Best Classic Action Rpg Games

tri-Ace's science fantasy action-RPG with dual protagonists, 87 possible endings, and real-time combo-based combat. Star Ocean: The Second Story on PS1 blends science fiction and fantasy across Expel and Energy Nede with a depth of optional content that rewards exploration far beyond the main story.

Working Designs' dark PS1 action-RPG that many consider the spiritual successor to Zelda: A Link to the Past. Alundra the dreamwalker can enter the nightmares of the villagers of Inoa, solving puzzles and defeating demons to save people — but not always in time. A challenging, emotionally devastating game that takes real narrative risks.

Westone's action-RPG masterpiece on Sega Genesis, often cited as a hidden gem of the 16-bit era. Shion navigates a world of diverse towns, dungeons, and monster territories, collecting equipment and spells while the game seamlessly blends platformer mechanics with RPG character development. One of the strongest arguments for the Genesis's action-RPG library alongside Landstalker and Beyond Oasis.

The Game Boy RPG that launched the Mana series. Originally released as a Final Fantasy spinoff in North America, Final Fantasy Adventure is actually the first game in the Seiken Densetsu (Mana) series — an action-RPG with real-time combat, a companion AI system, and the Mana Tree mythology that would define Secret of Mana.

The most unconventional and artistic Mana game, Legend of Mana abandons traditional linear storytelling for a non-linear world built by the player through artifact placement. Featuring watercolor visual design, a story told through dozens of loosely connected vignettes, and one of gaming's greatest soundtracks, it's either a masterpiece or a confusing relic depending on the player.

The reimagining of Mega Man that launched a beloved six-game GBA franchise. In a near-future world where everything is networked, young Lan Hikari jacks his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE into the cyber networks to battle viruses in the original action-RPG Battle Chip system. A phenomenon in Japan that established an entire alternate Mega Man universe.

The first Tales game to reach Western audiences on home consoles, Tales of Destiny brought Namco's Linear Motion Battle System to PlayStation with up to four players in combat simultaneously. Stahn Aileron's story of sentient spirit swords called Swordians and an ancient war's aftermath established the Tales franchise's presence in the West.

Square's only game developed by their North American studio, Secret of Evermore is an action-RPG set in a dimension of eras — prehistoric, ancient, medieval, and futuristic — created by a fictional professor's science experiment gone wrong. A boy and his dog companion explore the alchemy-based world of Evermore in a game that shares Secret of Mana's engine but delivers a unique, underrated adventure.

The radical departure that remains the most divisive Zelda game ever made. Zelda II abandoned the top-down adventure formula for side-scrolling action-RPG gameplay, town exploration, experience points, and brutal combat that punished mistakes mercilessly.

Rare's pre-Bad Fur Day Conker in a family-friendly GBC action-adventure. Before Conker became gaming's most famous profane squirrel, he starred in a charming isometric action-RPG on Game Boy Color, rescuing his girlfriend Berri from the Evil Acorn. A solid portable game and an artifact of Conker's original family-friendly design direction.