Sometimes my mind just jolts and spurts out fundamental questions. Stuff like, what do I do with my life? What would I think of myself, if I happened to meet me? Do I hate humanity more than I love it? I just had such a jolt, and a single question burned in my mind: "Is Drakborgen (1985) a roguelike, according to the Berlin Interpretation?"

Here is the wikipedia article on the game: (click the photo big)
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakborgen

Here's my take on it:

--------------------------- HIGH VALUE FACTORS -------------------------

Random environment generation
Yes. (the map is generated randomly during gameplay.)

Permadeath
Yes.

Turn-based
Yes.

Grid-based
Yes.

Non-modal
Yes.

Complexity
Yes.

Resource management
Yes. (But admittedly, the resources are scarce)

Hack'n'slash
Yes.

Exploration and discovery
Yes.

--------------------------- LOW VALUE FACTORS -------------------------

Single player character
Yes.

Monsters are similar to players
Yes. (Both monsters and players fight using the same stone-paper-scizzors system.)

Tactical challenge
No! I don't think there's quite enough to learn. Even though this is a low value factor, I myself consider this a dealbreaker.

ASCII display
No. Still, it beats Rogue by being even more primitive, consisting purely of cardboard and dices!

Dungeons
Yes.

Numbers
Yes.

I'll do Shiren the Wanderer, which is a good example of a Japanese roguelike.

High Value Factors:

Random Environment Generation: Yes.

Permadeath: Sort of. When you die, you lose everything you are carrying, go back to level 1, and are sent back to Canyon Hamlet. However, there are a few places where you can store items, and those items remain there, allowing you to accumulate some progress between runs. (It is pssible to beat the game without doing this, however.)

Turn-based: Yes.

Grid-based: Yes.

Non-modal: Not quite. Towns have different rules than dungeons in terms of what you are allowed to do.

Complexity: Less than games like Nethack, but still present, and there are still special interactions.

Resource management: Yes. Staves (which can be very useful) have limited uses, and you also have single use herbs (like potions) and scrolls. Also, you do need to eat.

Hack'n'slash: Yes, I'd sayu

Exploration and discovery: Perhaps. Each floor can be explored, and there are occasional random features like shops and monster houses.

Low Value Factors:

Single player character: Yes.

Monsters are similar to players: No. Monsters do not pick up and use equipment the way the player does. However, some monsters may have special attacks similar to what the player gets (like certain enemies having staff attacks).

Tactical challenge: Yes. There are plenty of enemies that can do nasty things to you, and some enemies that have ranged attacks.

ASCII display: No.

Dungeons: Yes.

Numbers: Yes.

I think this is a very important question and I shall answer it right away.

--------------------------- HIGH VALUE FACTORS -------------------------

Random environment generation
No (the map stays the same)

Permadeath
Yes.

Turn-based
No.

Grid-based
Yes (it does play on a grid doesn't it)

Non-modal
Yes.

Complexity
No.

Resource management
Yes. You have only one missile after all.

Hack'n'slash
No. Push and shove.

Exploration and discovery
Yes. Possibly. I mean, who knows what's inside, right ? But okay, it's more about encouraging others to explore it.

--------------------------- LOW VALUE FACTORS -------------------------

Single player character
Yes.

Monsters are similar to players
Yes. Sometimes they even are players.

Tactical challenge
Yes. So much tactical. Will you go snooker from afar, will you get close to hammer them down ? Such brainy decisions.

ASCII display
No. It's got, like, triangles and stuff.

Dungeons
No.

Numbers
Yes. If I remember well, there are some. In the corners.

Actually, thinking of it, I consider this last point the most important, therefore Ebonstar is totally a roguelike.

Here's a sillier example: SaGa Frontier. Since the game contains a character named Rouge (who is playable), maybe this game is a rougelike?

Random environment generation: No.

Permadeath: Not in the roguelike sense. However, if a character reaches 0 LP, the character can't fight until you go to the inn. (In some other SaGa games the character is removed from the party when this happens.)

Turn-based: Partially. Once you get into combat, the game is turn-based, but outside of combat, the enemies move in real time (probably my biggest complaint about this game, actually). When trying to avoid enemies, the game turns into an action game.

Grid-based: No. The game uses pre-rendered backgrounds, which were the big thing at that point in time, and there are no grids. Actually, there is one part with a grid: A certain puzzle section in T260's scenario.

Non-modal: No. Combat takes place on a separate screen like in most JRPGs of the time.

Complexity: Yes. The game mechanics are quite complex, especially when you factor in the multiple growth systems (each of the 4 races has completely different rules for stat growth).

Resource management: Yes. You have HP, LP, WP, and JP to worry about. HP recovers fully after battles, and the rest can be restored by having the character not participate in combat.

Hack'n'slash: Perhaps, but there's also magic and modern technology. (No nukes, unfortunately, even though the earliest games in the series had them.)

Exploration and discovery: Yes. The game is definitely not linear, and there are even a couple areas that aren't used in any quest, but are still visitable.

Single player character: No, you control a party.

Monsters are similar to players: No, and this makes enemy charm attacks dangerous. If the wrong character gets charmed, she could hit your whole party for over 1,000 damage (max HP for party members is 999); there's even a few player usable attacks that can do 5 figure damage. Also, enemies don't have LP in the sense that players do, as far as I can tell.

Tactical challenge: Yes, the game can be quite difficult at times. (Sometimes, however, it's outright unfair.)

ASCII display: No. Why put the game on a CD if you aren't going to take advantage of that?

Dungeons: Yes.

Numbers: Yes.

Character named Rouge: Yes.

That last point is the most important here; since the game has a character named Rouge, it is totally a rouge-like.

Note: I did not misspell "rogue" or "roguelike"; I actually did mean to type the French word for "Red" (and this game *does* also have a playable character named Red, as well as one named Blue).