action
mechanics of the original Castlevania
with the open world of an action-adventure and RPG mechanics such as experience point
s. It also introduced a day-night cycle that affects when certain NPCs
appear in certain locations and offered three possible multiple endings
depending on the time it took to complete the game. Square
's Cleopatra no Mahou was an adventure
RPG with a unique plot revolving around archeology. Square's original Final Fantasy
for the NES introduced an experimental character creation
system that allowed the player to create their own parties and assign different character classes to party members, who in turn evolve through an early class change system later in the game. It also featured unique concepts such as time travel
; side-view battles, with the player character
s on the right and the enemies on the left, which soon became the norm for numerous console RPGs; and the use of transportation for travel, "by ship, canoe, and even flying airship." While creating Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi
took inspiration from certain elements in Hayao Miyazaki
's anime
films, such as the airships being inspired by Castle in the Sky
. Some of these 1987 releases proved popular and went on to spawn their own RPG franchises, particularly the Megami Tensei
, Phantasy Star
and Final Fantasy
series. In particular, the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series remain popular today, Final Fantasy more so in the West
and Dragon Quest more so in Japan
.
In 1988, Dragon Quest III introduced a character progression system allowing the player to change the party's character classes during the course of the game, and keep a character's stats and skills learned from previous classes. This class-changing system shaped the gameplay of future RPGs, especially the Final Fantasy series, while a similar class-changing system later also appeared in Wizardry VI and VII. While the earlier Dragon Quest games were also non-linear, Dragon Quest III was the most substantial example of open-world gameplay among the early Dragon Quest games. It also allowed the player to swap characters in and out of the party at will, and another "major innovation was the introduction of day/night cycles; certain items, characters, and quests are only accessible at certain times of day." Final Fantasy II
, is considered "the first true Final Fantasy game", introducing an "emotional story line, morally ambiguous characters, tragic events," and a story to be "emotionally experienced rather than concluded from gameplay and conversations." It also replaced traditional levels and experience points with a new activity-based progression system that required "gradual development of individual statistics through continuous actions of the same kind," a mechanic that has been used in a number of later RPGs such as the SaGa and Grandia series, Final Fantasy XIV
, and The Elder Scrolls
series. Final Fantasy II also featured open-ended exploration, and introduced an innovative dialogue system where keywords or phrases can be memorized and mentioned during conversations with NPCs, the theme of an evil empire against a small band of rebels (similar to Star Wars
), and the iconic chocobo
, a fictional creature inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
In 1989, Phantasy Star II
for the Genesis established many conventions of the genre, including an epic, dramatic, character-driven storyline dealing with serious themes and subject matter, and a strategy-based battle system. Its purely science fiction
setting was also a major departure for RPGs, which had previously been largely restricted to fantasy
or science fantasy
settings. The game's science fiction story was also unique, reversing the common alien invasion
scenario by instead presenting Earthling
s as the invading antagonists rather than the defending protagonists. The game's strong characterization, and use of self-discovery
as a motivating factor for the characters and the player, was a major departure from previous RPGs and had a major influence on subsequent RPGs such as the Final Fantasy series. Capcom
's Sweet Home
for the NES introduced a moden Japanese horror
theme and laid the foundations for the survival horror genre, later serving as the main inspiration for Resident Evil (1996). Like Resident Evil, Sweet Home featured the use of scattered notes as a storytelling mechanic and a number of multiple endings
depending on which characters survived to the end. Tengai Makyo: Ziria
released for the PC Engine CD that same year was the first RPG released on CD-ROM
and the first in the genre to feature animated cut scenes and voice acting. The game's plot was also unusual for its feudal Japan setting and its emphasis on humour
; the plot and characters were inspired by the Japanese folk tale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari
. The music for the game was also composed by noted musician Ryuichi Sakamoto
. Also in 1989, the early enhanced remake Ys I & II
was one of the first games to use CD-ROM
, utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animated cut scenes, a Red Book CD
soundtrack, and voice acting. Its English localization
was also one of the first to use voice dubbing
. The game received the Game of the Year
award from OMNI Magazine in 1990, as well as many other prizes.
1989 also saw the release of Dungeon Explorer
, developed by Atlus for the TurboGrafx-16
, which is considered a pioneer title in the action RPG genre with its multiplayer cooperative gameplay
, allowing up to five players to play simultaneously. That year also saw the release of Super Hydlide
, the Mega Drive port of the 1987 MSX
action RPG Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, which adopted the morality meter of its 1985 predecessor Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness where the player's alignment
changes depending on whether the player kills humans, good monsters, or evil monsters, and expanded its predecessor's time option, which speeds up or slows down the gameplay, with the introduction of an in-game clock setting day-night cycles and a need to sleep and eat. It also made other improvements such as cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system closer to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between distinct character classes, and a weight system affecting the player's movement depending on the weight of carried equipment. The Final Fantasy Legend, the first in the SaGa series, adopted Final Fantasy II's activity-based progression, expanding it with weapons that shatter with repeated use, and added new ideas such as a race of monsters that mutate depending on which fallen foes they consume. The game also introduced the concept of memento mori
, with a theme revolving around death, while the plot consisted of loosely connected stories and sidequests rather than an epic narrative.
and Lufia
, seeming to offer more of the traditional role-playing
, with players assuming the roles of people who cared about each other, fell in love or even had families. Romance in particular was a theme that was common in most console RPGs but alien to most computer RPGs at the time. Japanese console RPGs were also generally more action-adventure
-oriented than their American computer counterparts. The console RPG market became more profitable, which led to several American manufacturers releasing console ports of traditional computer RPGs such as Ultima, though they received mixed reviews due to console gamers at the time considering them to be not "as exciting as the Japanese imports." During the 1990s, console RPGs had become increasingly dominant, exerting a greater influence on computer RPGs than the other way around. Console RPGs had eclipsed computer RPGs for some time, though computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the decade with interactive choice-filled adventures.
In 1990, Dragon Quest IV introduced a new method of storytelling: segmenting the plot into segregated chapters. While this made the game more linear than its predecessor, it allowed for greater characterization, with each chapter dedicated to a particular character's background story. The game also introduced an AI
system called "Tactics" which allowed the player to modify the strategies used by the allied party members while maintaining full control of the hero. Final Fantasy III
introduced the classic "job system", a character progression engine allowing the player to change the character class
es, as well as acquire new and advanced classes and combine class abilities, during the course of the game. That same year also saw the release of Nintendo
's Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, a game that set the template for the tactical role-playing game
genre and was the first entry in the Fire Emblem
series. Another notable strategy RPG that year was Koei's Bandit Kings of Ancient China
, which was successful in combining the strategy RPG and management simulation
genres, building on its own Nobunaga's Ambition
series that began in 1983. Several early RPGs set in a post-apocalyptic
future were also released that year, including Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II, and Crystalis
, which was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Crystalis also made advances to the action role-playing game subgenre, being a true action RPG that combined the real-time action-adventure
combat and open world
of The Legend of Zelda with the level-building and spell-casting of traditional RPGs like Final Fantasy. That year also saw the release of Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
, which featured an innovative and original branching storyline, which spans three generations of characters and can be altered depending on which character the protagonist of each generation marries, leading to four possible endings. Data East
's Gate of Doom was an action RPG that combined beat 'em up
gameplay with fantasy role-playing and introduced an isometric perspective. Hideo Kojima
's SD Snatcher
abandoned random encounter
s and introduced an innovative first-person turn-based battle system where firearm weapons (each with different abilities and target ranges) have limited ammunition, the player can aim at specific parts of the enemy's body with each part weakening the enemy in different ways, and an auto-battle feature could be enabled. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square's Vagrant Story
(2000), Bethesda's Fallout 3
(2008), and Nippon Ichi
's Last Rebellion
(2010).
In 1991, Final Fantasy Adventure
, the first in the Mana series, introduced the ability to kill townspeople, something that most RPGs still lack today. The most important RPG that year, however, was Final Fantasy IV
, one of the first role-playing games to feature a complex, involving plot, placing a much greater emphasis on character development and personal relationships, and pioneering "the whole concept of dramatic storytelling in an RPG." It also introduced a new battle system: the "Active Time Battle" system, developed by Hiroyuki Ito
, where the time-keeping system
does not stop. On the battle screen, each character has an ATB meter that gradually fills, and the player is allowed to issue a command to that character once the meter is full. The fact that enemies can attack or be attacked at any time is credited with injecting urgency and excitement into the combat system. The ATB combat system was considered revolutionary for being a hybrid between turn-based and real-time combat, with its requirement of faster reactions from players appealing to those who were more used to action game
s. That same year, Crea-Tech's Metal Max
was an early non-linear, open-ended, post-apocalyptic, vehicle combat
RPG that lacked a predetermined story path and instead allowed the player to choose which missions
to follow in whatever order while being able to visit any place in the game world. The ending also can be determined by the player's actions, while they can continue playing the game even after the ending. The game also allowed the player to choose the character class
es for each player character
as well as create and modify the tanks used in battle. The Metal Max series
continued to allow tank customization and open-ended gameplay, while also allowing the player to obtain an ending at almost any time, particularly Metal Saga
, which could be completed with an ending scenario just minutes into the game, making it the shortest possible RPG. Telenet Japan
released a console remake of its 1988 action-platform RPG Exile, which was controversial, with a plot revolving around a time-traveling Crusades
-era Syrian Islamic Assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as modern-day political leaders, with similarities to the present-day Assassin's Creed
action game series, while the gameplay of Exile involved taking drugs that increase or decrease statistics and affect the player's heart-rate, displayed using a heart monitor.
In 1992, Final Fantasy V
improved on the ATB system by introducing a time gauge to indicate to the player which character's turn is next, and it expanded the job system by offering more customization options with more than 22 job classes and giving each character greater flexibility by allowing them to learn secondary abilities from each job before changing classes. The job and ATB systems continued to be used in later Final Fantasy titles. 1992 also saw the release of Dragon Quest V
, a game that has been praised for its involving, emotional family-themed narrative divided by different periods of time, something that has appeared in very few video games before or since. It has also been credited as the first known video game to feature a playable pregnancy, a concept that has since appeared in later games such as Harvest Moon, The Sims 2
and Fable II. Dragon Quest V's monster-collecting mechanic, where monsters can be defeated, captured, added to the party, and gain their own experience levels, also influenced many later franchises such as Pokémon
, Digimon
and Dokapon
. In turn, the concept of collecting everything in a game, in the form of achievements
or similar rewards, has since become a common trend in video games. Dragon Quest V also expanded the AI "Tactics" system of its predecessor by allowing each ally's AI routines to be set individually. Shin Megami Tensei
, released in 1992 for the SNES, introduced an early moral alignment
system that has an impact on the direction and outcome of the storyline. It gave the player the freedom to choose between three different paths: Chaos, Law, and Neutral, none of which is portrayed as right or wrong. The deep personal choices the player makes throughout the game affects the protagonist's alignment, leading to different possible paths and multiple endings
. This has since become a hallmark of the Megami Tensei
series. Another non-linear RPG released that year was Romancing Saga
, an open-world RPG by Square that offered many choices and allowed players to complete quests
in any order, with the decision of whether or not to participate in any particular quest affecting the outcome of the storyline. The game also allowed players to choose from eight different characters, each with their own stories that start in different places and offer different outcomes. Romancing SaGa thus succeeded in providing a very different experience during each run through the game, something that later non-linear RPGs such as SaGa Frontier
and Fable
had promised but were unable to live up to. The SaGa series has since become known for its open-ended gameplay. The series is also known for having an activity-based progression system instead of experience levels, and since Romancing Saga, a combo system where up to five party members can perform a combined special attack. Unlike other RPGs at the time, Romancing SaGa also required characters to pay mentors to teach them abilities, whether it's using certain weapons or certain proficiencies like opening a chest or dismantling a trap. Data East
's Heracles no Eikō III, written by Kazushige Nojima
, introduced the plot element of a nameless immortal
suffering from amnesia
, and Nojima would later revisit the amnesia theme in Final Fantasy VII and Glory of Heracles
. The TurboGrafx-CD port of Dragon Knight II released that year was also notable for introducing erotic
adult
content to consoles, though such content had often appeared in Japanese computer RPGs since the early 1980s. That same year, Game Arts
began the Lunar series on the Sega CD with Lunar: The Silver Star
, one of the first successful CD-ROM RPGs, featuring both voice and text, and considered one of the best RPGs in its time. The game was praised for its soundtrack, emotionally engaging storyline, and strong characterization. It also introduced an early form of level-scaling where the bosses would get stronger depending on the protagonist's level, a mechanic that was later used in Enix's The 7th Saga
and extended to normal enemies in Square's Romancing Saga 3.
In 1993, Square's Secret of Mana
, the second in the Mana series, further advanced the action RPG
subgenre with its introduction of cooperative multiplayer
into the genre. The game was created by a team previously responsible for the first three Final Fantasy titles: Nasir Gebelli
, Koichi Ishii
, and Hiromichi Tanaka
. It was intended to be one of the first CD-ROM RPGs, as a launch title for the SNES CD add-on, but had to be altered to fit onto a standard game cartridge after the SNES CD project was dropped. The game received considerable acclaim, for its innovative pausable real-time battle system, the "Ring Command" menu system, its innovative cooperative multiplayer gameplay, where the second or third players could drop in and out of the game at any time rather than players having to join the game at the same time, and the customizable AI settings for computer-controlled allies. The game has influenced a number of later action RPGs. That same year also saw the release of Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
, which introduced the use of pre-programmable combat manoeuvers called 'macros', a means of setting up the player's party to deliver custom attack combos. Madou Monogatari
, a 1989 MSX and PC-98 computer RPG ported to the Game Gear handheld console in 1993, had several unique features, including magic-oriented turn-based combat that completely lacked physical attacks, and the replacement of numerical statistics with visual representations, where the protagonist's condition is represented by her facial expressions and sprite
graphics while experience is measured in jewels that encircle the screen, with the only visible numerical statistic being the collected gold. That same year, T&E Soft
released Sword World SFC, the Super Famicom
version of the PC-98 game Sword World PC released a year earlier. It was officially based on Sword World RPG
, a popular Japanese table-top role-playing game
. The video game versions were multiplayer titles and early attempts at recreating an open-ended, table-top role-playing experience on video game platforms, being set in the same world as Sword World and implementing the same rules and scenarios. That year also saw the release of Romancing Saga 2
, which further expanded the non-linear gameplay of its predecessor. While in the original Romancing Saga, scenarios were changed according to dialogue choices during conversations, Romancing Saga 2 further expanded on this by having unique storylines for each character that can change depending on the player's actions, including who is chosen, what is said in conversation, what events have occurred, and who is present in the party.
