Action role-playing game
An important influence on the action RPG genre was the 1986 action-adventure, "The Legend of Zelda", which served as the template for many future action RPGs. In contrast to previous action RPGs, such as "Dragon Slayer" and "Hydlide," which required the player to bump into enemies in order to attack them, "The Legend of Zelda" featured an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen. It was also an early example of open-world, nonlinear gameplay, and introduced new features such as battery backup saving. These elements have been used in many action RPGs since.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
"Breath of the Wild" is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment where players are tasked with exploring the kingdom of Hyrule while controlling Link. In terms of structure, "Breath of the Wild" encourages nonlinear gameplay, which is illustrated by the game's lack of defined entrances or exits to areas, scant instruction given to the player, and encouragement to explore freely. "Breath of the Wild" introduces a consistent physics engine to the "Zelda" series, letting players approach problems in different ways rather than trying to find a single solution. The game also integrates a "chemistry engine" that defines the physical properties of most objects and governs how they interact with the player and one another. For example, players may take advantage of the game's dynamic weather by throwing metal objects at enemies during thunderstorms to attract a lightning strike. However, the level of realism offered in the "chemistry engine" also means that players will equally attract an unavoidable fatal lightning strike if wearing any metal during thunderstorms. These design approaches result in a generally unstructured and interactive world that rewards experimentation and allows for nonlinear completion of the story.