Rate your top ten 3DS RPG's.

[TK14]

sc94597 said:

TK14 said:

On that note, I'm not sure why people are putting Monster Hunter on their lists, as it's not really a RPG series. If it counts, then the three Zelda games on 3DS should probably get to be called RPGs too... Just my opinion though. I like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (hated 3 Ultimate), but it's not a RPG in my mind.

I'll explain why I consider Monster Hunter an RPG whereas I do not consider the Zelda series an RPG. 

1. In Monster Hunter you choose the role of your character by choosing gear. In LoZ you are not able to choose the role of Link. He is a jack of all trades, and you need to use all of his trades to progress in the game. In Monster Hunter I can choose to be support/dps/or a damage taker. I also can choose which types of weapons I like and stick with it if I want, or move on to a different weapon of choice. Furthermore, I am able to design my character's appearance to however I wish. This is the definition of "Role-playing." 

2. In Monster Hunter your character has stats and the enemies have stats. One might argue that you can't see the damage dealt to the enemy, but that isn't a qualification for whether or not something is an RPG. 

So for those reaons Monster Hunter is an RPG whereas LoZ is not an RPG. 

Fair enough, you definitely make some legitimate points. But to me, a RPG generally has a "levelling" system and experience points (why I generally don't consider Paper Mario: Sticker Star a RPG nor the Zelda games--though both of those at least allow you to improve your HP stat as you progress, so your character gets "stronger," the same way upgraded armor/weapons improves your stats in Monster Hunter), and/or has a fairly strong story narrative. Monster Hunter has neither in my opinion. To me it's more of a quest-based action game. It does offer a lot of choices though, I'll give you that. I'd almost consider it its own category of game, I think, because it takes elements of several different genres. Similarly, I'd consider Zelda its own genre because it has elements of action, adventure, and RPGs (story/character driven, upgradeable weapons (in SS especially), increased HP as you progress, etc.).