In 1994, Final Fantasy VI
moved away from the medieval
setting of its predecessors, instead being set in a steampunk
environment, and dealing with post-apocalyptic themes. The game received considerable acclaim, for improvements such as its broadened thematic scope, plotlines, characters, multiple-choice scenarios, and variation of play. Square's Live A Live
, released for the Super Famicom in Japan, featured eight different characters and stories, with the first seven unfolding in any order the player chooses, as well as four different endings. The game's ninja
chapter in particular was an early example of stealth game elements in an RPG, requiring the player to infiltrate a castle, rewarding the player if the entire chapter can be completed without engaging in combat. Other chapters had similar innovations, such as Akira's chapter where the character uses telepathic powers to discover information. That same year saw the release of the 3DO console port of the 1991 PC RPG Knights of Xentar
, which had introduced a unique pausable real-time battle system, where characters automatically attack based on a list of different AI scripts chosen by the player. Robotrek
by Quintet and Ancient
was a predecessor to Pokémon in the sense that the protagonist does not himself fight, but sends out his robots to do so. Like Pokémon, Robotrek was designed to appeal to a younger audience, allowed team customization, and each robot was kept in a ball.
raised the standards for the genre, with certain aspects that were considered revolutionary in its time, including its nonlinear gameplay, branching plot, more than ten different endings, plot-related sidequests, a unique battle system with innovations such as combo attacks, and lack of random encounters. It also introduced the concept of New Game+
, though this game mode has its origins in the original Legend of Zelda. Chrono Trigger also re-introduced the concept of time travel in RPGs, which had rarely been dealt with in video games since the original Final Fantasy. That same year, Square's Romancing Saga 3
featured a storyline that could be told differently from the perspectives of up to eight different characters and introduced a level-scaling system where the enemies get stronger as the characters do, a mechanic that was later used in Final Fantasy VIII. Enix's Dragon Quest VI
introduced an innovative scenario with a unique real world and dream world setting, which seems to have had an influence on the later Square
role-playing games Chrono Cross
and Final Fantasy X
. Dragon Quest VI also improved on the inventory management of its predecessors with the addition of a bag to store extra items. Meanwhile, Quintet's Terranigma
allowed players to shape the game world through town-building
simulation elements, expanding on its 1992 predecessor Soul Blazer
, while Square's Seiken Densetsu 3
allowed a number of different possible storyline paths and endings depending on which combination of characters the player selected.
In 1996, the tactical RPG Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu gave players the ability to affect the relationships between different characters, which in turn affected the storyline as these relationships led to different characters appearing in the second generation of the game's plot. Enix
released tri-Ace
's sci-fi action RPG Star Ocean
, which also gave players the ability to affect the relationships between different characters through its "private actions" social system, where the protagonist's relationship points with the other characters are affected by the player's choices, which in turn affects the storyline, leading to branching paths and multiple different endings. Treasure's Guardian Heroes
allowed players to alter the storyline through their actions, such as choosing between a number of branching paths leading to multiple different endings and through the Karma meter which changes depending on whether the player kills civilians or shows mercy to enemies. Sega's Sakura Wars
for the Saturn
combined tactical RPG combat with dating sim
and visual novel
elements, introducing a real-time branching choice system where, during an event or conversation, the player must choose an action or dialogue choice within a time limit, or not to respond at all within that time; the player's choice, or lack thereof, affects the player character
's relationship with other characters and in turn the characters' performance in battle, the direction of the storyline, and the ending. Later games in the series added several variations, including an action gauge that can be raised up or down depending on the situation, and a gauge that the player can manipulate using the analog stick
depending on the situation. The success of Sakura Wars led to a wave of games that combine the RPG and dating sim genres, including Thousand Arms
in 1998, Riviera: The Promised Land
in 2002, and Luminous Arc
in 2007. Also in 1996, Beyond the Beyond
introduced a turn-based
battle system dubbed the "Active Playing System," which allows the player to increase the chances of landing an improved attack or defending from an attack by pressing the X button at the correct time during battle, similar to the timing-based attacks in the later game Final Fantasy VIII.
The next major revolution came in the late 1990s, which saw the rise of optical disks in fifth generation
consoles. The implications for RPGs were enormous—longer, more involved quests, better audio, and full-motion video. This was first clearly demonstrated in 1997 by the phenomenal success of Final Fantasy VII
, which is considered one of the most influential games of all time, akin to that of Star Wars
in the movie industry. With a record-breaking production budget of around $45 million, the ambitious scope of Final Fantasy VII raised the possibilities for the genre, with its more expansive world to explore, much longer quest, more numerous sidequests, dozens of minigames, and much higher production values. The latter includes innovations such as the use of 3D characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, battles viewed from multiple different angles rather than a single angle, and for the first time full-motion CGI
video seamlessly blended into the gameplay, effectively integrated throughout the game. The extensive use of cinematics has since become one of the genre's trademarks. Gameplay innovations included the materia system, which allowed a considerable amount of customization and flexibility through materia that can be combined in many different ways and exchanged between characters at any time, and the limit breaks, special attacks that can be performed after a character's limit meter fills up by taking hits from opponents. Final Fantasy VII continues to be listed among the best games of all time, for its highly polished gameplay, high playability, lavish production, well-developed characters, intricate storyline, and an emotionally engaging narrative that is much darker and sophisticated than most other RPGs. The game's storytelling and character development was considered a major narrative jump forward for video games and was often compared to films and novels at the time.
The explosion of Final Fantasy VII' s sales and the ascendance of the PlayStation
represented the dawning of a new era of RPGs. Backed by a clever multi-million dollar marketing campaign, Final Fantasy VII brought the first taste of CRPGs to a much wider audience and played a key role in the success of the PlayStation gaming console. Following the success of Final Fantasy VII, console RPGs, previously a niche genre outside of Japan, skyrocketed in popularity across the world. The game was soon ported to the PC and gained much success there as well, as did several other originally console RPGs, blurring the line between the console and computer platforms. The game was also responsible not only for popularizing RPGs outside of Japan, but its high production budget played a key role in the rising costs of video game development in general, and it led to Square's foray into films with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
.
Later in 1997, Square released SaGa Frontier
, which expands on the non-linear gameplay of its Romancing Saga predecessors. It has a setting that spans multiple planets and an overarching plot that becomes apparent after playing through each of the different characters' quests that tie together at certain places. The characters have several different possible endings each, and there can be up to 15 characters in the party at the same time, organized into three groups of five characters. The ambitious amount of freedom the game offered was a departure from most RPGs in its time, but this led to a mixed reception due to its lack of direction. Quintet's 1997 release The Granstream Saga
was an early fully 3D action RPG that had a unique third-person one-on-one combat system and a storyline that, while being mostly linear, offered a difficult moral choice towards the end of the game regarding which of two characters to save, each leading to a different ending.
In 1998, Square's Xenogears
was acclaimed for the ambitious scope of its storyline, which spanned millennia and explored themes rarely dealt with in video games, including topics such as religion and the origin of mankind, and social commentary dealing with racism, poverty, war, and human psychology, along with narrative references to the philosophies of Sigmund Freud
, Carl Jung
and Friedrich Nietzsche
. It is today considered one of the greatest examples of video game storytelling. That year also saw the rise of monster-collecting
RPGs which, although originating from Megami Tensei, Dragon Quest V, and Robotrek, was further advanced and popularized by Pokémon
, which featured multiplayer gameplay and was released in North America that year. Pokémon has since become the best-selling RPG franchise of all time.
In 1999, the cinematic trend set by Final Fantasy VII continued with Final Fantasy VIII
, which introduced characters with a proportionately sized human appearance. The game also featured a level-scaling system where the enemies scale in level along with the player's party. Similar level-scaling mechanics have been used in a number of later RPGs, including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
, Silverfall
, Dragon Age: Origins
, Fable II, Fallout 3
, and the upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
. Square also expanded on the non-linearity of SaGa Frontier with their 1999 action RPG Legend of Mana
, the most open-ended in the Mana series, allowing the player to build the game world however they choose, complete any quests
and subplots they choose in any order of their choice, and choose which storyline paths to follow, departing from most other action RPGs in its time. That same year, Square's survival horror RPG Parasite Eve II
featured branching storylines and up to three different possible endings, while the sci-fi RPG Star Ocean: The Second Story
boasted as many as 86 different endings, with each of the possible permutations to these endings numbering in the hundreds, setting a benchmark for the amount of outcomes possible for a video game. Using a relationship system inspired by dating sim
s, each of the characters in Star Ocean had friendship points and relationship points with each of the other characters, allowing the player to pair together, or ship
, any couples (both romantic heterosexual
relationships as well as friendships) of their choice, allowing a form of fan fiction
to exist within the game itself. This type of social system was later extended to allow romantic lesbian
relationships in BioWare
's 2007 sci-fi RPG Mass Effect
. However, the relationship system in Star Ocean not only affected the storyline, but also the gameplay, affecting the way the characters behave towards each other in battle. Another 1999 RPG, Persona 2
, also featured dating elements, including the option to engage in a homosexual
relationship.
—in particular the Nintendo DS
—have featured a number of innovative RPGs during the 2000s. Konami
's Boktai
(2003) had a unique stealth-based action gameplay that made use of a solar-power sensor. Square Enix
's The World Ends With You (2007) featured a unique dual-screen action combat system that involves controlling two characters at the same time. Level-5
's Inazuma Eleven
(2008) introduced unique soccer football RPG gameplay incorporating sports game
elements. The Atlus
title Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
(2009) blends together both traditional and tactical RPG
gameplay along with non-linear adventure game
elements as well as an innovative demon auction system and a death clock system where each character has a specified time of death and the player's actions has consequences on who lives and dies. On the PlayStation Portable
(PSP), Half-Minute Hero (2009) is a role-playing shooter featuring self-referential humour and a 30-second time limit for each level and boss encounter.
The 2010 Atlus title Radiant Historia
introduced unique take on the concept of non-linear branching storylines that gives the player the freedom to alter the course of history through time travel
across two parallel timelines
. The 2010 PSP
version of Tactics Ogre features a similar "World" system that allows players to revisit key plot points and make different choices to see how the story unfolds differently. Imageepoch
's upcoming Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari (Final Promise Story) for the PSP has a strategic command-based battle system where enemies learn from previous skirmishes and where characters can die permanently during gameplay which in turn has an impact on the game's storyline.
's RPG industry began with translations of RPGs imported from Japan and the United States. The first fully translated Japanese RPG in Korea was Phantasy Star (1987) for the Sega Master System
, which was licensed by Samsung
and released as the Samsung Gam*Boy in South Korea, on April 1989. The country's first fully-fledged computer RPG was Sin'geom-ui Jeonseol, also known as Legend of the Sword, released for the Apple II
computer platform in 1987. It was programmed by Nam In-Hwan and distributed by Aproman, and was primarily influenced by the Ultima series. In the late 1980s, the Korean company Topia began producing action role-playing game
s, one of which was Pungnyu Hyeopgaek for the MS-DOS
in 1989. It was the first Korean title published for IBM PC compatible
s and is set in ancient China. Another action RPG released by Topia that same year was Mirae Sonyeon Conan, a video game adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki
's Japanese 1978 anime
series Future Boy Conan
, for the MSX2
platform.
1994 saw the release of two major Korean RPGs: Astonishia Story
, and an MS-DOS
enhanced remake Ys II Special, developed by Mantra. The latter was a mash-up of Nihon Falcom's game Ys II (1988) with the anime
Ys II: Castle in the Heavens
(1992) along with a large amount of new content, including more secrets than any other version of Ys II. Both games were a success in Korea, Astonishia Story more so.
Commercial online gaming
became very popular in South Korea
from the mid-1990s. Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds
, designed by Jake Song
, was commercially released in 1996 and eventually gained over one million subscribers. It was one of the earliest massively multiplayer online role-playing game
s. Song's next game, Lineage
(1998), enjoyed even greater success gaining millions of subscribers in Korea and Taiwan
. This helped to secure developer NCsoft
's dominance in the global MMORPG market for several years.
-based Ragnarok Online
, produced by Korean company Gravity Corp, was released. Though unknown to many Western players, the game took Asia by storm as Lineage had done. The publisher has claimed in excess of 25 million subscribers of the game, although this number is based upon a quantity of registered users (rather than active subscribers). 2002 also saw the release of MapleStory
, another sprite-based title, which was completely free-to-play
- instead of charging a monthly fee, it generated revenue by selling in-game "enhancements". MapleStory would go on to become a major player in the new market for free-to-play MMORPGs (generating huge numbers of registered accounts across its many versions), if it did not introduce the market by itself.
In October 2003, Lineage II
(NCsoft's sequel to Lineage) became the latest MMORPG to achieve huge success across Asia. It received the Presidential Award at the 2003 Korean Game awards, and is now the second most popular MMORPG in the world. As of the first half of 2005 Lineage II counted over 2.25 million subscribers worldwide, with servers in Japan, China, North America, Taiwan, and Europe, once the popularity of the game had surged in the West.
(1996), a Taiwan
ese tactical role-playing game
based on the popular historical novels by Jin Yong, featured a number of melee and ranged kung fu skills to train and develop, as well as a grid-based movement system.
China
has a number of domestically produced games. These include the Genesis of the Century trilogy (The World of Legend
, The Age
, and Magical Land
), Westward Journey, Perfect World
, Learn from Lei Feng Online
, and The Incorruptible Warrior. There are a large number of domestically-produced MMORPGs
in China, although many generally remain unheard of outside the country.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s developed in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, specifically Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and, to a lesser extent, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. For role-playing games developed in the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, see History of Western role-playing video games
History of Western role-playing video games
Western role-playing video games are role-playing video games developed in the Western world, specifically North America and, in more recent years, Europe...
.
Early 1980s: Origins
While the Japanese video game industry has long been viewed as console-centric in the Western worldWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, due to the worldwide success of Japanese consoles beginning with the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, the country had in fact produced thousands of commercial personal computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
s from the late 1970s up until the mid-1990s, in addition to dōjin soft
Dojin soft
, also sometimes called , are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups , more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games. Most of them are based on pre-existing material, but some are entirely original creations...
independent games
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
. The country's computer market was largely dominated by the NEC PC-8801
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
& PC-9801, though with some competition from the Sharp X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
& X68000
Sharp X68000
The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68k, is a home computer released only in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The first model was released in 1987, with a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM and no hard drive; the last model was released in 1993 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68030...
, FM-7
FM-7
FM-7 is a home computer released in 1982 in Japan.The Fujitsu FM-7 was Fujitsu's first entry into the Japanese home computer market, and for their debut computer, they chose to come out with a 6809-based personal computer very similar to Radio Shack's Color Computer.-Hardware:*Two MC 68B09 CPUs @...
& FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
, and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
& MSX2
MSX2
MSX2 may refer to:* Msh homeobox 2, a human gene* The second generation of the MSX home computers...
. A key difference between Western and Japanese systems at the time was the latter's higher display resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
s (640x400) in order to accommodate Japanese text
Japanese writing system
The modern Japanese writing system uses three main scripts:*Kanji, adopted Chinese characters*Kana, a pair of syllabaries , consisting of:...
which in turn had an impact on game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
. Japanese computers also employed Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
FM synthesis
Frequency modulation synthesis
A 220 Hz carrier tone modulated by a 440 Hz modulating tone with various choices of modulation index, β. The time domain signals are illustrated above, and the corresponding spectra are shown below ....
sound boards
Sound card
A sound card is an internal computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware...
since the early 1980s, allowing video game music composers such as Yuzo Koshiro
Yuzo Koshiro
is a Japanese video game music composer and audio programmer. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune music and video game sound design...
to produce highly regarded chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
music for RPG companies such as Nihon Falcom. Due to hardware differences, only a small portion of Japanese computer games were released in North America, as ports to either consoles (like the NES or Genesis) or American PC platforms (like MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
).
