I decided to write this guide for those that are just entering great RPG world. Every so often I come across the thread asking just what an RPG is or looking for an RPG for a beginner. I know from experience that it can somewhat disconcerting to leave your familiar genre and venture forth into other worlds. Hopefully this guide will help someone out. I'd like to take this time to thank MVPTross for his contribution to this thread as well as StarDuster for his excellent RPG listings guide.

Section 1: RPG definitions

What is an RPG?

By definition an RPG is any game where you assume the role of fictional characters. You determine the actions of the characters based on their abilities. Your actions shape the direction and sometimes outcome of the game. If you'd like to read up on or join a discussion on this topic you can check out this thread What Defines a Role Playing Game?

There are a few factors that differentiate an RPG from other genres. Most of those are covered in the next section. As pointed out by Phoenix33, most RPGs tend to involve 'parties'. Made up anywhere between 3 and 6 characters (for the most part), each member tends to offer different skills and abilities. Your main character may fall under the Warrior job/class. Meaning he can use most to all weapons and armor. He may have access to a few  minor healing spells, but wouldn't be able to fully save your party nor rain fireballs from the heavens. Another character may be physicall weak, maybe only having access to a knife or staff for a weapon, but can raise fallen characters and shoot lightning bolts to dazzle  your foes.

Some RPGs only allow you 1 character, but you have some freeway with abilities and what you choose for those will determine your style of gameplay. Believe me, playing as a Barbarian Warrior is a far different gameplay style than a High-Elf Warlock. When it comes to RPGs there is no right way or wrong way to play the game. There is generally a lot of party customization going on that will allow you to play in a variety of ways. Some are far more challenging with one set of characters as opposed to another set of characters.

What makes an RPG different than an Action game or FPS?

RPGs tend to have more involved story lines than most other games. Some RPGs like Final Fantasy XII involve a more politically charged storyline, while others, like Final Fantasy VIII are more romantically charged. Unlike most Action/FPS games whose story lines generally involve war, alien invasions or demonic invasions, RPG story lines are far more in depth. One bone of contention amongst RPG gamers is character development. There are 2 forms of Character Development. 1 involves stats and abilities, the other refers to character back grounds. Why is this young female warrior joining your struggle against the evil Clown Overlord? Why was your village burned to the ground while neighboring villages survived? And just why does that character have a gun attached to his arm? Many RPG gamers feel that this background character development is far more important than the main storyline.

Others maintain that tailoring your character to your play style is far better. After all does it really matter if the Evil Clown Overlord feared you, the chosen one, and so destroyed your village causing you to swear venegance? Didn't he know you'd've left him alone if he hadn't killed your sweetheart? Just kill the SOB and move onto the next big bad guy. This has led to a number of hissy fit threads bashing JRPGs or WRPGs. (See below for more differences between JRPGs and WRPGs.)

Generally you have towns/planets that you can visit. You’re able to interact with NPCs (Non Player Characters) who may sell you weapons, armor, spells or offer your characters a safe place to rest or heal. Another common factor in RPGs is exploration. Some Action/Adventure games feature exploration, but often in the form of stages. RPGs on the other hand to encompass 'whole' worlds with several towns/caves/ruins/dungeons to explore. Unlike most other games that somewhat feature limited enemies, RPGs tend to have unlimited enemies for your killing pleasures. That's not to say other games don't feature regenerated enemies, but usually upon completing an area they're gone.

Most other games are limited in weapon selections and don’t offer armor or other protection. In RPGs you have character statistics such as hit points (life/health), magic points (spells/abilities), strength, vitality, dexterity, charisma, constitution, wisdom, intelligence, money (gil/gold), experience points, levels. All of these stats affect the way your character handles in battle. Some RPGs allow you to completely design your character. Choosing job, race, facial features, abilities/traits all can go a long way towards making your character you. This is a common trait in most Action or Western RPGs.

What about Old School versus Modern RPGs?

(Special thanks to Phoenix33 for this line of thought)

"It’s often said that RPGs are now mainstream, and that RPG gamers are no longer automatically considered to be geeks. But what often goes unsaid is that the very definition of an RPG has changed dramatically over the years.

“Old School” means a lot more than just 2-D sprites and horrible graphics. It also meant a nod to the D&D and PC roots of RPGs, It meant endearing characters, memorable storylines and meaty gameplay - adventuring, overworld screens, an unabashed love of random battles, challenging puzzles, platforming, and side-scrolling elements, etc. In short, the RPGs of yesteryear were heavy on the gameplay, but easy on the graphics."

Back when I started playing RPGs, I started with D&D just a bit earlier than the console RPG rush began. Comparatively speaking, "Old School" RPGs are lighter on story than they are today. The graphics weren't as flashy and random battles plagued us to no end. Always made it a challenge. You had to make sure you had enough items to make it to through the next area (or at least to return alive from your latest leveling venture.) The early years of RPGs saw far more 'grizzled' characters (old enough to shave and have a real job). Gameplay from most of these Old School games are considered by many today to be challenging.

