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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

Hosam6xavi

Banned
This generation both are great unlike last gen when jrpg was pure garbage except some games here and there.

This year alone we have FF7 remake and cyberpunk 2077 both are one of the best games on this generation.
 

MikonJuice

Member
I will disagree with you, my colleagues: althought the output of jrpgs are higher, not one of them gave me the feelings that I got from Witcher 3, Fallout 2 and Mass Effect 2.

Yes, they are really good, and I thank God for that, but the jrpgs still need to hav a better generation than the psone generation, whilst wrpgs are almost always on the rise.
Wine_Appreciation_Online_Course.jpg
 
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FStubbs

Member
There is no "JRPG" term or genre. Same goes for "WRPG". "JRPG" is a stupid term that stupid western "journalists" came up in the '90s.

There are RPGs made by Japanese developers and there are RPGs made by Western developers.

That's nice, except there's clearly a huge difference between Dragon Quest and Dragon Age, so there has to be some designation.

Though country of origin doesn't matter. You have Japanese-style RPGs (jrpgs) and Western style RPGs. Stuff like the later Wizardry games (made in Japan) or Dragon Age are wRPGs. Crosscode, Magna Carta, and the Sonic RPG (made by Bioware) are jrpgs.
 

Belmonte

Member
Dark Souls genre can be confusing because the RPG part is based on traditional WRPGs like Wizardry and Diablo, with lots of stats, customization, thoughtful point spending and the action part is based on traditional Japanese action games. Before Demon Souls, most "action RPGs", mainly western ARPGs, didn't have many action mechanics. They were more "real time RPGs" than action. You click, the character attack and that is it.

I know that Dragon Quest is heavily based on Wizardry and Ultima, but the Enix franchise simplified the mechanics a lot. Dark Souls has a proper "Excel sheet" for each character, magic, weapon and armor so the RPG part feels very western to me. Level design and the action mechanics feels japanese.

Art is a mixture of western setting but with Japanese sensibilities.
 
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Kumomeme

Member
each has their strength

JRPG as strength in gameplay department while WRPG usually better in world building. JRPG usually has more focused on character driven story while WRPG usually goes for character creation which is made the game has more player agency.
 
  • 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

Umm... Those games I crossed out are not JRPGs. They're Japanese games, but they are not RPGs, they're classified as action/adventure games, that's like saying Zelda is an rpg which is not correct. Fire Emblem is a tactical strategy game, can't speak for 13 Sentinels and Paper Mario the Origami King since I haven't played them, but I bet they're not true rpgs either. Even Nier Automata is not really JRPG, it's more actiony than role-playing. Many of these game have some rpg elements, but that doesn't define them as rpg. I swear kids these days can't tell the difference, but it's not their fault they haven't lived the 90's...
 
It depends on what you mean by "JRPG" and "WRPG".

They each have two meanings. JRPG can be used to describe a genre or type of game. It also can be taken literally to mean anything with RPG elements made in Japan.
 

Duellist

Member
Love em both but Jrpg's are my favorite. Been playing them since the master system, nes days. Just something special about them that no wrpg can match imo.
 

Astral Dog

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.
Why not? 🤔🤔🤔
Why count Witcher 3 as WRPG but not Dark Souls as jrpg? Its just the presentation?
 

Paltheos

Member
I, gentlemen, like the Japanese output in this regard more than the Western~
Results tend to be more extreme though. Japanese games tend to be stinkers or awesome while western ones are more often bland with a few brilliant ones here and there.
 

Mabdia

Member
Loved The Witcher, but I just can't think of it as an RPG. To me is a really long Hack'n'slash with a really good story.

Or a action game with some RPG elements. I just can't see an action game as an RPG

It might sound moronic to the guys who likes wRPG, also to the people who likes some action JRPG. But that is what I think.

That being said, that's an easy choice. JRPG is way better. Especially nowadays where the character design on western games looks really bad. There is no place for an eye candy.

The looks more and more the kind of JRPG that I like are dying.
 
WRPG and Action RPG are not mutually exclusive. A game can be both

Are we defining a genre, or are we slapping a broad term to a game and calling it a day? WRPG and JRPG are way to broad of terms to combine certain genre together, Final Fantasy for example is a turn-based rpg, to put it in the same category as Bloodborne seems wrong, and would've never passed in the 90's. That's why Final Fantasy Tactics was never categorized as "JRPG", but always as a Tactical-Rpg or Strategy-Rpg.
 

sublimit

Banned
That's nice, except there's clearly a huge difference between Dragon Quest and Dragon Age, so there has to be some designation.

Though country of origin doesn't matter. You have Japanese-style RPGs (jrpgs) and Western style RPGs. Stuff like the later Wizardry games (made in Japan) or Dragon Age are wRPGs. Crosscode, Magna Carta, and the Sonic RPG (made by Bioware) are jrpgs.
Devil May Cry and God of War are both Action games yet they are very different. Still we don't use the term J-Action or W-Action. That would have been stupid.

