WRPG/JRPG Hybrids

[Laddy]

How would you do one? What elements of either would you keep or do away with? why kind of plot or combat system?

I'm genuinely curious.

[Mirage]

Xenoblade chronicles.

[Fynn]

Xenoblade chronicles.

^^^

It's pretty much the perfect game, combining a JRPG narrative and characters with a WRPG-esque sense of exploration and abundance of sidequests.

[Mirage]

Xcx will probably be a more hybrid hybrid though.

[Fynn]

I know and I can't wait!

The soundtrack also sounds delightfully like a cross between a JRPG and WRPG soundtrack.

[Randy]

FF12 was even more western. The same western MMO battle mechanics but even less Japanese in terms of the characters and story.

[Fynn]

I'd argue XII's story isn't really Western or Japanese. It's just... Matsuno. Really, I don't think any Western RPG goes as grittily realistic into politics as Matsuno.

[Vyk]

Oh how I wish for a sequel to Dragon's Dogma. That game was far from a perfect blend, but it was phenomenally fun to play, massive and interesting, with a unique party system, an interesting over-arching story (though the side quests were fairly lack-luster, but at least they sent you to wild and crazy far-off places), and dear lord was that a fun and intense battle system

Only real problem was boring NPCs with bland voice acting

If they could get better writers, and better actors or at least better direction, it would have been on a whole other level. A couple times a year either my girlfriend or myself get an itch for that game. Its like if Dragon Age were even more real-time, and even more interactive (climbing large enemies and stabbing them in the face?) with an expansive world full of people and places and things to do much like Skyrim or Oblivion. So its like if Dragon Age, Shadow of the Colossus, and Elder Scrolls all had an orgy. Except for the damn writing and characterization. Augh

But the team supposedly got reworked to start on some stupid MMO instead of a sequel. What the hell Capcom?!

I reiterate, Dragon's Dogma was not perfect. But with the right tweaks, a sequel could almost be perfect. I could play that and Xenoblade Chronicles X forever and ever

And it has character creation. Sadly rare in the general JRPG populace..

[Depression Moon]

I guess maybe you could consider when a Japanese studio makes a Western Style RPG like Dark Souls or when the vice versa happens and we get something like Child of Light.

[Fynn]

I guess maybe you could consider when a Japanese studio makes a Western Style RPG like Dark Souls or when the vice versa happens and we get something like Child of Light.

I don't really agree. Unless you're being really xenophobic, I don't think there's any reason to call Dark Souls a JRPG or Child of Light a WROG by any stretch. Stylistically, they're both pure example of the opposite, despite being designed elsewhere.

[Ayen]

I wouldn't. I would just make a fun RPG and let people debate whether or not it classifies as a JRPG, WRPG, or something else.

[Bolivar]

I don't really agree. Unless you're being really xenophobic, I don't think there's any reason to call Dark Souls a JRPG or Child of Light a WROG by any stretch. Stylistically, they're both pure example of the opposite, despite being designed elsewhere.

I've been wanting to ask this for a while and I guess this is the thread to do it: why do people say the Souls games are Western-style RPGs?

I honestly can't think of a single WRPG like them, except for Lord of the Fallen, a 2014 game specifically designed to be a Souls-like. To me their closest analogue was the Quest mode in games like Ehrgeiz and Tobal. And FROM has stated many times it's the spiritual successor to King's Field, which didn't have any Western games like it at the time. Most people also seem to recognize Ghosts & Goblins as oldest analogue - a Japanese medieval fantasy game centered around map memorization and attack timing.

I guess it's the macabre sword & sorcery setting but I really don't know when that was ever the exclusive domain of WRPGs.

[Fynn]

It's a combination of that, the mostly action-based battle sustem, and more emphasis on combat and exploration at the expense of an involved, character-driven story, which is a hallmark for most JRPGs.

[Vyk]

The realism probably has a say in it as well. Most general JRPGs and things derived from them have a more stylized medieval fantasy setting. Dark Souls its more closely related to Dungeons and Dragons. Which, I know, inspired most JRPGs as well. But they still put their own spin on it, and gave everyone big eyes or big heads or crazy hair or dresses and whatnot. Nothing realistic. Dark Souls is kind of like what life would really be like in a bleak world like that. Something things like Elder Scrolls and Fallout attempt to achieve. Western RPGs are more grounded in an attempt at realism, at least in look and aesthetic. That's where I consider Dark Souls to be more West-like at any rate. I'm sure others have their own reasons

[Depression Moon]

I guess maybe you could consider when a Japanese studio makes a Western Style RPG like Dark Souls or when the vice versa happens and we get something like Child of Light.

I don't really agree. Unless you're being really xenophobic, I don't think there's any reason to call Dark Souls a JRPG or Child of Light a WRPG by any stretch. Stylistically, they're both pure example of the opposite, despite being designed elsewhere.

Yeah, I agree. I think the only reason I said that because elsewhere people like to argue that the W and J only refer to the place the game is developed and was trying to appease both sides, but I'm definitely in the same mindset as you.