The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flagship, Vanpool, Grezzo, and Tantalus Media. Its gameplay incorporates action-adventure and elements of action RPG games.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure game by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998 and in PAL regions the following month. The game is the first in The Legend of Zelda series with 3D graphics.
The Legend of Zelda, originally released in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu, is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The first game of The Legend of Zelda series, it is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates throughout the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets along the way.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. An installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was released in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, and in Europe on May 2, 2003.
In video games, a boss is a significantly powerful non-player character created as an opponent to players. A fight with a boss character is referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the players have faced up to that point in a game. Boss battles are generally seen at climax points of particular sections of games, such as at the end of a level or stage or guarding a specific objective. A miniboss is a boss weaker or less significant than the main boss in the same area or level, though usually more powerful than the standard opponents and often fought alongside them. A superboss is generally much more powerful than the bosses encountered as part of the main game's plot and is often an optional encounter. A final boss is often the main antagonist of a game's story and the defeat of that character usually provides a conclusion to the game. A boss rush is a stage where players face multiple previous bosses again in succession.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an action role-playing game developed and published by Nintendo. It is the second installment in the Legend of Zelda series and was released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System on January 14, 1987—less than one year after the Japanese release and seven months before the North American release of the original The Legend of Zelda. Zelda II was released in North America and the PAL region for the Nintendo Entertainment System in late 1988, almost two years after its initial release in Japan.
An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Beyond Good & Evil is a 2003 action-adventure game developed and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox, and GameCube. The story follows the adventures of Jade, an investigative reporter, martial artist, and spy hitwoman working with a resistance movement to reveal a sinister alien conspiracy. Players control Jade and other allies, solving puzzles, fighting enemies, obtaining photographic evidence and, later in the game, travelling to space.
Myst IV: Revelation is a 2004 adventure video game, the fourth installment in the Myst series, developed and published by Ubisoft. Like Myst III: Exile, Revelation combines pre-rendered graphics with digital video, but also features real-time 3D effects for added realism. The plot of Revelation follows up on plot details from the original Myst. The player is summoned by Atrus, a man who creates links to other worlds known as Ages by writing special linking books. Almost twenty years earlier, Atrus' two sons nearly destroyed all of his books and were imprisoned; Atrus now wishes to see if his sons' imprisonment has reformed them. The player travels to each brother's prison, in an attempt to recover Atrus' daughter Yeesha from the brothers' plot.
Several LCD games based on the video game series The Legend of Zelda have been released. The first, Zelda, released in 1989, was developed and manufactured by Nintendo; later LCD games were licensed to other developers. The Legend of Zelda game watch (1989) is a wristwatch game produced by Nelsonic as part of their Nelsonic Game Watch series. Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce is a fighting game produced by Epoch Co. for the Barcode Battler II, and was released only in Japan.
An action role-playing game is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Prince of Persia is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh main installment in the Prince of Persia franchise, and the second reboot, establishing a new continuity that is separate from other games in the series. It was released in the United States on December 2, 2008, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and on December 9 for Windows. It was released on March 24, 2009, for Mac OS X via the Cider engine. The game was also released on November 11, 2008, by Gameloft for mobile phones that runs on the Java platform taking place in a 2D environment, and has a feature of enabling the players to control a second character at certain points of levels.
In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include The Legend of Zelda (1986), Grand Theft Auto V (2013) and Minecraft (2011).
Titan Souls is a 2015 action-adventure game developed by Acid Nerve and published by Devolver Digital. It was released for Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Android. Titan Souls received generally positive reviews and has been cited as an early example of a Soulslike, a game genre directly inspired by the Dark Souls series.
Skull and Bones is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Singapore and published by Ubisoft. The game revolves around piracy and naval warfare with a fantastical setting in East Africa and Southeast Asia during the late 17th century, the peak of the historical Golden Age of Piracy. It was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on February 16, 2024, after multiple delays and developmental difficulties, to mixed reviews.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a third-person action role-playing game published by Wizards of the Coast and developed by its subsidiary Tuque Games. Based on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing system, the title of the game alludes to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, although its story and gameplay are not related to those earlier titles. The game was released in June 2021 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Mike Laidlaw is a Canadian video game developer best known for his work at BioWare as the creative director for the Dragon Age fantasy role-playing video game franchise, and the lead designer and director on the first three games.
The D.I.C.E. Award for Adventure Game of the Year is an award presented annually by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences during the D.I.C.E. Awards. This award recognizes titles in which "players are challenged with real-time action activities where timing, skill, and accuracy are necessary to succeed. Puzzle-solving, resource management and exploration often drive the quest oriented narrative rather than primarily combat mechanics". All active creative/technical, business, and affiliate members of the Academy are qualified to vote for this category. The award initially had separate awards for console action games and computer games at the 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 1998 with the first winners being Final Fantasy VII for console and Blade Runner for computer. There have been numerous mergers and additions of adventure-related games throughout the history of the awards ceremony. The current version was officially introduced at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 2008, which was awarded to Super Mario Galaxy.
Skul: The Hero Slayer is a 2021 roguelike-action platformer developed by SouthPAW Games and published by Neowiz. The game was released on January 21, 2021 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux, and launched on October 21, 2021 for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4and launched on June 4, 2024 for Android and iOS. In the game, players control a skeleton named Skul as he attempts to save demonkind from their enemies, the heroes. The player can remove Skul's head for different skulls, granting new combat abilities across randomly-generated levels. The game received positive reviews on release.
Squirrel with a Gun is an indie action-adventure game developed by Dee Dee Creations and published by Maximum Entertainment. It was released on August 29, 2024, on Windows, and is set for release on October 15, 2024, on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. The player controls a squirrel that wields a gun as it escapes a secret underground facility and pesters the residents of a neighborhood. The game takes inspiration from the Yakuza franchise and Shadow of the Colossus and has been compared to games such as Untitled Goose Game and Goat Simulator.
