Bethesda (Makers of such hits as Oblivion and Fallout 3) Says That WRPG's Are More Realistic Than JR

[Maeshone]

So, are you counting out the 20-foot long swords, summoning massive dragons, being hit 2643890 times before anything happens, flying, less-armour-means-more-protection, flying steampunk ships, Godzilla, Giant robots...
Need I say any more?

1. Name more than one JRPG that contains 20-foot long swords. Please.
2. Last time I played Oblivion I summoned quite a lot of monsters. What's the difference? The size? That isn't really a valid argument. A summon is a summon is a summon...
3. WRPGs also suffer from Critical Existance Failure-syndrome. There is no effect on my character until he runs out of hitpoints.
4. I could fly in Morrowind. I miss it in Oblivion actually
5. Enchant your clothes with Damage Reflect in Oblivion. That is all
6. Didn't know steampunk was a genre that only existed in JRPGs, thanks for letting me know that...
7. Godzilla doesn't have anything to do with JRPGs. If you are referring to giant monsters in general, I've fought my fair share of them in WRPGs as well. The Archdemon from DAO is a recent example.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Its on a relative scale.

That's still fucking stupid. Why on earth should the realism of a fantasy game matter at all? It's a fantasy game!

When I'm deciding which Fantasy game I want I certainly don't decide via realism.

 

[Stall]

less-armour-means-more-protection

Looks like you've never played any WRPGs if you think that is somehow exclusive to JRPGs

 

[Retal19]

Considering that WRPGs seem to be mainly based around realism in a Medieval setting, going more for letting the player make a denizen of a by-gone age to act out a tale, and that JRPGs seem to more go for telling the story of set characters with flashy visuals and massive battles, I'd say yeah, Bethesda is right. I've played most Bethesda Games, and I've played a fair few Final Fantasies. I like both. Final Fantasy does it for me when I want to just use a really bloody impractical weapon to reduce entire cities to dust trying to crush that one guy (Before tossing him into the sun), and The Elder Scrolls do it for me whenever I want something a bit more... eh, homey. They're both amazing games, they've both got their own way of doing things.

(Am I rambling? I think I'm rambling.)

 

[dyre]

I wouldn't say JRPGs are more "unrealistic;" they just involve less choice, tend to involve teenage (or teenage-looking) protagonists with weird hair, and seem overdramatic or cheesy (possible due to cultural / translation problems)

Bethseda RPGs are, however, less polished, have godawful voice acting, and even shittier stories than your stereotypical JRPG. Love the open world and the modding tools though.

CanadianRPGs and PolishRPGs ftw

 

[TStormer]

I agree completely with this article and I think that it is for the better. I enjoy western RPGs immensely, and yeah they are more realistic. Look at Witcher 2 for example. Society is gritty and is probably how a society with 3 races of people would end up like, people ride horses and not fire breathing birds, swords are not the size of France and people actually sound like people, hesitating, swearing, having accents and the like.

 

[Asiakoth]

1.) This statement basicly runs under the assumption that all JRPGs are like Final Fantasy. If you honestly believe this, then you are stupid.

2.) Even assuming statement 1 is false, most WRPGs are pretty unrealistic themselves and there are plenty of WRPGs tbat are less realistic then some JRPGs, and ofcourse there are cases of the other way around. Comparing all the titles in one category to another, especally since there are TONS of games in both.

3.) Realism does not make a game good, so frankly this argument doesn't even matter. If realism is what makes a game good, then someone please explain to me why the original Super Mario Bros is so freakin awesome.

 

[Atrocious Joystick]

Why is everyone Arguing about realism. If games were Realistic they would Dull.

Can you Imagen a game where your only goal was to work a 9 till 5 shift's, in an office, answering the phone, in real time, Every Day, except for Saturday's and Sundays, where you sit at home on your computer watching videos on the escapist and arguing about realism in games.... Yeh, dosn't sound fun.

Of course that's not what realism means. Realism in visual arts means to picture something as it would be seen, without any sort of bias in either direction. Warts and all so to speak. It is the father of all gritty remakes. It doesn't mean there are no 14 year olds with five metre swords. It just depicts them failing at swinging them and getting stabbed by the person sensible enough to bring a normal sword.

Compare game of thrones with legend of the seeker (the series in both cases) to give two contemporary examples of two fantasy stories. I think you can figure out which one practices realism even though both contains magic and monsters.

