Role-playing video game
Typically action RPGs feature each player directly controlling a single character in real time, and feature a strong focus on combat and action with plot and character interaction kept to a minimum. Early action RPGs tended to follow the template set by 1980s Nihon Falcom titles such as the "Dragon Slayer" and "Ys" series, which feature hack and slash combat where the player character's movements and actions are controlled directly, using a keyboard or game controller, rather than using menus. This formula was refined by the action-adventure game, "The Legend of Zelda" (1986), which set the template used by many subsequent action RPGs, including innovations such as an open world, nonlinear gameplay, battery backup saving, and an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen. The game was largely responsible for the surge of action-oriented RPGs released since the late 1980s, both in Japan and North America. "The Legend of Zelda" series would continue to exert an influence on the transition of both console and computer RPGs from stat-heavy, turn-based combat towards real-time action combat in the following decades.
LCD games from The Legend of Zelda series
LCD games are electronic games played on an LCD screen. Since the release of the "Zelda" Game & Watch game in August 1989, several LCD games based upon the theme of "The Legend of Zelda" have been licensed by Nintendo to be released for both Japanese and foreign markets. While "Zelda" (Game & Watch) was both developed and manufactured by Nintendo, later LCD games would only be licensed by Nintendo. "The Legend of Zelda" game watch (October 1989) is an LCD wristwatch game produced by Nelsonic as part of their Nelsonic Game Watch series, and is an LCD fighting video game licensed by Nintendo and produced by Epoch Co. for the platform, and released only in Japan.