Japan's earliest RPGs were released by Koei, the first being The Dragon and Princess (ドラゴン＆プリンセス) for the PC-8001
PC-8000 Series
The PC-8000 series was a line of personal computers developed for the Japanese market by NEC.The PC-8001 model was also sold in the United States and in the UK as the PC-8001A.- PC-8001 :...
in 1982. It featured adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
elements and revolved around rescuing a kidnapped princess. Also in 1982, Koei released another early Japanese RPG, Danchizuma no Yuwaku (Seduction of the Condominium Wife), a PC-8001 title that also featured adventure game elements in addition to eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
adult content
Adult video game
An adult video game is a video game which has significant sexual content , and are therefore intended for an adult audience. Adult games can fall into many genres and have diverse gameplay.-PC and console:...
. In June 1983, Koei released Sword & Sorcery (剣と魔法) for the PC-8001, and it also revolved around rescuing a princess in addition to killing a wizard. That same year, Koei released Secrets of Khufu (クフ王の秘密), a dungeon crawl
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
RPG that revolved around a search for the treasure of Khufu
Khufu
Khufu , also known as Cheops or, in Manetho, Suphis , was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of...
. ASCII
ASCII (company)
was a publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. It became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Group Holdings in 2004, and merged with another Kadokawa subsidiary MediaWorks on April 1, 2008, and became ASCII Media Works. The company published Monthly ASCII as the main publication...
released their own RPG that year called Arfgaldt (アスキー), an FM-7 title also featuring adventure game elements.
A particularly important early Japanese RPG was Bokosuka Wars
Bokosuka Wars
is a 1983 action-strategy role-playing video game developed by Kōji Sumii and released by ASCII for the Sharp X1 computer, followed by ports to the MSX, FM-7, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801 and NEC PC-9801 computer platforms, as well as an altered version released for the Nintendo Famicom console and...
, originally released for the Sharp X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
computer in 1983 and later ported to the NES in 1985. The game's success in Japan was responsible for laying the foundations for the tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
subgenre, or the "simulation RPG" as it is known in Japan, with its blend of role-playing and strategy video game
Strategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
elements. The game revolves around a leader who must lead his army against overwhelming enemy forces, while recruiting soldiers along the way and with each unit able to gain experience and level up
Level Up
Level Up was a UK children's TV programme that was broadcast on CBBC. It was launched on the 3rd April 2006, replacing Xchange. The show was an hour long and during the school year broadcasting from 7:30am until 8:30am...
through battle. The game is also considered to be an early example of a real-time, action RPG. Another important title released that same year was Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition
is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games, first released in 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.Games in the franchise have been released on a variety of gaming platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive,...
for Japanese computers in 1983. It was an early attempt at combining role-playing, turn-based grand strategy
Grand strategy wargame
A grand strategy wargame is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire nation state or empire's resources.-Scope of games:...
and management simulation
Construction and management simulation
Construction and management simulation is a type of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy video games sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding...
elements, setting the standard for future simulation RPGs. This trend continued with its sequels and other Koei games such as 1989's Bandit Kings of Ancient China
Bandit Kings of Ancient China
Bandit Kings of Ancient China, also known as Suikoden-Tenmei no Chikai in Japan, is a turn-based strategy role-playing simulation video game developed and published by Koei, and released in 1989 for MS-DOS, Amiga and the Macintosh and in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
as well as the Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
game Destiny of an Emperor
Destiny of an Emperor
is a strategy role-playing game by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released in Japan in , with an English language localization released for the North American market in ....
released that same year.
In 1984, Nihon Falcom released Dragon Slayer, a historically significant title that laid the foundations for the Japanese role-playing game industry. It was a real-time hack and slash
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
dungeon crawl
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
er that is considered the first action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
, a subgenre that it laid the foundations for, alongside the arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
The Tower of Druaga released the same year. Dragon Slayer was a major success in Japan, and led to the emergence of a distinct action role-playing game subgenre on Japanese computers during the mid-1980s, with Nihon Falcom at the forefront of this new subgenre. Dragon Slayer as well as The Tower of Druaga laid the foundations for future action RPG series like Hydlide, Ys and The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
. Hydlide
Hydlide
is a action role-playing video game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and NEC PC-8801 computer in 1984, in Japan only; an MSX release came the following year...
, released for the PC-8801 in 1984 and the Famicom in 1986, added several innovations to the action RPG subgenre, including the ability to switch between attack mode and defense mode, quick save
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
and load options which can be done at any moment of the game through the use of passwords
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
as the primary back-up, and the introduction of a health regeneration mechanic where health and magic slowly regenerate when standing still, a feature also used in Falcom's Ys series from 1987 onwards.
Also in 1984, Henk Rogers
Henk Rogers
Henk Rogers is a video game designer and entrepreneur. He is known for producing Japan's first major turn-based role-playing video game The Black Onyx, securing the rights to distribute Tetris on video game consoles where the game found popularity, and as the founder of The Tetris Company which...
' The Black Onyx
The Black Onyx
The Black Onyx is a 1984 computer role-playing game released in Japan by Bullet-Proof Software, and written by Henk Rogers. It was one of the first Japanese-language RPGs ever made, and helped familiarize the Japanese public with RPGs. It was originally released for the NEC PC-8801, and ported to...
was released on the PC-8801 in Japan, where it became one of the highest-selling computer games of that year and was considered the game of the year by Login
Enterbrain
is a Japanese magazine publisher established on April 1, 2000. Enterbrain magazines are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan...
, the largest Japanese computer game magazine at the time. The game is thus sometimes credited for bringing wider attention to computer role-playing games in the country. The cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
RPG Psychic City, released by HOT・B for the FM-7 and PC-8801 in 1984, departed from the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
theme common in other RPGs at the time (such as Hydlide and The Black Onyx) in favour of a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
plot, set in a post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
city devastated by World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
and where the protagonist fights using psychic/telepathic abilities. The game later served as the basis for the 1987 NES RPG Hoshi wo Miru Hito.
Dragon Slayers success led to a 1985 sequel Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu
Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu
is an action RPG developed by Nihon Falcom in 1985 for the PC-8801, PC-9801, FM-7, MSX and X1 computers. Enhanced remakes were released for the Sega Saturn, PC-9801 and Windows systems...
, which became the best-selling PC game in Japan. It was a full-fledged RPG with character stats and a large quest, with action-based combat setting it apart from other RPGs, including both melee combat and projectile magic attacks, while incorporating a side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
view during exploration and an overhead view during battle. Xanadu also featured innovative gameplay mechanics such as individual experience for equipped items, and an early Karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
morality system, where the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's Karma meter will rise if he commits sin which in turn affects the temple's reaction to him. It is also considered a "proto-Metroidvania" game, due to being an "RPG turned on its side" that allowed players to run, jump, collect, and explore. The way the Dragon Slayer series reworked the entire game system of each installment was an influence on Final Fantasy, which would do the same for each of its installments. According to GamesTM
GamesTM
GamesTM is a UK-based, multi-format video games magazine, covering many video game platforms including PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC games, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Arcade machines...
and John Szczepaniak (of Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
and The Escapist
The Escapist (magazine)
The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first...
), Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
's Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
was also influenced by Dragon Slayer and in turn defined many other RPGs. Falcom would soon become one of the three most important Japanese role-playing game developers in the 1980s, alongside Enix and Square, both of which were influenced by Falcom.
Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness in 1985 featured an early morality meter, where the player can be aligned
Alignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
with justice, normal, or evil, which is affected by whether the player kills evil monsters, good monsters, or humans, and in turn affects the reactions of the townsfolk towards the player. Magical Zoo's The Screamer, released for the PC-8801 in 1985, was an early example of a real-time shooter-based RPG. Set after World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
, the game also featured elements of post-apocalyptic science fiction as well as cyberpunk and bio-horror themes. Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
also released their first RPG that same year, which was an early futuristic sci-fi RPG for the PC-8801, Genesis: Beyond The Revelation, featuring a post-apocalyptic setting. Other sci-fi RPGs released in 1985 include The Earth Fighter Rayieza
The Earth Fighter Rayieza
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Enix in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801, FM-7, Sharp X1, and MSX personal computer systems. The game was ported to the Family Computer in December, 1987 by Nintendo under the title . Unlike most other role-playing video games of the period, the game...
by Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
, and Kogado Studio
Kogado Studio
Kogado Studio is a Japanese video game studio which has released strategy and bishōjo games for the MSX, MSX 2, PlayStation 2 and PC, including such titles as Gadget Trial, Little Witch Parfait, and Tristia of the Deep-Blue Sea...
's MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
game Cosmic Soldier
Cosmic Soldier (MSX)
is a role-playing video game for the MSX and NEC PC-8801, and is the first game in the Cosmic Soldier series. It was released in 1985 by Kogado Studio...
, which introduced an early dialogue conversation system, where the player can recruit allies by talking to them, choose whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to the later more famous Megami Tensei
Megami Tensei
, commonly abbreviated as , is a Japanese console role-playing game metaseries which was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani and has gone to become one of the major franchises of the genre in its native country...
.
Late 1980s–early 1990s: Golden Age
The late 1980s to early 1990s is considered the golden age of Japanese computer gaming, which would flourish until its decline around the mid-1990s, as consoles eventually dominated the Japanese market. A notable Japanese computer RPG from around this time was WiBArm, the earliest known RPG to feature 3D polygonal graphics3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
. It was a 1986 role-playing shooter released by Arsys Software for the PC-88
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
in Japan and ported to MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
for Western release by Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
. In WiBArm, the player controls a transformable mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
robot, switching between a 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
view during outdoor exploration to a fully 3D polygonal third-person perspective inside buildings, while bosses are fought in an arena-style 2D shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
battle. The game featured a variety of weapons and equipment as well as an automap, and the player could upgrade equipment and earn experience to raise stats. Unlike first-person RPGs at the time that were restricted to 90-degree movements, WiBArm's use of 3D polygons allowed full 360-degree movement.
Another 1986 release was Falcom's Xanadu Scenario II, an early example of an expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
. The game was non-linear, allowing the eleven levels to be explored in any order. Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia simplified the RPG mechanics of Xanadu, such as removing the character customization and simplifying the numerical statistics into icons, and emphasized faster-paced platform action, with a strict 30-minute time limit. The action took place entirely in a side-scrolling view rather than switching to a separate overhead combat screen like its predecessor. These changes Romancia more like a side-scrolling action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
. Square's 1986 release, Cruise Chaser Blassty
Cruise Chaser Blassty
is a science fiction role-playing video game developed by Square for various Japanese computers, including the NEC PC-8801, PC-9801, and Sharp X1. The game featured mecha originally designed by Nagano Mamoru and music by Nobuo Uematsu, being the second video game score he ever composed...
, was a sci-fi RPG that had the player control a customizable mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
robot from a first-person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
view. That same year also saw the arcade release of the sequel to The Tower of Druaga, The Return of Ishtar
The Return of Ishtar
is an action role-playing arcade game, released by Namco in 1986. It runs on Namco System 86 hardware and is the sequel to The Tower of Druaga, which was released three years earlier. It is the second game in the Babylonian Castle Saga series. It was ported to the MSX, FM7 and included in the Namco...
, an early action RPG to feature two-player cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
, dual-stick control in single player, a female protagonist, the first heroic couple in gaming, and the first password
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
save system in an arcade game.
In 1987, Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family
Legacy of the Wizard
is a fantasy-themed action role-playing platform game released for the MSX and Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States. Legacy of the Wizard is the fourth installment in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series...
(Legacy of the Wizard) returned to the deeper action-RPG mechanics of Xanadu while maintaining the fully side-scrolling view of Romancia. It also featured an open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
and nonlinear gameplay similar to "Metroidvania" platform-adventures, making Drasle Family an early example of a non-linear, open-world action RPG. Another "Metroidvania" style open-world action RPG released that year was System Sacom
System Sacom
, also known as System Sacom Sales Corp., is a Japanese company which sells electronic devices. They are more notable for their past, in which they developed video games. In the eighties, they mainly published games for computers, but they changed focus to home consoles in the nineties...
's Sharp X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
computer game Euphory, which was possibly the only Metroidvania-style multiplayer action RPG produced, allowing two-player cooperative gameplay. The fifth Dragon Slayer title, Sorcerian
Sorcerian
is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom, and the fifth in the Dragon Slayer line of games. It was originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1987, and was later ported to other PC platforms such as the NEC PC-9801, the NEC PC-88VA, the Sharp X1 Turbo, and the MSX 2, for which it...
, was also released in 1987. It was a party-based action RPG, with the player controlling a party of four characters at the same time in a side-scrolling view. The game also featured character creation, highly customizable characters, class-based puzzles, and a new scenario system, allowing players to choose which of 15 scenarios, or quests, to play through in the order of their choice. It was also an episodic video game, with expansion disks released soon after offering more scenarios. Falcom also released the first installment
Ys (video game)
is a Japanese computer and console role-playing video game series, and Nihon Falcom corporation's flagship franchise. It started on the NEC PC-8801 in 1987, created by Masaya Hashimoto and Tomoyoshi Miyazaki...
of its popular, long-running Ys series in 1987. Besides Falcom's own Dragon Slayer series, Ys was also influenced by Hydlide, from which it borrowed certain mechanics such as health-regeneration when standing still, a mechanic that has since become common in video games today. Ys is also known for its 'bump attack' system, where the protagonist Adol automatically attacks when running into enemies off-center, making the game more accessible and the usually tedious level-grinding task more swift and enjoyable for audiences at the time. The game also had what is considered to be one of the best and most influential video game music soundtracks of all time, composed by Yuzo Koshiro
Yuzo Koshiro
is a Japanese video game music composer and audio programmer. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune music and video game sound design...
and Mieko Ishikawa. In terms of the number of game releases, Ys is second only to Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
as the largest Eastern role-playing game franchise.
Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, released for the MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
in 1987 and for the Mega Drive as Super Hydlide
Super Hydlide
Super Hydlide, known in Japan as Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, is a an action role-playing game released in 1987 for the MSX and NEC PC-88, 1989 for the Nintendo Famicom and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and 1990 for the Sharp X68000...
in 1989, adopted the morality meter of its predecessor, expanded on its time option with the introduction of an in-game clock setting day-night cycles and a need to sleep and eat, and made other improvements such as cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system closer to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between four distinct character classes, a wider variety of equipment and spells, and a weight system affecting the player's movement depending on the overall weight of the equipment carried. That same year, Kogado Studio
Kogado Studio
Kogado Studio is a Japanese video game studio which has released strategy and bishōjo games for the MSX, MSX 2, PlayStation 2 and PC, including such titles as Gadget Trial, Little Witch Parfait, and Tristia of the Deep-Blue Sea...
