Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: Is Legend of Zelda an RPG?
The Legend of Zelda[lower-alpha 1] is an action-adventure video game franchise created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Capcom, Vanpool, and Grezzo. The series' gameplay incorporates elements of action, adventure, and puzzle-solving games.
"Dragon Slayer" featured an in-game map to help with the dungeon-crawling, required item management due to the inventory being limited to one item at a time, and featured item-based puzzles similar to "The Legend of Zelda". "Dragon Slayer's" overhead action-RPG formula was used in many later games. Along with its competitor, "Hydlide", "Dragon Slayer" laid the foundations for the action RPG genre, including franchises such as "Ys" and "The Legend of Zelda".
"The Legend of Zelda" is considered a spiritual forerunner of the modern role-playing video game (RPG) genre. Though it is often not considered part of the genre since it lacked key RPG mechanics such as experience points, it had many features in common with RPGs and served as the template for the action role-playing game genre. The game's fantasy setting, musical style and action-adventure gameplay were adopted by many RPGs. Its commercial success helped lay the groundwork for involved, non-linear games in fantasy settings, such as those found in successful RPGs, including "Crystalis", "Soul Blazer", Square's "Seiken Densetsu" series, "Alundra", and "Brave Fencer Musashi". The popularity of the game also spawned several clones trying to emulate the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages are two action-adventure games in "The Legend of Zelda" series, developed by Flagship (a subsidiary of Capcom). They were released in 2001 for Nintendo's Game Boy Color handheld console and re-released on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.
In 2001, under license from Nintendo, Capcom cancelled the release of The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage for Game Boy Color. Working with a Capcom team, Yoshiki Okamoto was originally tasked with designing a series of three Zelda games for the Game Boy Color.[102] Referred to as the "Triforce Series",[103] the games were known as The Legend of Zelda: The Mysterious Acorn: Chapter of Power, Chapter of Wisdom, and Chapter of Courage in Japan[104] and The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Power, Mystical Seed of Wisdom, and Mystical Seed of Courage in the US.[105] The games were to interact using a password system,[103] but the limitations of this system and the difficulty of coordinating three games proved too complicated, so the team scaled back to two games at Miyamoto's suggestion.[106][107] The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons was adapted from Mystical Seed of Power, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages was adapted from Mystical Seed of Wisdom, and Mystical Seed of Courage was cancelled.[103]
Link, using a design based on Skyward Sword, appears as a playable character in Mario Kart 8 via downloadable content, along with a "Hyrule Circuit" racetrack themed on The Legend of Zelda series.[113] The first pack is named after the series. In Sonic Lost World, a DLC stage based on The Legend of Zelda series was released in March 2014, named "The Legend of Zelda Zone". While built around the core gameplay mechanics of Sonic Lost World, "The Legend of Zelda Zone" incorporates some elements from the Zelda series, including a heart-based vitality meter, rupee collection, and a miniature dungeon to explore.[114]
The next Legend of Zelda for the DS, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, was released in December 2009. In this game, the 'spirit tracks', railroads which chain an ancient evil, are disappearing from Hyrule. Zelda and Link go to the 'Spirit Tower' (the ethereal point of convergence for the tracks) to find out why. But villains steal Zelda's body for the resurrection of the Demon King. Rendered disembodied, Zelda is left a spirit, and only Link (and a certain few sages) can see her. Together they go on a quest to restore the spirit tracks, defeat the Demon King, and return Zelda to her body. Using a modified engine of that used in Phantom Hourglass, the notably new feature in this game is that the Phantom Guardians seen in Phantom Hourglass are, through a series of events, periodically controllable. It was the first time in the series that both Link & Zelda work together on the quest.
In 1991, Square released "Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden", also known as "Final Fantasy Adventure" or "Mystic Quest" in the West, for the Game Boy. Like "Crystalis", the action in "Seiken Densetsu" bore a strong resemblance to that of "Legend of Zelda", but added more RPG elements. It was one of the first action RPGs to allow players to kill townspeople, though later "Mana" games removed this feature. "Arcus Odyssey" by Wolf Team (now Namco Tales Studio) was an action RPG that featured an isometric perspective and co-operative multiplayer gameplay.
