SmoothCriminal on 07 March 2010
Role playing is all that matter. If I can play the role of a character, then it's an RPG. I must have the ability to make decisions and affect the world the way I want to. In this way, Heavy Rain and Mass Effect 2 are more RPG than any game I've ever played (other than every other Bioware game, specifically Baldur's Gate), and JRPGs aren't really RPGs at all, with a few minor exceptions.
