Action versus adventure video games

In general, video game players know the difference between an action game and an adventure game, but there is still a gradient from one genre to the other. In order to more accurately quantify the difference, I have identified specific properties found in games that I think indicates what causes a game fit into genre or the other. Obviously, no one game property can determine which genre a game fits into, but the more that match, the more "pure" the fit.

Properties

These are the specific properties I have identified that I feel can be used to accurately determine whether a game is an action or adventure game and are also fairly easy to gauge as a yes or no. Other properties may much more accurately determine a game's genre, but are greatly a matter of opinion (e.g., do I feel like I'm exploring when I play the game?), so I don't include them.

• Limited Lives: Does the player have a limited number of attempts to beat the game before the game is over and they must restart or continue, or are they given unlimited attempts.
• Stage-based: Are portions of the game broken up unto discrete sections that must be completed, or does they player have free movement to move between them?
• Straightforward Maps: Must the player roughly follow a single path to the end of a map with few decisions or backtracking, or are their many possible routes?
• Forced Stage Order: During normal game play, must the player complete stages in a pre-planned order, or can they finish sections in any order?
• Instant Death: Can a single mistake kill the player regardless of hit points or power-ups (pits, spikes, lava, etc.)?
• No Health: Will a single mistake of any kind kill the player based on their starting condition, or can they make multiple mistakes before dying?
• No Continues: If the player runs out of lives, do they get a limited number of chances to continue from where they left off, or must they restart the game?
• Time Limits: Under normal conditions, will a player die if they don't finish a stage in specified time?
• Temporary Power-ups: Are power-ups kept for a limited time, number of uses, or until death, or do you keep them for the rest of the game?
• Unbeatable: Does the game go on forever, or can you finish it?
• Title Screen Story: Is the game's entire story be describable in a paragraph on the title screen, or is there character dialogue, cut-scenes, and an advancing plot?

The more yes-answers, the more action oriented the game is, the more no-answers, the more adventure oriented it is. Naturally, not every game can neatly answer each of these questions with a yes or no, so, when the true answer is a gray area, I try my best to answer fairly. For example, in The Legend of Zelda, you technically only have one life before you get a game over, but, since you have unlimited continues and get to keep your items after death, I consider it equivalent to unlimited lives.

Games

This list currently focuses on NES games. I've excluded traditional RPGs which would answer no for every question, as well as sports simulators and various other abstract games, though I will add more in the future.

Game	Limited Lives	Staged-based	Straightforward Maps	Forced Stage Order	Instant Death	No Health	No Continues	Time Limits	Temporary Power-ups	Unbeatable	Title Screen Story	Total
Galaga	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Pac-Man	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Super Mario Bros.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	10
Tetris	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Double Dragon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	9
Spy Hunter	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Bubble Bobble	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	8
Castlevania	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	8
Contra, Super C	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	8
Life Force	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	8
Ninja Gaiden 1, 2, 3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	8
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	7
Double Dragon 2 & 3	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	7
The Goonies	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	7
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	7
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	7
Super Mario Bros. 2	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	7
Super Mario Bros. 3	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	7
Battletoads	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	6
Guerrilla War	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	6
Little Nemo: The Dream Master	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	5
Gauntlet	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	5
Kirby's Adventure	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	5
Mega Man 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	5
Bionic Commando	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	4
Blaster Master	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	4
A Boy and His Blob: Trouble On Blobolonia	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	4
DuckTales and DuckTales 2	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	4
Kid Icarus: Angel Land Story	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	4
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	2
The Goonies II	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	2
River City Ransom	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	2
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	2
Metroid	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	1
The Legend of Zelda	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	0

Purpose

The main purpose of this categorization is to help determine if a game should be described as an "action-adventure" or "adventure-action."