Nintendo is arguably the most influential video game studio in the medium, with their countless franchises codifying entire genres. Action/adventure games owe their heart and soul to the original Legend of Zelda just as much as modern 3D games owe their very foundation to Ocarina of Time.
Few video game franchises are as influential as The Legend of Zelda and action RPGs often look at Nintendo’s premiere series for inspiration. Whether the genre takes from Zelda’s storytelling, world design, or just penchant for balancing combat with puzzle solving, the best action RPGs would be nowhere without gaming’s greatest Legend.
10 Ys I & II
A contemporary rather than a game directly inspired by The Legend of Zelda, Ys I & II are two halves of one of the greatest action RPGs to come out of the 1980s. Developed by Nihon Falcom, Ys I & II resemble the original Legend of Zelda in terms of exploration. There’s a lot to find in Esteria, but the world is far more alive than either NES Zelda.
Not only do NPCs have quite a lot to say– with dynamic dialogue that changes over the course of the story in some cases– Ys II uses the plot threads that Ys I sets in order to craft a truly epic finale that balances excellent dungeon design with what might very well be the best action system to come out of the 80s: Bump Combat.
9 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Believe it or not, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night lifts its influence just as much from The Legend of Zelda as it does Super Metroid. In fact, the very concept of Symphony of the Night was rooted in the idea of giving Castlevania a Zelda-esque style of exploration. SotN’s castle is one of the most secret dense worlds in gaming, a feat it shares with A Link to the Past.
Combat wise, it can be argued Symphony of the Night is an evolution of Zelda II’s action/side-scrolling. The addition of leveling and spells certainly gives Symphony more in common with The Adventure of Link than it does its own predecessors.
8 Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts has become far more action oriented with time, but there was a genuine effort in the original game to round out the combat with platforming and a healthy dose of exploration. Worlds in the original Kingdom Hearts are large, feature branching paths, more secrets than their sequels, and even some light puzzle solving.
It’s worth keeping in mind that the first Kingdom Hearts is far more story driven than any Zelda game, but the original’s script has a Disney Renaissance-esque quality that keeps the plot focused and character writing fairly strong.
7 Illusion Of Gaia
Developed by the long defunct Quintet, Illusion of Gaia is the second game in the Quintet Trilogy for the Super Nintendo. Although the three games share no true narrative connection, they all feature similar themes and build off one another in terms of gameplay. Unlike the action focused Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia mixes puzzle solving into its gameplay.
IoG has quite a lot in common with A Link to the Past as far as puzzle design goes. That said, dungeons in Gaia are arguably more complex and are the game’s real highlight. Each dungeon is based on a location from real life– either an ancient wonder or a place of myth.
6 Terranigma
Arguably the best action RPG on the Super Nintendo, Terranigma is the final game in the Quintet Trilogy and a phenomenal game in its own right. With fast paced combat, an interesting magic system, a dynamic overworld that’s constantly changing over the course of the game, and outstanding dungeon design, Terranigma even puts A Link to the Past to shame.
While the RPG was only released in Japan and in PAL regions, Terranigma is very much worth the effort of tracking down to play. Not only is its gameplay right at home with 16-bit Zelda (if not better,) the story is as tragically beautiful as it is unforgettable.
5 Trials Of Mana
Both versions of Trials of Mana are worth playing, but the 2020 remake does a remarkable job at translating one of the SNES’ best 16-bit games into a 3D action RPG whose sole focus isn’t combat. Dungeons are layered with plenty of secrets to find, boss fights are creative ala Zelda, and the general art style feels at home with the franchise even if the tone is a bit off.
Trials of Mana has next to nothing in the way of puzzle solving, but the combat and dungeon crawling do an excellent job at scratching that Zelda itch. More importantly, each character has their own unique story arc that gives ToM quite a bit of replay value.
4 Brave Fencer Musashi
Brave Fencer Musashi is a hard game to come across nowadays, but it’s one of the best action RPGs on the original PlayStation. In its day, it was compared heavily to The Legend of Zelda and it’s not hard to see why. It’s as if Brave Fencer Musashi comes from a world where the franchise never shifted into 3D, while adopting an RPG slant following ALttP. Brave Fencer Musashi marches to the beat of its own drum in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a better 2D Zelda than most 2D Zelda.
3 Nier
The first Nier wears its Zelda influences with pride, even featuring the main character doing his own version of Link’s “Item Get” fanfare. Nier also just straight up copies a boss fight from The Wind Waker, so it’s a bit hard not to draw comparisons. That said, Nier is by no means derivative and is just content in showing off its homage.
While there aren’t many logic puzzles, Nier does feature block puzzles, Zelda-esque dungeons, and boss fights that require more thought than the average action RPG. Keep in mind, however, the story is far darker and considerably more tragic than anything the Zelda franchise touches on. Even compared to Automata, Nier is a heart wrenching affair.
2 Demon’s Souls
The Souls franchise owes a lot to The Legend of Zelda– Ocarina of Time specifically. As far as combat is concerned, both Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are just using modified versions of OoT’s Z-Targeting. Player characters in Demon’s Souls are slower than Link is in either N64 game, but that’s part of From Software’s grounded charm.
There aren’t many puzzles in Demon’s Souls, but the world design takes clear cues from Zelda– as do bosses. Where later Souls games like to play up one on one encounters, Demon’s Souls’ bosses usually have some gimmick players need to think around in order to survive. Likewise, world navigation tends to feature more traps & non-combative obstacles than later games.
1 Ys: The Oath In Felghana
Ys: The Oath in Felghana is a truly spectacular action RPG with some of the best dungeons, bosses, and pure gameplay the medium– not just the genre– has ever seen. Ditching Bump Combat in favor of fast paced, hack ‘n’ slash swordplay, The Oath in Felghana is a triumph in game design.
Like Ys I & II, TOiF has a lot in common with Zelda as far as level and world design are concerned. There are plenty of side quests & secrets to find, and Adol even has an equipment menu that’s evocative of Ocarina of Time’s. Anyone who likes The Legend of Zelda owes it to themselves to play Ys.