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For me, off the top of my head, it comes down to stats. Bare knuckles you at the beginning and end should be different. 

@FLD Yeah, I'm inclined to agree, which is why I added the "Lite" qualifier. It's not a full-on RPG, but it's kind of an RPG. Like, you do increase your health and "resilience" (ability to do special moves/heal), and you learn new combat techniques throughout, which aren't tied to your gear. So it's somewhere above eg Zelda on the RPG scale, but below "true" RPGs.

I haven't played Origami King but is there any reason to actually do battles? Sticker Star actually discouraged you from battling normal enemies because attacks were consumable resources, which is one of the worst RPG ideas in history. If the answer is no then it's not an RPG.