"Phantasy Star" was well received. "Computer Gaming World" called it "the big shot in the arm for Sega [...] who was, at that time, being buried under a ton of NES titles and aggressive marketing". "Electronic Game Player" felt the game was leading the industry into a new era of console RPGs. "Sega Pro" called it the best RPG on the Master System, and "Zzap!" called it a must-have for RPG fans. "Boys' Life" wrote that along with "The Legend of Zelda" series, ""Phantasy Star" may represent the future of home video games" by combining "the graphic quality of arcade games with the complexity of computer games".
Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda" series is well known for its popularity within the speedrunning community. This is a list of the notable fastest times achieved in "The Legend of Zelda" games.
Most adventure RPgs use a single world to elaborate the story. Since the evolution of 3d graphics, games such as the Zelda series used one world to conjure a whole map. Similar games such as Shenmue have the same storyboard element, of one navigatable world. Action RPgs will circumnavigate the environment through newly created levels, like a novel. They will most frequently interact with characters as well. The main difference between adventure RPgs and Action Rpgs is this single quality whilst retaining the interface for item selection. Action Rpgs are more closely related to item collecting whilst Adventure RPgs are created via one world environments. The combat interface via one world or multiple worlds are also very similar. For instance newly released games such as Witcher 2 are considered action RPgs whilst games such as the Zelda series are considered to be adventure RPGs, yet most genres in mainstream media retain the title of being action-adventure rpgs.
According to "Wizardry" developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in a fantasy setting," citing "Castlevania" (1986) and "Trojan" (1986) as examples. IGN UK argues that "The Legend of Zelda" (1986) "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles, an action component, a monetary system, and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points. "The Legend of Zelda" was the most prolific action-adventure game series through to the 2000s.
IGN's Peer Schneider gave "Master Quest" a mostly positive review, likening the concept to the second quest of the original "Legend of" "Zelda." He felt that some redesigned areas were poorer than the original "Ocarina of Time," and speculated that they may have been constructed from "second choice" designs created during development. He described the port graphically improved, but "lazy", with a clumsy controller translation and no substantial frame rate improvement. Nonetheless, he summarized "Master Quest" as a "sweet surprise for any "Zelda" fan" and wrote that he would have recommended it even at full price. Zachary Lewis of RPG Gamer praised the revised puzzles, which require precise timing and find new uses for the "Ocarina" items, but wrote that players would be enthralled or frustrated by the increased difficulty.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the 17th installment in "The Legend of Zelda" series and the sequel to the 1991 Super Nintendo Entertainment System game "A Link to the Past". Announced in April 2013, "A Link Between Worlds" was released in Australia, Europe, and North America in November 2013. A month later, it was released in Japan as The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods 2.
The Legend of Zelda is an American animated series based on the Japanese video game series "The Legend of Zelda" by Nintendo. The plot follows the adventures of Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil wizard named Ganon. It is heavily based on the first game of the "Zelda" series, "The Legend of Zelda", but includes some references to the second, "". The show was produced by DIC Animation City and distributed by Viacom Enterprises in association with Nintendo of America, Inc. It comprises thirteen episodes which first aired in North America from September 8, 1989, to December 1, 1989.
Although noting some similarity to "Adventure", IGN UK argues that "The Legend of Zelda" (1986) "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles, an action component, a monetary system, and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points. "The Legend of Zelda" was the most prolific action-adventure game series through to the 2000s.
