Is this an RPG or not?

[OkamiGeisha]

Reminds me of the time when a school friend told me his favourite RPG was Zelda...

Grrr.

If your friend meant the first Zelda, I can understand that perspective.  While we think of that series now as more action/adventure, NES LOZ was the first game for a lot of people where you were playing a 'role' involved in a story which you didn't know how it would turn out until playing through the game, so if one takes "role playing" literally, I think the game play in Zelda sums that up.  And in general, video game genres weren't cemeted and if you put a bunch of gamers back in the day together and told them about how we define genres in 2010, that would be rather foreign to say the least.  So, folks that haven't kept up with the current generation of games would certainly see Zelda as an RPG. 

[Vanguard]

Zelda's not an RPG?

[Yggdrasil]

Zelda's not an RPG?

Nope.

[Vanguard]

I was kidding. I remember when I used to frequent the boards a lot a few years ago there was a massive debate about whether or not Zelda qualified as an RPG. The pro argument went something like, "If it's not an RPG, why does RPGFan cover it?"

[Kevadu]

Some people have argued that JRPGs aren't actually RPGs, but I don't think RPGFan is going to stop covering them anytime soon.

Ultimately all of these classifications are pretty arbitrary.

[Mickeymac92]

Why does RPGFan cover Point 'n' Clicks? Or Mega Man Legends 3? The main site really knows how to stretch the definition of "RPG". In the end, I have to agree that genre definitions are arbitry, but still, I can't say Zelda is an RPG because it just doesn't scratch the itches that most widely accepted "RPGs" do.

[Eusis]

My opinion there boils down to "It's not an RPG, but who cares". It's pretty significant to at least earlier action RPGs, and HAS drawn enough of the RPG audience that even Miyamoto's ended up referring to it as an RPG at times. That, and admittedly my genre definition was set in stone by an old Nintendo Power poster that listed it as "Adventure", which still seems to be the most appropriate genre even if you use action-adventure.

Honestly, I think I'm more annoyed if questions like "what was your first RPG?" come up and Zelda's rattled off without going into the topic further. Regardless on your stance on it as an RPG, well, who HASN'T played Zelda, likely before most other RPGs? I'm pretty sure at least one person here hasn't at all, but it's worth pointing out, say, the first turn based RPG too even if it's just FFVII or X.

[Dice]

You play as a role in a game.

Play Roleing Game!

Role Playing Game!

[MeshGearFox]

You can essentially stick RPG elements on any genre to make it an RPG. That doesn't mean you should. RPG features represent a sort of broad feature set that gets along okay with a lot of other feature sets, but it's not really a mutual thing. Yeah, you can get RPG/FPS hybrids like Deus Ex that work incredibly well, but stick leveling up and item getting mechanics in, say, a competitive arena-style FPS ala Call of Duty or Team Fortress is just going to introduce some sort of bizarre metagame mechanic where stats start overriding player skill and you're rewarded more for just grinding than actually being good at things.

And if you get a sort of free-to-play-but-need-to-buy-various-accoutrements-to-not-fall-behind set up going on, in additional to random-ass RPG elements... This is why I don't buy modern games*.

Basically I like RPGs but if I ever have to level up in Tetris I am going to threaten aimlessly to do something really bad (like move to Canada) but not actually do it (because I am American and laziness is our modus operandi or something).



* Also as an American I am a proud supporter of capitalism but am too cheap to buy anything. yes

[Dice]

HEY!
Us CANADIANS are very friendly people.  And our maple syrup is fucken awesome. >=(

Just joking about the RPG element - I was trying to be funny.  Oh wait, women can't be..
I'll be in the kitchen.

*ba-dum-tss*

Love the eagle though...how...patriotic?

[kyuusei]

Why does RPGFan cover Point 'n' Clicks? Or Mega Man Legends 3? The main site really knows how to stretch the definition of "RPG". In the end, I have to agree that genre definitions are arbitry, but still, I can't say Zelda is an RPG because it just doesn't scratch the itches that most widely accepted "RPGs" do.

It's kind of arbitrarily decided by a bunch of staff, rather than just whoever's writing. On stuff like MML3, if it gets called an RPG by various outlets/listings and none of us are opposed to it, we'll do it. Graphic adventures we've done for a long time. I don't play them so I can't really judge there.

Buttom line is if you don't like, don't read it.

HEY!
Us CANADIANS are very friendly people.  And our maple syrup is fucken awesome. >=(

Just joking about the RPG element - I was trying to be funny.  Oh wait, women can't be..
I'll be in the kitchen.

*ba-dum-tss*

Love the eagle though...how...patriotic?

Oh sweet, I feel less alone in Canadiana.

And in the kitchen.

Not that I can cook well unless it's a piece of steak.

Mmmm, steak...

[DPB]

The one thing I've never understood here is why Okami was never covered. It's the same genre as Zelda, but it actually has more RPG elements in that you're given more ways to influence your character's development. I can understand say, Darksiders being excluded (it's heavily influenced by Zelda but more action-orientated) but not Okami.

[Annubis]

I think RPG is not even a genre anymore.
RPG used to mean turn-based combat, but that's dying.

CANADA LÀ LÀ!

[Kevadu]

'RPG' never required turn-based combat as far as I'm concerned.  Look at the old Ultima games.  Or Ys.

[Dice]

'RPG' never required turn-based combat as far as I'm concerned.  Look at the old Ultima games.  Or Ys.

Old Ultima games... man that takes me back....to Lord British Productions...