's sci-fi RPG Cosmic Soldier: Psychic War
Cosmic Soldier (MSX)
is a role-playing video game for the MSX and NEC PC-8801, and is the first game in the Cosmic Soldier series. It was released in 1985 by Kogado Studio...
featured a unique "tug of war
Tug of war
Tug of war, also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war or rope pulling, is a sport that directly pits two teams against each other in a test of strength. The term may also be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, such as a rivalry between two...
" style real-time combat system, where battles are a clash of energy between the party and the enemy, with the player needing to push the energy towards the enemy to strike them, while being able to use a shield to block or a suction ability to absorb the opponent's power. It also featured a unique non-linear conversation system, where the player can recruit allies by talking to them, choose whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to Megami Tensei
Megami Tensei
, commonly abbreviated as , is a Japanese console role-playing game metaseries which was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani and has gone to become one of the major franchises of the genre in its native country...
. Also in 1987, Shiryou Sensen: War of the Dead, an MSX2
MSX2
MSX2 may refer to:* Msh homeobox 2, a human gene* The second generation of the MSX home computers...
title developed by Fun Factory and published by Victor Music Industries
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
, was the first true survival horror RPG. Designed by Katsuya Iwamoto, the game revolved around a female SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
member Lila rescuing survivors in an isolated monster-infested town and bringing them to safety in a church. It was open-ended
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
like Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
and had real-time side-view battles like Zelda II
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
. Unlike other RPGs at the time, however, the game had a dark and creepy atmosphere expressed through the story, graphics, and music, while the gameplay used shooter-based combat and gave limited ammunition for each weapon, forcing the player to search for ammo and often run away from monsters in order to conserve ammo. That same year saw the release of Laplace no Ma, another hybrid of survival horror and RPG, though with more traditional RPG elements such as turn-based combat. It was mostly set in a mansion infested with undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
creatures, and the player controlled a party of several characters with different professions, including a scientist who constructs tools and a journalist who takes pictures.
In 1988, Arsys Software's Star Cruiser was an innovative action RPG released for the PC-8801. It was notable for being an early example of an RPG with fully 3D polygonal graphics, combined with first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
gameplay, which would occasionally switch to space flight simulator
Space flight simulator game
A space flight simulator game is a genre of simulation video games that lets players experience space flight. Highly realistic examples lacking any sort of combat include Orbiter and Microsoft Space Simulator...
gameplay when exploring outer space with six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom
Six degrees of freedom refers to motion of a rigid body in three-dimensional space, namely the ability to move forward/backward, up/down, left/right combined with rotation about three perpendicular axes...
. All the backgrounds, objects and opponents in the game were rendered in 3D polygons, many years before they were widely adopted by the gaming industry. The game also emphasized storytelling, with plot twists and extensive character dialogues. Star Cruiser was later ported to the Mega Drive console in 1990. Another 1988 release, Last Armageddon
Last Armageddon
is a 1988 Japanese post-apocalyptic role-playing video game for the NEC PC-8801, MSX, Sharp X68000, MS-DOS personal computers, PC Engine CD-ROM², and Nintendo Famicom. Described to be the antithesis of the Dragon Quest fantasy series, the introductory story deals with life after all organisms have...
, produced for the PC-8801 and later ported to the PC Engine CD and NES consoles in 1990, featured a unique post-apocalyptic storyline set in a desolate future where humanity has become extinct and the protagonists are demon monsters waging war against an alien species. The Scheme, released by Bothtec
Quest Corporation
was a Japanese video game company founded in 1988. They were originally known as Bothtec, which had developed The Scheme, a Metroidvania-style open world action role-playing game featuring music by Yuzo Koshiro, that same year....
for the PC-8801
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
in 1988, was an action RPG with a similar side-scrolling open-world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
gameplay to Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
. That same year, Ys II introduced the unique ability to transform into a monster, which allows the player to both scare human non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s for unique dialogues as well as interact with all the monsters. This is a recurring highlight in the series, offering the player insight into the enemies, to an extent that very few other games allow to this day. Also that same year, War of the Dead Part 2 for the MSX2 and PC-88 abandoned certain RPG elements of its predecessor, such as random encounter
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
s, and instead adopted more action-adventure elements from Metal Gear
Metal Gear (video game)
is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in by Konami for the MSX2 computer standard in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, it was also the first video game designed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed many of the...
while retaining the horror atmosphere of its predecessor.
1988 also saw the debut of Telenet Japan
Telenet Japan
was a Japanese video game and software developer founded in October 1983 by Kazuyuki Fukushima. The company was also known as Nippon Telenet . The company was best known for the Valis series as well as its Wolfteam & RiOT divisions...
's Exile, a series of action-platform RPGs, beginning with XZR: Idols of Apostate. The series was controversial for its plot, which revolves around a time-traveling Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
-era Syrian Islamic Assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as modern-day political leaders, with similarities to the present-day Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
action game series. The gameplay of Exile included both overhead exploration and side-scrolling combat, featured a heart monitor to represent the player's Attack Power and Armour Class statistics, and another controversial aspect of the game involved taking drugs (instead of potions) that increase/decrease attributes but with side-effects such as affecting the heart-rate or causing death. An early attempt at incorporating a point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
interface in a real-time overhead action RPG was Silver Ghost, a 1988 NEC PC-8801
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
game by Kure Software Koubou
Kure Software Koubou
Kure Software Koubou , or KSK, is a Japanese game development company founded in 1985 that creates games for many platforms, but focusing mostly on home computers...
. It was an action-strategy RPG
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
where characters could be controlled using a cursor. It was cited by Camelot Software Planning
Camelot Software Planning
is a Japanese video game developer established in 1990 under the name Sonic! Software Planning and to date is best known for partnering with Nintendo on many of Nintendo's spin-off franchise games such as Mario Tennis and Mario Golf, as well as the role-playing game series Golden Sun...
's Hiroyuki Takahashi as inspiration for the Shining series of tactical RPGs. According to Takahashi, Silver Ghost was "a simulation action type of game where you had to direct, oversee and command multiple characters." Unlike later tactical RPGs, however, Silver Ghost was not turn-based, but instead used real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
and action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
elements. A similar game released by Kure Software Koubou that same year was First Queen
First Queen
is a real-time strategy-action RPG video game developed by Kure Software Koubou. It was first released on the Sharp X68000 and NEC PC-9801 computer platforms in Japan in 1988, and then subsequently released on the Super Famicom as First Queen: Ornic Senki in 1994 and Microsoft Windows as First...
, a unique hybrid between a real-time strategy, action RPG, and strategy RPG. Like an RPG, the player can explore the world, purchase items, and level up, and like a strategy video game
Strategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
, it focuses on recruiting soldiers and fighting against large armies rather than small parties. The game's "Gochyakyara" ("Multiple Characters") system let the player control one character at a time while the others are controlled by computer AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
that follow the leader, and where battles are large-scale with characters sometimes filling an entire screen.
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes is a role-playing game developed by the Nihon Falcom. It is the sixth game in the Dragon Slayer line of games, and the first in the The Legend of Heroes series....
in 1989 departed from the action-oriented gameplay of previous Dragon Slayer titles, and instead used a more traditional turn-based combat system. In 1990, Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
's Gate of Doom was an arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
action RPG that combined beat 'em up fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
play with fantasy role-playing and introduced an isometric perspective. That same year, Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
released a unique biological simulation action RPG by Almanic
Givro
was a Japanese video game development company founded in 1989 in Tokyo, Japan by former employees of Technos Japan. The company was originally established under the name , which it operated under for five years before changing its corporate name in 1995...
that revolved around the theme of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, 46 Okunen Monogatari, a revised version of which was released in 1992 as E.V.O.: Search for Eden
E.V.O.: Search for Eden
E.V.O.: Search for Eden, originally released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling action role-playing video game developed by Almanic Corporation and published by Enix for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1992 for Japanese audiences, the game was later translated and released in...
. That same year, Alpha Denshi's Crossed Swords
Crossed Swords (video game)
Crossed Swords is a hack & slash action RPG arcade game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade system in 1990 and Neo Geo console in 1991...
for the arcades
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
combined the first-person beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
gameplay of SNK
SNK
SNK is a former name of SNK Playmore, a Japanese video game company . This may also refer to:* SNK European Democrats* SNK Union of Independents* Southeast Airlines ICAO code...
's The Super Spy
The Super Spy
Super Spy is an early SNK game, made in 1990 for the Neo Geo. It is a first-person shooter and beat 'em up game in which players move through the many floors of an office building shooting terrorists. It was an early example of a first-person shooter where the player character's arms and weapons...
(released the same year) with RPG elements, while replacing the first-person shooting with hack & slash combat. Also in 1990, Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima
is a Japanese game director originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in early 2011...
's SD Snatcher
SD Snatcher
SD Snatcher is a role-playing video game by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform in exclusively in Japan. It is a spinoff of the original Snatcher, adapting the same storyline into a different genre...
, while turn-based, introduced an innovative first-person shooter-based battle system where firearm weapons (each with different abilities and target ranges) have limited ammunition and the player can aim at specific parts of the enemy's body with each part weakening the enemy in different ways. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square's Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story
is a Japanese-developed console role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in 2000, and has been re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles eleven years later...
(2000), a pausable real-time RPG that uses both melee and bow & arrow weapons, as well as Bethesda
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
's Fallout 3 (2008) and Nippon Ichi
Nippon Ichi
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are responsible for such titles as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Phantom Brave, La Pucelle: Tactics and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure.-History:Nippon Ichi Software was founded in September 1991 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, as an entertainment...
's Last Rebellion
Last Rebellion
Last Rebellion is a console role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Hit Maker and published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan as well as in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe exclusively for the PlayStation 3...
(2010).
In 1991, Nihon Falcom's Brandish
Brandish
Brandish is a dungeon crawler and top-down view action RPG and adventure hybrid series developed by Nihon Falcom. Originally released in 1991 for the NEC PC-9801 and FM Towns home computers, it was later released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and TurboGrafx-16...
was an early overhead action RPG to use mouse controls, where the player could move forward, backward, turn, strafe and attack by clicking on boxes surrounding the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
. The 1991 Dragon Slayer title Lord Monarch
Lord Monarch
is a real-time strategy war game by Nihon Falcom. The game is considered to be the seventh installment in the Dragon Slayer series. It was originally released in 1991 for the NEC PC-9801, ported 1992 to the Super Famicom and 1994 to the Sega Mega Drive...
departed from the action RPG gameplay of its predecessors, instead using an early form of real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
gameplay. The erotic
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
adult
Adult video game
An adult video game is a video game which has significant sexual content , and are therefore intended for an adult audience. Adult games can fall into many genres and have diverse gameplay.-PC and console:...
RPG Dragon Knight III
Knights of Xentar
Knights of Xentar is an eroge role-playing video game released for PC DOS in North America in 1995 by Megatech Software. It is also known as Dragon Knight III in Japan and is part of the Dragon Knight series of games created by Japanese game developer ELF, who originally released the game for the...
, released in 1991 for the PC-8801 and as Knights of Xentar for MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, introduced a unique pausable real-time battle system, where characters automatically attack based on a list of different AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
scripts, though this meant the player had no control over the characters during battle other than to give commands for spells, item use, and AI routines. That same year, Arcus Odyssey
Arcus Odyssey
Arcus Odyssey is an action role-playing game video game developed by Wolf Team. The game was released in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sharp X68000 and Super Famicom...
by Wolf Team (now Namco Tales Studio
Namco Tales Studio
, formerly , was a Japanese video game development company founded in 1986. The company was renamed in 2003 when Telenet Japan sold part of its stake and made Namco the majority shareholder. Namco Tales Studio continues to be the primary developer of the Tales RPG series, as they had been since the...
) was an action RPG that featured an isometric perspective and co-operative multiplayer gameplay. The sequel to the first-person shooter role-playing game Star Cruiser, simply called Star Cruiser 2, was released in 1992, for the PC-9821 and FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
computers.
Late 1990s–present: Independent titles
From the mid-1990s, the Japanese computer game industry began declining. This was partly due to the death of the NEC PC-9801 computer format, as the Sega SaturnSega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and Sony PlayStation became increasingly powerful in the console market while the computer market became increasingly dominated by the IBM Personal Computer and Microsoft Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
. This led to many Japanese PC manufacturers either continuing to develop for Windows 95 or moving over to the more lucrative console market. While most developers turned their attention to the console market, some developers dedicated to content unsuitable for consoles (such as eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
and complex military strategy game
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
s) continued their focus on the PC market.
In 1996, Night Slave
Night Slave
Night Slave is an eroge run & gun role-playing shooter game released in 1996 for the NEC PC-98 computer.-Gameplay:The game's design and gameplay draws inspiration from the Assault Suits series, particularly Assault Suits Valken , as well as the Gradius series...
was a shooter RPG released for the PC-98 that combined the side-scrolling shooter gameplay of Assault Suits Valken
Cybernator
Cybernator - known in Japan as - is a run and gun game released in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the indirect prequel to Target Earth as part of the Assault Suits series by NCS Corp. The game was localized and published overseas by Konami. A remake of Cybernator was...
and Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
, including an armaments system that employs recoil physics
Game physics
Computer animation physics or game physics involves the introduction of the laws of physics into a simulation or game engine, particularly in 3D computer graphics, for the purpose of making the effects appear more real to the observer...
, with many RPG elements such as permanently levelling up the mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
and various weapons using power-orbs obtained from defeating enemies as well as storyline cut scenes. These cut scenes also occasionally contain lesbian adult content
Adult video game
An adult video game is a video game which has significant sexual content , and are therefore intended for an adult audience. Adult games can fall into many genres and have diverse gameplay.-PC and console:...
.
Lastly, towards the end of the 1990s, a new Internet fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
began, owing to simplistic software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
s such as the Japanese RPG Maker series (1988 onwards). Influenced by console RPGs and based mostly on the gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
and style of the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and Sega Genesis games, a large group of young programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
s and aficionados across the world began creating independent console-style computer RPGs and sharing them online. In an interview with GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
, MTVN's Dave Williams remarked that, "Games like this [user generated] have been sort of under the radar for something that could be the basis of a business. We have the resources and we can afford to invest more... I think it's going to be a great thing for the consumer."
1982–1986: Origins
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
on a console was Dragonstomper
Dragonstomper
Dragonstomper is a role-playing video game programmed by Stephen Landrum and published in 1982 by Starpath. It was developed for the Atari 2600 video game system....
on the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
in 1982. Bokosuka Wars
Bokosuka Wars
is a 1983 action-strategy role-playing video game developed by Kōji Sumii and released by ASCII for the Sharp X1 computer, followed by ports to the MSX, FM-7, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801 and NEC PC-9801 computer platforms, as well as an altered version released for the Nintendo Famicom console and...
