Is Mass Effect an jRPG?

[Cheery Lunatic]

It's a shooter.
Doesn't that almost automatically greatly distance Mass Effect(2) from the common JRPG stereotype?

And the father thing is a rather tenuous similarity, if ya ask me.

I mean, I agree that Mass Effect 2 doesn't fit the mold of a classic wRPG.
I honestly think ME2 is more of a love child of a shooter and a wRPG.

 

[IamQ]

Doesn't it have to be japanese to be a JRPG? Isn't that the whole purpose of the "J"? Or is it something that I've missed here?

 

[Cenequus]

Doesn't it have to be japanese to be a JRPG? Isn't that the whole purpose of the "J"? Or is it something that I've missed here?

The danger of long posts,as many it seems you stoped reading at the word jRPG without actually reading my reasons that made me draw that line...it's ok. But yeah i know it's not a japanese game if that's the question.

It's a shooter.
Doesn't that almost automatically greatly distance Mass Effect(2) from the common JRPG stereotype?

And the father thing is a rather tenuous similarity, if ya ask me.

I mean, I agree that Mass Effect 2 doesn't fit the mold of a classic wRPG.
I honestly think ME2 is more of a love child of a shooter and a wRPG.

Again I'm not talking of the game as a whole or not even the combat system per se,which is a shooter. I'd say a good shooter but then again my last FPS I actually played was FEAR 1.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

First off, no, it's not a jRPG. It wasn't mad in Japan, and thus, is not a jRPG.

Second, not all jRPGs are Final Fantasy. Let's use the list posted earlier, and apply it to Dragon Quest VIII.

Lessee...

No BFS's-Nope. Maybe hammers and scythes, but I don't recall any BFS's.
The Villain doesn't have long white hair-The first, fake-out villain does. But not the Big Bad.
Nobody has crazy hair-Nope, no crazy hair. Except maybe Yangus's hat.
Complete absence of bishounen-OK, Angelo is definitely bishonen. But that's more of Japanese games in general, not just jRPGs. Just look at Dante in Devil May Cry.
You don't have a kawai anthropomorphic sidekick-Nope. A princess-turned-horse, but no anthropomorphic sidekicks.
No turn based combat-Guilty.
No 'random' encountersGuilty.
Developed by a western game developer...-Guilty.

... no, not a jRPG. It's debatable whether or not 2 is even an wRPG as opposed to a cover based shooter with lots of talking. Maybe it borrowed a couple of things from jRPGs that worked, maybe it didn't. But it is not a jRPG.

Let's see...4 and a half out of 8. That's barely more than 50% of the "traits" supposedly found in jRPGs. Yet I don't think anyone would argue that Dragon Quest VIII isn't a jRPG.

 

[IamQ]

Doesn't it have to be japanese to be a JRPG? Isn't that the whole purpose of the "J"? Or is it something that I've missed here?

The danger of long posts,as many it seems you stoped reading at the word jRPG without actually reading my reasons that made me draw that line...it's ok. But yeah i know it's not a japanese game if that's the question.

It's a shooter.
Doesn't that almost automatically greatly distance Mass Effect(2) from the common JRPG stereotype?

And the father thing is a rather tenuous similarity, if ya ask me.

I mean, I agree that Mass Effect 2 doesn't fit the mold of a classic wRPG.
I honestly think ME2 is more of a love child of a shooter and a wRPG.

Again I'm not talking of the game as a whole or not even the combat system per se,which is a shooter. I'd say a good shooter but then again my last FPS I actually played was FEAR 1.

I didn't read it when making the comment, but even after I read it, it didn't change my opinion.

It could be called "Binal Hantasy" featuring Roud and Lepphiroth with identical gameplay and characters 100% to final fantasy 7, but it would still be just a RPG because it ain't made in japan.

 

[Kahunaburger]

It's barely any kind of RPG*, and isn't made in Japan. So, not a JRPG.

