Poll: Western RPGs Vs. JRPGs
- Thread starter RedDeadFred
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I was doing the gasp thing not because it was a JRPG but because it was a JRPG with stat growth depending on how you battle, something people don't think is in any JRPG.Angerwing said:
Western: I think the Neverwinter Nights series was the last good one I've played. Everything else just seems to flop.
Eastern: Tales of Vesperia. Though the Tales games seems to be the only JRPG series I like anymore, given how turned around Final Fantasy has become.
Would have to go with Western if I had to choose, because Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 alone made me so very happy. As much as I loved, say, Tales of Vesperia, Final Fantasy 9, and Breath of Fire. . . There are just so many other games that are bad.
Not to say both sides don't have their bad eggs. My own two cents here, even though I'm sure someone will think I'm trolling, but Mass Effect 2 and Fallout 3 are terrible examples of Western RPGs for me. They aren't very fun, exciting, or refreshing, and they don't do anything neat. Nor do they have a story hook. On the flip side, Final Fantasy 7, Infinite Undiscovery, and Eternal Sonata were the exact same for me. Bad story, bad storytelling. . .
I wish I could find another RPG like Neverwinter Nights to make me happy. No such luck, though, it seems.
Eastern: Tales of Vesperia. Though the Tales games seems to be the only JRPG series I like anymore, given how turned around Final Fantasy has become.
Would have to go with Western if I had to choose, because Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 alone made me so very happy. As much as I loved, say, Tales of Vesperia, Final Fantasy 9, and Breath of Fire. . . There are just so many other games that are bad.
Not to say both sides don't have their bad eggs. My own two cents here, even though I'm sure someone will think I'm trolling, but Mass Effect 2 and Fallout 3 are terrible examples of Western RPGs for me. They aren't very fun, exciting, or refreshing, and they don't do anything neat. Nor do they have a story hook. On the flip side, Final Fantasy 7, Infinite Undiscovery, and Eternal Sonata were the exact same for me. Bad story, bad storytelling. . .
I wish I could find another RPG like Neverwinter Nights to make me happy. No such luck, though, it seems.
Someone else who is a shining force fan!!! At last!Wakikifudge said:
(sorry
)I like both actually, The story telling is far better in JRPGs abd western RPGs, recently anyway has the whole "do what the ever you want" element to them which I find really cool.
But Shining force does kick ass (trying to play through SF2 at the moment)
First I'll start with a question: Where does World of Warcraft fit?
Western: AD&D <-pen and paper(cant cheat a computer... and I was a vampire hunting, half machine wearhog [like in pig, not hedghog])
Eastern: Bite me, I don't know many that I have played... most of them have stupiedly large swords, or girl-boys, and most of all crap for armor.
Yea if you couldn't tell, I don't like eastern RPG's, I would like to be put in one so I can shoot the main character and take comand of an army of space Nazi's and take controll of the world... too much?
Western: AD&D <-pen and paper(cant cheat a computer... and I was a vampire hunting, half machine wearhog [like in pig, not hedghog])
Eastern: Bite me, I don't know many that I have played... most of them have stupiedly large swords, or girl-boys, and most of all crap for armor.
Yea if you couldn't tell, I don't like eastern RPG's, I would like to be put in one so I can shoot the main character and take comand of an army of space Nazi's and take controll of the world... too much?
So, you're the guy to go to if I want a Wikipedia definition copy/pasted onto here...=Dciortas1 said:
Hey can you look up Metro 2033 next, I want to see how the reviews are panning out. Oh, and also Deus Ex 3 to see if there's any more new info about the game that's come out...=D
It seems to me the essential definition for a game to be an RPG, J or W, should be the extent to which you define your character's role and personality through A) the depth of control over the development of a character's gameplay mechanics and or B) control on the story progression as that character. That is to say, to play the role of a character, you should be able to play out how that character would respond to a situation and not be forced to follow a linear path. Both of these factors come in different doses, and while there can be no universal RPG line, the dose determines to what extent a game is a role-playing game. For instance, choosing what kind of weapon you wield is indicative of what you determine as your character's preference; in this way both Mass Effect and Zelda have RPG elements, but Mass Effect has a higher dosage of RP (strictly considering how much preference you can put into the which and the how in a weapon).
