Revisiting the subject of Action-RPGs.

Random encounters bother me too, but one I thing I love about old-school turn-based RPGs that action RPGs usually don't have is the large cast of playable characters and the whole traveling the world thing. They feel more adventurous and the world tends to be more elaborate. Action RPGs tend to focus on one character and more local plots with just a few towns because having a bunch of AI-controlled characters is often more annoying than anything and the games also tended to be shorter traditionally, probably because more work went into the combat and the dungeons, leading to a smaller scale overall.

Either way, I love action RPGs too, as the dungeons tend to be more fun, often involving more puzzles and exploration, on top of fighting not being a chore half the time.

With that said, I don't know where to start, because I've played a ton, and I'm sure you and everyone here has at least heard about most of them if you haven't already played them, especially since we've had a thread about them before. So later on I'll get my list of games beaten and just throw in all the action RPGs I consider 8s or higher.

For me just because I've heard of a game, doesn't mean I even remember it offhand. Or have ever played it. I plan to make a list this time though!

One example of this situation: I knew about Tougi Ou: King Colossus for years but had never tried it. Last year, you reminded me said game existed, and recommended it. So I tried and ended up very much enjoying Tougi Ou: King Colossus.


That would be great.


That would be great too.


I'm gonna have to give this one another chance someday. It seems like everybody loves this game except me!

But the overworld navigation is in first-person 3D, so that's kind of cool at least.

So here we go:

Alundra
Beyond Oasis
Brain Lord
Brandish
Brandish 2
Crusader of Centy
Granstream Saga (PSX, this game is very underrated)
Exile (PCE-CD) (side-scroller action, RPG towns)
Holy Umbrella (platformer levels, RPG towns)
King Colossus
Landstalker
Legend of Oasis
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
Magic Knight Rayheart (Saturn - have you played this? This is excellent, and by the same team as Phantasy Star IV.)
Record of Lodoss War (Dreamcast - really good Diablo-inspired game... probably better than Diablo)
Soul Blazer
Super Hydlide (yes, this is actually a good game. Takes a bit of work to get into, though.)
Xak III (PCE-CD - this is dope, but you'll need to follow the anime cutscenes with a text translation available on GameFAQs. The in-game dialogue is all translated, though.)
Xanadu Next
Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (SNES)
Ys IV: Dawn of Ys (PCE-CD)
Ys V (not quite as good IMO)
Ys VI (same)
Ys: The Oath in Felghana
Ys Origins (same)


And this is a secondary list. I like all these games, but not quite as much.

Adventures of Darwin (PS2 - at first it looks more like a sim, since you have to develop a civilization, but in practice it plays a lot like Zelda except you control a group of cavemen. Not quite a ARPG, but close enough.)
Alcahest (Pretty sure you already played it.)
Alundra 2
Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadows (DS - bad story, fun gameplay)
Brand New Quest: The Forsaken Dungeon (this is the RPG mode from Ergheiz. A complete, full-length, surprisingly solid 3rd person dungeon crawler. You'd probably like this.)
Crimson Tears (PS2 - roguelike/beat-'em-up hybrid. Flawed but good, IMO)
Crystal Beans from Dungeon Explorer (reworked version of Dungeon Explorer 2)
Dark Savior (you have to play all parallels to really play the game)
Final Fantasy Adventure
Guardian Legend (this a doujinshi PC ARPG that got a fan-translation. Pretty solid as I recall.)
Gunman's Proof (Zelda clone with guns and a bit of Earthbound-ish humor)
Legends of Exidia (short, by-the-number DSiware ARPG. Still enjoyed it, though)
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Light Crusader
Neugier
Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana
Shining Force EXA (mediocre story, fun game anyway.)
Shining Soul 2 (third-person dungeon crawler. Huge improvement over the first game, which was not very good)
Tobal (Quest Mode) (This is actually a full-fledged, elaborate roguelike with VS fighter combat, with multiple dungeons. You'll have to learn how to play as one of the characters to get anywhere, though.)
Tobal 2 (Quest Mode) (Even more elaborate, it's still a roguelike but this time there's a town and a story. I think I like the first Quest Mode just a bit more, though.)
Twisted Tales of Spike McFang
Ys III (Genesis version, as it's the smoothest and the others are very choppy)
Zeliard (PC-88 side-scroller RPG by Game Arts, ported to DOS back in the day. I didn't love it, but I think you might enjoy it more than I did.)