Jeremy Parish argues that action RPGs were popularized in Japan by The Tower of Druaga. Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade also traces the genre's roots to Japan, noting that the 'Western game industry of the time had a tendency to treat action games and RPGs as separate things for separate demographics'. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com argues that Japanese developers created a new brand of action role-playing game these new Japanese games combined the role-playing genre with arcade-style action and action-adventure elements. Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade notes that Adventure lacked RPG mechanics such as experience points and permanent character growth, and argues that Gateway to Apshai is 'the earliest game I'd feel comfortable calling an action-RPG' but notes that 'it doesn't fit neatly into our modern genre classifications', though came closer than Bokosuka Wars released the same year. Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton claimed that the Intellivision games Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1982) and Treasure of Tarmin (1983) were action RPGs.

Jeremy Parish of USgamer claimed that Adventure (1980) was an action RPG. See also: History of Western role-playing video games 1970s and early 1980s Īllgame listed the following games released prior to 1984 as action RPGs: Temple of Apshai (1979) and its sequel Gateway to Apshai (1983), Beneath the Pyramids for the Apple II (1980), Bokosuka Wars (1983), and Sword of Fargoal (1983).

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