uh no, with maplestory you have a strike that obliterates dozens of enemies at once.
Ragnarok is the same.
Yet you classify guild wars as a hack and slash? You can't seriously tell me that you have overpowered abilities that can destroy dozens upon dozens of mobs with a few clicks in that game.
Honestly, I don't see much difference between most mmorpgs and diablo which is why i didnt consider it to be a hack and slash at first.

I have to laugh at this thread because I do not get into hack 'n' slash games at all.

If I'm forced to vote, God of War II has to win. Even though I hate timed action events, that game was fun.

Ninja Gaiden was just too damned difficult. I have no desire to go back to my NES TMNT days. I hate to admit that I'm a bit of a gaming pussy but after suffering through the same shit time after time waiting for the right moment to attack, I have no patience. I respect NG for what it is, I just don't enjoy it. I've seen that shit too much to go back and do it again.

Wait, when did Diablo qualify for this category?

That is way more "mix mid-90s RPGs with LucasArts adventure games" than it is "hack-n-slash".

If it qualifies, I'll still give the nod to GoWII with an honorable mention to Diablo II.

God of War II gets my vote. By far as the best gameplay and story combined out of them all. Most hack and slash games fail in the story department.

Chaos Legion is the best hack n' slash ever devised IMO, to bad it was highly overlooked, cant wait for the sequel for PSP and PSHome.