JRPGS vs Western RPGs. What's your preference?

[7thHanyou]

I dunno, seems like a no-brainer. Sykrim or shitty final fantasy 13? The decision overwhelms me. Or, Fallout 3 versus Kingdom Hearts? And yet another comparison, Borderla-ah, fuck it. This isn't even a contest.

Why compare Skyrim to a shitty Final Fantasy game, then? Compare it to 4, 5, 6, 7, or 9, all of which have been called the best in the series by countless people. Hell, why compare Skyrim to it? Stack up the games against Morrowind or Daggerfall, both of which are far better. I think the better FF's stack up quite well against the best Bethesda has to offer.

I prefer JRPGs. Skies of Arcadia is my second-favorite game of all time, second only to Ocarina of Time, a game which itself has blatantly Japanese stylings and some of the elements you'll find in JRPGs. Most of the criticisms leveled against JRPGs seem absolutely baseless to me. The most absurd, by far, is that people don't like turn-based combat.

First of all, has no one heard of the Tales series? It's had real-time combat since its inception nearly two decades ago, and it's a major player. Secondly, why don't people like turn-based combat? How can anyone just dismiss an entire mechanic like that? Turn-based combat is absolutely basic to RPGs.

Criticisms of JRPGs strike me as either 1.) archaic or 2.) indicative of a level of closed-mindedness that doesn't warrant the definitive proclamations JRPG-haters like to spew.

I dare anyone to objectively evaluate Phantasy Star I, II, and IV, and not come to the conclusion that JRPGs, anime hair and all, can be deep, engaging, and exceedingly well-executed.

I should add that while I'm partial to JRPGs, my second-favorite RPG is Morrowind. Now THAT is a good game, one any game developer would rightly be proud of.

 

[Kvaedi]

Western RPGs all the way. I grew up playing Neverwinter Nights and other DnD games, have thrown endless hours into Morrowind straight from its release to today, and still play Vulture's Eye (nethack) every once and a while, despite knowing I suck far too bad to ever beat the game.

Western RPGs are what I love, I just can't ever get into JRPGs.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Western easily, but then again I do love me a good JRPG every once in a while, its just that on the whole JRPG's tend to be harder and less forgiving. Which kinda screwed me over as a kid

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

On handheld... JRPG... They work really well on handhelds, with the cartoon graphics and the like... Unfortunately I feel that the big budget, amazing graphics next gen JRPG's just feel slightly awkward... Everything seems so smooth, but them gameplay slows down for the fights. Handhelds it feels right, as the slow paced stop start gameplay helps if you are on a journey, or on a lunch break...

On consoles though I definately prefer WRPG's... The fast paced, movie cutscene style gameplay is just awesome on a big screen!

 

[NerfedFalcon]

I play RPGs for story more than anything else, and in that regard, character creation and having them not talk so you can "project onto them" actually hurts the story. That's why, as a rule, I prefer JRPGs.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I used to really love JRPG's hell I grew up with Suikoden, final fantasy and chrono trigger but after final fantasy 10 JRPG's seemed to take a horrible nose dive and western rpg's especially Bethesda's Fallout became more attractive.

I think the only JRPG's I have played recently and enjoyed was Tales of Vesperia and Dragon Quest 9.

 

[LilithSlave]

Hate to quote something from October of last year but...

I dunno, seems like a no-brainer. Sykrim or shitty final fantasy 13? The decision overwhelms me. Or, Fallout 3 versus Kingdom Hearts? And yet another comparison, Borderla-ah, fuck it. This isn't even a contest.

Kingdom Hearts is amazing. I personally like it much more than Fallout 3. And Borderlands is much more of a first person shooter than an RPG.

If we're going to make such unfair comparisons.

Chrono Trigger or Septerra Core?
Final Fantasy VI or Elder Scrolls: Arena?

Seems like a no brainer to me to play a jRPG instead. Especially since I like Japanese aesthetics, strategy combat, and wRPGs make me lonely. I don't like trekking through big areas along without a party. That anime-ish or whatever you call it character interaction amuses me and makes me laugh and sometimes touches me(Chrono Trigger, just to name one), heck, it's a motivator and something that helps bring me back to the games. I'm a sucker for characterization, I might even say I'm an addict of fictional characters, even spending hour upon hour online reading ridiculous speculation about motivations in the Mother series and the like. Even games where it doesn't matter like fighting games I love reading character bios.

I've definitely played a few bad jRPGs. But I've never played a wRPG where I didn't feel fairly unfulfilled by the end of it. They just don't feel memorable. Whereas jRPGs have touched me in ways that pretty much nothing else in life has.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

I prefer the right one...... a "western" RPG. I truly hate FF and other games that use that combat style.