, originally released for the Sharp X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
computer in 1983, was ported to the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
console in 1985, and was a commercial success in Japan, where it laid the foundations for the tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
subgenre. Other notable early console RPGs included ports of Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's 1984 arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
s: The Tower of Druaga, which was ported to the NES in 1985, and Dragon Buster
Dragon Buster
is a dungeon crawl action role-playing platform arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware, modified to support vertical scrolling. In Japan, the game was ported to the MSX and Famicom; the latter version was later released for the Virtual Console in the same...
, the first video game to feature a life meter (called "Vitality" in-game), also ported to the NES in 1987.
In 1985, Yuji Horii
Yuji Horii
is a Japanese video game designer and scenario writer best known as the creator of the Dragon Quest series of console role-playing games, as well as the visual novel adventure game Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken.-History:Dragon Quest is recognized as the first role-playing game to posit the idea...
and his team at Chunsoft
Chunsoft
is a Japanese video game developer specializing in console RPGs and visual novels. It was founded by Koichi Nakamura, a video game designer from Enix...
began production on Dragon Quest
Dragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior, known as in Japan, is the first role-playing video game in the Dragon Quest media franchise. It was developed by Chunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Enix in Japan in 1986...
(Dragon Warrior). After Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
published the game in early 1986, it became the template for future console RPGs. The game was influenced by the first-person random battles in Wizardry
Wizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
, the overhead movement in Ultima, and the mystery storytelling in Horii's own 1983 visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
game Portopia Serial Murder Case
Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken
, is an adventure game designed by Yuji Horii and published by Enix . It was first released on the NEC PC-6001 in June 1983, and later ported to other personal computers...
. Horii's intention behind Dragon Quest was to create a RPG that appeals to a wider audience unfamiliar with the genre or video games in general. This required the creation of a new kind of RPG, that didn't rely on previous D&D experience, didn't require hundreds of hours of rote fighting, and that could appeal to any kind of gamer. Compared to statistics-heavy computer RPGs, Dragon Quest was a more streamlined, faster-paced game based on exploration and combat, and featured a top-down view in dungeons, in contrast to the first-person view
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
used for dungeons in earlier computer RPGs. The streamlined gameplay of Dragon Quest thus made the game more accessible to a wider audience than previous computer RPGs. The game also placed a greater emphasis on storytelling and emotional involvement, building on Horii's previous work Portopia Serial Murder Case, but this time introducing a coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
tale for Dragon Quest that audiences could relate to, making use of the RPG level-building gameplay as a way to represent this. It also featured elements still found in most console RPGs, like major quests interwoven with minor subquests, an incremental spell system, the damsel-in-distress storyline that many RPGs follow, and a romance element that remains a staple of the genre, alongside anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
-style art by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
and a classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
score by Koichi Sugiyama
Koichi Sugiyama
is a Japanese music composer, council member of JASRAC , and honorary chairman of the Japanese Backgammon Society...
that was considered revolutionary for console video game music.
The gameplay of Dragon Quest itself was non-linear, with most of the game not blocked in any way other than by being infested with monsters that can easily kill an unprepared player. This was balanced by the use of bridges to signify a change in difficulty and a new level progression that departed from D&D, where in the 1st and 2nd editions, players are given random initial stats and a constant growth rate. Dragon Quest instead gave the player some extra hit points at the start and a level progression where the effective rate of character growth decelerates over time, similar to how the more recent editions of D&D
Editions of Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of Dungeons & Dragons , Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game...
have balanced the gameplay. Dragon Quest also gave players a clear objective from the start of the game and a series of smaller scenarios to build up the player's strength in order to achieve that objective. The ending could also be altered depending on the moral dialogue choice of whether or not the protagonist should join the antagonist on his evil conquest towards the end of the game. The game also had a limited inventory requiring item management, while the caves were dark, requiring the use of a torch to display a field of vision around the character. With Dragon Quest becoming widely popular in Japan, such that local municipalities were forced to place restrictions on where and when the game could be sold, the Dragon Quest series
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
is still considered a bellwether for the Japanese video game market. Dragon Quest did not reach North America until 1989, when it was released as Dragon Warrior, the first NES RPG to be released in North America. The release of Dragon Quest was followed by NES remakes of the early Wizardry and Ultima titles over the next several years by Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
.
An important influence on the action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
genre came from the 1986 action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
, The Legend of Zelda, which is often not considered an action RPG since it lacked key RPG mechanics such as experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s, but had many features in common with RPGs and served as the template for future action RPGs. In contrast to previous action RPGs such as Dragon Slayer and Hydlide which required the player to bump into enemies in order to attack them, The Legend of Zelda featured an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen. It was also an early example of non-linear open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
gameplay, and introduced innovations like battery backup saving
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
. When it was released in North America, Zelda was seen as a new kind of RPG with action-adventure elements, with Roe R. Adams (who worked on the Wizardry
Wizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
series) stating in 1990 that, although "it still had many action-adventure features, it was definitely a CRPG." It was largely responsible for the surge of action-oriented RPGs released since the late 1980s, both on consoles as well as computers; it was often cited as an influence on action-oriented computer RPGs, such as the 1988 Origin Systems
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
game Times of Lore
Times of Lore
Times of Lore is an action role-playing game with a detailed world. It was released for several platforms, including PC, Commodore 64/128, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST, Apple II, NES, and Amiga.-Description:...
, for example. The Legend of Zelda series
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
would exert an influence on the transition of both console and computer RPGs from stat-heavy turn-based combat towards real-time action combat in the following decades. Due to its similarities to action RPGs and its impact on the genre, there continues to be much debate regarding whether or not The Legend of Zelda series should be considered action RPGs.
Other releases at the time were the action role-playing games Deadly Towers
Deadly Towers
Deadly Towers is an action role-playing video game developed by Lenar and exclusively-licensed by Irem as a software title for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was released in Japan on December 15, 1986, and in North America in September of the following year...
(1986) and Rygar (1987), which were notable as some of the first Japanese console RPGs to be released in North America, where they were well received for being a new kind of RPG that differed from both the console action-adventures
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
(such as Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
, Trojan
Trojan (video game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin operated video game in . The arcade version was distributed in North America by Romstar. A home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released during the same year. The original coin-op version is included...
, and Wizards & Warriors) and American computer RPGs
History of Western role-playing video games
Western role-playing video games are role-playing video games developed in the Western world, specifically North America and, in more recent years, Europe...
(such as Wizardry, Ultima, and Might & Magic
Might and Magic
Might and Magic is a series of role-playing video games from New World Computing, which in 1996 became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company...
) that American gamers were previously more familiar with at the time. Deadly Towers and Rygar were particularly notable for their permanent power-up mechanic, which at the time blurred the line between the power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s used in action-adventures and the experience points used in RPGs.
1987–1989: Evolution
In 1987, console RPGs came into their own with the release of various notable console RPGs distinguishing themselves from computer RPGs. Shigeru MiyamotoShigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
for the Famicom Disk System was an early action RPG, combining the action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
framework of its predecessor The Legend of Zelda with the statistical elements of turn-based RPGs. Dragon Quest II
Dragon Warrior II
Dragon Warrior II, known as in Japan, is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in 1987 for the MSX and Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Dragon Quest series .The game's story centers on the prince on Midenhall who is ordered to stop an evil...
introduced a party system where, instead of beginning the game with an entire party like in previous computer RPGs, the player begins the game with only one character and gradually recruits more party members during the course of the game. The game also introduced a sailing ship that could be landed anywhere, allowing the entire game world to be explored in an open-ended manner, and an expanded inventory management system giving each character an individual inventory that holds up to eight items, placing a greater emphasis on conservative item management between the characters. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
is the first game of the popular Megami Tensei series of console role-playing video games. Although Atlus has published a majority of the series, the first two games were created by Namco , after it bought the video game rights to the Japanese horror novel series by Aya Nishitani, the first named...
by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
for the NES abandoned the common medieval fantasy setting and sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
theme in favour of a modern science-fiction setting and horror theme. It also introduced the monster-catching
Digital pet
A digital pet is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet....
mechanic with its demon-summoning system, which allowed the player to recruit enemies into their party, through a conversation system that gives the player a choice of whether to kill or spare an enemy and allows them to engage any opponent in conversation. Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's original Phantasy Star for the Master System established a number of genre conventions, with its "strong plot that involved quest for revenge and corruption by power, background stories for party members, individual spells that required magic points," and combined sci-fi & fantasy setting that set it apart from the D&D staple. It was also one of the first games to feature a female protagonist and animated monster encounters, and allowed inter-planetary travel between three planets. Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord
Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord
Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord, known as in Japan, is a console role-playing game for the Sega Master System released in 1988, ported from an earlier version in 1986. It's somewhat similar to Phantasy Star in gameplay but with inferior graphics...
was a third-person RPG that featured a wide open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
and a mini-map
Mini-map
A mini-map is a miniature map, often placed in a corner of the screen in computer games and video games to aid in reorientation. Mini-maps usually display traversable terrain, allies, enemies, and important locations or items.-Usage of GPS:...
on the corner of the screen. The Dragon Slayer series also made its debut on the NES console (and thus to American audiences) in 1987, with the release of Legacy of the Wizard
Legacy of the Wizard
is a fantasy-themed action role-playing platform game released for the MSX and Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States. Legacy of the Wizard is the fourth installment in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series...
(Dragon Slayer IV), a non-linear action RPG featuring a Metroidvania-style open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
, and Faxanadu
Faxanadu
is an action role-playing platform-adventure video game for the Nintendo Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System . The name was licensed by computer game developer Nihon Falcom and was developed and released in Japan by Hudson Soft in 1987...
, a side-story to Xanadu.
The Magic of Scheherazade, released in 1987, was notable for several innovations, including a unique setting based on the Arabian Nights, time travel between five different time periods, a unique combat system featuring both real-time solo action and turn-based team battles, and the introduction of team attacks where two party members could join forces to perform an extra-powerful attack. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure role-playing platform game produced by Konami. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan 1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania...
was an action RPG that combined the platform-action
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
mechanics of the original Castlevania
Castlevania (video game)
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a console video game developed and published by Konami for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in September 1986. A year later, in May 1987 it was ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System followed by a...
with the open world of an action-adventure and RPG mechanics such as experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s. It also introduced a day-night cycle that affects when certain NPCs
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
appear in certain locations and offered three possible multiple endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
depending on the time it took to complete the game. Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
's Cleopatra no Mahou was an adventure
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
RPG with a unique plot revolving around archeology. Square's original Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy (video game)
is a fantasy role-playing video game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed and first published in Japan by Square in 1987. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series...
for the NES introduced an experimental character creation
Character creation
Character creation is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class...
system that allowed the player to create their own parties and assign different character classes to party members, who in turn evolve through an early class change system later in the game. It also featured unique concepts such as time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
; side-view battles, with the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s on the right and the enemies on the left, which soon became the norm for numerous console RPGs; and the use of transportation for travel, "by ship, canoe, and even flying airship." While creating Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi
Hironobu Sakaguchi
is a Japanese game designer, game director and game producer. He is world famous as the creator of the Final Fantasy series, and has had a long career in gaming with over 100 million units of video games sold worldwide...
took inspiration from certain elements in Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
's anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
films, such as the airships being inspired by Castle in the Sky
Castle in the Sky
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34...
. Some of these 1987 releases proved popular and went on to spawn their own RPG franchises, particularly the Megami Tensei
Megami Tensei
, commonly abbreviated as , is a Japanese console role-playing game metaseries which was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani and has gone to become one of the major franchises of the genre in its native country...
, Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star
is the first installment in Sega's renowned series of the same name. It was released for the Sega Master System in Japan on December 20, 1987, and then in North America and Europe in 1988. It is considered one of the pioneers amongst console role-playing games, both for its advanced graphics...
and Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
series. In particular, the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series remain popular today, Final Fantasy more so in the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and Dragon Quest more so in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In 1988, Dragon Quest III introduced a character progression system allowing the player to change the party's character classes during the course of the game, and keep a character's stats and skills learned from previous classes. This class-changing system shaped the gameplay of future RPGs, especially the Final Fantasy series, while a similar class-changing system later also appeared in Wizardry VI and VII. While the earlier Dragon Quest games were also non-linear, Dragon Quest III was the most substantial example of open-world gameplay among the early Dragon Quest games. It also allowed the player to swap characters in and out of the party at will, and another "major innovation was the introduction of day/night cycles; certain items, characters, and quests are only accessible at certain times of day." Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy II
is a fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1988 for the Family Computer as the second installment of the Final Fantasy series. The game has received numerous enhanced remakes for the WonderSwan Color, the Sony PlayStation, Japanese mobile phones, the Game Boy...
, is considered "the first true Final Fantasy game", introducing an "emotional story line, morally ambiguous characters, tragic events," and a story to be "emotionally experienced rather than concluded from gameplay and conversations." It also replaced traditional levels and experience points with a new activity-based progression system that required "gradual development of individual statistics through continuous actions of the same kind," a mechanic that has been used in a number of later RPGs such as the SaGa and Grandia series, Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV
, also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in September 2010 for Microsoft Windows, with a PlayStation 3 port in development. The game is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and is developed and published by...
, and The Elder Scrolls
The Elder Scrolls
The Elder Scrolls is a role-playing video game series developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.-History:...
series. Final Fantasy II also featured open-ended exploration, and introduced an innovative dialogue system where keywords or phrases can be memorized and mentioned during conversations with NPCs, the theme of an evil empire against a small band of rebels (similar to Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
), and the iconic chocobo
Chocobo
A is a fictional creature from the Final Fantasy video game series. The creature is a large and normally flightless galliforme/ratite bird capable of being ridden and otherwise used by player characters during gameplay...
, a fictional creature inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
In 1989, Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star II is a console role-playing video game developed by Sega AM7 and released for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan in 1989. It was also released for the Mega Drive in Europe and the Genesis in America in 1990...
for the Genesis established many conventions of the genre, including an epic, dramatic, character-driven storyline dealing with serious themes and subject matter, and a strategy-based battle system. Its purely science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
setting was also a major departure for RPGs, which had previously been largely restricted to fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
or science fantasy
Science fantasy
Science fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...
settings. The game's science fiction story was also unique, reversing the common alien invasion
Alien invasion
The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The...
scenario by instead presenting Earthling
Earthling
Earthling is a term commonly used in science fiction to identify humans as opposed to extraterrestrials. The literary effect aimed for is a distancing effect, inviting the readers to contemplate their own species as it might be seen from an external point of view...
s as the invading antagonists rather than the defending protagonists. The game's strong characterization, and use of self-discovery
Journey of self-discovery
The term "journey of self-discovery" refers to a travel, pilgrimage, or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel, personally, about spiritual issues...
as a motivating factor for the characters and the player, was a major departure from previous RPGs and had a major influence on subsequent RPGs such as the Final Fantasy series. Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's Sweet Home
Sweet Home (video game)
is a survival horror role-playing video game that was released for the Famicom in 1989. It features several elements of console role-playing games. Sweet Home was developed and published by Capcom and the game was never released outside Japan...
for the NES introduced a moden Japanese horror
J-Horror
Japanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments...
theme and laid the foundations for the survival horror genre, later serving as the main inspiration for Resident Evil (1996). Like Resident Evil, Sweet Home featured the use of scattered notes as a storytelling mechanic and a number of multiple endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
depending on which characters survived to the end. Tengai Makyo: Ziria
Tengai Makyō
is a widely popular series of traditional console RPGs that are available in Japan and Taiwan.Though originally intended to be only three games, it has grown to encompass a number of remakes, gaidens and genre spin-offs across a variety of platforms...
released for the PC Engine CD that same year was the first RPG released on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and the first in the genre to feature animated cut scenes and voice acting. The game's plot was also unusual for its feudal Japan setting and its emphasis on humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
; the plot and characters were inspired by the Japanese folk tale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari
Jiraiya
Jiraiya , the title character of the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari , is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. The heir of a powerful clan in Kyūshū of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade, a beautiful young princess who masters snail magic...
