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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Is there a need for JRPG and WRPG?

The title is prob a little weird sounding at the moment and likely to be changed.  But hear me out.

Ever since Demon's Souls released years ago and the developers as well as reviewers were referring to it as a WRPG yet i see time and time again people referring to it as a JRPG because of where it was made.

So what is the point of saying something is a JRPG?  For most people I've seen them use JRPG, WRPG, and SRPG as different genres as they are all very different gameplay styles since it is such a wide variaty of things.  Kind of like shooters being branched off into FPS and TPS.  But we dont say WFPS and JFPS. If you like WRPG's you usually like Dark Souls and Skyrim.  If you like JRPG's you usually like Final Fantasy and Lost Odyssey.  

But then you have people who names them primarily off location only and then it just seems to be too broad of an approach.  If someone likes old classic RPG games like final fantasy known as a JRPG and asked me what kind of JRPG they would like i certainly wouldn't recommend Dark Souls as they are entirely different games.  Where they were made makes no difference as they are completely different.  I'd recommend other games that fit that playstyle.

On the other hand if a Skyrim fan asked me what kind of RPG they should try I would recommend Dark Souls as they are very similar in gameplay.

And this brings up another topic.  For the people who just want to add Japanese in front of the word RPG because it was made in Japan why not do this with other genre's as well?  Why not just say J-Platformer and W-Platformer for example?  Why?  Because they are usually similar in style where as Western RPG's and JRPG's are two completely different styles.

Does anybody have any opinion on any of this?




       

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I like racing games, recommend me one. Off of the info Ive told you, you wouldnt know if I like Mario Kart, GT or NFS style games. The same goes with RPGs, however WRPG and JRPG often arent the best terms. What is much more appropriate to genre is terms like turn based, strategy or action, in which games like Dark Souls and Skyrim would be categorized together.



ktay95 said:
I like racing games, recommend me one. Off of the info Ive told you, you wouldnt know if I like Mario Kart, GT or NFS style games. The same goes with RPGs, however WRPG and JRPG often arent the best terms. What is much more appropriate to genre is terms like turn based, strategy or action, in which games like Dark Souls and Skyrim would be categorized together.


We have a term for that as well.  Arcade racers, kart racers, and sim racers which i do always ask actually if someone asks me.

but yes that is my point.  What is the point in calling them JRPG and WRPG.  Dark Souls is a completely different genre than  FF which is usually considered a JRPG.  This is why a lot people consider it a WRPG and why the devs called it a WRPG.  

If people are going to classify them as one genre then why isnt it the case in every other genre?  People acknowledge the differences in 2D and 3D platformers, FPS and TPS, Simulator Racing and Arcade racing, yet some people will not acknowledge the difference in rpg's and wrap them up in one for some reason.




       

lol that 2014 JRPG had me thinking this, I shit you not.

I saw Dark Souls 2 in there, I was thinking "That's a JRPG?"... "well technically it is"

I think it should be identified by playstyle imo, but whatever I guess.

and to answer the question, yes I feel there is a need. They're quite different.



I think W and J transformed into overall look and feel of game, not country of origin. Adding prefix might help in some cases. For example, DS should probably be called J-WRPG and South Park is W-JRPG.



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Man demons souls totally felt so japanese to me , no mater what the labels are for me it was still jrpg.



I agree with you. There is no other genre in which we distinguish by region of origin and I don't think JRPG and WRPG are any different. WRPGs should be games that offer freedom of choice in story and character customisation whilst JRPGs should be considered games with strict storylines, pre-defined characters and turn-based/command driven combat.

The problem stems from the origins of the two genres. Go back far enough and we just had RPGs. Western developers who had more experience with D&D style (table-top) games focussed on making the genre more like traditional D&D style choice (traditional role-playing). Meanwhile Eastern developers used their experience of adventure games to focus on telling a story and developing memorable characters that already had their own personality. I suppose this split occurred in the early 90s.

What we have are two very distinct genres yet, due to their names, people still think of them by country of origin rather than taking into account the history of how the genres divided.

Western developers can develop JRPGS (http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/12/these-western-developed-jrpgs-deserve-your-time/), and Eastern developers can develop WRPGs as evidenced by Demon Souls and Dark Souls.



It's really the difference in table-top origins vs Visual novel origins.



http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/profile/92109/nintendopie/ Nintendopie  Was obviously right and I was obviously wrong. I will forever be a lesser being than them. (6/16/13)

Soriku said:
I feel like we have this thread every month or two. Anyway...

There are aesthetic differences between standard JRPGs and WRPGs so it makes sense to separate them in MOST cases. I think most is the key word.

But it's also worth noting that while a game like Dark Souls may look like it came from a Western studio, it still has Japanese design sensibilities since it is made by Japanese devs. So I think JRPG is still an apt description, even if it's different from what JRPGs are--anime styled RPG games.

But in the end you're going to find a million different exceptions to what your standard for JRPG and WRPG is. Just treat them as coined terms that stuck (even if they don't apply in all caases) and try not to think too hard about them.

Personally, I don't think it's solely a style thing. Developers from the West can put in aspects of Eastern style and vice-versa, yet we don't distinguish other genres on style.

All other genres are seperated on gameplay so I don't see why JRPG and WRPG should be any different.



Sadly too many people define JRPGs as RPGs made in Japan instead of a particular genre of RPGs.

And there's nothing to change their mind lol