Dragon Slayer

Dragon Slayer is commonly considered one of the progenitors of the action RPG genre. The premise is similar to Roguelikes: the player takes control of a knight who must fight his way through large overhead maze-like dungeons. Unlike roguelikes, the combat in the game is fully action-oriented: the player must approach the monster and “bump” into it in order to inflict damage, at the same time trying to avoid its blows. Combat takes place on the same screen as the exploration; monsters will also sometimes pursue the knight if he attempts to escape. Also contrary to roguelikes, none of the locations or items in the game is randomized.