Western or Japanese RPGs

[Rydia]

This can become quite heated. Which do you prefer, Western RPGs or Japanese RPGs?

Also say why. Can be current, overall, or past.

Also, I'm going to be a jerk and not include the option "I don't care" or "I like both"

 

[Warbsywoo]

Lately, Western. I don't know if you could really consider things like Oblivion or Fallout RPGs but since that's what they're called in many circles around the gaming community, I'd have to umbrella them under that category. I find that open world RPGs like Bethesda and Rockstar are churning out are just really appealing to me. I can play Fallout 3 for hours and not get bored just roaming the wasteland.

Of course, JRPGs will always have a special place in my heart, seeing as Final Fantasy is probably my favorite game series of all time.

 

[Valkyrur]

Hm. I think my choice is somewhat biased, especially so considering that I don't have a clear idea as to what exactly is an example of a Western RPG. Most of the so-called RPGs that I played are mostly Japanese made...

Hm, and I guess I considered the RPG in the question to be the traditional, old-school Japanese RPGs... Tsk. But oh well. :\

 

[Rey]

I am going to go with Japanese Rpgs here to be honest. I have played much more Jrpgs than Western rpgs. I wouldnt say western rpgs are bad. Fallout is awesome and such. Final Fantasy and Xenosaga are my favorite rpgs of all time. Actually Xenosaga might be ahead of it but I dont know. So by default I say Jrpgs as I played much more of them. Plus I generally like the designs in jrpgs. Yeah some are bad but whatever. Western ones can be bad also.. But SE is really taking a hit now. They are developping too many games and will not concentrate on Versus/Agito XIII at once. But Let us see what they have in store for Dungeon Siege III

 

[Sir Kenneth]

Currently? Definitely western RPGs. Western RPG developers have just gotten better than their Japanese counterparts in so many areas that there really is no comparison any more. Better storyline, better graphics, better gameplay, better you name it! While western developers such as BioWare and Bethesda keep pushing the envelope for what an RPG can and should be, most Japanese developers seem more interested in either keeping the status quo or worse: Actively dumbing down and devolving the genre.

In the past? Probably JRPGs. The SNES and the Playstation had some many good JRPGs coming out on them that I can barely keep track of them! Also 10 or 15 years ago I think that Japanese developers were just better at incorporating solid story telling elements and make you really care about the characters and their story. An area in which western developers have since caught up.

 

[Hilda Garde III]

I hate Bethesda games.... Seriously i don't know why those games are so popular.
While they may have large open worlds and very open ended character development, they just bore the heck out of me, and their stories are just plain crap.
JRPG's always, cause as much as i disliked XIII, they will have to get alot worse yet.

 

[Fusionist]

I feel like there should be a definition of what a WRPG is and what a JRPG is. The way I see it, I only understand that the W and J stands for where they were originally developed :/

Like, I've heard people say JRPGs usually tend to be more story/character focused (therefore more linear), while WRPGS are more about developing a character's abilities (and thus more open-world) and such. But what's to stop a region from making games with the other region's supposed trademark style?

As far as I know, I've really only played JRPGs, and over-all I've been quite happy with them. I like stories and characters, and yeah, I know, "why don't you just watch a movie then"? Well I still like playing games by developing stats and abilities and figuring out how to take out enemies, but the story and characters keep up my interest and gives me the itch to keep playing the game to the ending. Games where I have a starting point and then go wherever I want is fine and all, but I need some kind of guide of what I should do next. I don't want to think that much when I play

I also admit, I'm quite squeemish. Even R-Rated JRPGs don't creep me out as some of the other WRPGs I've seen.

And...Okay, fine, I admit it. I'm shallow. Very shallow. Most character designs (males especially) in WRPGs tend to be quite unappealing to me. JRPGs may have unrealistically gorgeous and gender confusing characters, but at least I find them easy on the eyes. Case in point: NieR. A good game for the most part, but the meat-head lead made especially for the West just makes me groan and stare wistfully at the pretty boy that stayed in Japan.

I will concede there have been a few extremely anime-esque character designs with the ambiguous ages in JRPGs that isn't my cop of tea either, but I can still deal with them.

I'd like to think even within JRPGs, I have varied tastes. I love Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, but I also really enjoy Shin Megami Tensei as well.

