RPGs

There was a story on Destructoid about comments one of the co-founders of Bioware had made on Japanese Role Playing Games in contrast to American ones.

Click here to view the article.

I originally was going to agree that he makes a valid point that RPGs haven't really been progressing in Japan as of lately compared to the American ones. Then I really started thinking about it. FFXIII is pushing for a more constant, active battle system. The World Ends With You had some interesting new gameplay features. I wouldn't classify any of these games as just like their predecessors.

Why did I think this guy was right? It's because there's a lot more JRPGs out there than American RPGS. There's going to be more generic copies than original, innovative titles. When I was first thinking about it, I thought of all of the titles that can be considered fairly similar. American RPGs usually aren't as successful. Thus companies won't invest in them and less appear in the market. The ones that do get invested in usually turn out badly for lack of funding or great because they took the time to make them new and innovative.

What is and what isn't an RPG? I'm a little bit confused now because my impressions of Mass Effect was that it was a shooter. Looking at the details of the game it appears to have some RPG aspects to it. As someone who is awful at shooters and specifically avoids them, I wouldn't consider it an RPG. Someone who just plays run of the mill shooter games would probably consider it an RPG. When you have racing that games that you create a car, gain levels, and increase stats wouldn't that be considered an RPG too? Does that not count because it's a car and not a human? Would it not count because there's not a deep storyline to most of them? As games advance, the lines of each genre gets blurred.

Japanese VS. American RPGS. The two types are pretty different. American RPGs tend to go back to the traditional sense of what an RPG is. That means the player creates their own character and has control over what the character does. Japanese RPGs usually give you a pre-made character with a story and specific personality. There's good and bad things about both of these. You can create a character that you can relate to or that you want to be in the American ones, as opposed to being a character that you may or may not like in the Japanese ones. In the Americans RPGS, when you do have the ability to create your own character you don't get a sense of who the character is, you must create it. This can be good, if the game has enough options that your character acts the way you see it in your head. Unfortunately the possibilities of what you want for a character are endless and games must have some limitations. Generally what happens is the character stays in your head. Only so much can be played out on-screen. Since JRPGs are pre-made characters you see a deeper character on-screen with a solid background and actions that make sense. JRPGs focus on a deep storyline, that is more like watching a movie than playing a game. ARPGS have some sort of storyline that you either can get into or you can't. The difference between the two stories is like watching anime vs. watching American SciFi. Everyone has different tastes.

I, of course, prefer JRPGs. The RPGs based on the traditional roots don't offer enough options for me yet. They also are still too male oriented(lack of options for females, the females look too oversexualized, the story are leaning towards a male main character). There's a lack of depth in the stories for me. JRPGs tend to have a sense of 'zen' in them. There's a spiritual thing, without being religious. There's usually a good love story. The characters all have a realistic depth and tend be interesting. I prefer the character designs in JRPGs and art in JRPGs. I'm willing to try any American RPG. I would love to see one that could truly put a Japanese one to shame. Eventually one day there will be a game that has enough options and story, yet give you the ability to be whoever you want to be and be able to take your own actions.