USRPG vs. JRPG

[Discord]

Can we call them WRPG, for west, and ERPG, east?

Seriously, US neither invented the RPGs nor do they produce the majority of them, so what the hell?

Now back to the topic. I think that Western RPGs actually put more focus on the character than on the story (exception, Diablo). While in the Japanese games your character is generally "pre-fabricated" and you just push him through the course of the game, the Western games tend to give you the impression that YOU are the character and that it's you who does all those funky things. (i.e. In J-RPGs you get a figure to move about the field.)

Frankly, as stated before, I like them both, as long as people don't class them down with completely pathetic names(). They're totally different and very refreshing when switched between.

[KentaRawr!]

I always preferred JRPG's over WRPG's. Honestly, all that seems common betwen them is the stat-building, and in WRPG's, that's really what it's all about. Stat building. >_> Like an MMORPG without the MMO part. And the dumbasses.

[Yamaneko]

I started on the JRPGs way back, but moved away from them because they got stale. Most of them use the same tired conventions and story plots, and the ones like Vagrant Story which are different are few and far between. Give me a Planescape: Torment or Morrowind any day of the week.

[Shoeberto]

I can dig both, but overall I like JRPGs more. They have actual plots.

Poor assumption. I haven't played one WRPG with a weak plot. JRPGs are just flashier and more in-your-face about them than WRPGs.

[LunarWeaver]

I can dig both, but overall I like JRPGs more. They have actual plots.

Poor assumption. I haven't played one WRPG with a weak plot. JRPGs are just flashier and more in-your-face about them than WRPGs.

Well, that is true. Like Diablo I and II do have really engaging plots, but it's all basically optional. I don't think that's bad, but I like it to be flashier and in my face. It's just a preference thing for me.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

P.s. I didn’t add KH, Zelda series and Super Mario to that list because I don’t like those.

As far as I am aware Zelda is not an RPG, it is an Action-Adventure game, same goes with Mario (with the exception of Mario RPG and Paper Mario). As for KH, I would say it is a pseudo-RPG, or at least Action-RPG or something like that, because you have a variety of characters that are playable, yet for the most part it is simply setting a bit of their AI configs. That aside KH is <3 for me.

I have not played any "Western" RPGs, so I cannot give any good conclusion.

[Dreddz]

I usually go for JRPG, not saying the US hasnt had any good RPG's, Im just not into them. Could never like Oblivian....

[Discord]

Like Diablo I and II do have really engaging plots...

Are you serious? "Diablo" and "storyline" in one sentense?

I always thought they were a joke. I mean, Diablo I doesn't have a story at all, save the couple of books you find, and D2 isn't much better either. They had nice atmosphere, at least D1 did, but the stories really sounded like they were written during the afternoon break by an accountant. That is including the PSX edition of D1 with extended content.

It's true, the WRPG stories are very, very generic. You are the hero, you fight your way though the enemy lines, you become a champion or whatever.

[Madame Adequate]

I don't really see the difference

You're seriously going to tell me that Fallout is the same thing as Dragon Quest?

Can we call them WRPG, for west, and ERPG, east?

Nope.

Seriously, US neither invented the RPGs nor do they produce the majority of them, so what the hell?

Yeah, actually, the US did invent RPGs (Unless Gygax et al. were not of the University of Minnesota?) and the term is useful, even if not capable of encompassing the entire range of RPGs made.

And good 90% of what you call USRPG are produced in EU anyway...
Now common, seriously, how on bloody earth can you call a game taking place in the classical medieval, or ancient, fantasy world (all of which oddly resemble the French Province) a USRPG?!

Because it originated in the United States, was made popular in the United States, and the majority of things to do with the whole area - from Shadowrun to Elder Scrolls - are made and played in the United States. If we start labelling things based on their settings, then your earlier suggestion of WRPG and ERPG is completely daft as well.

[Old Manus]

So is a Western RPG where you play as cowboys

[Ashley Schovitz]

Baldur's Gate isn't US it's Canadian and I prefer JRPG's because they're typically better on story and most are on PC which I just don't play. It seems like it would be harder to play with a keyboard and a mouse than a controller.

[Discord]

I don't really see the difference

You're seriously going to tell me that Fallout is the same thing as Dragon Quest?

Can we call them WRPG, for west, and ERPG, east?

Nope.

Seriously, US neither invented the RPGs nor do they produce the majority of them, so what the hell?

Yeah, actually, the US did invent RPGs (Unless Gygax et al. were not of the University of Minnesota?) and the term is useful, even if not capable of encompassing the entire range of RPGs made.

And good 90% of what you call USRPG are produced in EU anyway...
Now common, seriously, how on bloody earth can you call a game taking place in the classical medieval, or ancient, fantasy world (all of which oddly resemble the French Province) a USRPG?!

Because it originated in the United States, was made popular in the United States, and the majority of things to do with the whole area - from Shadowrun to Elder Scrolls - are made and played in the United States. If we start labelling things based on their settings, then your earlier suggestion of WRPG and ERPG is completely daft as well.

Eh... no. That's not entirely correct, since you've limited it down a little too much.

RPG, i.e. Role-playing Games, existed quite a bit before Shadowrun and Elder Scrolls. The very first ones were the legendary pen-and-paper RPGs. Now, the fact that someone someday implemented the system on silicon doesn't mean that he invented the genre. The RPGs as a style of play come from UK, from where they've spread to France and US, later to Germany, later to the rest of the world. While US were one of the first to take up the style, they were not the pioneers.

