What is a RPG?

[Wolf Kanno]

In a JRPG it's these things that let people identify them as a "JRPG".
Exp system where defeating x amount of enemies increases various statistics.
Usually turn-based or pseudo-turn-based (such as ATB) combat.

In a WRPG it's usually these things:
Exp system where defeating x amount of enemies increases various statistics.
Skills that have a use outside of battle.
Multiple choice on how to solve many problems.
Usually realtime action-based combat, with some mods.

To be honest, I feel the same way about most of Mass Effect. I can count literally two choices in the game that actually affect the story in any great respect (involving Wrex, Ashley and the other dude who's name escapes me because I didn't like him). And even those don't really change the overall story if I'm not mistaken. They simply determine which characters you get to use. For all of the ability to role play that these WRPG's supposedly give, it's dissapointing how little your choices matter.

Anyway, as for the definition of what constitutes an RPG, I typically consider something to be an RPG based on a few factors.

Stat development - whether it's as simple as leveling up in the original FF or more complicated and customized such as Oblivion, most RPG's feature this aspect of character growth.

Strategic battle system - This is more common for JRPG's to be honest as they tend to have battle systems that try and focus on strategy to varying degrees of success. WRPG's usually still include strategy, but recent titles like Fallout 3 and Oblivion haven't really required it to be honest, and even Mass Effect was pretty light on how much thought you had to put into combat.

Focus on story - Yeah, a lot of genres can focus on the story, but it's not really an RPG if it doesn't. Whether it's a linear tale like in FF, or something focused on giving the character choices that rarely ever matter (Fallout 3), if there isn't some focus on the story and characters then it's probably not an RPG.

To be honest, I like Bolivar's definition the best, and it's true of any genre to be honest. I can't really define it but I know it when I see it.

I guess my next question for you two is simply this, does an RPG need to have all those requirement or does it only need one or a few to be considered an RPG? If so, which ones are more important than others?

MGS4, which I haven’t played so if I get this a bit off you know why, has a lot of emphasis on action and marketed as such. If someone who likes action games walks into a shop or local torrent site they would pick MGS4 over ME. Someone looking for an RPG however would pick the latter despite both having a strong story

Actually, the story is one of the major things people play the MGS series for. The MGS series is what made action games feel like big budget movies. Hell, MGS4's biggest complaint from some fans is what JRPGs usually get nailed with and that is having too much story and not enough gameplay. Its a very cutscene heavy game. If I worked in a game store and was asked to recommend a good story based game I would probably recommend an MGS title before an RPG, especially in regards to game released in the last few years (I would even recommend Ico or SotC but that's another can of worms entirely) so it still stands that other genres are really getting into the whole story niche that RPGs held for years.

Halo of all things is actually loved by its fans for its story as well as its game mechanics and BioShock and Half Life 2 are both titles that have really taken story telling into the forefront of the FPS genre. MGS, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, and DMC are all games on both sides of the ocean that are highly praised for their excellent stories and narratives.

The terminology lost all meaning in any pure sense a long time ago. Stop trying to define it in some cookie-cutter way that excludes some and includes others based on personal preference because if you got truly puritanical about it no current video game RPGs would be considered RPGs in the sense of the original meaning of the term.

I only wish to see what others think, really by todays standards I would say most genres don't exist anymore cause everything is beginning to meld with each other but still, its amusing no less to see how others would define such a thing.

Just allow people to keep coming up with sub-genres all day long and call them what you will. It's such a silly debate when people get worked up over whether or not some game should truly be called something or other.

I don't feel anyone is really worked up here Yearg. This whole conversation is just a playful debate. The fact is that RPG really has just splintered and the word now means the sum of its parts but that doesn't necessarily mean we can't pull out the root that connects them all.

The need for us to pigeon-hole things may be why it's so hard for the gaming industry to do anything new and different. If you can't slap a solid genre that everyone can relate to as the label then you might as well toss the game in the can. If you're steadfast and get it out there then someone will have to come up with a label for it.

Thereafter everyone will start mass producing crap in that same new genre and before long the fanboys will get butthurt and say that every game that ever uses "x mechanic" is a "x game" clone.
*NERDRAGE*

Nerdrage indeed, to be honest I feel that most big budget companies shy away from true experimentation because they try to throw huge budgets behind them and if they flop its a bad financial investment. With the advent of more independent smaller companies and their huge success on DLC networks, I feel we are really beginning to see some amazing game design coming out of the indie market and there success is now allowing us to see bigger companies try their hand at it too by releasing lower budget titles with more experimentation. The World Ends With You is probably one of the most amazing SE titles in terms of game design and direction to come out of Square in decades.

Even old genres like the point and click adventure games have returned thanks to the DS and even some old genres or game types are starting to make there way back to the forefront of gaming thanks to DLC and handhelds. Of course this really has nothing to do with the topic but this is my take on the real problem of innovation in the industry.