the legend of zelda, although i didn't know it was an rpg at the time.
Because it's not, despite over the last decade there being this "movement" to make it one. It was always an Action/Adventure game.
the zelda series was considered an rpg series in the 90s too. i don't know whatever movement there was in the last decade. but i think jeremy parish makes a pretty good case for the original (and second game) to be considered rpgs. not sure about the rest.
Accurate or not, it was fairly common to see action-adventures with fantasy themes being listed as RPGs or ARPGs in the '80s and '90s.I don't know where you've seen it called that, but in the 90's it was also an Action/Adventure game...