. The music for the game was also composed by noted musician Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
. Also in 1989, the early enhanced remake Ys I & II
Ys I & II
is a Japanese computer role-playing game compilation consisting of enhanced remakes of the first two Ys games, released for the PC Engine CD-ROM by Nihon Falcom and Hudson Soft in 1989...
was one of the first games to use CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animated cut scenes, a Red Book CD
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
soundtrack, and voice acting. Its English localization
Language localisation
Language localisationThe spelling "localization", a variant of "localisation", is the preferred spelling in the US and Canada. is the second phase of a larger process of product translation and cultural adaptation to account for...
was also one of the first to use voice dubbing
Dub localization
Dub localization, also often simply referred to as localization, which is a form of a voice-over. It is the practice of voice-over translation altering a foreign language film, art film or television series by voice actors to further adapt the material for a "local" audience.Dub localization is a...
. The game received the Game of the Year
Game of the Year
Game of the Year is a title awarded by various magazines, websites, and shows to a deserving game. Many are only for PC or console video games...
award from OMNI Magazine in 1990, as well as many other prizes.
1989 also saw the release of Dungeon Explorer
Dungeon Explorer
Dungeon Explorer is an action role-playing game released for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine in 1989. It centered around the quest of several heroes to find the Ora Stone for the former king of Oddesia. When the alien race that now rules the land invaded, the stone was hidden deep in the dungeons of...
, developed by Atlus for the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
, which is considered a pioneer title in the action RPG genre with its multiplayer cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
, allowing up to five players to play simultaneously. That year also saw the release of Super Hydlide
Super Hydlide
Super Hydlide, known in Japan as Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, is a an action role-playing game released in 1987 for the MSX and NEC PC-88, 1989 for the Nintendo Famicom and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and 1990 for the Sharp X68000...
, the Mega Drive port of the 1987 MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
action RPG Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, which adopted the morality meter of its 1985 predecessor Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness where the player's alignment
Alignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
changes depending on whether the player kills humans, good monsters, or evil monsters, and expanded its predecessor's time option, which speeds up or slows down the gameplay, with the introduction of an in-game clock setting day-night cycles and a need to sleep and eat. It also made other improvements such as cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system closer to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between distinct character classes, and a weight system affecting the player's movement depending on the weight of carried equipment. The Final Fantasy Legend, the first in the SaGa series, adopted Final Fantasy II's activity-based progression, expanding it with weapons that shatter with repeated use, and added new ideas such as a race of monsters that mutate depending on which fallen foes they consume. The game also introduced the concept of memento mori
Memento mori
Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die". It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality...
, with a theme revolving around death, while the plot consisted of loosely connected stories and sidequests rather than an epic narrative.
1990–1994: Early Golden Age
The 1990s is often considered the ‘golden age’ of console RPGs. Console RPGs distinguished themselves from computer RPGs to a greater degree in the early 1990s. As console RPGs became more heavily story-based than their computer counterparts, one of the major differences that emerged during this time was in the portrayal of the characters, with most American computer RPGs at the time having characters devoid of personality or background as their purpose was to represent avatars which the player uses to interact with the world, in contrast to Japanese console RPGs which depicted intricately related characters who had distinctive personalities and traits, with many of them, such as Final FantasyFinal Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
and Lufia
Lufia
Lufia, known as in Japan, is a series of console role-playing games developed by Neverland . In Japan, the games were originally published by Taito and later Square Enix , and after the closing of Taito's American branch after the release of the first game, Natsume Inc...
, seeming to offer more of the traditional role-playing
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
, with players assuming the roles of people who cared about each other, fell in love or even had families. Romance in particular was a theme that was common in most console RPGs but alien to most computer RPGs at the time. Japanese console RPGs were also generally more action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
-oriented than their American computer counterparts. The console RPG market became more profitable, which led to several American manufacturers releasing console ports of traditional computer RPGs such as Ultima, though they received mixed reviews due to console gamers at the time considering them to be not "as exciting as the Japanese imports." During the 1990s, console RPGs had become increasingly dominant, exerting a greater influence on computer RPGs than the other way around. Console RPGs had eclipsed computer RPGs for some time, though computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the decade with interactive choice-filled adventures.
In 1990, Dragon Quest IV introduced a new method of storytelling: segmenting the plot into segregated chapters. While this made the game more linear than its predecessor, it allowed for greater characterization, with each chapter dedicated to a particular character's background story. The game also introduced an AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
system called "Tactics" which allowed the player to modify the strategies used by the allied party members while maintaining full control of the hero. Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy III
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square in for the Family Computer as the third installment in the Final Fantasy series. It is the first numbered Final Fantasy game to feature the job-change system....
introduced the classic "job system", a character progression engine allowing the player to change the character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
es, as well as acquire new and advanced classes and combine class abilities, during the course of the game. That same year also saw the release of Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, a game that set the template for the tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
genre and was the first entry in the Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem
is a fantasy tactical role-playing video game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems , the maker of Advance Wars , and published by Nintendo...
series. Another notable strategy RPG that year was Koei's Bandit Kings of Ancient China
Bandit Kings of Ancient China
Bandit Kings of Ancient China, also known as Suikoden-Tenmei no Chikai in Japan, is a turn-based strategy role-playing simulation video game developed and published by Koei, and released in 1989 for MS-DOS, Amiga and the Macintosh and in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
, which was successful in combining the strategy RPG and management simulation
Construction and management simulation
Construction and management simulation is a type of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy video games sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding...
genres, building on its own Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition
is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games, first released in 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.Games in the franchise have been released on a variety of gaming platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive,...
series that began in 1983. Several early RPGs set in a post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
future were also released that year, including Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II, and Crystalis
Crystalis
Crystalis, known in Japan as , is an action RPG/action-adventure video game produced by SNK for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released on April 13, 1990 in Japan and later that July in the United States. Though Crystalis never became a runaway hit, it is now considered a cult classic...
, which was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Crystalis also made advances to the action role-playing game subgenre, being a true action RPG that combined the real-time action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
combat and open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
of The Legend of Zelda with the level-building and spell-casting of traditional RPGs like Final Fantasy. That year also saw the release of Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
is a traditional console roleplaying game that was released for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan in April 1990 and in the United States in the summer of 1991...
, which featured an innovative and original branching storyline, which spans three generations of characters and can be altered depending on which character the protagonist of each generation marries, leading to four possible endings. Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
's Gate of Doom was an action RPG that combined beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
gameplay with fantasy role-playing and introduced an isometric perspective. Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima
is a Japanese game director originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in early 2011...
's SD Snatcher
SD Snatcher
SD Snatcher is a role-playing video game by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform in exclusively in Japan. It is a spinoff of the original Snatcher, adapting the same storyline into a different genre...
abandoned random encounter
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
s and introduced an innovative first-person turn-based battle system where firearm weapons (each with different abilities and target ranges) have limited ammunition, the player can aim at specific parts of the enemy's body with each part weakening the enemy in different ways, and an auto-battle feature could be enabled. Such a battle system has rarely been used since, though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square's Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story
is a Japanese-developed console role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in 2000, and has been re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles eleven years later...
(2000), Bethesda's Fallout 3
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
(2008), and Nippon Ichi
Nippon Ichi
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are responsible for such titles as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Phantom Brave, La Pucelle: Tactics and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure.-History:Nippon Ichi Software was founded in September 1991 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, as an entertainment...
's Last Rebellion
Last Rebellion
Last Rebellion is a console role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Hit Maker and published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan as well as in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe exclusively for the PlayStation 3...
(2010).
In 1991, Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure, known as Mystic Quest in Europe and as in Japan, is a Final Fantasy spinoff and the first game in the Mana series. Published by Square in 1991 on the original Game Boy, it later saw a North American re-release by Sunsoft in April 1998...
, the first in the Mana series, introduced the ability to kill townspeople, something that most RPGs still lack today. The most important RPG that year, however, was Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1991 as a part of the Final Fantasy series. The game was originally released for the Super Famicom in Japan and has since then been rereleased for many other platforms with varying modifications. An enhanced remake with 3D graphics...
, one of the first role-playing games to feature a complex, involving plot, placing a much greater emphasis on character development and personal relationships, and pioneering "the whole concept of dramatic storytelling in an RPG." It also introduced a new battle system: the "Active Time Battle" system, developed by Hiroyuki Ito
Hiroyuki Ito
, also credited with the spelling Hiroyuki Itou, is a Japanese game producer, game director and game designer who has been working for Square Enix since 1987. He is famous for being the creator of Active Time Battle and Active Dimension Battle...
, where the time-keeping system
Time-keeping systems in games
In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of two ways:-Real-time:...
does not stop. On the battle screen, each character has an ATB meter that gradually fills, and the player is allowed to issue a command to that character once the meter is full. The fact that enemies can attack or be attacked at any time is credited with injecting urgency and excitement into the combat system. The ATB combat system was considered revolutionary for being a hybrid between turn-based and real-time combat, with its requirement of faster reactions from players appealing to those who were more used to action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s. That same year, Crea-Tech's Metal Max
Metal Max
is a 1991 vehicle combat role-playing video game developed by Crea-Tech and published by Data East for the Nintendo Famicom exclusively in Japan on May 24, 1991 and later re-released on the Wii Virtual Console on April 27, 2010. It is the first of the Metal Max series...
was an early non-linear, open-ended, post-apocalyptic, vehicle combat
Vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
RPG that lacked a predetermined story path and instead allowed the player to choose which missions
Quest (gaming)
A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
to follow in whatever order while being able to visit any place in the game world. The ending also can be determined by the player's actions, while they can continue playing the game even after the ending. The game also allowed the player to choose the character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
es for each player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
as well as create and modify the tanks used in battle. The Metal Max series
Metal Max (series)
is a series of post-apocalyptic, vehicle combat, role-playing video games dating back to 1991. They have been developed by Crea-Tech and released for the NES, Super NES, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS platforms. As the trademark dispute, series use to release games until get trademark rights...
continued to allow tank customization and open-ended gameplay, while also allowing the player to obtain an ending at almost any time, particularly Metal Saga
Metal Saga
Metal Saga, known in Japan as , is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game developed by Crea-Tech and published by Atlus Software and Success....
, which could be completed with an ending scenario just minutes into the game, making it the shortest possible RPG. Telenet Japan
Telenet Japan
was a Japanese video game and software developer founded in October 1983 by Kazuyuki Fukushima. The company was also known as Nippon Telenet . The company was best known for the Valis series as well as its Wolfteam & RiOT divisions...
released a console remake of its 1988 action-platform RPG Exile, which was controversial, with a plot revolving around a time-traveling Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
-era Syrian Islamic Assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as modern-day political leaders, with similarities to the present-day Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
action game series, while the gameplay of Exile involved taking drugs that increase or decrease statistics and affect the player's heart-rate, displayed using a heart monitor.
In 1992, Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy V
is a medieval-fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1992 as a part of the Final Fantasy series. The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Famicom . It has been ported with minor differences to Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Game Boy Advance...
improved on the ATB system by introducing a time gauge to indicate to the player which character's turn is next, and it expanded the job system by offering more customization options with more than 22 job classes and giving each character greater flexibility by allowing them to learn secondary abilities from each job before changing classes. The job and ATB systems continued to be used in later Final Fantasy titles. 1992 also saw the release of Dragon Quest V
Dragon Quest V
, known as Dragon Quest: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride in Europe, is a console role-playing game and the fifth installment in the Dragon Quest video game series...
, a game that has been praised for its involving, emotional family-themed narrative divided by different periods of time, something that has appeared in very few video games before or since. It has also been credited as the first known video game to feature a playable pregnancy, a concept that has since appeared in later games such as Harvest Moon, The Sims 2
The Sims 2
The Sims 2 is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims, which debuted on February 4, 2000. It was first released on September 14, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. A port to Apple Mac OS X...
and Fable II. Dragon Quest V's monster-collecting mechanic, where monsters can be defeated, captured, added to the party, and gain their own experience levels, also influenced many later franchises such as Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
, Digimon
Digimon
, short for , is a Japanese media franchise encompassing digital toys, anime, manga and video games. The franchise's eponymous creatures are monsters of various forms living in a "Digital World", a parallel universe that originated from Earth's various communication networks.-Conception and...
and Dokapon
Dokapon
Dokapon: Monster Hunter, known in Japan as and known in Europe as is a role-playing video game developed and published by Asmik Ace Entertainment for the Game Boy Advance in Japan on August 3, 2001...
. In turn, the concept of collecting everything in a game, in the form of achievements
Achievement (video gaming)
In video gaming parlance, an achievement, also sometimes known as a trophy or challenge, is a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters...
or similar rewards, has since become a common trend in video games. Dragon Quest V also expanded the AI "Tactics" system of its predecessor by allowing each ally's AI routines to be set individually. Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei
is a console role-playing video game from Atlus that was originally released on October 30, 1992 and later on several platforms, although no installment was released outside of Japan. It was originally released on the Super Famicom and was later ported to the PC Engine Super CD-Rom and Mega-CD...
, released in 1992 for the SNES, introduced an early moral alignment
Alignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
system that has an impact on the direction and outcome of the storyline. It gave the player the freedom to choose between three different paths: Chaos, Law, and Neutral, none of which is portrayed as right or wrong. The deep personal choices the player makes throughout the game affects the protagonist's alignment, leading to different possible paths and multiple endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
. This has since become a hallmark of the Megami Tensei
Megami Tensei
, commonly abbreviated as , is a Japanese console role-playing game metaseries which was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani and has gone to become one of the major franchises of the genre in its native country...
series. Another non-linear RPG released that year was Romancing Saga
Romancing SaGa
is a role-playing video game originally developed and published by Square as the fourth game of their SaGa series. Initially made available in January 1992 for the Super Famicom, the game was later ported to the WonderSwan Color handheld system in December 2002, with both releases being exclusive...
