Looking for Action RPG's.

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Wallyworld
Posts: 151
Joined: July 13th, 2015, 11:11 am

Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby Wallyworld » March 18th, 2017, 2:07 pm

I have become somewhat obsessed with Action RPG's lately. They have become by far my favorite genre of games. I get really bored playing classic style RPG's as combat becomes so mundane just clicking through menu's and mashing buttons to cast your best attacks. A good action RPG melds arcade feel with rewarding feeling of developing your Avatar into a beast that can plow through anything.

I'm compiling a list of Action RPG's I have been able to play so far.

1. Wanderers of Y's III: This was my first experience playing a game in this genre. It's solid game with great music and the ablility to save your progress anywhere anytime is a nice touch. It was ported to almost every console of it's day. Grade: B

2. Popful Mail: Very similar side scrolling action to Y's III. It was only released on the Sega CD which is a shame because it's a very charming and fun game. What this game has added to the formula is Voice acting for the characters and FMV cut scenes. Really my only complaint here is that some of the Bosses take an insane amount of damage before they die. You will literally have to hit them 100 times before they mercifully die. Grade: A-

3. Shining Soul II: This game was made by Sega for the Game Boy Advance. I really enjoyed this game. Instead of a side scroller this game plays more like Zelda Link to the past. It has the normal leveling system which is a requirement for me for a game to be considered an ARPG. What this game brings to the genre is the chests all have random loot as do the enemies you kill. So once you clear a level you have the option of replaying the level to grind XP but also get entirely new loot from the chests you open. This really helps with the replay-ability of grinding these levels. Also this was the first Action RPG I have played that has a crafting system. You can loot rare mineral's a combine them in different way's to create some of the best gear in the game. Again what item is created when you craft is randomly generated. This adds to the excitement of crafting an item hoping to get the Uber item you need for your weakest armor slot. Grade: B+

4. Castlevania Aria of Sorrow: This is probably the best ARPG I have ever played. It's freaking Castlevania with a nice leveling system and has sweet abilities you unlock as your character progresses. I'm not going to say to much about this one as most people are familiar with Castlevania. If your not this is a great place to start. Grade: A+

5. Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury: This was released in 2004 on Game Boy Advance. This game shocked me at how good it was. It is so well done I feel like I'm playing the TV show Dragon Ball Z. This game has a top overhead perspective and during the course of the game you will be contolling most of the major charaters from the show. You start off as Gohan and later in the game you will change charaters to Vageta,Trunks,Gotin, and Goku. Once you unlock a character you can change characters basically as you please by going to a save station. This is the 3rd game in the series of games developed by web technologies. I haven't played the other two. I like how fast you can level in this game as grinding doesn't waste to much time. The graphics in this game are spectacular in my opinion. It has the same presentation as the TV show. Once you defeat a boss it shows the TV graphic of the next episode your about to begin. I could go on and on about how much I love this game. I recommend it to any fans of Action RPG's or the show Dragon Ball Z of which I am both. Grade: A

Please everyone leave suggestions of other Action RPG's you recommend.

Thanks,

Wallyworld

DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1998
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby DaHeckIzDat » March 18th, 2017, 11:29 pm

Does it matter what system they're on? Because action RPGs are my favorite genre and I've got quite a few I could recommend, but they're mostly newer games and the most "classic" of them are around the PS2 era.

1. Dark Souls series (also Demon Souls and Bloodborne). They're famous for how difficult they are, but if you can accept that, or even enjoy it, they're some of the most open ended, well polished games out there. A little short on story, but more than makes up for it in gameplay. I reviewed it on this site if you want more info.

2. Nier. It's a simple game, especially for an RPG, but I found that refreshing in a genre that's usually all about stats and numbers. Your sword swings are wide, you can double jump and ground pound, so it almost feels like a platformer. It's got an amazing story, though. Another one of my favorites. I reviewed it on this site too. Also, it just got a sequel on PS4. I haven't played it yet so I can't weigh in, but it looks awesome. It was made by Platinum Games, the ones behind Bayonetta, so you know the combat is going to be sick.

3. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. It has a big map to explore without being too big, bright and colorful graphics, a story written by R.A. Salvatore, and combat that's one step below a spectacle fighter. I sold it after one playthrough and never went back, but it's still well worth that one playthrough.

