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: A Link to the Past and Four Swords
The gameplay of "A Link to the Past" has changed very little from the original 1991 release; only slight modifications have been made. The game is an overhead adventure game, with the primary means of fighting and defending being a sword and shield. The sword can do a variety of things, including a sword spin, an energy projectile, and a secret technique introduced in the Game Boy Advance version called the Hurricane Spin. Link collects a variety of different equipment throughout his adventure, featuring series mainstay items such as bombs, a bow, the boomerang, and a lamp. It also introduces the Hookshot, the Magic Mirror, and the Pegasus Boots. Link's health is measured in heart containers, which can be replenished by collecting smaller hearts from enemies and bushes. Link also has a magic meter from which some of his items derive power; for example, the Lamp uses some magic meter to light torches. There are two kinds of area – the overworld and the dungeons. The overworld has varying locations, including buildings that house these several dungeons. These dungeons have a set of objectives and items. Dungeons feature a number of keys, one single big key, a dungeon item, a compass, and a dungeon map. The overworld changes drastically when players enter the Dark World, a distorted alternate version of the original overworld. Players may go back and forth using both the Magic Mirror, which allows access to the Light World from the Dark World, and portals scattered across both worlds.