RPGs have come a long way since then. RPGs, while still a niche genre, have a wider audience than they once had. As Phoenix33 points out "Since that time, both the average age of the main character and the average age of all the leading characters have dropped like a rock to the point that now they're usually in the late teens. This has been paralled by a change in the demographics of RPG players. Formerly RPG gamers were primarily men who were well familiar with both D&D and PCs – geeks. Today gamers are often women and children, which explains why Square-Enix continues to foist lead characters upon us such as Tidus and Vaan."

This definately helps explain why few console gamers are fond of the WRPG format. Modern RPGs (JRPGs in particular) are very graphic heavy. The stories are still great, but few are as challenging as they once were.

 HP/MP/Str/ATT/XP etc... Seems confusing. What're those all about?

All of those are commonly used terms in RPGs. Each of these are stats that affect your characters one way or another. The differences in the sub-genres follow this section. Here's a breakdown for you on some of the more commonly used terms:

•  Hit points: The amount of life your character/s have. When this reaches 0 your character is dead. If your whole party is dead it's game over or restart. HP can be regained via rest, items or spells.
• Magic points: The cost of casting a spell or using an ability. For example the basic cure spell might cost 8 mp. If you don't have at least 8 mp, you can not cast the spell.
• Experience points: XP. The bread and butter of the RPG genre. When you kill an enemy you gain experience. Kill enough enemies you will gain a level. The level up system gives you an increase to some or all of your character's stats. Some games, like Oblivion, give you usage experience. Each ability/spell has it's own xp bar. The more you use an ability, the quicker it raises. Either way, once you've gained enough experience, you'll go up in a level. 

• Stats: This refers to a wide variety of factors that affect your character and combat. Some of the most common stats are:
  
  • Strength: Usually affects damage dealt, attack power, carrying ability or the ability to use some weapons.
  • Dexterity/Agility: Usually affect your character's ability to dodge attacks or land critical hits. (Increased damage for a good whack.)
  • Vitality: Can affect your character's abilty to resist damage.
  • Constitution (not the US constitution: Usually determines your character's resistance to status effects like sleep, poison, and disease.
  • Intelligence: A main factor in damage dealt via magic. Higher intelligence allows you have the bigger fireball. (Not to be confused with Balls on Fire.)
  • Wisdom: A factor in magical resistance (ability to resist somebody else's fireball) and with clerical magicks like healing and protection.

Section 2: Break down of RPG sub sections.

My friends mention things like JRPG, WRPG, ARPG and SRPG. What are those? What are some examples?

Those would be the sub-genres of the RPG genre.

JRPG: This is the label applied to nearly every RPG that is developed in Japan. Until recently, most JRPGs were turn based battle systems and involved random encounters. (i.e. battles you could not avoid because you could not see the enemy as it approached.) JRPG story lines are generally fairly linear in style. Go here. Do this. Go there. Do that. JRPGs also give you character backgrounds. Why your party members are joining you in your struggle to save the world. Examples are: Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Persona, Shin Megami Tensi, Suikoden.

WRPG: This is the label applied to nearly every other RPG style out there. Western Role Playing Games are usually action based combat or real time. In most WRPGs you have non-linear stories. There is usually no character history/development as you create your own hero from scratch. Determining not only what your hero looks like, but his abilities and job class (Warrior, Mage, Thief are the common jobs). WRPGs are also quest heavy which lends a lighter feeling to the story line. Examples are: Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath.

ARPG: Action Role Playing Games. These are generally referred to as hack’n slash games or button mashers. Like WRPGs the battles take place in a real time format. ARPGs are combinations of JRPGs and WRPGs. Most have more in depth stories including character development and linear gameplay. Examples are: Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, FFVII: Crisis Core, Ys: Ark of Napishtim.

SRPG: Strategy Role Playing Games. Also referred to as Tactical RPGs. The combat in these are grid based. You are usually able to recruit/hire an ‘army’ of characters with various skills. The grids usually contain a number of elements which will affect gameplay. Lakes, ponds, hills, lava, rocks all have an impact on how far your character can move in a turn. These are turn based like the JRPGs. Examples are: Jeanne D’Arc, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, Dungeons & Dragons Tactics, Disgaea.

MMORPG: Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game. Usually referred to as MMOs. These RPGs are played online only and usually require a monthly fee. The combat is live action. Some have heavy story lines that can be followed by the player while others are quest heavy. All MMOs are quest heavy. Basically you talk to a Non Player Character who will ask you to do something for them. In return you can earn money, fame, items, weapons, armor or spells. A hard drive is required for installation. MMOs are very social games. Meaning you can meet many players from all across the country or world. Playstation examples would be: FFXI & Everquest Online Adventures.

