/vr/ - Retro Games

>>10859310
>And no-plot rpgs were a NES thing.
Yeah, to be clear, plot is not really a defining feature of an RPG.
All I'm saying is that if you're trying to figure out why SNES-era ARPGs get classified as such in situations that ALTTP does not, it's because the ARPGs tend to have much more in common with the "traditional JRPG" peers. Even if those traits aren't really defining RPG traits.

But again, that goes back to ARPGs not being real RPGs to begin with. An ARPG is what you get when you rip out the core of the RPG and replace it with an action game, but leave everything else looking so much like an RPG that it still "feels" like one. I know that feels very subjective and messy but that's what happens when you have cross genres.

And that's another point, really. Zelda games do not feel like crossbreed games. They usually feel pure and orthogonal, even elegant. With typical ARPGs you often notice awkward balance between RPG elements and action elements.