JRPGS vs Western RPGs. What's your preference?
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JRPGs have Final Fantasy IX, Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call.
Even though I like playing WRPGs, these three titles still remain at the top of my "favorite RPGs"-list. So yeah, I'm going with JRPGs. When I really have to choose, I simply prefer a good story with interesting characters over expansive exploration.
Even though I like playing WRPGs, these three titles still remain at the top of my "favorite RPGs"-list. So yeah, I'm going with JRPGs. When I really have to choose, I simply prefer a good story with interesting characters over expansive exploration.
I prefer western (Skyrim is going to own my soul) but still love jrpg's for thier (Usually) more outlandish stories, and yes, they damn near always have teens (Angsty or otherwise) as protagonists which can get -very- tiresome. Though some of my favorites such as Chrono trigger and the golden sun series really doesn't draw attention to it as much as most.
Bioware made me lean toward western RPG's for a long time, I was assisted in this by Monolith and their revolting abortion (also known as Xenosaga). But now EA own Bioware and their RPG's seem to be devolving into 'Something else with RPG elements which has also been dumbed down' so my tastes are leaning back toward Japan. Now Monolith comes along again and releases Xenoblade, which fixes most of whats wrong with JPRGs in my view (lack of opportunities to explore and get involved in things not directly related to the plot) and puts me firmly in the JRPG camp.
I dunno what happened at Monolith but i approve of the changes...
I dunno what happened at Monolith but i approve of the changes...
In general, I prefer JRPGs for their setting, aesthetics, and music. Too many WRPGs tend to be either Tolkieneque medieval England, brown post-Apocalypse, or super shiny space.
I like WRPGs for their customization and exploration.
Neither really has a leg up in combat. I prefer active combat, but many WRPGs present that as far too clunky.
A good comparison would probably be Final Fantasy and the Elder Scrolls. The Elder Scrolls have tons of what I look for in WRPGs, but their worlds are never as interesting or aesthetically appealing as those found in Final Fantasy. As great as it was to get lost in Morrowind, it's brown swamps can't compare to the mist covered kingdoms of Terra in FF9.
I like WRPGs for their customization and exploration.
Neither really has a leg up in combat. I prefer active combat, but many WRPGs present that as far too clunky.
A good comparison would probably be Final Fantasy and the Elder Scrolls. The Elder Scrolls have tons of what I look for in WRPGs, but their worlds are never as interesting or aesthetically appealing as those found in Final Fantasy. As great as it was to get lost in Morrowind, it's brown swamps can't compare to the mist covered kingdoms of Terra in FF9.
Older JRPGs are great had fun adventures with characters that looked ready to go questing or whatever. Today? I've struggled to find one where the guys look like guys and the main character ISN'T angsty
Western RPGs have been more favorable to me recently, probably because my character is of my choosing and what not but yeah.
Really, if I want to play a JRPG I have to look back to older games to get some fun.
Western RPGs have been more favorable to me recently, probably because my character is of my choosing and what not but yeah.
Really, if I want to play a JRPG I have to look back to older games to get some fun.
Neither to be honest. But if I had to choose then probably Western. The only Japanese games I like with RPG elements would be Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Alundra; though they're more action/adventure/platformers. Oh, and Final Fantasy VII too, I guess.
As much as I like a bit of Japanese culture, a lot of their video games (specifically JRPGs) just don't appeal. Having said that, if I had a DS, I'd like to try their adventure games.
As much as I like a bit of Japanese culture, a lot of their video games (specifically JRPGs) just don't appeal. Having said that, if I had a DS, I'd like to try their adventure games.
It's quite a conundrum, really. They both have jarring strengths and weaknesses. Western RPG's tend to be more fun to play, since they actually let you play rather than delivering two-thirds of the experience by way of cutscene. It would be all Western, no contest, if the Japanese didn't have one big advantage: aesthetics. Western RPG's tend to have sickeningly generic settings and drab color palletes, but the Japanese have always been the sort to mix things up.
The closest I've ever seen to the best of both worlds came from Bethesda Softworks' Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda makes the best sandbox rpg's, bar none, and Morrowind had a wonderfully colorful and varied setting. You could ride around to cities made of mage-grown fungus towers on the backs of giant lice, or stroll along the lush heartland lakes picking flowers and mixing them into potions. Since Morrowind, however, the Elder Scrolls has been getting more generic. Oblivion was only so-so, featuring sort of a Roman Empire meets Middle Earth aesthetic, and Skyrim takes a plunge. Vikings and dragons? Wow. What's heart breaking is that these games are so fun to play that I just have to tolerate it. Even Fallout 3, the drabest, most unoriginal thing I've seen them make was still a blast.
