The Secret Origin of the Action RPG

Article note: I'm always amazed by how poorly documented computer history is, especially considering how short and recent the whole thing is. Here we have an Apple II game (The Caverns of Freitag), written by a well-known developer (David Shapiro), that predates (1982 vs. 1984) and is credited by the author of Dragon Slayer, which is usually listed as "first ARPG," as an inspiration. And it just wasn't written in the history. Plus it's a literal missing-link between turn based and action that can be played with a slow-timer or fast-timer (think Chrono Trigger's active vs. wait mode, but even more deeply integrated and granular). ... If I didn't have too much to do this week I'd go find a copy for my LC's IIe card.