Action role-playing game

Action role-playing video games (abbreviated action RPG, action/RPG, or ARPG) form a loosely defined subgenre of role-playing video games that emphasize real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat. These games often use combat systems similar to hack and slash or shooter games. Action-RPG or ARPG, as it is also called, is often referred to as an action game that includes a mission system, similar to most MMORPG titles, like World Of Warcraft or Guild Wars.

Early dungeon-crawl video games used turn-based movement: if the party didn't move, neither did the enemies.Dungeons of Daggorath, released for the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1982, combined a typical first-person dungeon crawl with real-time elements, requiring timed keyboard commands and where enemies move independently of the player. The game lacked numerical statistics such as hit points or vitality, but instead used an arcade-like fatigue system where the heart pulsates to indicate the player's health, a concept inspired by the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders where a heartbeat-like sound gradually increases pace as enemies advance towards the player.

In 1983, ASCII released the Sharp X1 computer game Bokosuka Wars, considered an early example of an action RPG, though it is also considered an early strategy RPG. In Bokosuka Wars, each soldier was able to gain experience and level up through battle, while the action occurred entirely in real-time.

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