RPG Elements: Difference between revisions

These have been around almost as long as console and computer RPGs have, and became more common durring the mid 90's which time a HUGE number of developers seemed to want the added more complexity to their games(and they hoped increased sales thanks to the prestige that came from having "RPG Elements" printed on the back of the box), even if the elements in question weren't anything more than [[Hit Points]]. Generally ignored is the fact that these "RPG Elements" are not even universal to actual RPGs.

 

 

== [[Action Adventure]] ==

** It tried free-roaming gameplay with RPG elements before in ''[[Castlevania II Simons Quest|Simon's Quest]]'', but the results were broken and nigh-unplayable.

* Arguably, the ''[[Ys (Video Game)|Ys]]'' series, though some would declare them straight [[Action RPG|Action RPGs]]. The gameplay, mostly in the style of ''Zelda II'', is too far afield to accept as a true RPG for many, though.

* ''[[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.

* ''O.D.T. - Escape...Or Die Trying'' by Psygnosis had a filling up experience bar. At first, it could be distributed into armor (hit points), weapons (allowing to learn upgrades), or magic (allowed learning spells). Once these were topped, each filled up experience bar gave you an extra life.

== [[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]].''

* 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.

 

* Used very loosely in ''[[The Spellcasting Series]]''. Ernie gains XP and levels by solving puzzles and learning new spells, but since it's a text adventure game without a smidge of combat, the process is mostly for show. Some spells DO require a certain level to be cast, but progressing through the game normally will take care of that problem on its own.

 

* 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 [[RPG Elements]]) this game intentionally avoids this.

* ''[[Blur (Video Game)|Blur]]'' has you earn fans for finishing in a given place, pulling off stunts, wrecking other cars, etc. Get enough fans, your Fan Level increases, unlocking new cars and, in multiplayer, new car mods.

 

* ''[[Daikatana (Video Game)|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 (Video Game)|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 (Video Game)/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.

* In ''[[Civilization]] IV'', a "Unit Promotions" game mechanic was introduced, allowing you to use experience gained by your units in battle to buy them special traits that improved their combat values or added new abilities.

** While picking specific bonuses as you level up is new, units getting better with experience has been part of the series since the original game. It started with a simple binary distinction (veteran vs normal) in ''Civ I'' and ''Civ II'' and slowly became more elaborate.

*** The revised version based on the ''Civ IV'' engine keeps the "Unit Promotions" mechanic from ''Civ IV', which has the side-effect of forcing your troops to level via combat so they are ready to fight off the Europeans once you declare independence. The "befriend & arm the natives" and "coexist peacefully" strategies from the old game aren't really workable if you want an effective militia in the new version.

* In ''[[Sins of a Solar Empire]]'', capital ships gain experience points, increasing their fighter cap, and granting the use of special abilities, which could be upgraded by throwing a skill point into them.

* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' has two modes of play. One is a [[Roguelike]], and the other is similar to ''[[The Sims]]'' or ''[[Dungeon Keeper]]''. Naturally, they both allow the dwarfs to gain skills and whatnot.

 

* In ''[[Mars Matrix (Video Game)|Mars Matrix]]'', collecting golden cubes will give you [[Experience Points]] and levels. Leveling up increases the power of your main shot.

* Like the above example, in the flash game [[Epic Battle Fantasy]] 3.3: Bullet Heaven, you can collect coins from killed enemies and buy upgrades like more lives, stronger and faster shots, etc. Of course, these stats cap at a certain point; it seems to be more of a way to let newcomers to the [[Bullet Hell]] genre start out slow and work their way up. Any non-hardcore player will need max upgrades to survive the later levels and bonus levels.

* ''[[Silent Storm]]'' and its sequels has characters with unchangeable stats and skills that improve or worsen based on the successful use of these skills. For example, a sniper's accuracy skill improves based on successful hits and worsens based on misses. This means that each successful hit improves the likelihood of the next shot hitting the target. On the other hand, each miss reduces that likelihood. Additionaly, characters gain XP and level up, at which point the player can select a perk (such as reduced time cost for turning or less bleeding from wounds). These perks are class-specific. Unfortunately, there is an entire branch of perks for the Engineer class that are spoilers for the eventual appearance of [[Power Armor|Panzerkleins]].

* The characters in ''[[Odium]]'' actually gain experience immediately after doing damage to an enemy, and level up during combats. It's a simple [[Point Buy]] system. They have stats governing their health, their likelihood of counterattacking, their likelihood of making a critical hit, and how many hits they can take before becoming [[Unstoppable Rage|Enraged]].

* [[Heroes of Might and Magic]] had heroes commanding armies and gaining levels when enough enemy creatures had been defeated from the beginning, with each game up to IV adding more and more RPG elements to them (II added skills, III modified the inventory system to use an abstract sort of paperdoll system, and IV made the heroes actually ''fight'' in battles, and not just cast spells).