WRPG or JRPG?

[Legobricks]

That is, Western role-playing games versus Japanese role-playing games. I'm wondering what people prefer (if not enjoy both well enough not to have a distinct preference) and most importantly why. There is no poll because I want to encourage in-depth replies.

Bear in mind that this thread excludes MMO games. I can't really impose that you do not talk about them because if you want to then you will, but it's not what I have in mind with this thread — what I'm getting into is single-player games and I want to understand perspectives relevant to that. I'm not after recommendations, but a better understanding of RPGs in general. I grew up with shooters, you see; I'm terrible at RPGs.


I have not the easiest time getting into either, but I favour WRPGs. They contain such tropes and conventions which I can, with my Western culture and upbringing, better understand and relate to than those of Japanese media. The gameplay's unfamiliar and seems to differ a lot between individual games, so I'm still not sure what to think of it, but I do my best.
JRPGs seem to lack much of the role-playing part or just have a different idea of it, at least the FF-style ones do; as I understand there's little if any way for the player to project onto their avatar, indeed nothing of character creation beyond choosing a name. The role one plays is apparently the same as playing the role of the protagonist in any other game; one pulls them by their big spikey hairdo until the story is done. You're free to refute that, though; it's merely the impression I get. I understand also that not all JRPGs are necessarily like that — I enjoy Monster Hunter, if nothing else.

 

[Sydian]

I prefer JRPGs. I...don't have a specific reason why. There's just something that really attracts me to JRPGs that WRPGs don't seem to fulfill. They also hold my attention more. Eh. :/ I know my reasons are dumb, but that's all there is to it. I just enjoy JRPGs more.

 

[Luck]

I never gave WRPGs too much of a chance, so I prefer JRPGs, but not for that reason only. I actually enjoy turn based battles in many RPGs, I don't care if I don't have a role in a storyline, and I just believe JRPGs have more diversity in their universe. I'm sure Fallout 3 is a very interesting game, but the dystopia grey that's seemingly splattered over the environment, and the generally boring gameplay turned me off from playing it too much. Same with Morrowind. Bioware also has gameplay that bores me, but their games just seem more appealing.

With that said, Persona 3 Portable and Demon's Souls are one of my favorite JRPGs because they're so different. Persona 3 actually keeps my attention with its absurd story and gives me nonlinear gameplay. Even though I'm not that far into it, it's definitely one of the better JRPGs I've played in a long time. Demon's Souls is really light on the story and characters, but the gameplay is perfect and the worlds have incredible atmosphere. It allows nonlinear progression through linear levels, but I don't know if that counts as nonlinear gameplay.

 

[Kenpokid]

I don't know many non-Bethesda WRPGs, but I'd have to say JRPGs.
Why?
Pokemon, The World Ends With You, Final Fantasy.
Those three series (or in TWEWY's case, game) are the ULTIMATE RPGs.

 

[Morkula]

I just have never been able to get into WRPGs. Most of them have next to no character development, a barebones story, uninspiring gameplay, and hardly any direction (they're TOO free-roaming and open-ended). Plus most of them are technically clunky and riddled with glitches. I'm going to try to get into Mass Effect and Oblivion this year, we'll see how it goes.

JRPGs usually have character development, a better plot (even though they're riddled with cliches), and gameplay that I enjoy more.

 

[loliwin]

I go for WRPGs. JRPGs are greaaatttt as well, but i'm playing Mass Effect 2 on my PC and Shephard is one huge bucket of awesome. So is the game itself. :) And also, I tend to find WRPG's more different than JRPGs in terms of gameplay.

 

[Yuoaman]

It depends what I'm looking for at that time. If I'm looking for a solid plot with clearly defined characters and relationships then I'll play a JRPG - that's what they do best (Chrono Trigger, for example). If I want a game with a more cinematic feel but with less of a clear goal I'll play WRPGs like Oblivion or Dragon Age (which has me under its sway at the moment).

 

[Barney.]

Dislike both. Sort of...

I mean if I have to say, then it'll be JRPG. There has been no WRPG that I have liked, but there have been the odd JRPG that's held my attention. Final Fantasy 6 for example.

 

[twocows]

I don't have a preference. There are good and bad ones on both sides. I really liked the Elder Scrolls series, Fallout 3, and Diablo 2, but Golden Sun is probably my favorite game of all time and I also like most of the early Final Fantasy games. Also, Suikoden.

