Action-adventure video game
Action-adventure is a hybrid genre which combines aspects from both the action and adventure genres. Action-adventure games require the player to explore a game world and follow an adventure narrative while using the fast-paced mechanics of an action game along the way. Popular action-adventure sub-genres include Metroidvania, open world, and survival horror. I've also written an article to help determine an action-adventure video game from a pure action video game.
Contents
Personal
The first action-adventure games I played were a lot more heavy on action than adventure and included Atari 2600 titles like Pitfall and Adventure. However, not long after my brother and I got our NES he borrowed The Legend of Zelda from a neighbor, and I played my first action game with a very detailed adventure element and was hooked on the genre for life.
History
In the mid-1970s, the action and adventure genres were still quite distinct. They were not only separate in mechanics, they were separate in the platforms which ran them. Arcade cabinets and home consoles were designed for quick-moving graphics, but offered very little storage capacity, so they could run action games. Computers, on the other hand, had poor graphic capabilities, but had access to a lot more permanent storage, so they could have descriptive narration and dialogue for adventure games.
Games
For all action-adventure games, see the category page.
Here are some action-adventure games that are important to me:
| Title | Released | Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Final Fantasy Adventure | 1991-06-28 | Square |
| Adventure | 1980-??-?? | Atari |
| Cave Story | 2004-12-20 | Studio Pixel |
| Commander Keen IV: Secret of the Oracle | 1991-??-?? | id Software |
| God of Thunder | 1993-??-?? | Adept Software |
| The Goonies II | 1987-03-18 | Konami |
| The Guardian Legend | 1988-02-05 | Compile |
| The Legend of Zelda | 1987-08-22 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | 1991-11-21 | Nintendo |
| Metroid | 1986-08-06 | Nintendo |
| Pinstripe | 2017-04-24 | Atmos Games |
| Super Win the Game | 2014-10-01 | Minor Key Games |
| Westerado: Double Barreled | 2015-04-16 | Ostrich Banditos |
| Wonder Boy in Monster World | 1991-10-25 | Westone |
Links
