So all the WRPG vs. JRPG threads got me thinking… what is the difference?

I think the main difference between WRPGs and JRPGs is the way the stories are told.

WRPGs are up front. In most cases the story arc is revealed at the beginning. The player acts as the protagonist completing mini-stories within the main story arc. The player is forced to make choices along the way.

JRPGs don’t tell you the overall story arc. As the player progresses through the game they learn story elements that reveal the elements of the story. In some cases, the protagonist you play knows more than the player. The player is drawn into the story by the mystery surrounding the story arc. As the player continues through the game, various story elements are revealed.

For an example, take Fallout 3. The story arc is fairly simple. First you need to find your father. Once you find him, he tells you how to save humanity. When you play the game, you explore a world where you are confronted with choices. I.e. Should I kill everyone in this town? These choices impact the rest of the game play experience.

As a JRPG, the game would start off with a character getting a vision of a man and water etc. Eventually you would learn a cool name for a power source, but you wouldn’t know the significance of it yet. As you played the game you would eventually meet the man in your vision. At that point you would discover that it was your father.

 What do you think?

Also, I haven’t played many JRPGs so I could be way off.

That's pretty close, from my point of view. JRPGs are very character-centric, whereas WRPGs are more background story centric, and the main character you "fill in" with your own personality.

That said, JRPG characters are often very interesting...although usually kinda immature, thanks to the typical JRPG Japanese teen demographic. WRPGs don't usually go into too much character detail, as the game is presenting the story to *you*, the player, and it's forced to not rely upon "your" backstory as much... although certainly some plot elements from a ficitional main character backstory are often included. Like Your F3 example... the story includes your father, who obviously isn't you, and thus that part of the plot doesn't really say much about your character at all.

I once enjoyed JRPGs a bunch... but lately they all seem very much the same.  The stories are just too immature and nonsensical for me anymore.

Not sure I agree with the simplicity you describe the story telling in WRPGs. JRPGs tend to tell a very linear story, which like you said, reveals titbits of information and as long as the story is good and maintains its air of mystery, drives you to continue. You keep playing because the story is being told to you and you want to find out what happens next. Someone else is telling their story to you.

In WRPGs, you tend to make the story as you go along which is why the story can sometimes seem a bit simplistic at times. You decide who follows you through your actions and choices. You decide the outcome of the all the details in the story. Yet they can still have that complicated and mysteriousness (see SW: KoToR, Mass Effect or Deus Ex) even whilst you seemingly influence the story.

If you look at open world RPGs like Oblivion or Fallout 3, the story isn't just the main story, but the stories you choose to involve yourself in, and the outcomes depend on the actions you take during the game. You don't even have to play the main story, your own main story could be your quest to be an assassin. One of my friends played Oblivion and only did the thieves guild quests, and that for him was his main story of the game.

In WRPGs, you enjoy the influence you exert over the directions the story can take. In JRPGs you're enjoying the story being told.

JRPG = Traditional Adventure Novel

WRPG = Choose Your Own Adventure Book

Can't go wrong with either.......well......yes you could.....

JRPGs are extremely linear. I'd rather read a good book.
WRPGs offer choices and focus on gameplay, something a book can't do.

Both have there goods and bads.

When I wandered trough the fields of Oblivion I made up an kind of my own story. I felt it was an better experience than the most JRPG's. If I didn't liked someone I got killed him while in many JRPG's I have to drag with them...

@OP
Nope, it's a good try though. Scoobes is closer to being right. My 2 cents in terse.

JRPGs are a linear book with the old Fighting Fantasy mechanics thrown in. Your reading 3 pages then bam your told to roll some dice. On failing the fight restart reading the chapter. The story can be crappy, spiritual or magnificent. The book could be fully illustrated on high gloss paper making the book a collectible for the sake of collecting. In the end know matter how goof the book the experience is linear.

WRPG, first to stop the original OP. Story doesn't have to be simple. Planescape torment did not explain the story from the beginning. Only Bethesda games are so simple in knowing the arc. A good WRPG will a game where the experience is based around your choices. If you the player decide to Role Play and choose actions and characters based on a concept then the player will find the experience will change offering an incentive to play the game again

Heres an extra note on WRPG. WRPG aren't about what you can do, but what you can't do. If you have a character/team that covers all possible obstacles then the story/experience becomes linear since the player will always experience the game with success. Where as limiting the capabilities of the character/team to a smaller set will impede advancement in areas requiring alternative routes. This is what makes Bioware RPG like Baldurs gate a little more linear. The default story team covers most obstacles. The boon to Bioware RPG is that different chacters background stories will alter what happens.

As an example in KotoR Carth's son bacame a Sith soldier. If you bring Carth you can turn his son away from the Sith. Where as if you don't you will likely end up killing him. Essentialy the story changes.

An another example of gameplay story in Fallout 3. There is a town on the east side with the Ant Queen and the Robotmaster who are fighting each other. The town wants you to stop them. You have a variety of choice based on what you can/can't do. You can kill them both. If your diplomatic you can talk them out of it. You can wear the armour of one side and go visit the other and here the story about how their arch nemesis has invaded their lair. The story is yours.

I prefer Western RPG's, but I have played my fair share of JRPG's as well. They both have strengths and weaknesses.
I would really like to see a JRPG that takes more of a Western approach to storytelling. Lose the immature "teenager on a quest" type storyline and do more of an adult type Mass Effect style story with modern style graphics...not the anime style that they tend to stick to.

yeah theres probably a bit more freedom with wrpgs, infact theres alot more freedom, but i still prefer jrpgs better even though there a bit more linear they seem to be a bit more of a challenge and harder to master, and im a anime fan aswell so i like like most of the visuals in jrpgs as most use anime style graphics.