Poll: RPG Poll

[starwarsgeek]

Both, almost evenly. On the JRPG side, I'll usually play Pokemon, Mario RPGs, and some older Square games (to this day, Chrono Trigger is my favorite game). For WRPG, Bethesda and Bioware games.

 

[Feylynn]

It really doesn't matter where they're from.
Western, Eastern, Southern, Northern, Extraterrestrial, whatever.

Some good examples:
All of Kingdom hearts, at least half of Final Fantasy, Vampires the Masquerade, Dungeons&Dragons, ShadowRun, World of Warcraft, Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series, most Pokemon games, Dragon Age series, Mass Effect series, Elder Scrolls Series, Fallout Series, Folklore (it counts), Disgaea series, a lot of others I either don't remember right off or haven't actually played an entry from...

But since that's a list and a smart ass remark more then an answer...
I'll boil it down to the facts that I like fantasy, being cast in a role of importance. I like figuring out the story, the world, the mystery, the puzzles.
I like building stats and solving the problem of determining the best or at least most fun set of abilities.

I like designing my own characters, stories, backgrounds. Playing with pieces the designer left up to the imagination, making my imagination add to a work even if the designer didn't intend it.

I like art, music, and games, and unique ideas.

Ergo, if a designer makes a game with art, music, unique ideas.
Makes you play a role, leaves some room to think of it however you want in your own terms, allows you to discover something worth emotional value, and adds a Mechanical basis on how your role and others interact with the world with a level of customization.

The game has the capability to be great.
They just need to handle it well and appeal to your opinions for you to think of it as great.
Granted those are the pieces I value in a context referring to others but my point stands.

 

[AlternatePFG]

As long as the games are good, I'll play both. I've been playing more WRPG's lately though, haven't found many good JRPGs.

 

[MetroidNut]

I greatly prefer WRPGs, myself, though I'm not a huge fan of the RPG genre in general (I greatly prefer shooter-RPG hybrids, such as Mass Effect). In fact, the only JRPG I've ever really enjoyed was Chrono Trigger, which is to be fair one of the greatest games ever made.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

i chose both, cause i'm in love with both. But really JRPG's come out on top, the characters are better designed usually and there are never any real constraints on a JRPG.

 

[micky]

how do you classify demons souls? i mainly like WRPGs

 

[New Frontiersman]

I like both. To me it doesn't matter where a game came from as long as it's good. I've played and enjoyed both JRPGs and Western RPGs.

 

[Whimsi]

Mmmm...it's a good question. I think I have to say western RPGs because I'm not entirely sure JRPGs deserve the title. They're not bad games, but if Final Fantasy XIII is an RPG, so is Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and just about every other game on the market today. Yeah you're playing a role, but that's what video games do. RPGs need to be something more. The only thing most JRPGs have that can claim RPG status is growing in power with experience...but it's usually only along the lines that the programmers have determined for you, so there's not even any choice. The game I liken them most to is the Megaman titles. Megaman gets new weapons and powers after every boss fight as he proceeds through the game in a reduced but similar fashion to the Final Fantasy games (and indeed most JRPG titles I've played). You're "playing the role" of Mega Man...so it's as much an RPG as most JRPGs I've played.

Anyways, mostly just an exercise in theory. I do tend to enjoy JRPGs when I play them, but I don't seek them out. Most of the time when I'm playing Final Fantasy games these days, I just wish it was a movie and I wouldn't have to spend countless hours retrying bosses, bogged down with random enemies, and running down linear corridors. By the end I'm just saying "Just show me the rest of your story, because it's engaging and entertaining. But don't make me play this anymore."

Edit: I guess I didn't even say why I like WRPGs in my rant. Heh. I like being able to make my own character, plain and simple. Very few JRPGs allow you to do that. I think it's a great way to make the game feel personalized and draw you in from the start (if it's done right). There also tends to be more choice and control over the events of the game in WRPGs.

Please don't open this can of worms. JRPGs are RPGs. Insisting they aren't is folly.

I don't mean to say they're not good, but I can't figure out what about (most) of them makes them an RPG. I suppose it's all semantics anyways, so in a way you're right and I shouldn't really have brought it up. I didn't do it to be confrontational, though. Like I said. I enjoy them and like someone else said, to this day Chrono Trigger is one of my favorite games ever made...and I'm currently playing Pokémon, so it's not like I'm a hater.

 

[faspxina]

I think jrpgs look better than wrpgs when they get old.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Mmmm...it's a good question. I think I have to say western RPGs because I'm not entirely sure JRPGs deserve the title. They're not bad games, but if Final Fantasy XIII is an RPG, so is Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and just about every other game on the market today. Yeah you're playing a role, but that's what video games do. RPGs need to be something more. The only thing most JRPGs have that can claim RPG status is growing in power with experience...but it's usually only along the lines that the programmers have determined for you, so there's not even any choice. The game I liken them most to is the Megaman titles. Megaman gets new weapons and powers after every boss fight as he proceeds through the game in a reduced but similar fashion to the Final Fantasy games (and indeed most JRPG titles I've played). You're "playing the role" of Mega Man...so it's as much an RPG as most JRPGs I've played.

Anyways, mostly just an exercise in theory. I do tend to enjoy JRPGs when I play them, but I don't seek them out. Most of the time when I'm playing Final Fantasy games these days, I just wish it was a movie and I wouldn't have to spend countless hours retrying bosses, bogged down with random enemies, and running down linear corridors. By the end I'm just saying "Just show me the rest of your story, because it's engaging and entertaining. But don't make me play this anymore."

Edit: I guess I didn't even say why I like WRPGs in my rant. Heh. I like being able to make my own character, plain and simple. Very few JRPGs allow you to do that. I think it's a great way to make the game feel personalized and draw you in from the start (if it's done right). There also tends to be more choice and control over the events of the game in WRPGs.

Please don't open this can of worms. JRPGs are RPGs. Insisting they aren't is folly.

I don't mean to say they're not good, but I can't figure out what about (most) of them makes them an RPG. I suppose it's all semantics anyways, so in a way you're right and I shouldn't really have brought it up. I didn't do it to be confrontational, though. Like I said. I enjoy them and like someone else said, to this day Chrono Trigger is one of my favorite games ever made...and I'm currently playing Pokémon, so it's not like I'm a hater.

Sorry, some people on this forum can be rather elitist about what they consider a RPG (as in JRPGs aren't). I've put up with a lot of crap since the Erikson debacle, so I tend to be defensive about it. Sorry if I offended you.

 

[Raven_Operative]

depends,... i love WRPGs because they usualy are enormous (sometimes open world) games. See: Oblivion.

some JRPGs are good too (Demons Souls!!!!), though lots of them are really cheesy, bland, and samey...

why does almost everyone in JRPGs have blue, purple, or pink spiky hair?