 

[Dragon Mage]

@Hilda: They're popular because some folks actually like to assert their own control of their own character. To have a choice and make the one you want with significant repercussions. I know, weird, right? /sarcasm

Western for me, hands down. Japanese Role-Play Game is, in every sense of the word, an oxymoron. You don't actually control the decisions made beyond that dress sphere or that one; beyond this weapon or this one. Used to be that you had some limited choice over a small and ultimately trivial thing -- for example in FF7, choosing who you're going to end up on date night with -- but even that has rapidly faded from the games in the past few years. You don't make a character -- you're given a pre-fabricated one that comes packaged with its own script and everything. You can't even name your characters any more.

This, people, is not role-playing. Role playing is when you, the player, assumes a fictional identity with individual quirks, likes, dislikes, flaws, and fears, and play as that character. Truly, the player assumes a completely fictional persona. The purest form of this is in Dungeons and Dragons, or some other tabletop RPG.

But JRPGs? Not even close. You're being told a story, given a character to act that story, and there isn't a damn thing you can say about it. It's just as much 'role-play' as Doom or Halo is. So, technically speaking, there is no such thing as a JRPG. They don't exist. The only reason I really like FF is that it's constantly ingenuous with the settings and magic systems and the pre-fab characters are usually entertaining, and fun to watch. But the problem is.... I'm watching them.


But a Western RPG -- now we're on to something. Certainly, there are limitations on how much you can define the character you make, but that's to be expected considering the medium. Take Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fallout and a host of others as an example -- when you make a decision, it will have consequences later in the game; and that's for every single decision you make. The game is more interactive, more weight is put into every choice you, as the player, makes. It becomes a game with a new element of depth to it, where you must weigh each decision thoughtfully. Not to mention that this also makes the game re-playability much higher, but there's no thrill quite like seeing a the effects of a choice you made hours earlier in the game take effect -- it's incomparable when the sum of several actions accumulate into a drastic change in the gameworld.

Western RPG's actually live up to what their genre title promises -- you get to play a character that is unique to however you decide, and your actions can have drastic changes on the game, throughout the game. It's more than just wandering around a lot of dungeons -- it's being able to personally participate in a world in a way you never could. And that's power.

 

[Martel]

Hrmn...this is actually quite a difficult question. I like far more JRPGs - Final Fantasy, the Tales series, anything by Nippon Ichi Software and tri-Ace, etc - than I do WRPGs, but...Dragon Age: Origins falls under the WRPG catergory, and that is probably the best game I've ever played. Not many games warrant five playthroughs in less than a year.

A lot of WRPGs are quite ambiguous. People seem to think Mass Effect is an RPG, but a "shooter RPG" is a terrible contradiction in terms, at least to me. Even if the ME games are both awesome. I HATE sandbox games as well - Oblivion bored the hell out of me.

For me, the question is essentially "JRPGs vs. BioWare", because BioWare are the only Western company capable of making decent, playable RPGs in my opinion. However, they do it extremely well.

So, I'm going to vote Western, but ONLY because of BioWare. Dragon Age far outstrips anything to come out of Japan in recent years.

 

[Sir Kenneth]

A lot of WRPGs are quite ambiguous. People seem to think Mass Effect is an RPG, but a "shooter RPG" is a terrible contradiction in terms, at least to me. Even if the ME games are both awesome. I HATE sandbox games as well - Oblivion bored the hell out of me.

To me the combat system in RPGs have always been a means to an end rather than what defines RPGs as a genre, so a an RPG with shooter elements is by no means a contradiction as far as I'm concerned. It's certainly no more contradictory than "action RPG". Unless you want to divide the genre over whether you whack people with swords or shoot them in the head, and I hope that sounds as silly to you as it does to me.

 

[Linnaete]

I think I'm reaching a phase now where I quickly grow tired of JRPGs and move on from them. Don't get me wrong though, the JRPGs have been a big part of my gaming life for quite a few years now and many of them have earned a place in my heart. Were it not for Final Fantasy, I generally wouldn't bat an eyelid at the charms of a JRPG, the rich storytelling a lot of them have, the beautiful visuals and worlds. Unfortunately much of my enthusiasm in them have been lost recently and I find myself becoming more and more inclined to try out the WRPGs. I for one loved the last two Elder Scrolls game and it's just that vastness to explore and the numerous chances of making decisions that actually have an interesting outcome that fascinates me about them now.

But, seeing as I've played far more JRPGs than WRPGs with fonder memories of the former than the latter, I will have to vote for JRPGs. For now. The excellent ones I have in mind are the SNES-PS1 era JRPGs when they gave us classics such as Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana.