"Computer Gaming World" in 1988 named the game as the best adventure of the year for Nintendo, stating that "Zelda" had been a "sensational success" in translating a computer RPG to consoles. In 1990 the magazine stated that the game was a killer app, causing computer CRPG players who had dismissed consoles as "mere arcade toys" to buy the NES. "Zelda" was reviewed in 1992 by "Total!" #2 where it received a 78% rating due in great part to mediocre subscores for music and graphics. A 1993 review of the game was printed in "Dragon" #198 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
Typically action RPGs feature each player directly controlling a single character in real time, and feature a strong focus on combat and action with plot and character interaction kept to a minimum. Early action RPGs tended to follow the template set by 1980s Nihon Falcom titles such as the "Dragon Slayer" and "Ys" series, which feature hack and slash combat where the player character's movements and actions are controlled directly, using a keyboard or game controller, rather than using menus. This formula was refined by the action-adventure game, "The Legend of Zelda" (1986), which set the template used by many subsequent action RPGs, including innovations such as an open world, nonlinear gameplay, battery backup saving, and an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen. The game was largely responsible for the surge of action-oriented RPGs released since the late 1980s, both in Japan and North America. "The Legend of Zelda" series would continue to 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.
As in "The Legend of Zelda"'s Second Quest, dungeons are again completely different. Consequently, "BS Zelda" is sometimes referred to as a "Third Quest" in reference to "The Legend of Zelda"'s Second Quest. "BS Zelda Map 2" could thus be considered the "Fourth Quest." Carrying on the tradition initiated in the Second Quest where the dungeon map layouts spelled "ZELDA", Third Quest layout spells "St.GIGA" and the Fourth Quest spells "NiNtENDO".
An important influence on the action RPG genre was the 1986 action-adventure, "The Legend of Zelda", which served as the template for many 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 open-world, nonlinear gameplay, and introduced new features such as battery backup saving. These elements have been used in many action RPGs since.
According to Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard, Hydlide (1984) and The Legend of Zelda (1986) were among the first open-world games, along with Ultima.[44] IGN traces the roots of open-world game design to The Legend of Zelda, which it argues is "the first really good game based on exploration", while noting that it was anticipated by Hydlide, which it argues is "the first RPG that rewarded exploration".[45] According to GameSpot, never "had a game so open-ended, nonlinear, and liberating been released for the mainstream market" with The Legend of Zelda.[46] According to The Escapist, The Legend of Zelda was an early example of open-world, nonlinear gameplay, with an expansive and cohesive world, inspiring many games to adopt a similar open-world design.[47]
The score to "A Link to the Past" was composed, arranged, and produced by Koji Kondo. The overworld theme of "The Legend of Zelda" ("Hyrule Overture") returns in "A Link to the Past", redone in S-SMP style. The theme is also featured in "Light World Overworld" and in "End Credits". "A Link to the Past" helped to establish the musical core of the "Zelda" series. While the first game originated the "Hyrule Overture", many recurring motifs of the "Zelda" scores come from "A Link to the Past", including "Zelda's Lullaby" (Princess Zelda's Theme), "Ganondorf's Theme", "Hyrule Castle" (Royal Family Theme), "Kakariko Village" and "Select Screen/Fairy Cave". These themes have been used in subsequent "The Legend of Zelda" games. A soundtrack to "Kamigami no Triforce", entitled "The Legend of Zelda: Sound and Drama", was released by Sony Records in Japan on June 22, 1994. The first disc is 44 minutes long and features rearranged versions of a selection of the game's themes, along with a bonus drama track. The second disc features 54 minutes of the original arrangements for the game and those of the original NES game, "The Legend of Zelda".
"Diablo"s effect on the market was significant, inspiring many imitators. Its impact was such that the term "action RPG" has come to be more commonly used for "Diablo"-style games rather than "Zelda-"style games, with "The Legend of Zelda" itself recategorized as an action-adventure.
The second game, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, was released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan on January 14, 1987,[55] and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe in November 1988 and North America in December 1988. The game exchanged the top-down perspective for side-scrolling (though the top-down point of view was retained for overworld areas), and introduced RPG elements (such as experience points) not used previously or thereafter in the series. The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II were released in gold-coloured cartridges instead of the console's regular grey cartridges. Both were re-released in the final years of the Nintendo Entertainment System with grey cartridges.
The Legend of Zelda-themed Monopoly board game was released in the United States on September 15, 2014.[220] A Clue board game in the style of The Legend of Zelda series was released in June 2017.[221] A UNO-styled The Legend of Zelda game was announced in February 2018 for release exclusively at GameStop in North America.[222]