| mZuzek said: I... guess? I haven't played most of these so I don't know. I didn't write the book, anyway. Just thought that's what people referred to, traditionally the games most obviously associated with that term are the likes of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger and such, all classic and famous turn-based RPGs. Nier Automata plays nothing like them, it feels more like an action game (like anything by Platinum), only with RPG elements thrown onto it. As for Xenoblade while I've seen and played very little of it, I think you still battle by navigating menus in those, right? So you press the button to command your character to do an attack, as opposed to the button causing the attack directly. Maybe this is the difference between a JRPG and ARPG, in "my book". |
The genre really has less to do with the battle system and more to do with plot design, gameplay and plot tropes, and (decreasingly important/distinctive) level design.
Terranigma on the SNES, for example, was a JRPG even though it has an action-style combat system, because it had the common tropes of the genre (at the time: overworld maps, linear and scripted storyline, limited character customization mostly done via equipment, etc.)
Tales of Symphonia, another action role playing game, was also a JRPG because it had all of the JRPG tropes.
Likewise, Final Fantasy VII Remake is no less of a JRPG than the title it is remaking, despite its combat system being as action-oriented as Nier Automata's unlike the original's which was turn-based.
Xenoblade Chronicles has a real-time MMO-like battle system. It plays more like World of Warcraft than it does say Dragon Quest. There are some turn-based elements (chain attacks), but it is still very much a real-time system. Xenoblade Chronicles is still a JRPG (unlike World of Warcraft) because it has the same plot design, gameplay and plot tropes, etc as other JRPGs.
What makes WRPGs different is that they focus very much on role-playing in terms of character specialization and far less on a linear, scripted storyline (instead opting for branching options and player-choice influencing events.) They don't have any of the plot/story tropes that JRPGs tend to share.