My other friends say that only Geeks and Freaks play RPGs.

Hmm they might have a point there, but those friends also probably haven't bathed in years because they're too busy in the basement playing Haze and DOOM 64 to pay much attention to the rest of the world. They also break out in hives whenever someone mentions storyline.

You mentioned turn based combat and real time combat. What do you mean by that?

Turn based means that each character/monster/foe has a place in a lineup to take their turn. During each member's turn you can do a variety of actions. You can move, cast a spell, attempt to hit the enemy or use an item. If you want you can also do nothing or try to flee the battle.

Real time combat or action combat is a fight where everyone does things at the same time. In a party setup the A.I. (artificial intelligence) will control your extra characters using a pre-selected set of commands you issued before combat. You can set up a character to focus on healing, another to focus on magic damage or whatever. These commands do vary from game to game.

If you think about it, even Real Time Combat is another form of turn based combat. You have real time elements that affect the number of turns you have as opposed to your opponent. Final Fantasy XII is actually a good example of how that works. Every weapon type has a different delay time to it. A dagger will attack more times per minute than a great sword. A dagger also does a lot less damage in comparison per hit. Same goes for magic spells. A Firaja spell will take longer to cast than a Fire spell as it's more advanced. FFXII also will allow you to set up command scripts for the AI to follow. When character A is < 50% health cast cura, If enemy X is > 75% life use Steal command. etc....

What is a Hybrid RPG?

When users refer to Hybrid RPGs, they are most likely discussing RPGs that have been mixed with other genres. A common example is an RPG with elements of a First Person Shooter. In an age where developers try to come up with new and unique game ideas, rather than sticking with an existing formula, it is not uncommon for a game in a particular genre, to contain elements of another genre. Fallout 3 is a good example of a Hybrid FPS/RPG. It has sparked much controversy on these boards. Bioshock is another Hybrid Game, although less so than Fallout 3. It is an FPS game with some RPG elements. Others would consider Oblivion a hybrid of sorts as it allows you to play in either First Person or Third Person for exploration and combat both.

But what about graphics?

........ Next please ........

If itz gotz gunz and fpv itz a shooter yo!

I had a terribly witty comeback to that, but you know what? I'm not going to argue with you. If you want to call a kettle a pot, go for it buddy. In all honesty though, not everyone's going to agree on what defines an RPG as just that, an RPG. That's what makes it so fun. I'm one of those that cares less about full classifications as I do the fun factor. Is it fun for me? Then I'm buying it.

What are random encounters?

If an RPG doesn't have an active battle system, chances are that battles will occur in a separate screen from the main level. When a battle does occur, the character will stop moving, and players will come face to face with at least one enemy. In an RPG with a turn based battle system, enemies don't normally appear on screen, and are only visible during battles. When the player takes a certain number of steps in the main level, they may enter a battle. There isn't always an exact pattern as to when these battles occur, and so they are called random encounters.

In recent years, developers have discovered various methods of eliminating random encounters, and still maintaining a system with turn based battles. However, this wasn't common in previous generations, when hardware wasn't nearly as advanced as it is today. Random encounters were devised to decrease the stress on a system's hardware, by separating movement and battles, thus ensuring that not too much would happen on the screen at the same time. Random encounters still exist in games, but these days, they are more common in handheld RPGs, as modern day gaming systems can handle various types of combat. Those who are new to the genre might find such a system to be aggrivating, as there is no way to know for sure when battles will occur, and even if the player elects to run, they will still take more time to reach their destination.

But I want to know about graphics!

...... Will someone escort this gamer back to the Action section please? .......

That a pretty helpful guide you have there. It answered a few questions that I was unsure of :p

I like and dislike your guide, though my reasons for dislike are mostly frivolous(thing like listing Eternal Sonata as PS3 when it's PS3/360). For one there's a few SNES era RPG's that aren't terribly difficult to find. Final Fantasy 6 and 4(DS wii and PS1) Breath of Fire I & II(GBA and I think 2 is on Wii shop channel) and games like Secret of Mana which fall under Action and are available on Wii shop, Super Mario RPG(awesome!)

I also have an addendum in several games, Constitution affects your health/HP and I've seen Wisdom affect MP in a few games but it's very rare.

Edit: Also Wild Arms for the PS1(available on PSN) was a very good game and Lunar 1 & 2(PS1 Sega CD Sega Saturn and an iteration of the first on GBA) are practically must haves for any RPG fan.

Phantasy Star 1-4(Genesis) but 1-3 are available on GBA and partially on Wii shop channel or through a compilation disc on the PS2.

Edit 2: I also want to note Baiten Katos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean on the Gamecube was a very well done RPG with an interesting combat system that is very much worth picking up.

you are one amazing dude m8, this thread and your last thread were both very good and well written, keep up the good work.

edit, only one little gripe, you need to play some PS1 and Snes rpg's