Pineapple said:
Jumpin said:
Mass Effect isn't a real RPG. It's a shooter with some RPG elements.
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It depends on how you count RPGs, though. How would you classify Fire Emblem? As a Strategy game with some RPG elements?
Fire Emblem is just as much a "real" RPG as Mass Effect, and I think you'll have a really hard time making it anything other than a RPG/SRPG.
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Mostly, I don't buy people calling action games RPGs with some sort of minor reason (like level ups, or a story) as justification for calling a game an RPG. I have heard Castlevania, Metroid, and Zelda called RPGs too. Or with the justification; "How is Zelda not an RPG? You play the role of Link!" You could use the same justification "How is Goldeneye not an RPG, you play the role of Bond!". I mostly first heard it during the N64 era when the N64 was being criticized for having no RPGs.
There is a difference between Role Playing and a Role Playing Game in the videogame sense. Simply playing the role of a character does not make it an RPG; otherwise that would make FPS, platformers, action adventures, beat em ups, etc. all sub-genres of RPGs; since in each of those genres you play the role of a character. The videogame RPG evolved from proto-RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima, which in turn evolved from Dungeons of Dragons.
Where I see the major difference between RPGs and other genres is that RPGs have a large focus on menu-based attack systems, although recently these have been more streamlined with auto-attack systems (like that seen in FF12 and online RPGs). Typically there will also be some sort of an encounter system, a stat upgrade system that involves experience points, a story, towns, and multiple characters.
RPGs are essentially adventure titles where the focus is not on skill of action, but rather on simulations of action and stats in a turn based environment.
Fire Emblem is a strategy RPG, as it does have all of the elements of both genres; and the elements of either genre do not eclipse the other; ie. a Civilization mod which gives the game a story and interactions in the towns, wouldn't make it an RPG, even though it may have all of the elements; the strategy elements would still eclipse the RPG elements.
I think the grey area is a game like secret of Mana, where the battle system is sort of a cross between action and turn-based. It is fairly safe to call it an Action RPG as a result; but what about Tales of Phantasia? It has no real turn-based system, but it does have an encounter system. In cases like this, the RPG elements more than eclipse the action elements. With Mass Effect, not so much.
