Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to the RPG Reload, the regular feature where we're either playing gods or slaying gods. This week, we're filling in the next chapter in our RPG Reload Glossary look at the history of action-RPGs. One of the messier and less-satisfying genre labels around, the action-RPG had already taken many forms by the end of the 1980s. In the next decade, some of the most successful examples of the genre would arrive on the scene. While you would think that might simplify matters, the 1990s closed with the genre being harder to nail down than ever. While I had intended to cover the entire decade in this installment, it became apparent halfway through that it was beyond the scope of a single article. So instead, we're going to look at the first half of this formative decade and pick out some of the genre highlights along the way. While the 1980s mostly belonged to Japan as far as the genre went, there were a few key Western games that would prove to be important inspirations for the coming decade. It's worth pointing out that during much of the 80s, action games were seen by the bulk of the PC gaming audience in America as more childish fare best left to consoles and arcades. That antagonistic attitude was starting to cool a little as 1990 approached, and even RPG fans had seen the merits of games with faux-action components thanks to the seminal Dungeon Master.
Meanwhile, over in Japan, the action-RPG genre's pace was largely set by Nihon Falcom's Drag...