*Although of course there are as many definitions for "RPG" as there are RPG players.

 

[ServebotFrank]

Is KotOR 2, widely regarded as one of the best RPGs ever, a Waifu simulator?

KOTOR 2 isn't well regarded on this forum. People here treat it like it set their dog on fire or something. Personally, I love it.

I recently downloaded a mod that restores all the cut content for that game. Makes everything make a whole lot more sense. Liked the game myself.

OT: No Mass Effect should never be called a JRPG there's quite a difference.

 

[Kahunaburger]

There is ONE romance in mass effect. ONE. It is COMPLETLY AVOIDABLE. Calling it a Waifu sim just shows that you are so scared of anything to do with romance or sex that you instantly label something a "waifu sim" because of it.

That post you responded to was clearly 100% srs bsns. But it is true that there is certainly a portion of the Mass Effect fanbase that treats it life a waifu sim. BSN is a scary place, man.

 

[Kahunaburger]

There is ONE romance in mass effect. ONE. It is COMPLETLY AVOIDABLE. Calling it a Waifu sim just shows that you are so scared of anything to do with romance or sex that you instantly label something a "waifu sim" because of it.

That post you responded to was clearly 100% srs bsns. But it is true that there is certainly a portion of the Mass Effect fanbase that treats it life a waifu sim. BSN is a scary place, man.

 

[Berserker119]

No Japan, no JRPG. Try again.

 

[AlternatePFG]

There is ONE romance in mass effect. ONE. It is COMPLETLY AVOIDABLE. Calling it a Waifu sim just shows that you are so scared of anything to do with romance or sex that you instantly label something a "waifu sim" because of it.

That post you responded to was clearly 100% srs bsns. But it is true that there is certainly a portion of the Mass Effect fanbase that treats it life a waifu sim. BSN is a scary place, man.

Well, considering there was a rather large discussion about what Tali's sweat might possibly taste like, and there were very few people in the topic who were disgusted by that, I would agree with you. I mean, what the fuck is wrong with those people?

 

[Cenequus]

Doesn't it have to be japanese to be a JRPG? Isn't that the whole purpose of the "J"? Or is it something that I've missed here?

The danger of long posts,as many it seems you stoped reading at the word jRPG without actually reading my reasons that made me draw that line...it's ok. But yeah i know it's not a japanese game if that's the question.

It's a shooter.
Doesn't that almost automatically greatly distance Mass Effect(2) from the common JRPG stereotype?

And the father thing is a rather tenuous similarity, if ya ask me.

I mean, I agree that Mass Effect 2 doesn't fit the mold of a classic wRPG.
I honestly think ME2 is more of a love child of a shooter and a wRPG.

Again I'm not talking of the game as a whole or not even the combat system per se,which is a shooter. I'd say a good shooter but then again my last FPS I actually played was FEAR 1.

I didn't read it when making the comment, but even after I read it, it didn't change my opinion.

It could be called "Binal Hantasy" featuring Roud and Lepphiroth with identical gameplay and characters 100% to final fantasy 7, but it would still be just a RPG because it ain't made in japan.

My point wasn't fix on the label per se of jRPG but how it uses some elements that define that genre. Same goes for RPG in general to answer widelly,beyond the label but still using a label just for easier identification.

 

[Platypus540]

Nope- not Japanese

 

[Kadoodle]

Your argument is based entirely around the fact that two of the characters have a family member involved in their personal loyalty mission. Or that SOME of the other crew members have detailed pasts and problems. Big whoop. That doesn't make it a jrpg. That just means that the characters have depth.

It's not made in japan. The main character is not an angst filled teen with ridiculous hair. It isn't particularly linear. It is not limited in side quests. There are a ton of side missions. (Loyalty missions count as side missions too, ya know.)

Your argument is severely flawed.

 

[Defense]

It's a crappy linear waifu simulator-slash-generic space marine third person shooter, but it's not a JRPG.

