Again - what is the difference between JRPG and WRPG? As people claim, JRPG are RPGs made in Japan, WRPG everything else (also RPGs made in Korea). So the question what do you think is better is moot. There are abysmal and great JRPGs and abysmal and great WRPG. Both japanese and western RPGs have all sorts of RPGs, some more story-focused, some more combat-focused, some more focused on graphic or action or ... whatever. so the question is moot.

Anyways, the best RPG ever is Baldur's Gate and nobody can deny that. Xenoblade Chronicles is also the best RPG ever. Nobody can deny that.

What is the RPG-element? Roleplaying means, that the player creates and develops a character while he plays. So the basic idea behind roleplaying is a self-created character. That said, there exists JRPGs and WRPGs with self-created characters and it exists also JRPGs and WRPGs without self-created characters. So that really is no point to make a difference between the two.

Exactly the idea of saying one is better then the other is stupid because developers are not just limiting themselves to one type of game play nor should the average fan. What would one consider Sonic Chronicles since it was made by BioWare? Or are the Etrian Odyssey or King's Field games still considered JRPGs or WRPGs when they have a Japanese developer but Western style?

Labeling one or another is stupid at this point, you might as well as which is better turn based or real time battles because other then a preference for custom avatars that is what most of the difference boils down to.

Well, that is one possible definition of roleplaying.

Think about theatres and dramas. Lets think about something like "Romeo and Juliet". This is a drama wtih set roles. The spectator is meant to see the play through the eyes of the various roles/characters. You should not limit yourself to one single character who is your hero... you should try to see the dilemma from different points of view to see its whole scope. If you play the role of Romeo you are not suspected to act "as you like" or develop your character in your personal way. You are meant to understand romeos part of the play, his background, his feelings, etc.

That would be my point of view of roleplaying. Each character is important and the characters are there for a reason. So the roleplaying aspect is that I try to understand the role of each character in a game, thinking about his motivations and reasonings. A great RPG is built around a moral dilemma and after you have finished the story you have something to think about.

What you talk about is acting, not roleplaying. Even if you say acting is roleplaying - you don't act. The story in these games develops through cutscenes. You watch the game-developers acting, you don't act yourself. Roleplayign really is that you assume a role and fills it your own way without a predetermined script. I'm aware that nearly no computer-RPG achieves this, but don't tell me something else is 'the RPG-element'.

I like both, but more in love with jrpg.

definitely a JRPG guy. i just love the stories the games tell and the emotions they can make me feel. both of those things seem less important in a WRPG, oh and the battle systems in some WRPGs... i thought i was playing a RPG not an FPS

Well acting=roleplaying. You take control of the characters in a JRPG, but the characters are not "you in the game"... during the story-parts they act according to their own role. The focus of the game lies not only in telling a story. A good RPG tries to make the behaviour, the motivations and the involvement of the character understandable to you. Thats is one main difference to an Action/Adventure in my opinion...

I can't say that your approach to roleplaying is wrong. But there are more roleplaying approaches than this one. You can see even on wikipedia there are given 4 different approaches to roleplaying:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_play

The thrill of a good JRPG is in understanding the characters. Take Final Fantasy X... The game puts much effort in making you realize the inner struggle of Lady Yuna or the consequences of blind belief.

Ok, you could make a WRPG out of FFX. You can create a world endangered by a monster. You can create a situation where you can make a self-sacrifice to safe humanity... YOU are able to decide, YOU can choose. It would work as a WRPG. But it would just be an open world game with a self-created character.

FFX as a JRPG take a different approach. It is not only important if Yuna is willing to self-sacrifice. It gives you a lot of back-story and emotional insight so that you can understand What are the factors that are leading to Yunas decision. It is not that important (or not only) important WHICH decisions she makes... It is very important to understand WHY she is coming to her decision... and this step is missing in a WRPG approach because you are meant to decide which creates a more non-linear story approach.

That was one of my problems with Dragon Age: Origins. I started the story (I think it was female elves) and the first scene dealt with the following situation. My character was together with another Elf on patrol in the forest and we ran into three Humans who entered our forest without permission . After a short dialogue I had to choose
if I should kill all three, one of them or if I let them all life. I was meant to make the decision without knowing any background information. I did not know anything, who they were, who we were, why my partner even treathened to kill them... It was simply impossible for me to make an educated decision. And the bad thing was that I feared that this decision may have an impact on the game in the future that I can't understand right now and that would me make the game restart several hours later... So I feared that I might miss something important or that I would just waste time with a bad decision that I couldn't realize at that moment.

That was my problem with every WRPG that I have played so far. By going the non-linear route with making decisions I felt that the developer sacrificed the depth of the game and a thrilling main story.

So in short... the role-playing aspect of RPGs is that the focus doesn't lie only on the question "What is happening"... there is much effort put into the game to make the gamer understand "Why is this happening". And by focusing on this question I mean going deeper on the topic.

JRPGs haven't evolved enough imo
They mostly seem to be stuck in the past

That's a pro for some people I guess. WRPGs by a mile for me
(That's not to say I don't love certain JRPGs)

This right here. I tend to like JRPGs more as well because the stories seem more involved and I am ALL about the story.

That said in addition to me its way easier to screw up a WRPG than it is to screw up a JRPG. The formula for a good JRPG is really not that difficult, it boils down to not making a complete shit combat/gear/loot system and having a good story.

Whereas in a WRPG the backdrop must be compelling enough, the inevitable action oriented combat must good tight and function almost perfectly, the stats, loot, the exploration all have to be done well. If any of them is lacking it almost makes the game unplayable. WRPGs that focus more on story can help here tremendoesly. WRPGs I have been able to tolerate for more than one play through are almost exclusively Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. While Dragon Age, Mass Effect, etc weren't horrible games I often found myself struggling to complete them much less ever wanting to play it twice.

Action RPGs like demon souls/dark souls are a different matter altogther. The absolute focus is on gear, combat, and difficulty more so than any other WRPG ive seen to date. This seems to be a very compelling formula that transends the typical J/W RPG status quo.

Also one more deciding factor makes JRPGs pretty much the go to winner here. There are at least 10-100 times more JRPGs to choose from than there are WRPGs. So many to choose from you'd be hard pressed to find at least a dozen to like. WRPGs, not so much.