This is not to say games have to have both of these factors to be an RPG, consider Diablo 2 and Chrono Trigger: in Chrono Trigger you as a character have a strong influence over how the story progresses and ends but your character's stat progression is automatic and linear(if I recall correctly), whereas in Diablo 2 you have a open ended character development but otherwise, in terms of choice, you have a few quests you do not have to do and maybe some different arrangements in the order, but the plot and its ending remain the same. Both are RPGs from different hemispheres with distinguished but undeniablely role-playing characteristics.
By this definition, some games that are traditionally considered RPGs are not so much (Final Fantasy VII, linear in character and story development other than some nice Cloud or snarky Cloud dialogue choices and materia arrangement - FFVII is pretty light on RP). WRPGs, particularly from Bioware and Bethesda, flourish on this definition, as they typically focus on delivering these qualities. JRPGs, regardless of the quality of the story, do seem to tend to be more linear (with linearness in a way being the antithesis of an RPG).
My favorite heavy RP RPGs: Mass Effect, KOTOR, Demon's Souls
My favorite light RP RPGs: Super Mario and the Legend of the Seven Stars, Dark Age of Camelot, Nox, The World Ends with You
On a side note, a lot of recent Western RPGs which are being hammered for not having as strong a core story still establish lush settings with lots of small appreciable stories that make to me, a richer story atmosphere than occurs in most JRPGs.
This is not to say games have to have both of these factors to be an RPG, consider Diablo 2 and Chrono Trigger: in Chrono Trigger you as a character have a strong influence over how the story progresses and ends but your character's stat progression is automatic and linear(if I recall correctly), whereas in Diablo 2 you have a open ended character development but otherwise, in terms of choice, you have a few quests you do not have to do and maybe some different arrangements in the order, but the plot and its ending remain the same. Both are RPGs from different hemispheres with distinguished but undeniablely role-playing characteristics.
By this definition, some games that are traditionally considered RPGs are not so much (Final Fantasy VII, linear in character and story development other than some nice Cloud or snarky Cloud dialogue choices and materia arrangement - FFVII is pretty light on RP). WRPGs, particularly from Bioware and Bethesda, flourish on this definition, as they typically focus on delivering these qualities. JRPGs, regardless of the quality of the story, do seem to tend to be more linear (with linearness in a way being the antithesis of an RPG).
My favorite heavy RP RPGs: Mass Effect, KOTOR, Demon's Souls
My favorite light RP RPGs: Super Mario and the Legend of the Seven Stars, Dark Age of Camelot, Nox, The World Ends with You
On a side note, a lot of recent Western RPGs which are being hammered for not having as strong a core story still establish lush settings with lots of small appreciable stories that make to me, a richer story atmosphere than occurs in most JRPGs.
Western: Fallout 3 can't be beat. Also Oblivion and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
JRPG: Lots, but all time favorite is Shining Force. (Which is unfortunately rare, glad to see wakikifudge also put it) and after that Breath of Fire 3(4 is also good), Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy 4, 6, and 7.
But overall, I'd say JRPG because the story lines and characters seem more compelling. Westerns have a lot of freedom, but basically only Bethesda is worth following.
JRPG: Lots, but all time favorite is Shining Force. (Which is unfortunately rare, glad to see wakikifudge also put it) and after that Breath of Fire 3(4 is also good), Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy 4, 6, and 7.
But overall, I'd say JRPG because the story lines and characters seem more compelling. Westerns have a lot of freedom, but basically only Bethesda is worth following.
Apart from Chrono Trigger and Earthbound, pretty much all jrpgs that i have played, sucked. Hard.