On the other hand, there's the Pokemon series, which has rocked to hell and back since it came out. That's the kind of design and creativity the Japanese bring to the table, and while it's fun to play, it still makes the trademark Japanese fumble of being strictly linear. It seems the Japanese can consistently make awe-inspiring leaps of creativity, but I'm almost inclined to say they only make decent gameplay on a stroke of dumb luck.
It really gets me dowm. It just seems like a no-brainer: take Western game design and combine it with Japanese aesthetic design. If somebody could work that out, it would be the dawn of a new golden age.
The closest I've ever seen to the best of both worlds came from Bethesda Softworks' Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda makes the best sandbox rpg's, bar none, and Morrowind had a wonderfully colorful and varied setting. You could ride around to cities made of mage-grown fungus towers on the backs of giant lice, or stroll along the lush heartland lakes picking flowers and mixing them into potions. Since Morrowind, however, the Elder Scrolls has been getting more generic. Oblivion was only so-so, featuring sort of a Roman Empire meets Middle Earth aesthetic, and Skyrim takes a plunge. Vikings and dragons? Wow. What's heart breaking is that these games are so fun to play that I just have to tolerate it. Even Fallout 3, the drabest, most unoriginal thing I've seen them make was still a blast.
On the other hand, there's the Pokemon series, which has rocked to hell and back since it came out. That's the kind of design and creativity the Japanese bring to the table, and while it's fun to play, it still makes the trademark Japanese fumble of being strictly linear. It seems the Japanese can consistently make awe-inspiring leaps of creativity, but I'm almost inclined to say they only make decent gameplay on a stroke of dumb luck.
It really gets me dowm. It just seems like a no-brainer: take Western game design and combine it with Japanese aesthetic design. If somebody could work that out, it would be the dawn of a new golden age.
Western because for me, I like the characters more and gameplay, and I feel like I have choices. But Lost Odyssey is one of the best JRPGs, actually RPGs I played. Not generic people or anything. May have to play it again.
in my opinion most JRPG's are just turn based strategy games with almost cross-dressing men,no real freedom of choice or anything so there are only "western" RPG's in my own personal opinion.
Western because I think they capture the ROLE PLAYING aspect a lot better.
Also, is it just me or does this thread show up at least every other month?
Also, is it just me or does this thread show up at least every other month?
JRPG's stretch their story-legs as much as possible. They're a lot more focused on story than gameplay, which kind of makes me swing toward WRPG's. Honestly, JRPG's get boring after awhile. They get scripted to the point of insanity. Someone mentioned Lost Odyssey... Never appealed to me. Seemed like an overly long game where the interest would wane after two hours for me.
WRPG's have their share of problems as well though. Giving the player more freedom means the story suffers. In Oblivion, an epic game that must've killed 150+ hours on, the story lost steam around the point where you have to go to every major town and shut all the Oblivion gates. A lot of it came across as a bit ham-fisted too. Seven voice actors and Captain Picard didn't make for the most engrossing experience.
To be honest, the main reason I swing toward WRPG's is because they feel more like the Role Playing Games of yore. JRPG's give you a character and tell you what to do every step of the way. I'd much rather play D&D than read a book about angsty teens. Or Lost Odyssey.
WRPG's have their share of problems as well though. Giving the player more freedom means the story suffers. In Oblivion, an epic game that must've killed 150+ hours on, the story lost steam around the point where you have to go to every major town and shut all the Oblivion gates. A lot of it came across as a bit ham-fisted too. Seven voice actors and Captain Picard didn't make for the most engrossing experience.
To be honest, the main reason I swing toward WRPG's is because they feel more like the Role Playing Games of yore. JRPG's give you a character and tell you what to do every step of the way. I'd much rather play D&D than read a book about angsty teens. Or Lost Odyssey.
In recent years, I've probably played more western RPGs than Japanese ones.
Several years ago, it was the inverse which was true.
Both "genres" (the term "RPG" has grown to be somewhat of a misnomer in recent years) have their strong points, but as a general rule I prefer good stories over other aspects of games.
Western RPGs are built upon choice and exploration, which are fine goals to be certain; however, they aren't big selling points for me. They're fun with their more free-form approach to game structure, allowing you to do whatever you please. The problem is that I find this gets somewhat old fairly quickly, and I'll lose interest in the game because of the lack of a driving force to engage me. Speaking of which, the western RPGs I've enjoyed in recent years is because of their story rather than the choice they offer; said choice is a nice little addition, but it wouldn't be necessary for me to play the game. The added complexity of the gameplay (generally speaking) doesn't do anything me either, because it actually comes off as unwieldly rather than intriguing; the "complexity" isn't that complex (from my perspective), so it just feels meaningless.
