Game Mess Mornings 05/23/24
GrubbSnax
Mister Mosquito
Blight Club
Game Mess Mornings 05/22/24
GB@Nite LIVE! Tickets & Details
The Not-E3 2024 Time Zone Chart
The Community Spotlight 2024.05.18
The Community Spotlight 2024.05.11
The Community Spotlight 2024.05.04
Concept »
Focusing on a humble plumber and his brother setting out to rescue a Princess who has been kidnapped by a vile lizard king, Super Mario Bros. is a platformer created by Shigeru Miyamoto, published by Nintendo, and is one of the best-selling video games of all time.
The Screamer is a 1985 cyberpunk-horror action RPG taking place in a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi setting. It was released by Magical Zoo, for the PC-8801 in 1985 and for the PC-9801 and X1 in 1986. An English fan translation was released in January 2015.
Dragon Buster is a dungeon-crawling, arcade platformer with RPG elements, released by Namco in 1985. It was later ported to various home systems. It featured several firsts in gaming history: the double-jump, the life meter, and the hub world map. It was also one of the first action games with RPG elements.
A shareware RPG by Lightwave Consultants, released in 1985. Notable for its real-time combat and stamina/fatigue system.
Deus Ex Machina is a 1984 ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 game with a heavy focus on sensory experience above interactive gameplay.
Released in 1984, Hydlide was the first open-world action RPG. It was the first on-foot, fully-scaled, open-world game, and introduced innovations such as a health-regeneration mechanic. It influenced the action RPG genre as well as The Legend of Zelda franchise.
One of the first action RPGs, released in 1984. It was also the first fully-scaled open-world video game.
Dragon Slayer is an action RPG designed by Yoshio Kiya and developed by Nihon Falcom. The title helped to pioneer the action RPG genre in Japan and spawned many sequels that would spin-off into their own franchises over time.
Players climb the tower, defeat Druaga and rescue Princess Ki in this maze-style, action role-playing game. Originally released by Namco for arcades in 1984, its combination of hack & slash combat and RPG elements laid the foundations for the action RPG genre.
An early action-strategy-RPG game created by Koji Sumii and published by ASCII for the Sharp X1 computer in 1983. The game is considered a precursor to several genres: the action RPG, tactical RPG, real-time strategy, and tower defense.
Kidou Senshi Gundam Part 1: Gundam Daishi ni Tatsu!! (機動戦士ガンダム PART 1 ガンダム大地に立つ!! "Mobile Suit Gundam Part 1: Gundam Stands on the Ground!!") is an adventure/shooter/RPG from 1983, based on the popular Mobile Suit Gundam anime television series.
Designed by Yoshio Kiya and released by Nihon Falcom in 1983, this was possibly the first action RPG. It introduced real-time combat, sci-fi elements, a persistent open world with day-night cycle, and survival mechanics. This was a precursor to Falcom's seminal action RPG franchise, Dragon Slayer.
Nintendo's classic arcade hit. Players attempt to eliminate enemies while avoiding fireballs and collecting coins.
Gun down TIE Fighters, shoot the tips off of towers, and blow up the Death Star in this vector-graphics Star Wars arcade game.
A Pac-Man clone written by John P. Shay and published by Solar Software for the Commodore 64 and Commodore 16 / PLUS 4.
Written by Dan Illowsky and Michael Abrash this game is a Pac-Man variant and sequel to Snack Attack.
When Mario finally defeats and captures Donkey Kong, it is up to Donkey Kong's son, Donkey Kong Junior, to rescue him.
A Pac-Man variant written by Dan Illowsky and published by Datamost for the Apple II.
Control Jumpman (later known as Mario) and save his girlfriend, Pauline, from the evil barrel-tossing gorilla known as Donkey Kong. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, this was the game that set the template for the platformer genre.
One of the most popular arcade games of all time, Pac-Man was released in arcades in 1980 and became a pop culture icon for the decade.
Forge a colony, advance your technology and spread your Empire across the stars. Trade, fight or simply explore, the galaxy is yours for the taking!
The title was planned as a stand-alone release. A modified version of the game, called Navi's Trackers, was included in Four Swords Adventures.
An RPG originally in the works for the Playstation Portable to be released in 2007, but has since been presumed on hold, or even canceled, since no more information has been revealed.
A sequel to River City Ransom. It was in development at Miracle Kidz but is now on hold indefinitely.
A Torchlight MMO was announced by Runic Games shortly after the original Torchlight. It was indefinitely delayed in favor working on Torchlight II. When Runic later returned to the Torchlight franchise, a more MMO-like game was conceptualized, but that became Torchlight III instead.
A direct sequel to the original Steambot Chronicles/Bumpy Trot that was initially announced for the PS2 but eventually shifted to PS3. The game was canceled near the end of March 2011.
An MMO set in the Shenmue universe. While never officially cancelled by Sega despite widespread rumors, the project went quiet around 2007 and can be classified as vaporware.
A post-apocalyptic third-person RPG that was to be released in 2014.
Lineage III is an MMORPG currently in early development. Lineage is known for it's grind, ground breaking graphics and brutal player vs player action.
Action RPG sequel to Cosmic Soldier, released for Japanese computers in 1987 and for North American PC in 1989.
This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:
Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.
Use your keyboard!
Log in to comment
Log in to comment