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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

Fredrik

Member
I never really liked western rpgs. I have tried on multiple occasions. But they always come of as buggy and jittery and generally unfinished and unpolished software. It always feels like a work in progress.

I used to love jrpgs back in the day in square and segas hayday. But these days i rarely play them. For the same reason i dont watch modern anime.
Bugs and jank I still enjoy WRPGs because many give me a blank character that I can make into whatever I want.
In my last Skyrim save I haven’t done a single main quest after I don’t know how many hours, I just started doing side quests, practicing necromancy, building a mansion and role-play.
 

FStubbs

Member
Its really not. The original thing with rpg's is making your character, classes, abilities, choice&consequence, freedom, openess, reactivity. JRPGS are mostly a sequence of liniar tunnels, with fixed protagonists following a predetermined path, doing what the script says. They're really just adventure games for the most part.
It's the same. Chicago and Detroit style pizzas are different from New York style, to the point that Antonin Scalia used your line of thinking to declare Chicago style pizzas weren't really pizzas at all.

By your criteria, wRPGs fail to be RPGs too. We don't have the AI yet to do what you're talking about above, because they're still scripted. There isn't a wRPG out there that comes close to the freedom and interactivity of a real pen and paper RPG campaign with a good DM.

It goes back to the Madden/FIFA analogy. By your definition, FIFA isn't a real football game, because you aren't physically on a field kicking a black and white ball around trying to get it into a goal. It's a simulation. But it's clear we consider FIFA a football game. There have been other football games that vary in terms of how they simulate the actual game.

jRPGs and wRPGs are the same - it's just jRPGs present you a more narrow campaign simulation than wRPGs do (and even wRPGs have gotten narrower over the years).
 
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It's the same. Chicago and Detroit style pizzas are different from New York style, to the point that Antonin Scalia used your argument to declare Chicago style pizzas weren't really pizzas at all.

By your criteria, wRPGs fail to be RPGs too. We don't have the AI yet to do what you're talking about above, because they're still scripted. There isn't a wRPG out there that comes close to the freedom and interactivity of a real pen and paper RPG campaign with a good DM.

It goes back to the Madden/FIFA analogy. By your definition, FIFA isn't a real football game, because you aren't physically on a field kicking a black and white ball around trying to get it into a goal. It's a simulation. But it's clear we consider FIFA a football game. There have been other football games that vary in terms of how they simulate the actual game.

jRPGs and wRPGs are the same - it's just jRPGs present you a more narrow campaign simulation than wRPGs do (and even wRPGs have gotten narrower over the years).


i dont see this analogy at all. How are jrpgs - rpgs, if every rpg element is removed ? They dont present you a narrower campaign, they dont have the building blocks that form the rpg genre. At all. Theres no freedom, theres no reactivity, theres no choice and consequence to your actions, there arent n builds that you create. In what way are jrpg's NOT adventure games ? You just follow a script in a straight line. Its not that they're mildly different, they're removed from the genre entirely
 

Damigos

Member
When Japan was creating RPGs there werent either Jrpgs or Wrpgs. Japan was and still is undoubtedly the king.
The stories feel more complete than western ones, the soundtracks are better, the history is very heavy and there are many subgenres : cartoony, turn based, open world or linear, soulslike, zelda clones, ff clones and so many others.
Western Rpgs are all the same gritty, massive open world and usually buggy like hell. Though i have the utmost respect for Pillars, Disco Elysium and Witcher series.
Jrpgs win 😏
 
It's European so considered the west. Then again even Russia is considered west since they are mostly white (sounds wrong but that is how folks see it).


Not sure if serious but I really do feel like that the limitations of the hardware is what led to the ps1 having so many great jrpgs. The jump to hd has not been kind to a lot of jrpgs companies. My advice to them would be to create something small that is amazing ,then make the next game just a little bit bigger, and continue doing this until you are making large jrpgs.

edit: beloved ps1 jrpgs though are like the dragon ball z cartoon and the modern sequels are the live action remake. Something has definitely been messed up in the transition.
No. It's not. West is democracy. East is communist. Even germany was label like that. And Poland is central again.
Interesting! I would definitely call their games western RPGs. But does the people in Poland consider themselves western people? I have no idea tbh.