 

[Griff Morivan]

Realistic or not, jRPGs tend to be more fun.

THAT'S RIGHT MOTHER FUCKER I SAID IT.

I love Fallout. One and two, anyway. And I like Baulder's Gate. And I love a lot of wrpgs from days of yore. But you know what has gotten worse as we push forward? WRPGs. Fallout 3 doesn't hold a candle to FFXII in terms of 'Oh, hey, this was fun.' Say that about FF VI and Fallout 1. You'd be borking wrong.

 

[DustyDrB]

I guess that part of the quote is right...
But what's the point of this remark? He seems to think that "realistic" means "better". Even though I do prefer Western RPGS over Japanese ones (Bethesda is actually the exception here. Oblivion is the only game of theirs I have liked and I was really bored for a lot of my time with it). The problems I have with JRPGs never have to do with a lack of realism (it's usually just the combat systems in many of them that I don't particularly love). God, I find the vibrant art styles, enthusiastic characters, and over the top displays of power a breath of fresh air.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

Well...yes. Yes, they are. I'm not really sure why they had to bring this up, though. I'm not really sure who cares.

 

[jpoon]

I absolutely agree with this. WRPG's are without a doubt in my mind far more realistic and normally more enjoyable for me. JRPG's are filled with so much fruity & childish fluff that I can hardly stomach them anymore at my age.

Don't get me wrong there are a few good JRPG's that will hold my interest but 90% of them I just won't play anymore. Compare that to WRPG's and I'll generally like about half of them or so.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Blue is not a natural hair color, so...

Yep, they're right.

In any Bethesda RPG with character creation you are able to make your hair color blue.

Fallout, Oblivion, Morrowind, etc.

My Dunmer's hair is blue, your arguement is invalid.

Yeah, as a choice. Not as an unchangeable fixture. So yeah, just in that respect they're more realistic.
Plus the eyes and mouths don't collectively take up 90 percent of their faces.

 

[SeriousIssues]

A lot of people attack Bethesda for having fantasy elements, but I interpreted the quote as "Though we also make fantasy games, our's are not always as flamboyant and often feel much realer."
Which I think is true, you have some degree more of realism in WRPG's than in JRPG's, despite however fantastical the game's setting may be (Which WRPG's usually tone down in my oppinion.)


Besides, Bethesda can say whatever the hell they want. Still putting out some of my favorite games.

 

[Xanadu84]

Oh Ill back that sentiment up. Western RPGs tend to have a more coherent and grounded set of rules, JRPGs more abstract. Neither tend to be realistic per say, but WRPGs are more grounded. The important thing to note here is that neither of these trends say anything about overall quality. It's like comparing Dill and Mint. Plenty of people like both, plenty of people prefer one or the other, but both are very different by nature, and enjoyed in very different contexts.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I think you're all hanging on words too much and missing his point. We know Oblivion has magic- that's not the point. He's saying that WRPGs aid your suspension of disbelief, while JRPGs push the limits of your imagination. This has definitely been my experience. And as far as I can tell, he's not saying one is better than the other. Generally speaking, WRPGs either try to seem plausible or at least remain consistent with the logic of the established world. As far as I know, JRPGs do not often attempt this, probably because the developers don't feel the need.

 

[SageRuffin]

Who the fuck cares? Aren't video games supposed to be a form of escapism like books and movies? Do video games as a whole need to be realistic?

At this point, WRPGs and JRPGs are like comparing apples and oranges; both have their appeal, and some prefer apples over oranges and vice versa.

And one of those links seriously led to Sankaku Complex... goddamn.

 

[Arionis]

At least fantasy rpg's are based on an actual time period and it's mythos. I don't recall a period in history where we all summoned giant monsters or rode around on golden chickens.

I approve of your avatar but I must say this:

I don't recall any time in history in which some guy got thrown in jail and had gotten asked by an emporer to find his son and give him a magic amulet that would seal closed the gates of a hellish type plane that would at one point in the game send out a giant monster to fuck everyone's shit up.

To be fair, do you really think they'd let that be known to the public? 0_o

But, I don't really think you can say which is more realistic as a whole.

Both genre's have realistic fantasy (Parasite Eve counts as JRPG, so there's one there for realism), and both have off the wall wtf fantasy (Parasite Eve counts as JRPG, so there's one there for NOT so realism)