As for RPGs of Japanese origin, I've somewhat grown disinterested in them over the last decade or so for some reason. Perhaps it could be that I'm moving out of the target demographic and I'm looking for some different themes in my games; things like morally ambigious situations and philosophical ponderings (though I prefer the more intellectual variety of these, rather than the emotional ones), things without easy answers. To tell the truth, neither JRPGs nor WRPGs are that great for exploring these; actually, make that very few games period.
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So here's the problem:
- WRPGs are more likely to have the darker themes & settings which are more likely to address the topics I'm interested in. The games having a stronger focus on choice means the player will feel the weight of the situation should it arise.
- JRPGs have the stronger central narrative, which allows them to better deal with those topics.
So yeah, neither is quite ideal for me; but then again, my interests are falling outside of the the vast majority of the demographics in society. So until those games which really engage me intellectually crop up, I'm fairly open to enjoying good games from either variety of "RPG". It doesn't matter which is the "true RPG", a good game is a good game.
Several years ago, it was the inverse which was true.
Both "genres" (the term "RPG" has grown to be somewhat of a misnomer in recent years) have their strong points, but as a general rule I prefer good stories over other aspects of games.
Western RPGs are built upon choice and exploration, which are fine goals to be certain; however, they aren't big selling points for me. They're fun with their more free-form approach to game structure, allowing you to do whatever you please. The problem is that I find this gets somewhat old fairly quickly, and I'll lose interest in the game because of the lack of a driving force to engage me. Speaking of which, the western RPGs I've enjoyed in recent years is because of their story rather than the choice they offer; said choice is a nice little addition, but it wouldn't be necessary for me to play the game. The added complexity of the gameplay (generally speaking) doesn't do anything me either, because it actually comes off as unwieldly rather than intriguing; the "complexity" isn't that complex (from my perspective), so it just feels meaningless.
As for RPGs of Japanese origin, I've somewhat grown disinterested in them over the last decade or so for some reason. Perhaps it could be that I'm moving out of the target demographic and I'm looking for some different themes in my games; things like morally ambigious situations and philosophical ponderings (though I prefer the more intellectual variety of these, rather than the emotional ones), things without easy answers. To tell the truth, neither JRPGs nor WRPGs are that great for exploring these; actually, make that very few games period.
---
So here's the problem:
- WRPGs are more likely to have the darker themes & settings which are more likely to address the topics I'm interested in. The games having a stronger focus on choice means the player will feel the weight of the situation should it arise.
- JRPGs have the stronger central narrative, which allows them to better deal with those topics.
So yeah, neither is quite ideal for me; but then again, my interests are falling outside of the the vast majority of the demographics in society. So until those games which really engage me intellectually crop up, I'm fairly open to enjoying good games from either variety of "RPG". It doesn't matter which is the "true RPG", a good game is a good game.
I like actual RPGs, so I can say I prefer western ones (or PC-Style RPGs) since JRPGs (or console style rpgs) tend to be linear and cinematic experiences with cliché stories that claim to be RPGs because they have a leveling system (which I'm fairly certain is not what RPG stands for*).
*On a side note : I am seriously **** tierd of games calling themselves RPGs because you can grow more powerfull in them, thats not what ROLE PLAYING is about.
*On a side note : I am seriously **** tierd of games calling themselves RPGs because you can grow more powerfull in them, thats not what ROLE PLAYING is about.
JRPGs. I love storybased games, characters and creativity and JRPGs always tick those boxes.
WRPGs are always too serious or to rooted in reality and often they become extrememly dull and usually very easy. I prefer a grind and a challenge. The longer it takes me to complete and the tougher it is the better and all the more rewarding.
Exceptions to this are KoToR and Alpha Protocol. They were both very fun games with a good sense of humour, great characters and story.
WRPGs are always too serious or to rooted in reality and often they become extrememly dull and usually very easy. I prefer a grind and a challenge. The longer it takes me to complete and the tougher it is the better and all the more rewarding.
Exceptions to this are KoToR and Alpha Protocol. They were both very fun games with a good sense of humour, great characters and story.
While I like both I do prefer Western RPG's more. They tend to offer me more choices in what I can do while JRPG's just stick to go in the room and kill everything. Sure I usually take that option in Western RPGs but it's the thought that counts.
