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JRPG vs WRPG - Who is the current king?

Who is the current RPG king?

  • JRPG

    Votes: 191 55.0%
  • WRPG

    Votes: 156 45.0%

  • Total voters
    347

Yoboman

Member
Japanese RPGs seem to have really re-emerged in recent years after somewhat flailing in the past gen. On PS360 we really saw the likes of Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls dominate popular culture, scores and sales

Recent years it seems like the WRPG heavyweights are struggling and JRPGs have made a comeback

So who is on top these days? Some highlights (and lowlights) from the past gen

JRPGs
  • Persona 5
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
  • Dragon Quest XI
  • Bloodborne
  • Demons Souls Remake
  • Nioh 1 and 2
  • Octopath Traveller
  • Xenoblade 2
  • FFXIV Expansions
  • NieR Automata
  • Monster Hunter World
  • 13 Sentinels
  • Fire Emblem Three Houses
  • Dark Souls 3
  • Kingdom Hearts 3
  • Yakuza Like a Dragon
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • Paper Mario the Origami King
  • Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel series
WRPGs

  • Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2
  • Witcher 3
  • Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2
  • Disco Elysium
  • Undertale
  • Stardew Valley
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Golf Story
  • Fallout 4
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance
  • The Outer Worlds
  • Dragon Age Inquisition
  • Fallout 76
  • Mass Effect Andromeda
  • Anthem
  • South Park RPGs
Disclaimer: May have forgotten some games. Have included it if the developer considers it an RPG
 
Last edited:

NahaNago

Member
I'd have to go jrpg shockingly. They made a comeback they were kinda dead at the start of this gen but made a massive comeback during the last half.




Oh and Bloodborne still doesn't count as a jrpg.

edit and souls doesn't count as well.
 
Last edited:

Kokoloko85

Member
I voted JRPGs before I saw Stardew Valley.... now its closer cause I love that game.

JRPG’s made a comeback this generation for sure With Dragon Quests and the rest

I didnt even count the Souls game cause if you do WRPG’s really cant compare.
Souls + FF14 + Fire Emblem and Dragon Quest + Persona 5 and Legend of Heroes = no comparison.

Some great WRPG’s but alot of the big ones fell off this generation, Fallout 4 and 76, Anthem and Mass Effect, Pillars of Eternity were horrible.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
If you really like one or the other and you really want a lot of one or the other, JRPGs are king. Bicker about quality and preferences, but these games keep getting churned out at a reliable pace. I can't keep up with all the JRPGs. You have to be comfy with handheld or with a PC emulator for this to count, to be fair.

Western RPGs. Well let's see. Bethesda went to shit. Bioware went to shit. Lionhead studio went away. It's nice that some devs picked up the fallen isometric torch to compensate. Modern ports of the Black Isle games is awesome, and I like the "retro" revivals like Tides of Numenera, Wasteland, etc., but overall I wouldn't say WRPGs have been doing so hot. 360 generation was a glimpse of a golden age.

I think the best stuff to be found in both camps nowadays is indie stuff. One of my most played WRPGs is Siralim 3, for instance.
 

bxrz

Member
WRPGs easy

FromSoft is carrying JRPGs and their games cater to the Western audience
 
Last edited:
Your lists are a bit shifty in my opinion. If Horizon Zero Dawn is an RPG then so is BOTW so put that under JRPG. And Stardew Valley is a Harvest Moon clone.

edit: How do I vote in polls?
 
Last edited:

nkarafo

Member
JRPGs died a long time ago for me, especially after more advenced technology and storage allowed the developers to make the games look like shitty anime and use godawful voice acting.

Last few good JRPGs were on the SNES and a few on the PS1/Saturn maybe since they still used good old colorful pixel art and good old text for dialog.

I don't think WRPGs changed that much.

Edit: I kinda forgot about the Souls games. I think this series balances things somewhat but they are the exception to the rule. Plus, i don't think i ever saw Dark Souls and thought "this is a Jrpg". If anything, this is more like a WRPG made by Japanese devs :p
 
Last edited:

Yoboman

Member
Your lists are a bit shifty in my opinion. If Horizon Zero Dawn is an RPG then so is BOTW so put that under JRPG. And Stardew Valley is a Harvest Moon clone.

edit: How do I vote in polls?
Take it up with the developers

Horizon:

prpT4wf.jpg


Zelda:

bmNPDIa.jpg
 

lachesis

Member
For me, it's JRPGs too. Perhaps because it's easier to get into and just enjoy the straight forward story and be done with it, and many offer light-hearted variety... like reading a manga or whatnot - but WRPGs do feel more true to its origins.