Also the term "JRPG" doesn't exist in Japan as a genre-describing term. Same goes for "WRPG". The only distinctions are RPGs made by Japanese developers and RPGs made by Western ones.

These terms are extremelly limited and revolve around cliches and tropes that are killing the creativity of both sides of the same coin. Games like Dark Souls prove how stupid and pointlessly restricted those terms are.
 

Yoboman

Member
Are we defining a genre, or are we slapping a broad term to a game and calling it a day? WRPG and JRPG are way to broad of terms to combine certain genre together, Final Fantasy for example is a turn-based rpg, to put it in the same category as Bloodborne seems wrong, and would've never passed in the 90's. That's why Final Fantasy Tactics was never categorized as "JRPG", but always as a Tactical-Rpg or Strategy-Rpg.
Just broad term for RPGs based on the region it comes from. JRPG as an encompassing term for turn based RPGs like Dragon Quest is outdated when so many devs have moved on from that style of game

And also makes no sense when many western devs make that style of game too
 
Just broad term for RPGs based on the region it comes from. JRPG as an encompassing term for turn based RPGs like Dragon Quest is outdated when so many devs have moved on from that style of game

And also makes no sense when many western devs make that style of game too

Understood, I guess I'm old school when it comes to this, I think D&D and Wizardry and I think "WRPG", then I think FF and DQ and think "JRPG". If those terms have changed since then, then my mistake, carry on.
 

bender

What time is it?
Japan brought us Nioh 2 this year so I'm going to go with that. I'm waiting for the PS5 version of the new Yakuza game. I'm super biased though and really the only chance the West has with me is when Diablo drops. Though, I'm really curious to try out Disco Elysium when the new version comes out. I haven't really been in love with the Western scene since the 90s.
 
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FStubbs

Member
Devil May Cry and God of War are both Action games yet they are very different. Still we don't use the term J-Action or W-Action. That would have been stupid.

Also the term "JRPG" doesn't exist in Japan as a genre-describing term. Same goes for "WRPG". The only distinctions are RPGs made by Japanese developers and RPGs made by Western ones.

These terms are extremelly limited and revolve around cliches and tropes that are killing the creativity of both sides of the same coin. Games like Dark Souls prove how stupid and pointlessly restricted those terms are.

Seriously, though. If someone said "I liked Dragon Quest, recommend me a game like Dragon Quest", in your eyes Tales of the Abyss and Skyrim would both be equally valid recommendations?
 

sublimit

Banned
Seriously, though. If someone said "I liked Dragon Quest, recommend me a game like Dragon Quest", in your eyes Tales of the Abyss and Skyrim would both be equally valid recommendations?
You are going in circles. I answered to your question with my example above.

If someone asked me for a game like Devil May Cry of course i wouldn't tell him to play a game like Zelda or God of War. This however doesn't mean that they are 2 different genres. All of them are action but each one with different sensibilities be it game design or art or story. There's no clear line on where those sensibilities should begin and end. That's an extremelly limited mindset for both Western and Japanese devolopers.
No Western or Japanese developer ever sits down and says "ok now i'm going to make a WRPG or JRPG".
 

YukiOnna

Member
Always will be JRPG. WRPG just doesn't have the same x-factor or attempts to differentiate itself the same way JRPG's tend to. And even if the landing wasn't good, I at least found it memorable and fun to play. Not to mention, they put out a lot of quality titles this past generation and I can't say the same west side.
 

FStubbs

Member
You are going in circles. I answered to your question with my example above.

If someone asked me for a game like Devil May Cry of course i wouldn't tell him to play a game like Zelda or God of War. This however doesn't mean that they are 2 different genres. All of them are action but each one with different sensibilities be it game design or art or story. There's no clear line on where those sensibilities should begin and end. That's an extremelly limited mindset for both Western and Japanese devolopers.
No Western or Japanese developer ever sits down and says "ok now i'm going to make a WRPG or JRPG".

No, I think you're being intentionally obtuse. By your own bolded text above, you are more or less admitting that we are in fact talking about two different genres. The fact this topic even exists points to that fact.
 

Mozzarella

Member
I vote WRPG. Not only they have generally a better writing, the games are more actual role playing games than JRPG. Older RPG like Arcanum has massive amount of experimental gameplay and choices. Fallout..etc
The level of immersion and worldbuilding is also far better. Gameplay as well when WRPG focuses on gameplay it does it well, Divinity Original Sin 2 has the best turn based combat ever, beats any JRPG i have ever played. So much depth, so much choice. Easy win.
WRPG have more variety as well, they come in many different shapes and forms, for example you can have weird fantasy like Planescape, a masterfully written RPG, you can have Real time combat with Baldur's Gate 2 one of the best RPG to exist, you can have a lot of unique choices and paths like VTMB. New Vegas perks and dialogue, Witcher side and main quests and characters. Mass Effect space opera, Disco Elysium political novel with artistic setting. Kingdom Come realistic simulator with hardcore rpg elements. Morrowind with its massive rpg options and choice, Deus Ex take on Cyberpunk genre and conspiracy. There is much much more. WRPG even are the ones who invented the RPG genre.