West and east is complicated terms when you live on a globe though. A japanese dev would fly to the east to meet nice guy Phil to be acquired. From their perspective, is USA an eastern country? 🤔
BgeLYxB.jpg


But maybe we can go after the prime meridian? Then USA is western. But then the whole Europe is eastern 🤔 Sigh I think I need to go back to school! 🤣
America as a whole is west. Russia is east. Europe ends at Ural mountains (that's why there's a problem with Turquia where most of its territory is not in Europe). Europe is central. That's for goeography.

Pologn was said to be at east, just like other communist countries in Europe. The free world was west. That's for history.

European video games studios were very important from the 80's. In Europe, we called americans "western devs". East was Japan. So I'm not really shure, it makes sense to milk one with the other.

Now, lost of Europeans devs are not there anymore and/or they have studios all around the world. I'm not really shure there are so much differences working either in Japan, USA or Europe as a dev.

Maybe someone would solve this. ;-)
 

Fredrik

Member
No. It's not. West is democracy. East is communist. Even germany was label like that. And Poland is central again.

America as a whole is west. Russia is east. Europe ends at Ural mountains (that's why there's a problem with Turquia where most of its territory is not in Europe). Europe is central. That's for goeography.

Pologn was said to be at east, just like other communist countries in Europe. The free world was west. That's for history.

European video games studios were very important from the 80's. In Europe, we called americans "western devs". East was Japan. So I'm not really shure, it makes sense to milk one with the other.

Now, lost of Europeans devs are not there anymore and/or they have studios all around the world. I'm not really shure there are so much differences working either in Japan, USA or Europe as a dev.

Maybe someone would solve this. ;-)
Well I’m sure this makes little sense if your couch is in Japan and US is to the east. But I get a headache thinking about this. Maybe the vikings had it all figured out thinking the world was flat 🤪
 

darrylgorn

Member
I generally hate JRPGs because I can't stand anime so LOTR: Third Age is a rare opportunity to use the gameplay mechanics of a JRPG in a more palatable setting.

Can anyone recommend any other JRPGs without the anime style?
 

Nico_D

Member
The reason why I prefer turn-based JRPGs to WRPGs is that in JRPGs every fight is like a puzzle whereas in WRPGs there's a lot more rng and its effect is bigger and regardless how you play, rng may fuck you up.

Real time rpgs are mostly fine in both - except imo jrpgs have slightly more interesting combat systems.
 

FStubbs

Member
i dont see this analogy at all. How are jrpgs - rpgs, if every rpg element is removed ? They dont present you a narrower campaign, they dont have the building blocks that form the rpg genre. At all. Theres no freedom, theres no reactivity, theres no choice and consequence to your actions, there arent n builds that you create. In what way are jrpg's NOT adventure games ? You just follow a script in a straight line. Its not that they're mildly different, they're removed from the genre entirely
The choice and consequences in a lot of wRPGs boil down to stats going up and down and aren't what you're pretending they are either. Just admit you like their presentation better and hate jRPGs, nothing wrong with that.

I generally hate JRPGs because I can't stand anime so LOTR: Third Age is a rare opportunity to use the gameplay mechanics of a JRPG in a more palatable setting.

Can anyone recommend any other JRPGs without the anime style?
Define "anime style". Because Final Fantasy, Disgaea, SaGa, and Tales all have very different styles. Do you mean a dark and gritty, realistic looking game? Or one that was definitively made in the West?
 
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Daymos

Member
IMO JRPGs are king right now due to bioware, blizzard, and bethesda having a very poor showing on ps4 & xbox1. Hopefully we'll see something great soon in the WRPG area. I'm certainly ready to buy the mass effect trilogy and diablo2 in the meantime.

I see no competition here though, whether it's grandia vs baldurs gate or ff7 remake vs the outer worlds, I'm happily playing ALL rpgs from all systems! Life is good.
 
