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Post by Ex on Jan 27, 2018 0:30:38 GMT -5
Just realized, too, that Popful Mail doesn't actually have levels. I think this is why things get so messy; despite not having levels, the game has all the trappings of an action-RPG. I think Gargoyle's Quest might be in the same boat as well. Looks like you're right about Popful Mail. I will remove it from the list. Although I'm not sure if the other versions (non-SEGA CD) of Popful Mail are the same or not. Gargoyle's Quest 1 & 2, you do gain levels. There's a level checker in the main menu: IIRC you gain levels by killing enemies. But it's been a few years.
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Post by Sarge on Jan 27, 2018 1:37:03 GMT -5
True, it's just not from experience killing enemies. Level shows you the power of your various attributes (life, jumping, and glide distance, all bestowed by items) as well as your other equipment. I still think of them as action-RPGs, regardless, I was just pointing it out. It's kinda why they're an action-RPG in my mind if they fulfill enough of the usual criteria to make it so. The whole "run around and talk to people in town" and "get vials to buy items" is enough for me. Interestingly, I still remember the password I memorized from a newsstand magazine all those years ago to get to near the end. NPAN-RRXY. Crazy the stuff we remember.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Jan 27, 2018 23:33:18 GMT -5
I know I'm at odds with Ex here, but I'd rather see a combined side-scrolling ARPG / retro Metroidvania list. The "does it really have levels?" requirement seems like an endless headache, and a rather rudimentary distinction. It'd be like having a list for top-down ARPGs and a separate one for Zelda-like action-adventures. They're all so similar - and there aren't that many games of either type - that breaking it all up just doesn't seem worthwhile.
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Post by Ex on Jan 27, 2018 23:38:45 GMT -5
Well maybe we should just combine both lists then. It does get to be a bit hamstrung otherwise. Perhaps for games that have levels, I'll just add a little asterisk next to the name. For folks that are looking for those specially, that will do. Some time next week I'll re-do this thread a bit to make it copacetic to the new approach. Then we can add more content.
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Post by toei on Jan 31, 2018 11:17:52 GMT -5
I found one called Hissatsu Doujou Yaburi for the Famicom while researching the Saturn game Hissatsu. They're unrelated, this one has a Chinese martial arts theme. There's a town with shops right at the beginning, and the battles are sort of a primitive, pre-SF2 VS fighter. They're honestly terrible, so I didn't play it long and can't confirm whether you level up. Here's a video.
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Post by Ex on Jan 31, 2018 11:18:34 GMT -5
Cool, I'll add it, thanks.
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Post by chibby on Feb 22, 2018 12:37:33 GMT -5
Would Cave Story make sense on this list? At first I thought yes, but if I'm remembering correctly the leveling system only really powers up individual items and I think they can be depowered and require subsequent releveling so maybe not. It definitely has it's fair share of platforms to contend with.
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Post by anayo on Feb 22, 2018 12:51:21 GMT -5
Would Cave Story make sense on this list? At first I thought yes, but if I'm remembering correctly the leveling system only really powers up individual items and I think they can be depowered and require subsequent releveling so maybe not. It definitely has it's fair share of platforms to contend with. Ooh that's actually a great example. I wouldn't have thought of that.
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Post by Ex on Feb 22, 2018 13:39:08 GMT -5
Cave Story is a metroidvania, but not an action-RPG, at least IMO.
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Post by anayo on Feb 22, 2018 20:56:53 GMT -5
That raises an interesting question. How robust do the RPG elements have to be before a metroidvania can be considered an RPG? Cave Story's RPG elements go about as far as those in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (you gain XP and levels, obtain better gear), but there's little in the way of stuff like recruitable characters or "rock paper scissors" elemental systems (like in Chrono Trigger or Pokemon).
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