Speaking of Zelda, is it an RPG?

[KentaRawr!]

Well? What do you think?

[Rantz]

Nooo. Adventure game.

[Kyros]

action/adventure with puzzle elements in dungeons to keep it fun

[qwertysaur]

In the dictionary yes, you take the role of Link and play as him.

In the practical sense Action/Adventure with a touch of puzzle for good measure. Final answer, no.

[Levian]

Adventure yeah

You don't get stronger by fighting!

[Bolivar]

I don't know, the term "Role Playing Game" is such a complex, controversial, and convoluted term it has little to no substantive meaning, so why the hell not?

Some people say that the statistical basis for the characters is the glue that holds the genre together, so while Zelda, on its face, seems no less an RPG than, say, Demon's Souls, it still doesn't meet this criteria.

I think Zelda is the game responsible for the junction of puzzles, combat, and exploration that define the majority of today's action/adventure games. So let's go with that. Adventure.

[P4ine]

In the dictionary yes, you take the role of Link and play as him.

In the practical sense Action/Adventure with a touch of puzzle for good measure. Final answer, no.

[LunarWeaver]

I think Sequel is its genre.

[Skyblade]

Some people say that the statistical basis for the characters is the glue that holds the genre together, so while Zelda, on its face, seems no less an RPG than, say, Demon's Souls, it still doesn't meet this criteria.

Sure it does. Take A Link to the Past. You increase Health (pieces of Heart), damage (4 upgrades to his sword), magic (first when you get the latern and then through the "curse"), and defense (his various tunics). Those are stats. Maybe Link's character sheet is less convoluted or pure-number based than some, but they are still stats, and you are still upgrading them.

[Raistlin]

RPG is such a broad, ambiguous term that contains a lot of completely different games (see: Baldur's Gate vs. Final Fantasy), so I couldn't really disagree with someone who wanted to throw Zelda into the mix as well. But like the majority here, I would consider it more of an Adventure game.

[Rodarian]

Its an RPG.... Period!

[ljkkjlcm9]

no, because RPG is not a role-playing game as in actual role playing
So being Link does not make it an RPG.

Technically, every game could be considered an RPG as well if you include the "stat" raising stuff of heart tanks, upgrading weapons etc. That would qualify Ninja Gaiden as an RPG, because you upgrade weapons, increase health, and upgrade magic. But we all know Ninja Gaiden is not an RPG. Metroid could also be considered an RPG as you get different weapons, different armor, and in some games you can even choose to unequip certain upgrades.

There's a reason people classify all RPG's now as more than just RPG's. You have games like Fire Emblem, which are strategy RPG's. You have games like Oblivion, which is a Western RPG (probably the most like D+D of the RPG game categories). And then you have games like Final Fantasy, which is a Turn-Based RPG, or a Japanese RPG. And then the last big category is an Action RPG, like Kingdom hearts. Zelda is not an RPG in any of these terms. It's an action/adventure game which may have RPGish elements.

THE JACKEL

[Bolivar]

Some people say that the statistical basis for the characters is the glue that holds the genre together, so while Zelda, on its face, seems no less an RPG than, say, Demon's Souls, it still doesn't meet this criteria.

Sure it does. Take A Link to the Past. You increase Health (pieces of Heart), damage (4 upgrades to his sword), magic (first when you get the latern and then through the "curse"), and defense (his various tunics). Those are stats. Maybe Link's character sheet is less convoluted or pure-number based than some, but they are still stats, and you are still upgrading them.

Oh snap. The complexity continues!

[Slothy]

Technically, every game could be considered an RPG as well if you include the "stat" raising stuff of heart tanks, upgrading weapons etc. That would qualify Ninja Gaiden as an RPG, because you upgrade weapons, increase health, and upgrade magic. But we all know Ninja Gaiden is not an RPG. Metroid could also be considered an RPG as you get different weapons, different armor, and in some games you can even choose to unequip certain upgrades.

This basically. Using the logic that finding heart containers and weapon upgrade makes Zelda an RPG would mean that the Mega Man games could be classified as RPG's as well. I don't think you'd find anyone who would agree with that claim.

Action/Adventure without a doubt.

[Depression Moon]

Action/AdventureRPG 3 games combined into one which makes for the best genre ever. There are plenty of the three in there that creates this delicious mixture.