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Action RPGs by definition are part of the RPG genre. There is quite a difference between the games within each respective genre. Are they really that different? Time for a little bit of comparison between them!
While they’re not directly at odds with each other, as they offer different things for RPG fans in general, there’s definitely a never ending debate ever since people had a chance to voice their opinions on the internet.
What makes the game fit into the specific genre and is either of them better than the other?
Curiously enough, this might be the most defining difference between these. Before ARPGs became popular, CRPGs were established as games that require careful, tactical combat. Your reflexes, reaction time and moveset memorisation didn’t have much impact on how well you performed.
This is the opposite of the ARPG, your personal skill level greatly affects how capable your in-game character is. Be it QTE (quick time events), memorisation of enemy movesets or simply lightning fast reaction time, you could potentially complete the game with most basic equipment and on a very low level. ARPG rely on players' abilities and hand-to-eye coordination, while classic RPGs require to create effective builds and employ more planning to succeed.
It’s no surprise that ARPGs focus on a more action-oriented narrative style. This doesn’t mean they don’t have great stories within them, but it all comes down to resolving conflicts through spectacular fights versus really powerful enemies, rather than finding alternative ways of handling problems, as many traditional RPGs tend to do. Of course, it varies from game to game, but the classical RPG narrative style focuses on fleshing out characters, allowing for a slower pace and gradual exploration of the world within.
It’s a lot more… calm and relaxing experience. Focused on more emotional payoff as the stories allow players to build up stronger connections to individual characters. Again it’s very dependent on individual games, as some ARPGs strike a really good balance between action and RPG. These are the games that enjoy popularity years after their release and rightfully so.
There’s a certain allure in playing fast paced action games that offer a cool story within an interesting world. It’s also fun to enjoy a world in which you create a fresh character and build up from zero to finally emerge as a heroic saviour (or evil despoiler). Both of these offer different experiences for the player. Both test different abilities and throw different challenges at the players to overcome. Neither is better or worse, only different. Each can be enjoyed for different aspects and some can fit individual taste more than the other, of course.
It would be a waste though to outright deny either ARPG or an RPG for what they are meant to be. Fun enjoyable games to pleasantly spend time playing and immerse yourself in.
Since ARPGs tend to focus on the visual spectacle, since cool action needs a cool packaging, they tend to have better graphical presentation. It doesn’t mean that regular RPGs look bad. It’s rather the fact that, while good visuals are important, they focus more on giving the players more options to interact with the world and its inhabitants, rather than focusing on the cool looking graphics to accompany the high adrenaline combat that’s usually present in ARPGs.
Each genre plays into their own strengths here, with ARPGs giving extra attention to visuals, while RPGs tend to focus more on the immersive world and story instead.
Neither. There’s absolutely nothing that makes one better than the other individually. As it was mentioned at the start of the article, the genres are not in conflict with each other. Not in the least. They focus on different demographics. ARPGs tend to be for people who enjoy employing their reflexes and memorisation to tackle more challenging enemies, while improving their characters. RPGs on the other hand are more focused on people who prefer to create their character from scratch (most of the time) and slowly immerse themselves into a new world where they influence the story and decide its final outcome.
It’s not surprising to enjoy them both equally on different occasions. So again, while they can be compared and measured between each other, there’s very little reason to cut yourself off from either genre. There are some really popular RPG titles to enjoy out there.
The Yakuza series is MANY things, racing, management, brawler, RPG, rhythm game, open world and much more. ARPG could be thrown in there as well but it doesn’t fully define it in the least.
While they share some similarities, MMORPGs are mostly focused on the multiplayer aspect, sacrificing the individuality and immersive storytelling of the ARPGs.
New World is an MMORPG. The newly released New World: Aeternum is advertised as an ARPG with MMO elements within it.
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