, an open-world RPG by Square that offered many choices and allowed players to complete quests
Quest (gaming)
A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
in any order, with the decision of whether or not to participate in any particular quest affecting the outcome of the storyline. The game also allowed players to choose from eight different characters, each with their own stories that start in different places and offer different outcomes. Romancing SaGa thus succeeded in providing a very different experience during each run through the game, something that later non-linear RPGs such as SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the SaGa series and the first to be released on the PlayStation...
and Fable
Fable (video game series)
Fable is a series of action role-playing video games for Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, and Mac OS X platforms. The series is developed by Lionhead Studios and is published by Microsoft Studios.-Setting:...
had promised but were unable to live up to. The SaGa series has since become known for its open-ended gameplay. The series is also known for having an activity-based progression system instead of experience levels, and since Romancing Saga, a combo system where up to five party members can perform a combined special attack. Unlike other RPGs at the time, Romancing SaGa also required characters to pay mentors to teach them abilities, whether it's using certain weapons or certain proficiencies like opening a chest or dismantling a trap. Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
's Heracles no Eikō III, written by Kazushige Nojima
Kazushige Nojima
is a Japanese game scenario writer and is the founder of Stellavista Ltd.. He is best known for writing parts of Square Enix's Final Fantasy video game series—namely Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2—and the Kingdom Hearts series...
, introduced the plot element of a nameless immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
suffering from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
, and Nojima would later revisit the amnesia theme in Final Fantasy VII and Glory of Heracles
Glory of Heracles
is a Japanese role-playing video game series originally developed and published by Data East. The series began in 1987 with Tōjin Makyō-den Heracles no Eikō, and three sequels were released until 1994 in addition to a portable spinoff game released in 1992....
. The TurboGrafx-CD port of Dragon Knight II released that year was also notable for introducing erotic
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
adult
Adult video game
An adult video game is a video game which has significant sexual content , and are therefore intended for an adult audience. Adult games can fall into many genres and have diverse gameplay.-PC and console:...
content to consoles, though such content had often appeared in Japanese computer RPGs since the early 1980s. That same year, Game Arts
Game Arts
is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, they have since expanded their enterprise to produce for a number of game console and handheld systems...
began the Lunar series on the Sega CD with Lunar: The Silver Star
Lunar: The Silver Star
is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and Studio Alex for the Mega-CD console. Originally released in Japan on June 16, 1992 to critical acclaim, the game was translated and released in English by Working Designs the following year...
, one of the first successful CD-ROM RPGs, featuring both voice and text, and considered one of the best RPGs in its time. The game was praised for its soundtrack, emotionally engaging storyline, and strong characterization. It also introduced an early form of level-scaling where the bosses would get stronger depending on the protagonist's level, a mechanic that was later used in Enix's The 7th Saga
The 7th Saga
The 7th Saga, called in Japan, is a role playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The player chooses one of seven playable characters, all of whom separately embark on a quest to locate seven magical runes. As the player progresses through the game from one town to the next, they...
and extended to normal enemies in Square's Romancing Saga 3.
In 1993, Square's Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
, the second in the Mana series, further advanced the action RPG
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
subgenre with its introduction of cooperative multiplayer
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
into the genre. The game was created by a team previously responsible for the first three Final Fantasy titles: Nasir Gebelli
Nasir Gebelli
Nasir Gebelli is an Iranian-American programmer and video game developer. Gebelli co-founded Sirius Software, created his own company Gebelli Software, and worked for Square .-Sirius Software:...
, Koichi Ishii
Koichi Ishii
, sometimes credited as Kouichi Ishii, is a video game designer perhaps best known for creating the Mana series . He joined Square in 1987, where he has directed or produced every game released in the Mana series...
, and Hiromichi Tanaka
Hiromichi Tanaka
is a Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director and game designer. He is currently Senior Vice President of Software Development at Square Enix and the head of Square Enix's Product Development Division-3. He is best known as the former lead developer of Final Fantasy XI, Square's...
. It was intended to be one of the first CD-ROM RPGs, as a launch title for the SNES CD add-on, but had to be altered to fit onto a standard game cartridge after the SNES CD project was dropped. The game received considerable acclaim, for its innovative pausable real-time battle system, the "Ring Command" menu system, its innovative cooperative multiplayer gameplay, where the second or third players could drop in and out of the game at any time rather than players having to join the game at the same time, and the customizable AI settings for computer-controlled allies. The game has influenced a number of later action RPGs. That same year also saw the release of Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
is a console roleplaying game released in 1993 for the Mega Drive in Japan and in 1995 for the Sega Genesis in North America. It is the fourth and final game in the original Phantasy Star series, concluding the story of the Algol Star System...
, which introduced the use of pre-programmable combat manoeuvers called 'macros', a means of setting up the player's party to deliver custom attack combos. Madou Monogatari
Madou Monogatari
Madou Monogatari is a series of first-person dungeon crawler RPGs by Compile. The first game was released in 1989 for MSX and NEC PC-9801. The characters of this series would later be used in the puzzle game Puyo Puyo.-Gameplay:Gameplay is traditional RPG with some unique twists...
, a 1989 MSX and PC-98 computer RPG ported to the Game Gear handheld console in 1993, had several unique features, including magic-oriented turn-based combat that completely lacked physical attacks, and the replacement of numerical statistics with visual representations, where the protagonist's condition is represented by her facial expressions and sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
graphics while experience is measured in jewels that encircle the screen, with the only visible numerical statistic being the collected gold. That same year, T&E Soft
Technology and Entertainment Software
, fully titled as Technology and Entertainment Software, is a Japanese based video game developer founded in 1982. Although they have made games with a wide variety of genres, they are primarily known in the U.S...
released Sword World SFC, the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
version of the PC-98 game Sword World PC released a year earlier. It was officially based on Sword World RPG
Sword World RPG
is a very popular Japanese role-playing game created by Group SNE. 10 million copies of the related books including rulebooks, novels and replays have been sold....
, a popular Japanese table-top role-playing game
Japanese role-playing game
Japanese role-playing games made their first appearance during the late 1980s. Today, there are hundreds of Japanese-designed games as well as several translated games...
. The video game versions were multiplayer titles and early attempts at recreating an open-ended, table-top role-playing experience on video game platforms, being set in the same world as Sword World and implementing the same rules and scenarios. That year also saw the release of Romancing Saga 2
Romancing SaGa 2
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and released exclusively for the Super Famicom system in Japan on December 10, 1993. It is the fifth title in the SaGa series. Video game music composer Kenji Ito composed the score.-Gameplay:...
, which further expanded the non-linear gameplay of its predecessor. While in the original Romancing Saga, scenarios were changed according to dialogue choices during conversations, Romancing Saga 2 further expanded on this by having unique storylines for each character that can change depending on the player's actions, including who is chosen, what is said in conversation, what events have occurred, and who is present in the party.
In 1994, Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
moved away from the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
setting of its predecessors, instead being set in a steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
environment, and dealing with post-apocalyptic themes. The game received considerable acclaim, for improvements such as its broadened thematic scope, plotlines, characters, multiple-choice scenarios, and variation of play. Square's Live A Live
Live A Live
is a console role-playing game developed by Square for the Super Famicom released in Japan on September 2, 1994. It was never released outside Japan, but it has been unofficially translated into English....
, released for the Super Famicom in Japan, featured eight different characters and stories, with the first seven unfolding in any order the player chooses, as well as four different endings. The game's ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
chapter in particular was an early example of stealth game elements in an RPG, requiring the player to infiltrate a castle, rewarding the player if the entire chapter can be completed without engaging in combat. Other chapters had similar innovations, such as Akira's chapter where the character uses telepathic powers to discover information. That same year saw the release of the 3DO console port of the 1991 PC RPG Knights of Xentar
Knights of Xentar
Knights of Xentar is an eroge role-playing video game released for PC DOS in North America in 1995 by Megatech Software. It is also known as Dragon Knight III in Japan and is part of the Dragon Knight series of games created by Japanese game developer ELF, who originally released the game for the...
, which had introduced a unique pausable real-time battle system, where characters automatically attack based on a list of different AI scripts chosen by the player. Robotrek
Robotrek
Robotrek is a role-playing game released in 1994. It was published by Enix and developed by Quintet and Ancient for the SNES video game console.As its Japanese name implies, Robotrek was intended as a humorous game...
by Quintet and Ancient
Ancient (company)
Ancient Corp. is a video game developer founded on April 1st, 1990, and managed by the game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. The company was founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro also works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer...
was a predecessor to Pokémon in the sense that the protagonist does not himself fight, but sends out his robots to do so. Like Pokémon, Robotrek was designed to appeal to a younger audience, allowed team customization, and each robot was kept in a ball.
1995–1999: Late Golden Age
In 1995, Square's Chrono TriggerChrono Trigger
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Chrono Triggers development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, a...
raised the standards for the genre, with certain aspects that were considered revolutionary in its time, including its nonlinear gameplay, branching plot, more than ten different endings, plot-related sidequests, a unique battle system with innovations such as combo attacks, and lack of random encounters. It also introduced the concept of New Game+
New Game Plus
A New Game Plus is an unlockable video game mode that allows the player to start a new game after they finish the game at least once, where certain aspects of the finished game, such as experience or items, affect the newly started game...
, though this game mode has its origins in the original Legend of Zelda. Chrono Trigger also re-introduced the concept of time travel in RPGs, which had rarely been dealt with in video games since the original Final Fantasy. That same year, Square's Romancing Saga 3
Romancing SaGa 3
is the sixth title in the SaGa role-playing video game series developed and published by Square and released exclusively for the Super Famicom system in Japan. It was also the third and final SaGa title to be released for the Super Famicom...
featured a storyline that could be told differently from the perspectives of up to eight different characters and introduced a level-scaling system where the enemies get stronger as the characters do, a mechanic that was later used in Final Fantasy VIII. Enix's Dragon Quest VI
Dragon Quest VI
, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie in Europe, is a console role-playing game developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix for the Super Famicom as a part of the Dragon Quest series. It is the last Dragon Quest game in the Zenithia trilogy. It was released on December 9, 1995 in Japan...
introduced an innovative scenario with a unique real world and dream world setting, which seems to have had an influence on the later Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
role-playing games Chrono Cross
Chrono Cross
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
and Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth title in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in 2001 for Sony's PlayStation 2, and will be re-released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2012...
. Dragon Quest VI also improved on the inventory management of its predecessors with the addition of a bag to store extra items. Meanwhile, Quintet's Terranigma
Terranigma
Terranigma, known as in Japan, is a 1995 action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Quintet. It was published by Enix in Japan before Nintendo localized the game and released an English version in Europe and Australia. The game was never officially released...
allowed players to shape the game world through town-building
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
simulation elements, expanding on its 1992 predecessor Soul Blazer
Soul Blazer
The soundtrack of the game was composed by Yukihide Takekawa. It was published in Japan by the record label Apollon on February 21, 1992.- Reception :The game was reviewed in 1993 in Dragon #200 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column...
, while Square's Seiken Densetsu 3
Seiken Densetsu 3
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for Nintendo's Super Famicom as a part of the Mana series.The game features three lengthy main plotlines, six different characters, each with their own storylines, and a wide range of classes to choose from, which provides each...
allowed a number of different possible storyline paths and endings depending on which combination of characters the player selected.
In 1996, the tactical RPG Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu gave players the ability to affect the relationships between different characters, which in turn affected the storyline as these relationships led to different characters appearing in the second generation of the game's plot. Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
released tri-Ace
Tri-Ace
is a Japanese video game development company formed in 1995 by former Telenet Japan employees Yoshiharu Gotanda , Masaki Norimoto and Joe Asanuma . The name is a play on words regarding the "three aces" who formed the company...
's sci-fi action RPG Star Ocean
Star Ocean
is a franchise of action role-playing video games developed by tri-Ace and published and owned by Square Enix .-Creation and influence:...
, which also gave players the ability to affect the relationships between different characters through its "private actions" social system, where the protagonist's relationship points with the other characters are affected by the player's choices, which in turn affects the storyline, leading to branching paths and multiple different endings. Treasure's Guardian Heroes
Guardian Heroes
is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up and hack & slash action RPG video game in the vein of Final Fight or Golden Axe. The game features RPG elements. Guardian Heroes was developed by Treasure and released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn video game console...
allowed players to alter the storyline through their actions, such as choosing between a number of branching paths leading to multiple different endings and through the Karma meter which changes depending on whether the player kills civilians or shows mercy to enemies. Sega's Sakura Wars
Sakura Wars
is a Japanese media franchise created by Ouji Hiroi, and is developed and owned by Sega and licensed by Red Entertainment and Sega. The franchise centers on a series of dramatic fantasy and science-fantasy tactical role-playing adventure video games, which consist of tactical wargame and dating sim...
for the Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
combined tactical RPG combat with dating sim
Dating sim
Dating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...
and visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
elements, introducing a real-time branching choice system where, during an event or conversation, the player must choose an action or dialogue choice within a time limit, or not to respond at all within that time; the player's choice, or lack thereof, affects the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's relationship with other characters and in turn the characters' performance in battle, the direction of the storyline, and the ending. Later games in the series added several variations, including an action gauge that can be raised up or down depending on the situation, and a gauge that the player can manipulate using the analog stick
Analog stick
An analog stick, sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joystick, consisting of a protrusion from the controller; input is based on the position of this protrusion in relation...
depending on the situation. The success of Sakura Wars led to a wave of games that combine the RPG and dating sim genres, including Thousand Arms
Thousand Arms
is a role-playing video game for the Sony PlayStation released by Atlus in 1998. Thousand Arms follows the goggle-sporting protagonist Meis Triumph as he chases cute girls and a dark villain across the world, eventually concluding with a classic role-playing game ending...
in 1998, Riviera: The Promised Land
Riviera: The Promised Land
is a console role-playing game originally produced in 2002 by Sting Entertainment for WonderSwan Color as the first episode of the Dept. Heaven series of games. The game was later introduced to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance in 2004, which Atlus USA released in North America in 2005...
in 2002, and Luminous Arc
Luminous Arc
is a tactical role-playing game from Marvelous for the Nintendo DS. Luminous Arc was released in Japan on February 8, 2007 and August 14, 2007 in North America by Atlus. The game was released in Europe on October 12, 2007 by Rising Star Games....
in 2007. Also in 1996, Beyond the Beyond
Beyond the Beyond
Beyond the Beyond, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game that was developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in 1995...
introduced a turn-based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
battle system dubbed the "Active Playing System," which allows the player to increase the chances of landing an improved attack or defending from an attack by pressing the X button at the correct time during battle, similar to the timing-based attacks in the later game Final Fantasy VIII.
History of video game consoles (fifth generation)
The fifth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at stores...
consoles. The implications for RPGs were enormous—longer, more involved quests, better audio, and full-motion video. This was first clearly demonstrated in 1997 by the phenomenal success of Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
, which is considered one of the most influential games of all time, akin to that of Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
in the movie industry. With a record-breaking production budget of around $45 million, the ambitious scope of Final Fantasy VII raised the possibilities for the genre, with its more expansive world to explore, much longer quest, more numerous sidequests, dozens of minigames, and much higher production values. The latter includes innovations such as the use of 3D characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, battles viewed from multiple different angles rather than a single angle, and for the first time full-motion CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
video seamlessly blended into the gameplay, effectively integrated throughout the game. The extensive use of cinematics has since become one of the genre's trademarks. Gameplay innovations included the materia system, which allowed a considerable amount of customization and flexibility through materia that can be combined in many different ways and exchanged between characters at any time, and the limit breaks, special attacks that can be performed after a character's limit meter fills up by taking hits from opponents. Final Fantasy VII continues to be listed among the best games of all time, for its highly polished gameplay, high playability, lavish production, well-developed characters, intricate storyline, and an emotionally engaging narrative that is much darker and sophisticated than most other RPGs. The game's storytelling and character development was considered a major narrative jump forward for video games and was often compared to films and novels at the time.