 

[Captain Fabio]

I don't really just stick to one type of genre. I look at all of them and pick the one that I prefer.

However, going off previous games that I have bought and enjoyed, I would have to say JRPG's.

 

[Jack O'Neill]

I grew up playing WRPGs, so naturally I'm going to be heavily biased towards them. I actually like having the freedom to do what I want.

To be honest, though, I don't really have a preference. While I will always be a fan of the works of Black Isle and pre-Knights of the Old Republic BioWare (Did it ever occur to you that there had to have been two Fallout games before Fallout 3? Do you honestly think Mass Effect and Dragon Age are the only games BioWare has ever made?), I'm just as big a fan of the works of Atlus, and I'm perfectly willing to give the works of Namco Bandai a chance.

For all you WRPG sceptics, there's a site called Good Old Games. You can get the first two Fallout games, both Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale games, and Planescape: Torment there for very reasonable prices. Buy them all and play them all.

 

[Delphinus]

While I do prefer JRPGs, I've been kinda getting out of them because of the constant character steriotypes that appear in almost every game with not enough change to them.
Also Mass Effect 2... I love Mass Effect 2.

To be honest the only reason I'm sticking with JRPGs is because of games that randomly come out that I really like (TWEWY) and my large interest in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, in particular Persona 4.
... I love Persona 4.

 

[Infinipede]

I prefer JRPGs, personally.

I've tried a few WRPGs but they haven't been to my taste - most of them are either Tolkien-inspired (nothing wrong with taking inspiration from Tolkien, but if EVERYONE does it - which they do - it gets old) or try to stray too far from the RPG mechanics to the point where it no longer feels like an RPG and more like a shmup or (insert other genre here)

I feel although there are a lot of JRPGs out there that are cliche, trite, or just tell boring, old stories, that when good JRPGs are good, they're better than the best western RPGs.

I can only think of a few RPGs that fit this description off the top of my head - I'm not initially impressed with a whole lot of RPGs of either type, now that I think about it.

But yeah, personally Shin Megami Tensei and MOTHER make JRPGs better than WRPGs for me... I find those two series more imaginative and better than pretty much anything I've seen/played by Bioware and the like.

Except Persona 4. Persona 4 was bullcrap.

 

[Akeraz]

Personally, I feel really torn between the two. As a gamer, I started out playing JRPG's, that's what I enjoyed. And it wasn't until recently that I started playing FPS games, which I got really into. So a friend of mine told me I should check out Fallout. I took a look at the game, and decided that I would buy the game and try it for myself. This whole new world of Western RPG's kinda just showed itself to me. Of course, I was hungry for more, so I brought Oblivion and Mass Effect, both of which are great games, and are really innovative in the genre, although, the WRPG seems to be lacking on the story side (Sorry Fallout and Mass Effect fans, but you know it's true). So I'm not going to say I prefer either one. WRPG's are better for innovation in gameplay, and JRPG's seem to be better for story. That's just how it goes.

 

[Missingno.7-4468]

Personally, I prefer JRPGs. While I hve only really played three WRPGs(Champions of Norrath 1 and 2, and Baldur's Gate), and I loved all three, I have played so many JRPGs, and I almost every one that I've played.

Strangely, though I've played many JRPGs, I've only played 2 FF games: I and IV. My preference is the Dragon Quest series, of which I have played every game(Other than some of the spin-offs, of course), though I haven't yet beaten II, III, or VI.

So yeah, JRPGs here ;D

 

[Eucliffe]

Speaking in a slight Japanese-wannabe tone, I refuse to play pretty much any American-made game (I also have a dislike for most American music, but that's another story). So, as you can expect, I'm a JRPGer.

I honestly don't give a damn if the same stereotypes appear in so many different games; what I look for is the plot, the battle system, the characters as a whole, and, sometimes, the voice acting and graphics. When I first picked up Tales of Symphonia, I disliked the OU/battle graphics because they didn't look that good compared to the graphics for Pokemon Colosseum or XD. But the characters and plot made me look past that entirely. Symphonia is what made me more interested in the Tales of games, and I honestly wish I owned more.

On the other hand, there was something I tried called "Mimana" or something along those lines. The boxart looked pretty, the story sounded OK, and then I tried it. Terrible battle system, terrible voice acting, terrible graphics for PSP standards... I pretty much sold the game as soon as I got the chance.