 

[deathspa202]

I may be the black sheep but I definitely prefer jrpgs over western rpgs, not to say there aren't good western rpgs there however the focus on the characters and sweeping stories in jrpgs I find much more satisfying than the open worldness and focus on the setting that is present in so many western rpgs.

 

[Vern5]

This is a tough one for me and it took me 5 extra seconds of thought to formulate the right text to express that complexity.

WRPGS: I like a greater number of WRPGs compared to JRPGs. Western-developers seem to have a better brain for creating fantasy and science-fiction settings and this mentality is most prevalent in works like The Elder Scrolls series and Mass Effect (1-2 as I have no access to 3 since it didn't come to Steam).

JRPGS: While I like more WRPGS than JRPGS, the enjoy the hell out of the Japanese games I have and it takes longer for me to tire of them as opposed to Western games I can get bored with over one weekend. JRPGs (The Shin Megami series specifically) seem to have a more fascinating relationship with bending the current world into magical and dangerous playgrounds of wonder. However, JRPGs set in the past or future (All Final Fantasy games) seem to deliver less compelling settings in lieu of concentrating on interpersonal relationships. Still, when I need a desperately challenging game that doesn't smell of Swords & Sorcery (or rayguns and spaceships) I usually end up trolling for JRPGs.

 

[TehCookie]

JRPGs since they have better combat. I'm one of the few who likes turn based or menu driven combat. A mixed real time action/menu combat makes me vomit, and shooters with choices are not RPGs (you need stats and levels). I also prefer JRPG tropes over WRPGs, I'd much rather play as a pretty boy than some ugly dude and the worlds are a lot more diverse than the overused Tolkien fantasy or post apocalypse setting.

 

[Weaver]

I like them both really, no particular preferences. I find a good JRPG does, in general, spin a better yarn in terms of characters than most WRPGs do. This is judged basically on my subjective attachment to the characters. On the flipside, I find most WRPGs create a better and more interesting world; making reading about all the backstory and political systems more interesting, etc. Though I feel studios are playing the "dark fantasy" thing to the hills and it's getting really annoying. Why can't we have somewhere interesting like Morrowind with it's mushroom mage's college that you could ride to on giant bugs that were basically taxis? What about the bizarre world of planescape? How have we had so little games based in any of the interesting D&D worlds? For christ sake, we need to move away from Tolkien copied fantasy.

I like Tolkien, but god damn. At least Skyrim went all the way Norse. It was, at the very least, something we don't see much. Really, I almost want a fantasy game where basically everything is okay. Where there isn't a huge massive evil threatening everything. Where cities are actually thriving. Where the populous is, for the most part, content with their lives.

Anyways, I think not playing a JRPG because it's cartoony and you think you're too manly or adult to play it is absolutely ridiculous and does nothing but highlight the juvenile desire to "be adult" and to "do grown up things" on behalf of this particular type player. This is likely the same type of person who thinks Gears of War is actually a mature game. (Note this is different from simply not liking the style due to a matter of personal taste.)

Really, I prefer old CRPGs and strategy RPGs as they at least have a modicum of depth to their game design. Stuff now is basically "go to new town, get new weapons that are in every way better than your last ones, etc." There's no choice any more.

Even in WRPG's there isn't really choice.

 

[Tony2077]

i like both but the story worlds in jrpgs seem to be more interesting to me since i think this is a generalization but most of wrpgs are medieval fantasy or such style. I'm sorry i hate to make generalization like that so correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Weaver]

i like both but the story worlds in jrpgs seem to be more interesting to me since i think this is a generalization but most of wrpgs are medieval fantasy or such style. I'm sorry i hate to make generalization like that so correct me if I'm wrong

That's pretty accurate, at least for most WRPGs in the last 6-8 years. It's like people forgot "fantasy" means you can basically dream up whatever you want and instead means it must be middle earth, complete with elves and dwarves.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

It depends what I'm playing on.

PC: wrpg, mostly because there are no jrpg made for pc that I know of (ports don't count)

console: wrpg, though exceptions can be made if a jrpg does something I find refreshing. Though the last time that happened was Valkyria Chronicles. IMO it's one of the finest strategy rpgs ever made and it's rather disheartening not more people recognized this and, you know, bought it.

handheld: jrpg, mostly because handhelds are rather lacking in wrpgs, but also because handheld jrpgs tend to focus more on gameplay than the console cousins.

 

[Padwolf]

I quite enjoy both, but I do get tired when there are angsty protagonists or when they are just sullen for no real reason, and that goes for both JRPG's and WRPG's. If the game and story are great I will enjoy them no matter what they are.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

I obviously love both, but I find JRPGs to be much more creative with universes and aesthetics. Most WRPGs aren't nearly as imaginative and mainly stick to Tolkien, Real-life, and Star Trek.

Anyone who wants to combat that, feel free to rec some games.