No, it's not. Soul is about originality, when an entire genre has so many basic aspects that are duplicated in all of them, it eventually loses its soul, and artistic merit points as well. And it's arrogant to assume that because one prefers this art style, that it it somehow superior(particularly when EVERYONE uses the style). Using your example of WoW, it earns more points for original art style than most JRPGs. If you look at the game, you can walk into a random empty house and look at a table, and the table has designs carved in it. Why? Everything in WoW has a distinctive art style. In fact, it's a beautiful game without matchign the graphical capabilities of most current games. It's style goes beyond it's graphical appearance quite substantially.

And don't get me started on the artful creation of Mass Effect. It was a labor of love that truely shines. You can just call up the codex and read articles on things that aren't even involved in the game. A truely immersive masterpeice WITHOUT the rails.

Oh, sorry. I didn`t understand, so I`ll try to explain in my not so very good english.

As a well read person seeing all these references makes the game really exotic if I may use that word.

Example:

The aliens called Gnosis means spirtual knowledge used in the religion Gnostitism.

They`re transparent bodies referes to the spiritual, something out of reach.

In the Bibel Lots wife becaomes salt when she`s turns around to see Sodoma beeing destroyed.

In the game Gnosis is built by salt.

The conforntation with these mosnsters in the game is about humans will to confront the forbidden.

But for the simple eye, they are just plain aliens we want to kill.

If this doesn`t make a game more interesting, I don`t know what will. But there are so many intertekstual references,

your eyes would bleed if I were to write them all down, and it would take one week.

This game is better if you`re well read. And beeing well read is not a bad thing, is it? No, it`s good.

Therefor it makes the game/story better.

Me have one intertekstual reference to shakespear. GREAT. But could the creators make more references to make the game more

interesting and not make a mess out of it? Probably not, because western culture stops it.

I totally agree that the critics weren`t lured. It failed as a game to the masses, but a perfect game for those interested in culture, society, philosophy, interpretions, religion, action, drama, love, hate, friendship, science fiction and so on.

Tetsuya Takahashi made this game because it was his dream to create a complex story, and he succeded , but it ain`t a game for everyone. Just the few well read people, which are very good to be.

I finally realise what Citan believes now, he thinks a good story must be a derivavtive of other stories and include references to other works.....

Honestly Citan you're not helping yourself here, a good story should be able to stand on its own two feet. A game is designed to be played by the masses (or it usually is for business reasons), when you look upon a story in this regard it should be accessible to most individuals without them having a requirement of the supposed deep psycological undertones.

A game like Braid had practically no story yet is more thought provoking than any JRPG or WRPG imo, this is why the basic premise of a story having to be complex or deep to be considered great is stupid. You're playing games, not some lecture on the human condition, sure its easy to put talking points in your game for cheap headlines but that doesn't guarantee a great result.

Mass Effects story is very good because despite the non linear play of the game and the multiple outcomes for the story it actually feels almost seemless. At one point in the game you have the choice to commit genocide on a species, if thats not a thought provoking topic enough for you then I don;t know what is. Genocide is considered one of the most hideous crimes to most humans yet this game actually seriously challenges you to consider the option, might I add in my experience I seriously considered the ramifications at the time.

I maybe should have posted more politely in this regard earlier but I do not take accusations of being not "well read" as being particularly complimentary Citan. Can you not see how your attitude came across as condescending hence my earlier response?

Finally, I honestly meant what I said earlier regarding the JRPG genre becoming stale, if change doesn't happen it will die completely and this is not something I want to happen. JRPG's are becoming a niche market not because gamers don't want the genre, it's becomes the games are becoming predicatable to the majority of gamers.

LALALALALA I CANT HEAR YOU LALALALALA

He failed to answer my question on whether he's played Mass Effect. I already told him I've never played Xenosaga or Xenogears. He's holding onto the glory days of JRPG's. Thats what makes his argument such a fail. He holds onto the great games of the past, and uses that as an excuse to call JRPG's superior.

I just learned that me have an intertekstual refernce to shakespear, so there goes one of your arguments.

A story can`t stand on it`s own. A story alwyas use something from a different story. Always.

Still I haven`t said that me have a bad story. I said that Xenosaga is way beyon.

Let`s agree that thought provoking is good for the story, shall we?

Please read my last reply to you. I`m sorry about my grammar. I meant he don`t know what I`m talking about and therefor it`s no use arguing with him.

Thats about the only thing I'll probably agree with you on when it comes to RPG's .

I didn't mention Shakespeare by the way so don't attribute that to me please.  Also it's not wise to claim one story is better than another if you haven't played it.  If you had played Mass Effect then you would have known about the thought provoking aspects of it.  You can check my posts but I'm pretty sure I never claimed ME had a better story than Xenosaga and I'd certainly never claim it was way beyhond if I hadn't thoroughly played and understood both games stories. 

Finally a story can stand on it's own and thats the biggest problem with your argument, fiction doesn't need to be derivative. 

Actually Citan, slowmo is a 100% correct. I don't know if ME has any references to Shakespeare, I was using that as an example. 

In my opinion it has always been and most likely will always will be JRPG > WRPG. I just don't like how WRPGs play.