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Alphachris on 04 July 2012
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I can't decide between FF VII, FF X and FF XIII. They all have interesting characters and an impressing, emotional story.

Apart from Square-Enix I also had a great time playing Suikoden.

To be honest, most WRPGs are no real RPGs for me because they do not focus on characters and story. To me they feel more like Action/RPG or Action/Adventure with RPG-Elements because the focus lies in the battle system (=Action) and on exploration.

In my opinion JRPGs are better RPGs because they try to focus on how the various characters think, feel and react about the Situation. You, as a gamer, should try to think into the various roles of your characters and try to see the story through various point of views and thus get a better understanding of the whole dilemma.

For example, in Final Fantasy you have to face the opinions of Wakka und Rikku. Wakka thinks that the use of forbidden Machina is the reason for the Existence of Sin and he detests the Al Bhed. Rikku is an Al Bhed and thinks that the religion just tries to blame the technology for Sins existence.

So a good JRPGs is not about changing the World through decision "just as you like". A good JRPGs tries to change "The way you are thinking about a Dilemma" by making you by trying to make you understand the various points of view of the characters.

Thats why I prefer JRPGs over WRPGs. Story>gameplay. After finishing a good JRPG I may stop playing the game, but sometimes I just can't stop thinking about the game for a few days. Thats why each Final Fantasy is a totally different experience for me although they share many gameplay elements.

Thats also the reason why I just can't get into WRPGs like Oblivion. I just can't stand the fact that the side content should be more important than the main quest. It feels like the developers are saying "We just don't bother imagining a thrilling main quest. We just give you hours of side content and you just make up your own story..."

I do understand that there are fans of WRPGs. But I think that JRPGs and WRPGs are a totally different Genre. If you play JRPGs just for the deep fighting mechanics you may also like WRPGs or even like them better. But if you are fond of story and characters it is just hard to switch over to WRPGS.