What are the great Wrpgs of this generation?

[bjj hero]

They aren't seperate genres. It's simple nomenclature used erroneously to advance false stereotypes.
Next time, learn your video game history before retorting with incorrect "facts" and poorly made and laughable videos.

So you gave one guys opinion saying jrpg/wrpg is a false distinction to counter the opinion the other poster gave? It doesnt make him wrong, it means you disagree.

When im telling a friend about the great new game im playing saying its a jrpg/wrpg helps with the discription and gives him an idea about the mechanics/style. So its useful.

OT...

MassEffect trilogy.
Lots of complaints about the ending but I loved it. Great charecters, epic story, fleshed out worlds and the set pieces were awesome. Lots of people complained about the ending but it worked for me. Yes things could have been improved on like any game but I think Bioware could never have met th expectations of fans. There was just too much hype.

Dragon Age: Origins
I loved this game. Again great charecters and politics. The battle system was more old school and a real challenge on harder difficulties which I really liked but it put some younger gamers who werent used to Baldurs gate style combat off. Some criticised the world as overly LOTR but i quite liked the twist with elven underclass Ghettos, it felt more modern to me. I liked the moral choices as they felt far reaching and like an actual choice rather than gaming your good/bad meter.

Ive missed a lot of the wrpgs this generation. Played Dishonoured where i loved the world but was disappointed by the game. Im still planning to pick up witcher2 and alpha protocol. I played Morrow wind to death but it left me feeling I had nothing left to see or do with skyrim so I passed on it. The lack of charecters puts me off.

 

[Joccaren]

Witcher 2, Dragon Age Origins, and MAYBE Mass Effect 1.

All others have been relatively meh TBH. ME2 was boring and repetitive, ME3 was a trainwreck, Skyrim was like a painting; pretty to look at, but that's about it, DA2 was bad and Witcher 1 was rather average. Things like Alpha Protocol and Fallout I haven't played, but from what I have there are 2 maybe 3 decent Western RPGs this gen.

 

[Freakazoid]

The Witcher 2, Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas.

Also, since everybody else seems to have forgotten it, Kingdoms of Amalur.
It was pretty well received and I enjoyed it. The combat was pretty fun and the environments were very nice. The story was a bit meh and the NPCs were bland but it was still a very fun experience.

I'd also like to mention Dishonoured, even though I'm not sure it falls completely in the genre of WRPGs.

 

[Eduku]

Shadowrun Returns - A turn based strategy RPG set in a mixed universe of high fantasy and cyberpunk. Haven't played this one personally but it seems unique, at least, and seems to be getting favourable reviews.

Lol no.

I enjoyed it well enough, but by any critical standard it's a generally bad game with a host of serious flaws. Skates by on the strength of the IP and a general community nostalgia for isometric Golden Age RPGS.

The average critic score seems to be around 75, which is generally positive. I haven't played it though, so I don't really care either way.

I don't even think WRPG and JRPG are really genres in and of themselves. All they show is where the game developed.

Disagree entirely.

They are subgenres

No they aren't.

and the naming convention was brought about to describe their roots and styles.

We already have those:

- ARPG (action)
- SRPG (TRPG) (strategy / tactical)
- CRPG (classical / turn based)
- MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online)
- Roguelike (like Rogue)

It never was or will be just about their country of origin.

Yes, it is. We already have subgenres that defined every type of RPG. Recently (this gen actually) someone decided to coin a distinction between the two as a continuation of the old (and tired) console RPG vs PC RPG debates of the 1990s. Since many console RPGs were from Japan, and many PC RPGs were from the West, the terms were coined to accentuate the geographic difference.

But they aren't true subgenres. The true subgenres are above.

Most JRPGs developers that are still around today got their start, creating Eroge novels, where as Western developers started out with games like Rogue and Wizardry. Bug difference in roots and influence.

That's weird since most JRPG devs got their influence from Dragon Quest.
Dragon Quest was heavily influenced by Wizardry (Wizardry is still very popular in Japan).

You were saying something about roots and influences being different?
Guess what - they aren't.

Basically what Dead Century said, they've basically evolved into genres by now.

That's not saying much, since what Dead Century was just plain wrong.

Bottom line, they aren't true subgenres and never have been. Those were established many years ago and still cover the entire spectrum of RPGs.

Of course, you're absolutely right. Everyone else is so wrong and you are definitely right!

 

[veloper]

To sum it all up: if you're content with a RP-shooter or some action-RPG with one protagonist mowing down all the baddies, then there's a few games of critical acclaim. Else you're out of luck.