Either way most modern RPGs are way too heavy with action elements, so I think of most of modern ones as an action game, not a true board-game like RPGs, similar to old Ultima or Bards Tale or whatnot. I know how turn based rpgs are annoying to some people, but I don't mind turn based battles at all. It feels more old school RPG like. What I am not so certain is the Active Time or Real Time command battles like ones in later Final Fantasy games. If it's sheer action, or sheer turn-based... I'm okay with either, but somehow it feels weird in those later FF games... that I have to select the command quick. I like to browse thru my magic selections and actions before making decisions in any given RPGs. (And too lazy to remember all the spell names and what they do.)

Random encounters though.. for longest time, I thought I was okay with it, but these days feels annoying. Perhaps I'm losing patience.
 
JRPGs died a long time ago for me, especially after more advenced technology and storage allowed the developers to make the games look like shitty anime and use godawful voice acting.

Last few good JRPGs were on the SNES and a few on the PS1/Saturn maybe since they still used good old colorful pixel art and good old text for dialog.

I don't think WRPGs changed that much.

Edit: I kinda forgot about the Souls games. I think this series balances things somewhat but they are the exception to the rule. Plus, i don't think i ever saw Dark Souls and thought "this is a Jrpg". If anything, this is more like a WRPG made by Japanese devs :p
This the problem with the JRPG designation. People put the Japanese RPGs they don't like then exclude the ones they do like (Dark Souls). Meanwhile WRPGs include all kinds of games under the WRPG label, even games that are clearly not RPGs like Horizon Zero Dawn or Anthem. All this to make Japan look worse. I say we stop using these labels. It just leads to confusion.
 

Yoboman

Member
This the problem with the JRPG designation. People put the Japanese RPGs they don't like then exclude the ones they do like (Dark Souls). Meanwhile WRPGs include all kinds of games under the WRPG label, even games that are clearly not RPGs like Horizon Zero Dawn or Anthem. All this to make Japan look worse. I say we stop using these labels. It just leads to confusion.
Well I made it pretty simple, its just RPGs as designated by the developer from Japan vs from the West

Plenty of Japanese RPGs have abandoned the old Dragon Quest template, turn based random battles etc. Conversely lots of western RPGs like South Park and Undertale use that style
 
Well I made it pretty simple, its just RPGs as designated by the developer from Japan vs from the West

Plenty of Japanese RPGs have abandoned the old Dragon Quest template, turn based random battles etc. Conversely lots of western RPGs like South Park and Undertale use that style
What developers say about the games is not interesting in the least. It should be possible to determine what genre a game is in without referring to how the game is marketed.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
A generation in which many of the major WRPG devs diarreahed all over the bed (Bioware, Bethesda, CD etc....). This is an easy win for JPRG devs which also dominated PS1 and PS2 eras with stories that keep you connected to the world and characters long after you complete them.
 
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mcjmetroid

Member
At their best.

Western RPGs wins for me.
They're usually far more ambitious but JRGs tend to perform better and be a lot more polished but are far more formulaic and restrictive.
Compare let's say Dragon Quest XI to Skyrim.

Also the story in Japanese RPGs tends to be .. ok to good. They have their moments.

I do love Japanese tactical RPGs like advance wars( maybe this isn't an RPG) Valkaria chronicles and fire emblem but then I do love the western ones like XCOM.

I'm glad both styles exist. I do wish JRPgs tried to be a little more ambitious though.

They're getting there though slowly.

If we see something as ambitious as Breath of the Wild but an RPG I would be very happy.
 
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Zug

Member
RPGs are games where you can play a role. Usually this goes together with choices you make that defines how you play this role.
I consider the "books where you are the hero" to be the first real role playing games. The first computer RPGs were derivatives of theses.
Loot, stats and dialogues are tools used by RPGs, but I don't think it defines the genre.
I don't think a lot of games in both of these lists and particulary the JRPG one are RPGs, or only for like 10-20% of their content.

As a general trend, I think JRPGs as defined by OP are more solid in the gameplay department while WRPGs are stronger on the narrative and world building.
Skyrim or The Witcher (great world, janky gameplay) Vs Dragon's Dogma (awesome gameplay, blander than a blender) : I love all of them, though.
The Souls series is a bit of an exception in my book, since it has some influence of both worlds with good a balance of excellent gameplay with strong environmental storytelling.

My top tier list is still only old school WRPGs though. Baldur's Gate 2 is still unrivalled. Then Fallout : New Vegas, Planescape : Torment, and Nwn2 : Mask of the Betrayer.
Waiting for a french translation of Disco Elysium before I dig in, looks like it could be my jam.
 
The point of the thread isn't for redundant and subjective arguments about what's a real RPG or a real JRPG or a real WRPG. Its just a circular argument that goes nowhere
If we're basing the distinction on marketing material alone then it's a pointless distinction and a pointless debate.
 
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