Poll: what kind of RPG do you prefer? (hardcore, action/RPG, MMORPG, JRPG, ect.)

[dWintermut3]

Here is what defines an old-school "hardcore" RPG to me:

Free chargen, no classes or if there are classes they only influence stats not determine what skills you can EVER gain. (Ala Planescape:Torment or Oblivion)

Heavily dialogue-based, combat can be avoided via dialogue or dialogue choices can alter the plot in more than trivial ways, it is possible to avoid combat entirely with dialogue choices. (Typified by Black Isle RPGs like Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment, compare to RPGs like Mass Effect where conversation can NEVER stop action sequences/combat)

Exploration, the ability to go "off the beaten track"

Character development as you "level up" is freeform and based on attributing points not along pre-determined paths (Wizardry series, Ultima series, Elder Scrolls series, compare to action RPGs where you have a class and limited skill choices, most JRPGs where your choice of path is pre-determined by the game and can NEVER be changed. Cloud is always a SOLDIER, Aerith always a healer no matter what, ect.)

Choices have consequences without warning.

So, an Open World RPG. Not necessarily Hardcore. I despise how that word is thrown around as if it has any weight. "Hardcore" is only a perception coloured by our own values (real or imagined). What you consider hardcore differs from what I consider hardcore - and thus the term is moot.

Try to stick with actual types (ARPG, SRPG, cRPG, TBRPG, PnPRPG, MMORPG). Much less subjective and confusing.

Then feel free to substitute for "hardcore" the words "wizardry-style" "simulation" or "open-world character simulator"

 

[StormShaun]

Action RPGs or Hardcore RPGs everythng else I dont like.....

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I've enjoyed at least one game of each genre listed, but were I to choose I would say that I prefer real time versus turn based (though I much prefer the semi-real time system used in games like Icewind Dale or Fallout: Tactics) and significant mechanical depth. That isn't to say that I dislike games like Deus Ex or Mass Effect; simply that I tend to enjoy those games as first person shooters with character and narrative agency.

 

[Continuity]

Hardcore from now until judgement day, action can cram itself up its own ass, and the other two have never particularly appealed to me.
Although thats only providing decent FPS-RPG hybrids are kept in the hardcore stable, i.e. Deus Ex, System shock 2, Fallout 3, Masquerade bloodlines.. I love the traditional turn based AD&D based RPG mechanics but these FPS-RPGs are also some of the best and most immersive RPGs ever created.

 

[linwolf]

As long as it's turn based RPG I am happy. I die a little inside whenever a good RPG game decide to become more action orientated.

 

[thatman]

I definitely have a large preference for JRPGs, at the moment that's pretty much all i'm playing. However, i admit to having a long-term oblivion addiction and a brief liason with mass effect 2. So basically i play any good RPG that isn't an mmo, cos they're eeeeeeeevil (i get addicted easily).

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

I tend to be a big fan of turn-based RPGs but at the same time I do like my Action RPG.

 

[Alfid Zeiss]

I grew up with JRPG's, but I like every kind of RPG
Just as long as the story isn't too linear

 

[darth.pixie]

Mostly dialogue based, exploring, high in plot twists RPG. So I guess the classical one. Arcanum, Planescape, Fallout 1 and 2. That kind. I think I'd put Masquerade there as well, though, because it's not about the character but the story. Generally, everything that has a nice plot, enough dialogue options to allow me to expand on my character's personality and is fun, I'll play.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

JRPGs mostly. While I do enjoy a lot of Western RPGs, they dont tend to have very good characterisation (the sacrifice of character creation, excluding Mass Effect), and they tend to run the same themes over and over again.

As a general rule, ill play anything that looks interesting, but JRPGs tend to hold more of my attention

 

[high_castle]

I'm a hardcore RPG fan all the way. Baldur's Gate 2 is my favorite game of all time, and virtually everything else on BioWare's roster (especially Jade Empire and Dragon Age: Origins) are wins for me. I'm also a big fan of Morrowind and the other older Elder Scrolls games (sorry, Oblivion did nothing for me, there was nothing there). The first two Fallouts were also gold (for Fallout 3, see comments regarding Oblivion). Planescape Torment and A Bard's Tale also make my list. Games that straddle hardcore and action lines (the first Mass Effect, Deus Ex) I also enjoy. Though when they tip over into the action column *cough*ME2*cough* they lose my interest.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

First and foremost: JRPG's. I'm talking Final Fantasy (I to X, maybe XII as well... maybe), Shin Megami Tensei (and their Persona spin-offs), Shadow Hearts, Legend of Legaia, Lost Odyssey, etc. My reasons:

- Interesting characters.
- Engaging story that sucks you right in.
- Playing with an entire cast of characters.
- The creation of an interesting world with its own unique locations, filled with history and lore.

But I also play a WRPG every once in a while (or "Hardcore RPG's" as you call them). Most of the time, they offer more freedom than their Japanese counterparts. Alas, this also causes these RPG to forsake many other aspects:

- Many bland characters.
- Often times only one protagonist - and even when you get an entire cast (Wizardry for example) they aren't really being developed. Mainly because there is an inversely proportional relationship between 'personal character creation' and 'character development'.
- Most of the time, the story sucks. I didn't really find the story of Wizardry 8 engaging - and don't get me started on Oblivion! A bit of linearity gives developers the chance to tell an engaging story with magnificent expositions and twists.
- The lore is still there, thank God. The only problem I have here, is the fact that environments never seem to be as epic as in a JRPG.

Same for action/RPG's, often time, they're just like Western RPG's - just more hack 'n slash, less talk 'n modify. There are those I like and those I don't.

And I don't play MMO's - I've got a life instead.

 

[Platypusbill101]

Hardcore/Action RPGs, althugh in the JRPG department I did enjoy Valkyria Chronicles

 

[Platypusbill101]

snip

What is this poll? I believe it fails.

What is "Hardcore RPG"?

Why do you have Action RPG then JRPG listed?
You do know that some JRPGs are "action" do you not? (Star Ocean, Secret of Mana, Nier, Demon's Souls, Alundra, Dragon View, etc)

I think you meant Turn Based RPG (or Classical RPG if you will).

You also forgot SRPGs (Disgaea, FF:Tactics, Agarest, Front Mission, etc).

Poor show.

OP: Most RPGs - though not much of an MMORPG fan. I don't really discriminate in East Vs West, or Action Vs Turn Based. They all have merits - and I've played way too many in all categories to be able to count them.

I wouldn´t say Demon´s Souls, althoygh Japanese, falls into the JRPG category (real time combat, western RPG art style etc.)