And I dunno if this is true or not, but a lot of the time the WRPGs seem to be rather...violent. Before someone says "But JRPGs are just as violent" keep in mind a good portion of JRPGs are spent fighting and killing monsters/non-existent creatures. Sure there's the occasional evil organization of people and rabid animals you have to fight, but other than that there isn't actually any human killing. Not to mention the weapons and abilities are not exactly modern, while the ones in WRPGs seem to be that way. It also seems like they'd be war-related, and I strongly, strongly oppose war. But as I said, I dunno if this is true, as I have not played any WRPGs.

 

[Capris]

It's really hard to compare the two because they're so inherently different.

JRPG's ofIfer nothing in the way of customization and to me they're more like reading a book where you can move the character, as opposed to playing out their role in a story, because it's already predestined. The stories are more direct and sometimes more exciting than they are in WRPG's because they can be, in WRPG's the story needs to be somewhat open ended and vague for you to partake in the actual role playing part of the game. I started off playing JRPG's and absolutely loved them, my first being pokemon when I was younger. I really got into the genre when I was about 12 or 13 though and got final fantasy 12 for christmas, after playing some games in the final fantasy series though I realized almost every JRPG has a cliche story and generally just grew out of them. As of now I can only say I enjoy final fantasy 12, final fantasy 6 and zelda if that's even a JRPG.

WRPG's however I was recently introduced to with dragon age and I absolutely love it. The customization in these games are unrivaled by anything a JRPG has to offer, I spent a good chunk of time creating my character alone. Choosing between classes at the beginning of the game was nice, and I think some JRPG's do that as well. Another thing I really enjoy is the ability to choose how to respond in dialogue, instead of having to watch what your character says in a JRPG (which doesn't really resemble role playing). Another thing I've noticed is in JRPG's when you switch your armor and weapons nothing changes but in dragon age your choices are reflected on your character, I've found myself wearing weaker armor just because I like how it looks on my character which allows for even more customization. I also tend to like the.. settings in WRPG's as opposed to JRPG's. Besides the occasional steampunk JRPG most of the world's are uninspiring and don't stand out to me. In games like mass effect and dragon age the environments are so extensive and have never been done before, or at least not in all it's expansiveness.

A comparison I have being between the latest JRPG I've played and the latest WRPG I've played. final fantasy 13 I felt as if all I did the entire game was walk forward and run into enemies, square enix did next to nothing to hide the linearity of their game. In dragon age however I can choose where I want to go when I want to and the maps were very open for exploration, whereas in final fantasy besides walking forward through the hallway map all I could do to 'explore' it was look of to the side and see the pretty picture. Both have interesting battle systems but I've always like seamless encounters a lot more, which is one of the things I really like about final fantasy 12. It's jarring and snaps you out of the game mentality when you see and opponent to battle and have to transition to a battle screen just to fight them, it doesn't make much sense to do that in 13's case because the opponents show up on the field in the first place. It makes more sense to use something like that in the previous games where there were random battle encounters, but not now.

Overall I've enjoyed the few WRPG's I've played more than I have the numerous JRPG's I've played, but I still enjoy both to an extent.

 

[Shanghai Alice]

Final Fantasy 6 for example.

Have a hug. I love you.



Anyway...

Umm... Both have their merits. And drawbacks. Uhhh...

I dunno. It really depends on what kind we're talkin'.

For example, I like JRPGs that guide you through a huge world, with plenty of action and plot along the way. This is why Chrono Trigger is... utterly amazing.

But WRPGs are a lot better for the RPG part of it, really. Games like Morrowind and Oblivion just drop you into a world, give you an objective you can either fulfill or ignore, and just let you run wild.

Depends on the mood, I guess...?

 

[Dunsparce]

JRPGs. All of my all-time favorites series are JRPGs:

-Chrono Series (Even the Japan-only second game, Radical Dreamers)
-Dragon Quest Series
-Pokemon Series
-Mana Series (Even the World of Mana games)
-SaGa Series (Even Unlimited SaGa, which actually had high sales and ratings in Japan... but low everywhere else. Heathens! It's a good game!)
-Tales Series
-Final Fantasy (I only like 1-6)

And many many more series. Lets look at what Western RPGs have to offer for me:

-nothing
-zilch
-zero
-nada (And it's sequel Nada 2: the Electric Bugaloo)