Jrpg vs. wrpg

[S.T.A.G.E.]

Torillian said:

S.T.A.G.E. said:

Torillian said:

S.T.A.G.E. said:

Son1x said:
STAGE, wth dude, do you hate JRPG's or something?
I mean, not all JRPG's are turn-based, there are a lot (of great ones) action/strategy as well. You speak like that all there is to it.

And @Christhor
the links from wikipedia that end with ) always cut them out from the link you can press. And I count Diablo 2(and 1) as a RPG, WRPG in this example. As in matter of fact, my favorite WRPG.

If JRPG's have action style gameplay...they aren't RPG's. The only thing that makes them RPG's is the battle system since they've been relying upon since Ultima.

Well then of course you think JRPG's are stagnating, since you only count turn-based RPG's as included in the genre, while it seems any RPG made in the West counts for WRPG's to you (I mean c'mon, how can you not count Kingdom Hearts as a JRPG but WoW counts as a WRPG?).  JRPG's are more varied than you give them credit for.

WOW is an RPG, but an MMORPG. You affect the storyline (which is never ending) and you make decisions and exp, then go out into an open world, trading, fighting, speaking amongst other people. You attack kingdoms with your team of customized heroes or villains whilst being able to deal with people as you see fit. You choose to join or leave groups or work with multiple groups. Everything in that world is at your finger tips and isn't linear like JRPG's. This embodies what an RPG is. I am not saying WRPG's are better than JRPG's, because that is subjective and never was my argument. I'm stating that JRPG's aren't RPG's and the only thing giving them that title is their turn-based gameplay style. Final Fantasy Versus will not be a JRPG, yet JRPG fans are raving about that game more than the main game.   

How do you know Versus isn't a JRPG?  It was my impression it would have a more action oriented battle system like Kingdom Hearts which is most definitely a JRPG. 

And being able to affect the story might be what an RPG is to you, but it isn't what it is to me.  Always hate when WRPG fans try to get into the argument that JRPGs aren't real RPGs.  RPG is so ill defined these days, how could they not be.  RPG are always about stats, your character has some stats that slowly go up as you go through the game.  The ability to affect the story has nothing to do with being an RPG or not.

First of all in JRPG's you're not playing a role. You are following along a linear storyline....kind of like watching a movie. Pen and Paper RPG likenesses were ported over to videogame consoles and PC in the 80's. The Japanese, like what they do mostly, culturally appropriated certain RPG elements...without the actual role playing. The traditional sense of what RPG's are was set forth by Dungeons and Dragons. If you are not becoming the role, you aren't playing the game. You're just pushing the storyline along. JRPG's without the battle system are just Action-Adventure games. The only true RPG element that I see in Kingdom Hearts is experience points and their effect on the characters. If the game didn't have EXP, the game wouldn't even be considered an RPG. It's a hack n slash. If Versus is just like Kingdom Hearts then it doesn't follow the tradition of what an RPG is. RPG's can take on any battle system...but the Role playing and freedom must stay intact.

An RPG has everything to do with playing the role of a character and affecting the world around you, while gaining experience points and going through true character growth.