RPG Elements: Difference between revisions
m
clean up
m (update links) |
m (clean up) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
You're not playing an [[Role Playing Game|RPG]]. However, your character gains [[Character Level|experience and levels]] as if you were. Instead of being a mere test of skill, in which the only thing that makes the game easier or harder is your ability as a player, your control over the [[Player Character]] is abstracted so that you must [[An Adventurer Is You|build a unique path for them]]. Often their talents improve the more you practice or train, maybe there's a class system, or some sort of system that allows for tweakable abilities.
Line 11:
== [[Action Adventure]] ==
* One of the earliest examples is ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link|Zelda II the Adventure of Link]]'', which swapped out a lot of the [[Adventure Game]] elements for a blend of [[Platformer|platforming]], supplemented by
* Even earlier than ''Zelda II'' was an [[Infocom]] [[Interactive Fiction|text adventure]], ''Beyond Zork''. Your character had various stats, could use potions and herbs, and even attack monsters, yet it had all of the trademarks of the previous [[Zork]] games (including the mindbending puzzles). Surprisingly, it worked.
* ''[[Castlevania]]'' has firmly entrenched RPG Elements into its gameplay ever since ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night|Symphony of the Night]]'' came out, about the same time it adapted the [[Metroidvania|free-roaming environs]] popularized by the ''[[Metroid]]'' series.
** It tried free-roaming gameplay with RPG elements before in ''[[Castlevania II: Simon's Quest|Simon's Quest]]'', but the results were broken and nigh-unplayable.
* Arguably, the ''[[Ys]]'' series, though some would declare them straight [[Action RPG
* In ''[[Okami]]'', when you do a good deed (from making trees blossom to [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|helping cook the ultimate dish]]) you are rewarded with so-called "praise spheres" which more or less function as experience points, allowing you to increase your [[Mana Meter|ink]], your [[Life Meter|solar energy]] or your [[It Makes Sense in Context|number of stomachs]]. The health is also partly increased with hidden [[Heart Container|solar fragments]].
* ''[[Swim Ikachan]]'' has experience points earned by either killing enemies or eating a limited supply of fishes that increase player's maximum hit-points when enough is collected.
Line 23:
== [[Action Game]] ==
* Strangely, Square's ''[[World of Mana]]'' series started out as a straight action-RPG, but every game since the Japanese-only ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'' has had {{smallcaps| fewer}} RPG elements than the previous title. ''Dawn Of Mana'' manages to be a straight-out third-person action game with fewer RPG elements than ''[[Ratchet and Clank]].''
* ''[[Scurge: Hive]]'' is an isometric [[Action Game]]-slash-[[Platformer]] with experience points, character levels, and [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors]]. Oh, and [[Expy
* In ''[[Evolva]]'', you must absorb the DNA from your enemies to mutate again and improve your weapons, making DNA something like [[Experience Points]]. Besides, you're allowed to customize your characters and choose which attacks and skills you want to improve.
Line 34:
* In Capcom's ''[[Knights of the Round]]'', your character will get stronger once your score reaches certain milestones. [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|Does this]] [[Character Level|remind you]] [[Experience Points|of anything]]?
* Capcom's [[Dungeons and Dragons]]-based beat 'em ups ''Tower of Doom'' and ''Shadow Over Mystara'' are loosely based on the tabletop RPG itself. Strangely though, even though your character has [[Experience Points]], they function as just a score if anything, as your characters simply level up once per chapter.
* Surprisingly averted in ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'', which in spite of being published by Capcom (Of which It's Own [[Devil May Cry]] did have
== [[Card Battle Game]] ==
* Unusually, the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]!'' video game franchise has RPG Elements in them, to some degree, possibly as a way to gauge the player's growing skill at the game. Unfortunately, some games take this concept too far, and actually prevent you from using cards above your current level, placing [[Fake Difficulty|unneeded]]—and
== [[Driving Game]] ==
Line 47:
* ''[[Daikatana]]'' was ([[Vaporware|infamously]]) supposed to be an innovative blend of RPG Elements and the ''[[Quake]]'' FPS system. Delays, developer infighting, and just plain bad design resulted in the final release being... schizophrenic, to say the least.