The explosion of Final Fantasy VII
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
represented the dawning of a new era of RPGs. Backed by a clever multi-million dollar marketing campaign, Final Fantasy VII brought the first taste of CRPGs to a much wider audience and played a key role in the success of the PlayStation gaming console. Following the success of Final Fantasy VII, console RPGs, previously a niche genre outside of Japan, skyrocketed in popularity across the world. The game was soon ported to the PC and gained much success there as well, as did several other originally console RPGs, blurring the line between the console and computer platforms. The game was also responsible not only for popularizing RPGs outside of Japan, but its high production budget played a key role in the rising costs of video game development in general, and it led to Square's foray into films with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 Japanese-American computer animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was the first photorealistic computer animated feature film and also holds the record for the most...
.
Later in 1997, Square released SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the SaGa series and the first to be released on the PlayStation...
, which expands on the non-linear gameplay of its Romancing Saga predecessors. It has a setting that spans multiple planets and an overarching plot that becomes apparent after playing through each of the different characters' quests that tie together at certain places. The characters have several different possible endings each, and there can be up to 15 characters in the party at the same time, organized into three groups of five characters. The ambitious amount of freedom the game offered was a departure from most RPGs in its time, but this led to a mixed reception due to its lack of direction. Quintet's 1997 release The Granstream Saga
The Granstream Saga
is an action role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game was developed by a team consisting of staff from the developer Quintet under the name Shade....
was an early fully 3D action RPG that had a unique third-person one-on-one combat system and a storyline that, while being mostly linear, offered a difficult moral choice towards the end of the game regarding which of two characters to save, each leading to a different ending.
Xenogears
is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
was acclaimed for the ambitious scope of its storyline, which spanned millennia and explored themes rarely dealt with in video games, including topics such as religion and the origin of mankind, and social commentary dealing with racism, poverty, war, and human psychology, along with narrative references to the philosophies of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
and Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
. It is today considered one of the greatest examples of video game storytelling. That year also saw the rise of monster-collecting
Digital pet
A digital pet is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet....
RPGs which, although originating from Megami Tensei, Dragon Quest V, and Robotrek, was further advanced and popularized by Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
, which featured multiplayer gameplay and was released in North America that year. Pokémon has since become the best-selling RPG franchise of all time.
In 1999, the cinematic trend set by Final Fantasy VII continued with Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII
is a role-playing video game released for the PlayStation in 1999 and for Windows-based personal computers in 2000. It was developed and published by Square as the Final Fantasy series' eighth title, removing magic point-based spell-casting and the first title to consistently use realistically...
, which introduced characters with a proportionately sized human appearance. The game also featured a level-scaling system where the enemies scale in level along with the player's party. Similar level-scaling mechanics have been used in a number of later RPGs, including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a single-player action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks and the Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Games...
, Silverfall
Silverfall
Silverfall is a "hack and slash" role-playing video game, developed by software company Monte Cristo for Windows. It is available in English, French and German. A port has been made for PlayStation Portable....
, Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise...
, Fable II, Fallout 3
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
, and the upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth installment in The Elder Scrolls action role-playing video game series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion...
. Square also expanded on the non-linearity of SaGa Frontier with their 1999 action RPG Legend of Mana
Legend of Mana
Legend of Mana, known in Japan as , is the fourth game in the Mana series. The game was released for the PlayStation in Japan on July 15, 1999 and in North America on June 7, 2000, with a delayed release in Canada...
, the most open-ended in the Mana series, allowing the player to build the game world however they choose, complete any quests
Quest (gaming)
A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
and subplots they choose in any order of their choice, and choose which storyline paths to follow, departing from most other action RPGs in its time. That same year, Square's survival horror RPG Parasite Eve II
Parasite Eve II
is a horror action role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game was developed by SquareSoft and published in Japan in 1999 and in both North America and, unlike the previous game, in PAL regions in 2000...
featured branching storylines and up to three different possible endings, while the sci-fi RPG Star Ocean: The Second Story
Star Ocean: The Second Story
is a action role-playing PlayStation video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix. It is the second game in the Star Ocean series and the first game in the series to be released in North America and Europe , courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment...
boasted as many as 86 different endings, with each of the possible permutations to these endings numbering in the hundreds, setting a benchmark for the amount of outcomes possible for a video game. Using a relationship system inspired by dating sim
Dating sim
Dating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...
s, each of the characters in Star Ocean had friendship points and relationship points with each of the other characters, allowing the player to pair together, or ship
Shipping (fandom)
Shipping, derived from the word relationship, is the belief that two fictional characters, typically from the same series, are in an intimate relationship, or have romantic feelings that could potentially lead to a relationship. It is considered a general term for fans' emotional involvement with...
, any couples (both romantic heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
relationships as well as friendships) of their choice, allowing a form of fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
to exist within the game itself. This type of social system was later extended to allow romantic lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
relationships in BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
's 2007 sci-fi RPG Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
. However, the relationship system in Star Ocean not only affected the storyline, but also the gameplay, affecting the way the characters behave towards each other in battle. Another 1999 RPG, Persona 2
Persona 2
is a two-part series of Japanese console role-playing games for the Sony PlayStation, developed by Atlus. and are two chapters of the same storyline...
, also featured dating elements, including the option to engage in a homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
relationship.
2000–present: Handheld titles
Nintendo handheldsNintendo Handhelds
- Nintendo handheld consoles :...
—in particular the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
—have featured a number of innovative RPGs during the 2000s. Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Boktai
Boktai
Boktai is a video game series developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS handheld consoles. The title is an abbreviation of the series' full Japanese title Bokura no Taiyō or Our Sun. They are recognized for using a solar sensor that is a key element of gameplay...
(2003) had a unique stealth-based action gameplay that made use of a solar-power sensor. Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
's The World Ends With You (2007) featured a unique dual-screen action combat system that involves controlling two characters at the same time. Level-5
Level-5
is an independent video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 200 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft...
's Inazuma Eleven
Inazuma Eleven
is a role-playing and sports video game for the Nintendo DS developed and published by Level-5. It was released on August 22, 2008 in Japan. A European release was confirmed by Nintendo and was released on January 29, 2011, three years after the Japanese release...
(2008) introduced unique soccer football RPG gameplay incorporating sports game
Sports game
A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...
elements. The Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
title Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, known in Japan as , is a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on 15 January 2009 and was released in North America on June 23, 2009. Its character designs are handled by Suzuhito Yasuda...
(2009) blends together both traditional and tactical RPG
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
gameplay along with non-linear adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
elements as well as an innovative demon auction system and a death clock system where each character has a specified time of death and the player's actions has consequences on who lives and dies. On the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
(PSP), Half-Minute Hero (2009) is a role-playing shooter featuring self-referential humour and a 30-second time limit for each level and boss encounter.
The 2010 Atlus title Radiant Historia
Radiant Historia
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. The game's development team mostly consists of Atlus staff who previously worked on Megami Tensei games like Persona 3, Strange Journey, Nocturne and the Etrian Odyssey series. The development team also includes...
introduced unique take on the concept of non-linear branching storylines that gives the player the freedom to alter the course of history through time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
across two parallel timelines
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. The 2010 PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version of Tactics Ogre features a similar "World" system that allows players to revisit key plot points and make different choices to see how the story unfolds differently. Imageepoch
Imageepoch
is a Japanese video game developer based out of Tokyo, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 120 individuals, was founded in December 2005 by Ryoei Mikage. Imageepoch's first release was the turn-based strategy RPG on Nintendo DS, Luminous Arc. Since then the company has expanded into...
's upcoming Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari (Final Promise Story) for the PSP has a strategic command-based battle system where enemies learn from previous skirmishes and where characters can die permanently during gameplay which in turn has an impact on the game's storyline.
South Korean RPGs
1980s–1990s
South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's RPG industry began with translations of RPGs imported from Japan and the United States. The first fully translated Japanese RPG in Korea was Phantasy Star (1987) for the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, which was licensed by Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
and released as the Samsung Gam*Boy in South Korea, on April 1989. The country's first fully-fledged computer RPG was Sin'geom-ui Jeonseol, also known as Legend of the Sword, released for the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
computer platform in 1987. It was programmed by Nam In-Hwan and distributed by Aproman, and was primarily influenced by the Ultima series. In the late 1980s, the Korean company Topia began producing action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
s, one of which was Pungnyu Hyeopgaek for the MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
in 1989. It was the first Korean title published for IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
s and is set in ancient China. Another action RPG released by Topia that same year was Mirae Sonyeon Conan, a video game adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
's Japanese 1978 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Future Boy Conan
Future Boy Conan
is an anime series, which premiered across Japan on the NHK network between April 4 and October 31, 1978 on the Tuesday 19:30-20:00 timeslot. The official English title used by Nippon Animation is Conan, The Boy in Future....
, for the MSX2
MSX2
MSX2 may refer to:* Msh homeobox 2, a human gene* The second generation of the MSX home computers...
platform.
1994 saw the release of two major Korean RPGs: Astonishia Story
Astonishia Story
Astonishia Story is a series of 2D RPGs created by the Korean video game developer Sonnori. The first game in the series was released as Astonishia Story for Microsoft Windows in South Korea in 1994. A sequel, also for Windows, was released in July 1994 in South Korea under the title Astonishia...
, and an MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
enhanced remake Ys II Special, developed by Mantra. The latter was a mash-up of Nihon Falcom's game Ys II (1988) with the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Ys II: Castle in the Heavens
Ys (anime)
are two different anime series, both of which are based on the video game series Ys. The first series spans seven episodes and covers the general plotline of the first game of the series, Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished. The plot centers on Adol Christin as he journeys to the island of Esteria in search...
(1992) along with a large amount of new content, including more secrets than any other version of Ys II. Both games were a success in Korea, Astonishia Story more so.
Commercial online gaming
Online game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
became very popular in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
from the mid-1990s. Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds
Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds
NEXUS: The Kingdom of the Winds , alternately known as Nexus TK or simply Nexus, is a Pay to Play MMORPG, currently run in the US by Kru Interactive. Nexus began as a U.S. version of the Korean game 바람의 나라 developed by NEXON Inc...
, designed by Jake Song
Jake Song
Jake Song, Korean Name Song Jae-kyeong , b. 1965 , is a South Korean programmer who is regarded as one of the greatest game developers in Korea. He played a major role in creating the MMORPG Lineage, an online game with huge following in Korea...
, was commercially released in 1996 and eventually gained over one million subscribers. It was one of the earliest massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s. Song's next game, Lineage
Lineage (computer game)
Lineage is a medieval fantasy, massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in the United States in 1998 by the South Korean computer game developer NCsoft. It is most popular in Korea and is available in Chinese, Japanese, and English language versions...
(1998), enjoyed even greater success gaining millions of subscribers in Korea and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. This helped to secure developer NCsoft
NCsoft
NCsoft is a South Korea-based online video game company, which has published massively multiplayer online role-playing games including Lineage, City of Heroes, Wildstar, Exteel, Guild Wars and Aion.-History:...
's dominance in the global MMORPG market for several years.
2000s–present
In 2002, the spriteSprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
-based Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online , often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-jin. It was first released in South Korea on 31 August 2002 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other...
, produced by Korean company Gravity Corp, was released. Though unknown to many Western players, the game took Asia by storm as Lineage had done. The publisher has claimed in excess of 25 million subscribers of the game, although this number is based upon a quantity of registered users (rather than active subscribers). 2002 also saw the release of MapleStory
MapleStory
MapleStory is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by the South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, and each is published by various companies such as Nexon...
, another sprite-based title, which was completely free-to-play
Free-to-play
Free-to-play refers to any video game that has the option of allowing its players to play without paying. The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game...
- instead of charging a monthly fee, it generated revenue by selling in-game "enhancements". MapleStory would go on to become a major player in the new market for free-to-play MMORPGs (generating huge numbers of registered accounts across its many versions), if it did not introduce the market by itself.
In October 2003, Lineage II
Lineage II
Lineage II is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows. It is a prequel to Lineage, and is set 150 years before the earlier game. It has become very popular since its October 1, 2003 launch in South Korea, reporting 1,000,918 unique users during the month of March 2007...
(NCsoft's sequel to Lineage) became the latest MMORPG to achieve huge success across Asia. It received the Presidential Award at the 2003 Korean Game awards, and is now the second most popular MMORPG in the world. As of the first half of 2005 Lineage II counted over 2.25 million subscribers worldwide, with servers in Japan, China, North America, Taiwan, and Europe, once the popularity of the game had surged in the West.
Chinese computer RPGs
Heroes of Jin YongHeroes of Jin Yong
Heroes of Jin Yong , first published in 1996, is a tactical role-playing game based on the storyline and characters in Jin Yong's Wuxia novels, developed by Heluo ....
(1996), a Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
based on the popular historical novels by Jin Yong, featured a number of melee and ranged kung fu skills to train and develop, as well as a grid-based movement system.
China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
has a number of domestically produced games. These include the Genesis of the Century trilogy (The World of Legend
The World of Legend
The World of Legend is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. The World of Legend is the first game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century", with The Age as their second and Magical Land as the last.-Game History:...
, The Age
The Age (computer game)
The Age is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. The Age is the second game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century," with The World of Legend as their first and Magical Land as the last.-Game history:...
, and Magical Land
Magical Land
Magical Land is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. Magical Land is the last game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century," with The World of Legend as their first and The Age as their second.-Game history:...
), Westward Journey, Perfect World
Perfect World
Perfect World , is a 3D adventure and fantasy MMORPG with traditional Chinese settings. Players can take on various roles depending on choice of race and choice of class within that race....
, Learn from Lei Feng Online
Learn From Lei Feng Online
Learn From Lei Feng Online is a video game believed to be released by a Chinese game developer, where the player assumes the role of Lei Feng. The ultimate goal of the game is to meet Chairman Mao and get his autograph. To do this, Lei will have to do a variety of charitable acts such as mending...
, and The Incorruptible Warrior. There are a large number of domestically-produced MMORPGs
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
in China, although many generally remain unheard of outside the country.
See also
- Action role-playing gameAction role-playing gameAction role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
- Adventure gameAdventure gameAn adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
- Dating simDating simDating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...
- History of Western role-playing video gamesHistory of Western role-playing video gamesWestern role-playing video games are role-playing video games developed in the Western world, specifically North America and, in more recent years, Europe...
- Role-playing video gameRole-playing video gameRole-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
- Tactical role-playing gameTactical role-playing gameA tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
- Visual novelVisual novelA is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...