Now if you consider RPG just as a Computer-based RPG, you also need to consider that video gaming itself started in US. Western Europe and the Soviets simply didn't have the resources available at that time to spread this popular form of entertainment. Now being given the credit of invention is alright, but that doesn't change anything in the current situation. There are two styles of RPGs. The traditional sword&magic games from Europe and the Japanese sword&magic games. The WRPG as we know it originates and still bears strong resemblance to its ancestors. So if we follow your logic we should call it UKRPG. On the other hand this would be completely pathetic since UK doesn't really produce many RPGs nowadays. Even more so, you need to consider the fact that the American and the European RPGs are very, very similar, when compared to JRPG. Thus, calling them USRPG would not only be historically and linguistically incorrect, but would also go against the current economical developments in the gaming market.

To be absolutely correct, it should be called the European RPG for two reasons: 1.) Like it or not, America was built upon a European culture. 2.) The RPGs generally resemble European Middle-Ages or the Mediterranean Antique. However, since the United States are not a part of Europe, yet do contribute a very significant bit to the RPG genre; the most appropriate definition would be "Western RPG".

[Bunny]

I don't really see the difference :)

You're seriously going to tell me that Fallout is the same thing as Dragon Quest?

Can we call them WRPG, for west, and ERPG, east?

Nope.

Seriously, US neither invented the RPGs nor do they produce the majority of them, so what the hell?

Yeah, actually, the US did invent RPGs (Unless Gygax et al. were not of the University of Minnesota?) and the term is useful, even if not capable of encompassing the entire range of RPGs made.

And good 90% of what you call USRPG are produced in EU anyway...
Now common, seriously, how on bloody earth can you call a game taking place in the classical medieval, or ancient, fantasy world (all of which oddly resemble the French Province) a USRPG?!

Because it originated in the United States, was made popular in the United States, and the majority of things to do with the whole area - from Shadowrun to Elder Scrolls - are made and played in the United States. If we start labelling things based on their settings, then your earlier suggestion of WRPG and ERPG is completely daft as well.

Eh... no. That's not entirely correct, since you've limited it down a little too much.

RPG, i.e. Role-playing Games, existed quite a bit before Shadowrun and Elder Scrolls. The very first ones were the legendary pen-and-paper RPGs. Now, the fact that someone someday implemented the system on silicon doesn't mean that he invented the genre. The RPGs as a style of play come from UK, from where they've spread to France and US, later to Germany, later to the rest of the world. While US were one of the first to take up the style, they were not the pioneers.

Man, what? Mr. MILF said that. About the pen-and-paper thing anyway. Which is right. Gygax created Dungeons and Dragons which was the first commercially successful RPG. Role-playing may have come from Europe and whatnot, but we are not talking about that kind of medium. We are talking a strict gaming sort of thing.

[Discord]

I don't really see the difference

You're seriously going to tell me that Fallout is the same thing as Dragon Quest?

Can we call them WRPG, for west, and ERPG, east?

Nope.

Seriously, US neither invented the RPGs nor do they produce the majority of them, so what the hell?

Yeah, actually, the US did invent RPGs (Unless Gygax et al. were not of the University of Minnesota?) and the term is useful, even if not capable of encompassing the entire range of RPGs made.

And good 90% of what you call USRPG are produced in EU anyway...
Now common, seriously, how on bloody earth can you call a game taking place in the classical medieval, or ancient, fantasy world (all of which oddly resemble the French Province) a USRPG?!

Because it originated in the United States, was made popular in the United States, and the majority of things to do with the whole area - from Shadowrun to Elder Scrolls - are made and played in the United States. If we start labelling things based on their settings, then your earlier suggestion of WRPG and ERPG is completely daft as well.

Eh... no. That's not entirely correct, since you've limited it down a little too much.

RPG, i.e. Role-playing Games, existed quite a bit before Shadowrun and Elder Scrolls. The very first ones were the legendary pen-and-paper RPGs. Now, the fact that someone someday implemented the system on silicon doesn't mean that he invented the genre. The RPGs as a style of play come from UK, from where they've spread to France and US, later to Germany, later to the rest of the world. While US were one of the first to take up the style, they were not the pioneers.

Man, what? Mr. MILF said that. About the pen-and-paper thing anyway. Which is right. Gygax created Dungeons and Dragons which was the first commercially successful RPG. Role-playing may have come from Europe and whatnot, but we are not talking about that kind of medium. We are talking a strict gaming sort of thing.

As said before D&D were not the first there to begin with and if you just consider the video game version of RPG, US is quite a bit behind when it comes to development of PC RPG games. Sorry, but that's just how it is.

Why on earth do you insist on calling it US-RPG anyway? US did not invent it, they do not lead the market in that regard, and even if they did would putting the label "Made in America" so crucial for their existance. Seriously, people, get a little more modest. There's a difference between being proud of your origin and nazilike fanatism. US wasn't even there when people still wore plated armor and ran at each other with hatchets. Once they dedicate a series of games that feature the events in the modern Northern America, feel free to call it USRPG all day long, but the medieval RPGs don't have a slightest link to US at all!

[Yuriev's ghost]

So is a Western RPG where you play as cowboys

That's Wild Arms