 

[Sultan]

To me the combat system in RPGs have always been a means to an end rather than what defines RPGs as a genre, so a an RPG with shooter elements is by no means a contradiction as far as I'm concerned. It's certainly no more contradictory than "action RPG". Unless you want to divide the genre over whether you whack people with swords or shoot them in the head, and I hope that sounds as silly to you as it does to me.

This I completely agree with. As far as I'm concerned, what makes a role playing game is the role playing factor. Which is why I'm going with Western RPGs. They excel in decision making, customization, freedom and storytelling. You are your own character, and you are in this world. Go.
That's what role playing is about, you being immersed into your character and feel like what you do matters. I've never had this feeling playing any of the Final Fantasy games, for example. And you can't feel that connection with the set main character that basically makes all the decisions for you. For one thing, they're poorly written most of the time. Not everyone can relate to, or like, Tidus for example, and so you end up not wanting to feel like you -are- Tidus and ultimately your role is nothing more than that of a spectator.

To write an everyman protagonist in a video game isn't like writing one for a movie, you have to give him a personality that everyone likes or at least not mind, and there's a cultural conflict in preference of characters. So the closest to an everyman protagonist in a video game, or at least the best ones that work in JRPGs in my opinion, are the silent ones. You often find them in the RPGs that has the most decision making. Chrono Cross is an example, what with all the multiple choices of characters, multiple endings and all. Even in Persona 3 or 4, with which character to form a bond with, who to engage in an intimate relationship with, which social links do I want to max out etc etc.

Sure, Japanese games have some degree of role playing (not all of them) but they don't hold a candle to the impressiveness of the western ones.
Like Flonne mentioned, Bioware alone trumps the lot of the Japanese ones. Jade Empire, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Dragon age, any one of those games alone are more true to what a role playing experience should be than any Square title I can think of, for example.

Like Fleur and many others, I grew up playing JRPGs and so far I've played more of them than the western ones. But I've grown jaded and tired of the reappearing elements of your standard JRPG. And when I say "Standard JRPG" I mean your modern JRPG. Particularly with the storytelling and characters. I don't need to elaborate on this, I think I already have on multiple threads already and I think you all know what I'm getting at. What I want to say is, the more involving the story is, the more compelling it is, the better the grind, the better the fight. I don't think the lot of us care for grinding, and I think we'd prefer to avoid it if we can, but if the game can make you care about what is going on, about the characters and gives you that sense of validation, then a simple repetitive task like grinding feels like it matters and thus you are motivated (Persona).

If there are a number of JRPGs that barely have any role playing at all, why are they called role playing games? Simply because the name caught on. The mechanics are identical or similar to that of an RPG and thus it is an RPG. That's what I think.

 

[Ayen]

I'm gonna have to go with Western RPGs. There is much more freedom involved with examples being games like Mass Effect (I think that counts) and Fallout 3. I like being able to name my characters even if they are mainly refer to by last name for the sake of the Voice Acting (Final Fantasy doesn't even allow you to name characters anymore and that's bogus). Plus I always liked the personal freedoms these kind of games give you.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

I have to vote for JRPG's ..

I havent played that many JRPG's in my life (like most of you) so I wont be sick and tired of the new jrpg's that soon yet..

The thing I dislike about Western RPG's is that those always seem to be either medieval (knight age) or out in space with lasers and stuff..

Its in a way too realistic to me..and imo that makes it not so creative..

I actually loved Dragon Age from Bioware, however it was basically a copy of Lord Of The Rings..

About Mass Effect I never even heard of it until 2-3 years ago..doesnt appeal to me..seems to me like star trek (which I love to death) and Star Wars (I actually hate) so you wont see me play Knights of the Old republic etc..

I love the Japanese's vision, fantasy, imagination and creativity.

Didnt Japan creat the MECHA? I think the mecha robotics, gundam suits, special gear etc.. is just unbelievable innovative.

I love their drawings and designs of creatures, they always seem to create such beautiful creatures that are out of this world.

Same about locations, just stunning to put your sights on, as in western rpg's those are way too simplistic !

Dragon Age = like 1 tenth of the awesomeness overall compared to FF12 and FF12 was on PS2

I loved Chrono Trigger, Rogue Galaxy, Star Ocean 4 TLH and ofcourse Final Fantasy which WAS the best of them all. Kingdom Hearts as well. FF tactics & Wild Arms



Yes maybe Japan ran out of ideas, but thats understandable,...wait till the West pops out the same idea over and over...

Even remaking a lot of things (like they do with movies, comics & games etc) becuz humanity will run out of ideas sooner or later.