Turn-based fans are stuck with Shadowrun, which is a decent snack for a weekend, but the simplified mechanics are too unbalanced right now and half of the game is still in development(Berlin).
Better to make the full transition to the 4X strategy genre then and play a game like FE Legendary Heroes, which is a decent enough 4X and it even has RPG elements.

On the RTWP front it's been very quiet aswell, except for some Kickstarters still in development and Dragon Age. Again easier to make the full switch to RTS and play Dawn of War 2 or something.

Or just play old games, or retro-looking indie games like KOTC, but that's not what the OP asked for, so nevermind.

 

[Ishal]

Lot of Mass Effect 2's in here... strange...

1) KOTOR II- Best story I've experienced in a game ever, period. It puts Bioware to shame. Strong characters, subtle twists, and subtle variations to the Star Wars universe make it better than any of the movies.

2) Skyrim- As said above, haters gon' hate. They can bang on about Bethesda and bugs and whatever else, but there is a reason the game did as well as it did. It's a fantastic game with a fantastic world. So much to do and so many different ways to play. This is the game Zelda wishes it could be.

3) Fallout: New Vegas- Another gem developed by Obsidian. Great game. Characters and factions are interesting and the world is back to the original Fallout games' roots. It was never meant to be dark and grim like Fallout 3.

4) Mass Effect: I'm reluctant to put this here because of my current view of Bioware, but it deserves a place. At the time it was great fun and a breath of fresh air to the gaming world. Good characters, clever narrative, and it was gamey. I'd argue 1 was the best in terms of gameplay since the rest were victims of EA's streamlining broader appeal bullshit.

5) Dishonored: Great atmosphere and city/setting. The world was interesting and I loved the Lovecraftian themes with the Outsider and the whales. The chaos system was interesting and style was something I'm a sucker for. Daud and Havelock were good characters and the DLC's have been enjoyable thus far. I hope that series gets a few more games. If Dragon Age and Mass Effect did, this certainly deserves it too.

Others I might have added.

Didn't play yet
Witcher 2:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Alpha Protocol

Non western

Dark Souls: I know its not western even though in terms of style it pulls it off in ways western devs struggle with. This game would have been number 2 or 3 on that list otherwise.

 

[Eduku]

Of course, you're absolutely right. Everyone else is so wrong and you are definitely right!

Sarcasm aside - yes, as proven by the follow up post complete with links (and references within those links) which educate on the history of the genre, should you take the time to read it, I certainly am absolutely right. Do your own research and you will find that everything I said there is historical fact.

You missed the point of my sarcasm. If you go into and respond to people with an incredibly hostile and quite frankly rude tone like you did in your post few replies, then absolutely nobody will take you seriously, no matter how good your argument may be. In your first few replies, you essentially just said 'you're and I'm right because I say so'. However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and 'educate' myself with what you provided.

 

[Eduku]

The tone, as you put it, is mostly imagined by the reader when it comes to the net.
If you are wondering about my current tone - it's mostly annoyed at this point- not rude or hostile.

Now if you don't like the fact that I am dismantling fallacious notions on the RPG genre, creating a cognitive dissonance in yourself because it contradicts what you believed, thus you feel the need to project your own negativity and tonality in my direction, that's your problem, not mine.

And yes, the tone parallels your own sarcasm.
Now I suggest you leave me alone before this devolves into mod wrath territory.

Well, it's disappointing that you don't see what's wrong. Oh well.

I agree, let's end this before it goes too off topic. Good day.

 

[Xdeser2]

Best WRPGs of This generation?

My list would go something like:
(In no particular order)

Dragon Age: Origins

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Mass Effect

Mass Effect 2

Fallout 3

Fallout: New Vegas

The Witcher 2

All in all its a pretty standard group of games for a list like this, but they're my votes nonetheless

 

[GonzoGamer]

Fallout 3 - They made a world you could really get lost exploring and loot you weren't sure if you really needed. It felt real when you were in it. And it was just plain weird. The main story was lame but there were a bunch of other little stories stitched thru out the world buried in various locations and characters. It's probably the closest thing I'll ever play to a Twilight Zone the game.

New Vegas - Made big improvements to the progression of the main story and the weapons but the world felt very cookie cutter and the locations were pretty shallow. But if you're not really into exploring, it's a very good rpg.

Borderlands (2) - More of a shooter but its a lot of fun to progress through and loot weird guns with friends.

DAO - wasn't really my style. It felt like playing DnD with a DM who isn't very creative and will just stick with what's in published adventure manuals.