* A pair of games known as the ''[[Crime Crackers]]'' duology were released by Media Vision as Japan Only titles for the Playstation [one of them in fact being one of the first ten games ever released for it]. These games used anime-style art for the characters and environments made by [[Kokomai]] of "Akaijutsu Club" and used an engine that was more of a middle ground between [[Wolfenstein 3D]]/[[Blake Stone]] and [[Doom]]'s engines, but also allowed things like transporting elevators to give the illusion of multiple floors in the same map (like [[Duke Nukem|Duke Nukem 3D]] which included elevators that teleported you as one of it's mapping effects), a specialized guarding system for blocking attacks from enemies, the ability to level up via Experience Points [for the second game only], and probably one of the least used RPG elements in First Person Shooters, a multiple-characters-in-the-same-party set up [3 in the first game, 4 in the second game with the option to switch characters at the start of most levels]. Some environments could even damage all of your characters simultaneously, and of course if all of them died, it was game over. The targetting system is also a bit out of place compared to other first person shooters, stopping you in place while you aim a crosshair at anything on screen and your shots will shoot towards the crosshair instead of straight ahead]. It was probably not the biggest thing since sliced bread, but it's existance was the inspiration for another FPS [[Duke Nukem: Naferias Reign Invasion of the Dark Mistress|modification for Duke Nukem 3D]] with far more build up on the RPG Elements (among other things) so far.
* Warren Spector's 1st-person games (''[[Ultima Underworld]]'', ''[[System Shock]]'', ''[[Deus Ex]]'') had so many RPG Elements, it's hard to tell whether they were [[FPS
** ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'' is as far from being an FPS is you can get. The ''only'' element it shares with FPS games is the first person point of view. There was no such thing as an FPS when it was released anyway.
** It's a similar situation to [[Magic Versus Science]]. [[Word of God]] ([[All There in the Manual|or at least the advertising material]]) is that they're RPGs with first-person shooter interfaces.
Line 68:
== [[Hack and Slash]] ==
* ''[[Drakengard]]'' is [[Hack and Slash]] meets [[Simulation Game|Flight Sim]] meets
== [[Platform Game]] ==
* Speaking of ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'', your [[BFG
* Parodied in ''[[Kirby Super Star]]'', as pictured at the top of the page. In the "Great Cave Offensive" sub-game, you fight a supposedly "RPG-style" boss known as the Computer Virus, which takes the form of generic [[Medieval European Fantasy]] enemies like knights and dragons (as opposed to the ''[[Kirby]]'' series's more bizarre fare), complete with a little text box at the top of the screen that announces the player's or boss's blocks or attacks and a [[Stylistic Suck|tinny, 8-bit style rendition]] of the main boss theme. The player, though, continues to control Kirby in the normal [[Platformer]] style throughout the battle, so it isn't actually an [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]] (it just looks like one.) When you win, the menu awards you various (spurious) spoils, including [[Experience Point
** In ''[[Video Game Remake|Super Star Ultra]]'', you are told at the end, "You gain X experience points! (Not that it matters.)". If you're playing as Meta Knight, different stats go up at the end.
* ''[[Tomb Raider]]: Angel of Darkness'' saw a lot of derision for its random RPG elements that added nothing to the game, other than a ludicrous way to bar progress until you did something to make Lara arbitrarily gain the ability she needed to progress.
Line 137:
* ''[[Minecraft]]'' has this in the form of experience points, potions, and enchantments. Experience points are used to enchant tools and armor pieces for various effects, such as a sword multiplying the number of drops from a mob or a pair of boots that reduces fall damage. Brewing potions can get you various results, depending on what is used, and they can be made into a "splash" form that act like hand grenades. The fanbase is [[Broken Base|divided]] as to whether this constitutes [[Growing the Beard]] or [[Jumping the Shark]].
=== Non-video game examples
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu]]'', where IQ means [[Ranked by IQ|rank]], examination means [[Serious Business]] and academic performance means [[Experience Points]].
| |||