To me an RPG = when I get involved with the characters and really feel what they feel and keep building and improving, evolving the controlled character more and more until I reach the end of the game !

Western RPG's may have open world and customization and all that but they lack soul because arent most main chars without voice acting?

I want to feel like I play a character, playing a role not just simply controlling !!

It has to be an entity, an invidual with character !

and to me customizing your own character might be dandy, but it hasnt a real personality like most JRPG's !

Think like this (Dragon Age example) ___-your made character did you have a personal connection with it? I bet NO ! but did you love the others like Alistair and Morrigan ? YES !!

(same thing for Fall Out, yes its awesome you can make your own char but bummer audio doesnt come along with it)

Its like controlling the character but not actually playing a role...it was like you are actually playing more for the NPC's and secondary chars.

As in JRPG"s you tend to play the role of the kid/chick/man/woman because its a individual with a personality which (if its a good game) you wanna help out and finish the game with true pleasure and emotions..and upgrading and leveling up along when you playing.

Now IMO THATS! a true RPG

 

[Ayen]

I'm not sure how many WRPGs have voice actors for the main character you play and create but I know the Mass Effect series has a VA (Both male and female depending on which gender you choose for the character), so it probably won't be too long until all the WRPGs are like that, if they're not already. The ability to do so is clearly there.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

I'm not sure how many WRPGs have voice actors for the main character you play and create but I know the Mass Effect series has a VA (Both male and female depending on which gender you choose for the character), so it probably won't be too long until all the WRPGs are like that, if they're not already. The ability to do so is clearly there.

Yes I have heard many great things about Mass Effect, its still xbox exclusive but I think I will buy the PS3 version when it comes out next year.

Thats the reason why I didnt mentioned ME, I think I heard or saw footage etc. that I already knew ME has a VA, and for both genders, now thats awesome indeed.

I want that more in western rpg's ! Thats what I like

But im also wondering wether to buy New Vegas or not..it seems like a freeking awesome game.

 

[coffeecup]

As a "whole package" kind of deal, I prefer Western RPGs. The themes are generally more diverse, mature, and realistic, whereas all JRPGs tend to just be in some kind of fantasy realm. Also I'd have to say that on average the Western RPGS tend to be much better than JRPGs. I've played some JRPGs that are just utter garbage.

However, if we're talking about my favorite RPGs as in the top 5 RPGs, these games would all be within the JRPG category. To be honest, I don't really care about the ability to customize names, stats, and other stuff as much as the depth to characters and their development alongside a good storyline. This is why I prefer many games in the ff-series, xenogears, secret of mana, plus more over RPGs such as Fallout 3 or Mass Effect.

So in short...
On average Western RPGs tend to be better than JRPGs.
But when you're talking about the best of the best, hats off to the cream of the crop of the JRPGs.

 

[Espurr]

I will admit that at one time I used to be completely 100% jRPGs however in recent years as I started to play more wRPGs, I think it went from 100% to maybe 55%. With me playing more wRPGs lately like Fable, Diablo, and Fallout, if you would call that an RPG, I have to admit my opinion on wRPG has been more open-minded. I still do enjoy jRPGs though however it is getting harder for me to like some of the newer ones.

 

[Setzer Gabbiani]

I found a valuable information about this topic on a website that I decides to share it with you guys. The information they provide is about the likes and dislikes of the type of rpg games that are made throughout the years, and their changes. I read this article and it brought my attention . Everything that it says is basicly the truth. Now days people are disliking how RPGS are losing their touches and their importance.

Here is the link for you guys to read the information that I found a couple of hours ago. Tell me what you guys think of it?

www.supercheats.com/articles/325/where-have-all-the-turn-based-rpgs-gone

 

[Thule Esperada]

I have nothing against western RPGs, and I do enjoy them. Lately though they all seem to try to be Skyrim because it's popular. They don't realise that people liked Skyrim because it's a big sandbox where you can do whatever you like, not because of it's combat, story or characters. Those are the reasons why non-TES gamers play RPGs.

JRPGs are more about the story and characters, which is what I prefer. The gameplay is also more laid back and requires less micro management. Unfortunately I feel like most JRPGs that have come out for the past game generation are all some lolicon-otaku-pandering crap that indulge in self aware-meta-joke filled nonsense. And the Final Fantasy and Tales series latest entries have been either lackluster or painfully generic.

I'm starting to feel like we're witnessing the coming of a dark age of rpgs in general, and I fear it will be a while before the reneissance gets going.

I'm such a picky little synic aren't I?