4. Kingdom Hearts series. It's a big, epic, Final Fantasy type story that tries to take itself seriously whilst simultaneously making you fight alongside Donald and Goofy. If you can look past that, though, this is easily some of the best action RPG-ing you can find. The games were originally released all willy nilly across multiple platforms, but recently they've been rereleasing them in HD packages for PS3 and PS4 to build up hype for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3.

5. Dragon's Dogma. Quite possibly has even better combat than Amalur, but the graphics are more reminiscent of Skyrim than World of Warcraft (that's a minus in my book, but maybe not yours). The game also has very big bosses that you climb on to reach their weak points Shadow of the Colossus style.

6. Tales Of series. Not sure if these can be qualified as "action" RPGs since you're still whisked away to a different screen for battles, and more than half the strategy is in pausing the action and issuing manual commands to your party. Still, the combat is a lot more active than most RPGs. You move left and right like a fighting game and can map different attacks to different directions on the joystick, like in Smash Bros. My favorites are Tales of Xillia 1 and 2. You can read my review for ToX1 on the site for more detail (I wrote a review for ToX2 as well, but the Critic hasn't posted it yet).

CaptainCruch
Posts: 662
Joined: July 17th, 2015, 11:26 am

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby CaptainCruch » March 19th, 2017, 11:31 am

Beyond Oasis (aka Story of Thor) (Genesis/MegaDrive) and Story of Thor 2 (Saturn) might be your cup of tea...

Luigi & Peach
Posts: 343
Joined: August 19th, 2015, 9:30 pm

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby Luigi & Peach » March 19th, 2017, 11:53 am

Baldurs Gate 1 & 2 for the original xbox.

Also, I would classify Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2 as Action RPG's as well. The first had much more interesting locales than the second though.

goldenband
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Joined: April 8th, 2015, 10:29 pm

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby goldenband » March 19th, 2017, 9:03 pm

Gauntlet Legends is great fun, especially in multiplayer mode. My wife and I liked the N64 version the most by a wide margin, but the PlayStation and Dreamcast ports are certainly playable.

I also had a good time with the isometric action RPGs Light Crusader and Landstalker on the Genesis. Light Crusader isn't for all tastes, but I liked it a lot, and the music is amazing. Landstalker's a bit more conventionally JRPGish but is still a great game, though it has a few frustrating sections of platforming where the lack of a shadow begins to tell.

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Gentlegamer
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Joined: April 7th, 2015, 1:01 am

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby Gentlegamer » March 20th, 2017, 8:21 am

Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
Crystalis
Willow

ThePixelatedGenocide
Posts: 1232
Joined: April 29th, 2015, 9:06 pm

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » March 21st, 2017, 11:41 am

If you enjoyed Ys III, you've got to give the remake a go. Ys: The Oath in Felghana, adds to the gameplay and charm without ever losing sight of what made it all work in the first place. You might want to also play some of the modern games.

Final Fantasy Adventure on the original Gameboy still has 8-bit charm, and if you want a game that's easy to dive in and out of, it'll give you a quick fix without demanding much in return.

Any screen of Odin Sphere looks like it came from an artbook, without compromise. And as for the gameplay? It's worth looking up on Youtube. I've only played the demo, but it was enough to convince me to purchase the game.

Rogue Legacy is what happens when Castlevania turns sadistic.Despite the goofy indie aesthetic, it practically uses the same engine, underneath. It's just hard enough to where you never quite feel safe, but you always feel like your surviving family could do better.

Wallyworld
Posts: 151
Joined: July 13th, 2015, 11:11 am

Re: Looking for Action RPG's.

Postby Wallyworld » March 23rd, 2017, 8:13 am

These are fantastic suggestions thanks everyone for the feedback.

I've never played Kingdom Hearts before for some reason I thought it was a traditional rpg. I'll have to give that a go.

Does beyond Oasis have a leveling system? I assumed it was a zelda clone.

I have played Gauntlet Legends and I do really like it. However that game is best played with friends as a party game.

I already all these recommendations for the games released on OG XBOX. I didn't know they were action RPGS I just bought them to complete my OG Xbox collection. Those will be an easy place to start.

I had no idea Marvel ultimate alliance was an action rpg. I own both. Again I'll give those a go.

I haven't heard of the newer stuff. For now I'm going to stick with OG Xbox and older. These suggestions will keep me busy a while.

Big thanks everyone!


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