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kuncol02

Banned
The stories feel more complete than western ones, the soundtracks are better, the history is very heavy
Just no. Geneforge story alone is better than anything I ever seen in jrpg. Soundtracks quality is mattter of taste, but I will take Witcher 3 and Wasteland 3 soundtrack over everything from jrpgs.
subgenres : cartoony, turn based, open world or linear, soulslike, zelda clones, ff clones and so many others.
Soulslikes and zelda clones aren''t jRPGs. Zelda games aren't even RPGs at all.
Western Rpgs are all the same gritty, massive open world and usually buggy like hell.
Yeah. Especially Jade Empire, Alpha Protocol (that one is buggy, but it's not open world) or Fable.

IMO JRPGs are king right now due to bioware, blizzard, and bethesda having a very poor showing on ps4 & xbox1. Hopefully we'll see something great soon in the WRPG area. I'm certainly ready to buy the mass effect trilogy and diablo2 in the meantime.

I see no competition here though, whether it's grandia vs baldurs gate or ff7 remake vs the outer worlds, I'm happily playing ALL rpgs from all systems! Life is good.
Blizzard never made an RPG game. Diablo is hack and slash not RPG. Why are you even limit RPGs to that 3 companies when bioware is basically dead for 9 years since it's founders left and blizzard never made any RPG game at all. There is lots of great modern RPG games.
 

Fat Frog

I advertised for Google Stadia
I don't know but Japan deserves respect:

You are comparing two continents (America, Europe) against a single country...
 

GuinGuin

Banned
If Horizon: Zero Dawn is a RPG then I'm a woman and this is Resetera.

The devs consider it an action RPG.


We’re making an action RPG, so we want to explore both sides of that coin. There are more action-like moves, but there’s also more depth leaning towards the RPG side of things. There’s a wider variety of weapons, which can all be upgraded over multiple steps by acquiring resources from nature or from machines
 
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WizeVibez

Banned
Project Zomboid, Kenshi, Dwarf Fortress.
Western RPGS are engaging with far more interesting concepts and allow more player freedom/creativity than any JRPG ever has.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Good a thread as any to ask, is there any obvious high fantasy western RPGs in the same mould as TES or The Witcher that I’m missing?
 

German Hops

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief
It's the same. Chicago and Detroit style pizzas are different from New York style, to the point that Antonin Scalia used your line of thinking to declare Chicago style pizzas weren't really pizzas at all.
Detroit style pizzas are partially influenced by topping placement, but mostly defined by the blue steel pans used. In the last 5 years, there has been a run on the pans. The primary manufacturer went out of business and a lot of the local shops have been scrambling to find a similar replacement. Buddy's and some of the older pizzeria's in Detroit have an advantage because their pans have been seasoned over the years. The original Buddy's supposedly has the best pizzas because their oven is seasoned more than other locations.
 

RJMacready73

Simps for Amouranth
when i was a kid i loved the JRPG's but as grown as man i hate that anime hyper cute aesthetic that and the usually incomprehensible plots.. i mean fuck me i recently tried the giveaway Final Fantasy game no.324423452, give up after 1hr it was like going on the road with some Kpop band and as for that recent Final Fantasy movie.. looks incredible but WTF at that plot.. which pretty much sums up all JPRGs for me, nah Witcher3/Skyrim (modded) shit all over them from a great height
 

Zannegan

Member
At their best, I'd say they are matched, but then they are bad I find WRPGs merely flat, wheras JRPG tropes are actively annoying.

JRPG storytelling is also generally awful. Then again, western RPGs tend not to have much of a story, so it's pick your poison there.
 
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The devs consider it an action RPG.


We’re making an action RPG, so we want to explore both sides of that coin. There are more action-like moves, but there’s also more depth leaning towards the RPG side of things. There’s a wider variety of weapons, which can all be upgraded over multiple steps by acquiring resources from nature or from machines
Ah yeah, because gathering resources and crafting/upgrading is what makes a game an RPG.

The devs can say whatever they want. An RPG could be Fallout or Baldur's Gate, not this.
 

BdazmedPrim

Neo Member
Yap, as you sad folks, they have their own + & -
For me, it's JRPG looking better, but for some people, it's WRPG as we see
 
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