Jrpg vs. wrpg

[Bitmap Frogs]

pearljammer said:

Bitmap Frogs said:

So basically WRPGs are soulles and artless because they lack purple hair, emo teens and lolis. Gotcha.

Now seriously: jrpg storytelling is very, very basic - typical anyme-ish. It's just the way they dress it with the whole "mysterious-trascendent-philosophical-religious-magical" shebang that makes people susceptible to such deception go "ooooh". It's the anime/jrpg equivalent of technobabble. From a narrative point of view, there's zero difference between the tirades about human nature and the trascendent so common in anime and JRPGs and Data blabbering about the antimatter gravity ripple interaction pressuring the ionospheric quantum barrier.

Then there's a bunch of deranged claims you make like tackling adult issues, changing the way videogames are orchestated, etc etc. Bunch of drivel. Why? One word: Richard Garriot's Ultima. Ever heard of it? It's the blueprint used by japanese developers to make their games.

Does this look familiar to you?

 

That's Ultima III field view. 

What about this?

 

That's Ultima III combat screen.

Ultima III is a 1983 game, that's 3 years before Dragon Quest 1 and four years before Final Fantasy 1. Ultima games tackled adult issues, amongst those allowing the player to steal and murder allowing a quicker yet inmoral path to richess.

The difference between JRPGs and WRPGs is that JRPGs are basically still this but with prettier graphics. WRPGs have gone beyond.

Although I completely disagree with the OP, you make some wild claims here as well.

As I had mentioned before, yes, of course there are those cliched purple haired, emo teen filled JRPGs with dreadful, convoluted dialogue. It's unfortunate that the entire genre gets generalised because of all the teens and tweens plastering them in their sigs as well as in their avatars.

However, there are plenty of JRPGs that skillfully tell a story. Take FFIV for example, storytelling to which every JRPG should aspire to. If youère looking for more recent examples, there is Tales of Vesperia. While there are a few cliches, it is overall done quite well. Or perhaps even Disgaea, which is basically a stroke of genious with its satirical storytelling, recognizing the often cliche and convoluted plots in many JRPGs. Fire Emblem, Lost Odyssey, FFXII, Persona and Valkyria Chronicles are all also examples of good-great storytelling.

"The difference between JRPGs and WRPGs is that JRPGs are basically still this but with prettier graphics. WRPGs have gone beyond."

That iss simply not true. Take a look at the RPGs that have come out this generation alone. Only two (BD and LO), I think, can fit that description. The rest have evolved in some form or another, whether they be action-based, or SRPGs, etc. Even within those sub-genres, they have evolved (e.g. Valkyria Chronicles, Parasite Eve, FFXII...)

It gets generalised because that's the reality of the situation.
I agree with you FFIV does a good job at storytelling - but that's the highpoint of the saga and it's an early 90's game. If anything, it supports my viewpoint that we are closer than ever to the cliche purple haired emofest. I don't agree witih your examples of good storytelling but if we are going to argue game-per-game this is gonna get tedious. 
Ah yeah Final Fantasy XII - it innovated indeed and pushed beyond but Squeenix has Squiished that. We are back now to good old battle screen transitions and turn-based battle.