zelda is is no way an rpg or action rpg. it perfectly represents the action-adventure genre so i don't know why people feel compelled to throw it into the rpg category. old school NES rpgs absolutely would still be considered rpg's today. they are more pure rpg's than many coming out today. another game that is not an rpg but is called it is super paper mario. the other two paper mario games are, the wii one is not, i owned it for a while and it was not an rpg.
there are traditional turn based rpgs like dragon quest, final fantasy, chrono trigger (this includes more action-oriented turn based rpgs like KOTOR). There are action rpgs like secret of mana, fable, elder scrolls. and there are strategy rpgs like ff tactics, fire emblem. thats it.
end of '08 predictions: wii - 43 million, 360 - 25 million, ps3 - 20 million
Games I've beat recently: Super Mario Galaxy, Knights of the Old Republic, Shadow of the Collossus
Proud owner of wii, gamecube, xbox, ps2, dreamcast, n64, snes, genesis, 3DO, nes, atari, intellivision, unisonic tournament 2000, and gameboy
