Action RPGs

[CosmicMonkey]

Can people recommend any decent Action RPGs please?

I really like the Zelda games on SNES/GBA, and I'm looking for something along those lines. I really can't be doing with this whole turn-based business. I actually gave up on FFVII halfway through disk one. The only turn-based RPG I've ever played all the way through and really enjoyed was Skies of Arcadia. I don't mind leveling-up, it's just the whole business of random battles that annoy me. I want to be able to see enemys wondering around the playfield, and choose whether to attack or not.

So um, yeah. I hear Alundra is quite smart?

[Enixis]

I personally enjoyed the Dark Cloud series (although the first game had a weak storyline). Its an action RPG.

[Haoie]

Alundra is entertaining, with some killer hard puzzles.

While I don't have the sequal, the general feel is that it's a lot lot worse.

[roushimsx]

Alundra is ok, but the boss fights are seriously weak. You don't do nearly enough damage so the fights take forever and a day. It IS one of the few Working Design published games that wound up getting improved in the translation though, as the boss fights are only half as long as the japanese version and there's an actual intro/ending, IIRC.

I'm really looking forward to playing Dark Cloud 2. I didn't much care for the first one, but everyone seems to praise the hell out of the sequel

edit - oh hell, I didn't actually contribute anything.

The other week I damn near played all the way through Beyond Oasis for Genesis (it's damn good, despite the choppy animation and weak audio quality), which leads me right into recommending Legend of Oasis if you have a Saturn.

Banjo Kazooie on GBA is a pretty nice action/adventure game along the lines of Legend of Zelda and such.

I liked Terranigma, though your mileage may vary. Ditty for Illusion of Gaia and Soulblazer (all for SNES).

[GameNinja]

Kingdom Hearts is a good start, one of my favorite games in fact. You also may want to try some of the 2d Castlevanias (all the GBA ones and Symphony of the Night for ps1, Castelvania: Curse of Darkness is also action RPG as far as I know)

Come to think of it, does anybody have a nice list of action rpgs similar to the ps2 rpg list that is in another topic?

[GetImOliver]

The Lord of the Rings titles are all pretty good (even the SNES one) except for the Third Age if you're staying away from pure turn-based stuff.
If you can grab some friends, try out Phantasy Star Online and get ready to spend nights getting through the damn thing!

[Yam]

The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang (SNES).

[Descartes]

Spike McFang is quite good, indeed. Also try Secret of Mana (pure Action RPG elegance) , Landstalker, Gauntlet, Crusader of Centy, Crystalis, and Arcuss Odyssey. Zelda 2 and Battle of Olympus will be good to you if you don't mind the fact that they scroll sideways.

[darknut101]

Kingdom hearts for the PS2 is a wonderful action RPG, no random battles. Star Ocean 3 for the PS2 is another cool game with no random battles but long and hard. Secret of Mana is another great one for the SNES, one of my favorites.

[kainemaxwell]

Definitly Secret of Mana and Kingdom Hearts.

[Neonite]

NES Dragon Warrior Series

[Ruudos]

NES Dragon Warrior Series

Those aren't action RPGs.

My recommendations:
Battle of Olympus (NES)
Crystalis (NES)
Faxanadu (NES)
Illusion of Gaia (SNES)
Secret of Evermore (SNES)
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Terranigma (SNES)
Beyond Oasis (Genesis)

[FlufflePuff]

Landstalker for the Genesis. Good game, easy to pick up at a good price.

[NeoZeedeater]

You need the Wonder Boy/Monster World series, especially:

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap(SMS)
Monster World IV(MD) - It's better to use the translated rom.
Wonder Boy in Monster World(Gen)

[Leroy]

Looks like a lot of people are confusing any game with swords as an RPG.

[darknut101]

Looks like a lot of people are confusing any game with swords as an RPG.

Yea I was thinking that too. Zelda is no RPG.

[Toddrick the Dunce]

Got one word for you.

Ys. The most awesome A-RPG series in all of creation. Grab 1+2, 3 and 4 (with Nightwolve's translation patch) on Turbo CD and #6 on PS2.

[Leroy]

Yea I was thinking that too. Zelda is no RPG.

Damn right. It's an age old argument that I'm not getting into again. Nobody considers Metroid an RPG but it's got all the same qualities as Zelda except in a science-fiction setting.

[Yam]

You should also check out Magic of Scheherazade for the NES though it's half action RPG half turn based.

[NeoZeedeater]

Looks like a lot of people are confusing any game with swords as an RPG.

The line between ARPG and action/adventure is really thin so I don't think it's worth arguing over. The initial post mentioned Zelda so people are going to list similar games.