Mass Effect actually lets you develop a personality for your character via dialog choices. JRPGs lock you in to what the designers want you to do. There really aren't any RPG elements in JRPGs, so the term is definitely a misnomer.

And, for the record: stats do not equal role playing

I bet you're the kind of person who thinks every JRPG is like Final Fantasy.

And for the record: You don't know what you're talking about.

 

[NotYetForsaken]

Let's see what you addressed.

1. Mass Effect is a linear story with side quests.

2. The Characters fit JRPG cliche's.

Now to address those concerns simply.

1. Any RPG, Western or Eastern fall easily into this. There is a main story, and there are little side distractions that flavour the world.

2.

The Hero: Commander Shepard.
The Lancer(s): Garrus Vakarian, Miranda Lawson, and Jacob Taylor.
The Smart Guy: Mordin Solus and Thane Krios.
The Big Guy(s): Urdnot Grunt, Zaeed Massani and Subject Zero/Jack.
The Chick: Kasumi Goto and Tali'Zorah vas Neema.
Sixth Ranger: Legion and Samara.
Token Evil Teammate: Morinth (if you choose her over Samara). If not chosen, Jack fills this role as well.


Those are the proper cliche's that the team fits into. These can be found nearly anywhere in fiction. Your accusation is broad and firmly clumps a genre of games together as one to exemplify a misguided view.

On the flip side, with Japan's culture saturation it's nearly impossible to avoid either Japanese influence or Japan being influenced itself. So traces of it are just in most people's psyche and that's what gets the comparison marked off to.

 

[kasperbbs]

I haven't seen anyone with ridiculous hairstyle in mass effect(except the aliens) and there were no teenage girls to be found so no, its no a JRPG.

 

[Sevre]

Guys, he obviously means that ME shares features of JRPGs and is obviously not Japanese. I feel sad for having to point that out to some of you.

But yes it does share some features, you play roles for one.

 

[NotYetForsaken]

I haven't seen anyone with ridiculous hairstyle in mass effect(except the aliens) and there were no teenage girls to be found so no, its no a JRPG.

Miranda's little sister is still teenage if I remember. She's approaching legal (womanhood when in the convo) when you save her.

 

[Cenequus]

Your argument is based entirely around the fact that two of the characters have a family member involved in their personal loyalty mission. Or that SOME of the other crew members have detailed pasts and problems. Big whoop. That doesn't make it a jrpg. That just means that the characters have depth.

It's not made in japan. The main character is not an angst filled teen with ridiculous hair. It isn't particularly linear. It is not limited in side quests. There are a ton of side missions. (Loyalty missions count as side missions too, ya know.)

Your argument is severely flawed.

It was just an easy example because of the similarity,same goes for Liara,Garrus,Thane,Jack etc. As for side quest(sure it's pretty awesome to find distress calls but usually they last 5 minutes).As for loyalty missions I already said they ARE the meat of side quests but they are pretty much integrated into the main quest. Don't get fooled by the argument I really liked the game(finished it back to back twice for what it matters)was just noting similarities that maybe go beyond the genre or my point define a genre. It's not a jRPG because it wasn't made in Japan.

Your accusation is broad and firmly clumps a genre of games together as one to exemplify a misguided view.

On the flip side, with Japan's culture saturation it's nearly impossible to avoid either Japanese influence or Japan being influenced itself. So traces of it are just in most people's psyche and that's what gets the comparison marked off to.

I'm the first to wear the pink western RPG supremacy over jRPGs but not in this case. There was no accusation or atleast not in my intent. Was just pointing some similarities and how people built cults around those. Thing is it's not your usual Baldur's gate nerds that do it which would have been normal...not exactly but sort off. But "normal people". To make another example(Poor Tali) the biggest Tali fanclub is called "Team Tali",nothing strange even for me at first look,just that it bears the same image/style and t-shirts with Edward Cullen in Team Twilight. Call me strange but those are the people that like angsty teenagers in films/music/games.