JRPG depend on long running series, a lot of rehashes, a lot of games in the genre have not even evolved and you know it, thats why you decided to include a non rpg (Nier and Bloodborne) to make up for their lacking genre.
JRPG had a strong case in late 90's with masterpieces like Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger and Suiokoden 2. But after those hits, the genre gotten stale, barely evolved. Writing is meh or bad most of the time, gameplay is repetitive and lack of rpg mechanics and choice is obvious. Characters rely on Anime stereotype cringe.
The great thing about JRPG though is their music and soundtrack is still offers high quality.

On internet forums i would assume a lot of people are console players only, few RPG fan have explored the potential of all WRPG. but the ones who do, mostly end up preferring it.
 

Sentenza

Member
CRPGs (which are a subcategory of WRPG) and it's not even a contest.
Only disgusting weebs on this forum think otherwise.

JRPGs are basically defined by:
1- being invariably grind-based and repetitive as hell.
2- blowing more ass than the average resetEra user.

P.S. No idea who's the mentally impaired who decided that the "Souls" game are part of the JRPG genre, but they aren't.
Their very creator said more than once that he isn't particularly fond of that genre and he always went for something different.
 
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Mozzarella

Member
Cyberpunk running perfectly and without any bugs is a 4/10 game with 10/10 environmental visuals.
Don't insult FF7 like this.
Really curious to ask, what makes Final Fantasy 7 Remake a better game WITHOUT the Cyberpunk issues (bugs and performance)?
I liked FF7 Remake but if i put these games face to face i think Cyberpunk easily takes it.
Writing wise: Main quest and Side quests i would give to Cyberpunk, disagree? why? (im 50 hours in cyberpunk so far and i finished FF7 remake) The stakes are higher with CP and mission design is more interesting, the side missions gives you option to explore different characters and know more about their character and their life, it goes as a series of quests with natural evolving events, while FF7 side quests makes you go looking for cats and grind fight lame monsters. No contest easy win for CP.
Characters: about equal, but i think Cyberpunk characters feel more natural to me, it could be a matter of preference but from FF7 i felt all the characters were just cool anime type of characters, Cloud barely talks, Barret just shouts, Tifa is okay, Sephiroth is like a cringy edgelord, Aerith is okay too (i liked her) what else? (Keep in mind we are talking about the remake only and not the old FF7) that would be another case for those characters as they would be explored better then, but we are talking about part 1 of FF7 Remake here.
Gameplay: I understand that Final Fantasy 7 Remake combat is fun and enjoyable, but it does not offer any change or alternative, its the same part combat where you fight group of enemies every quest, fight a group of robots and beat them to big robot boss and thats it, the humanoid boss fights were the best part of the combat. Other than fighting with your party the gameplay is nothing else. Ahh forgot the minigames those were fun i guess.
Now Cyberpunk is not some kind of god tier in that either but it offers more choice and different tools to play, I would say due to that fact and the mission design itself Cyberpunk is slightly better here.
Soundtrack both amazing but is hard to judge, different genres.
Visual wise both are fucking gorgeous. But i think Cyberpunk is more impressive given its scale and scope.
What else is left?
Care to make a case for why FF7 Remake is better?

I think without the issues Cyberpunk is having (poor performance and bugs/glitches) its easily better than FF7 Remake.
 
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Amiga

Member
WRPGs have taken a slump with BioWare, Bethesda, CDPR misfiring. the few good ones are low budget like Divinity. Horizon ZD is one exception.
 

darrylgorn

Member
Monster Hunter World and Dark Souls are JRPGs?

As far as I'm concerned, you aren't a JRPG without a menu driven, turn-based, fixed arena battle system.
 
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sackings

Member
Japan has better gameplay/mechanics/systems in general in games. It's why they've always been #1 for me. Western games tend to fcous on the narrative/setting first and then build the mechanics after.
 

Graciaus

Member
I find wrpgs to be very boring. It's either open world garbage or iso which I've yet to find one I enjoy. Have always loved jrpgs but would prefer them to go back to turned based since the more action based ones suck.
 

teezzy

Banned
WRPGs are better simply out of the principle of not having any weeb-tier bullspit

modern JRPGs make you look like a doofus when playing them

WRPGs are far more kink and masculine
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
What a weird thread. Most of those games are so different... Dark Souls is almost WRPG-like in its design and Stardew Valley is massively influenced by Harvest Moon (Japanese). Seems like there's very little meaningful definition to how you use JRPG and WRPG.
 
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