The Better RPG: Japanese or Western? - IGN Conversation

A reader wants to know which region makes the best role-playing games. So, Greg and Colin debate.

[MrSoftypolimer]

JRPG is more like a playing novel IMO. Linear but great storytelling. You experience whatever the main characters develop with the storyline. On the other hand, most WRPG gives you an options allowed you to develop your own main characters with a unique experience during the game. However, too much freedom in game can cause a frustration at times.

[Dobriden_dobriden]

matter of preference - I pick wrpgs by a country mile lol. You can't top Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, KOTOR, Witcher, Neverwinter Nights, Divinity Original Sin, Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Gothic, Might and Magic, Torment, Nox, Fable, Icewind Dale, Mass Effect, Jesus Halelujah I can go on for days

[mrpibb]

Easy a wrpg that looks as pretty as a jrpg and has those snazzy fighting animations that don't seem boring and dry
a jrpg that has the open world and choices of a wrpg and doesnt feel linear in character customization and story

-skyrim with mods- 

the JWrpg hybrid, that is the age I am awaiting.

[AhLadiesman]

Yeah it's definitely! JRPGs for me the story is usually much deeper & interesting and there is always great! imagination put into them.

[jamstrings]

I don't like the way this video angles their POV though, that WRPGs are waaaay better than JRPGs, because that simply isn't true.  There are good and bad in all genres.  JRPGs have far too many classics to discount the genre like so many people do.

[TheDuckClock]

One thing I have noticed about WRPG's especially some of the classic ones like Baulder's Gate, Diablo and Fallout is that most of them have a really drab color palette, often mostly dark green/brownish landscaped, Mass Effect is probably an exception to this rule depending on what planet you're on at the time.

JRPG color palette's are often much more vibrant and and at times I feel far more artistic in scenery. Often going with neon colors for use with magic.

[TheFlyinSquirrel]

I prefer wrpgs because I feel they're more immersive, but I LOVED legend of dragoon. I honestly don't think comparisons give the genres justice. It all comes down to preference.

[Jugador]

I love WRPGs and JRPGs. WRPGs like Mass Effect, KOTOR and Fallout 3 were awesome games. I spent hours upon hours playing those games. JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Tales are great and I've spent just as much time as I do with Western RPGs. But if I were to choose, I prefer JRPGs because I'm more familiar with them and I have always felt a sense of nostalgia when playing them (since those were the games that got me into the RPG genre). And they seem easier on the eye.

[BlackIce]

Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, Mass Effect Series, Elder Scrolls Series, Jade Empire, Baldur's Gate, Fallout Series.

You were saying?

[War]

I can't pick. Both styles of RPG bring their own flavor, and I love it.

[DannyTHXxAciDxX]

if this mean "Skyrim or Final Fantasy"

FF is cool but i prefer Skyrim :)

[Crow-ncoo]

Wrpg easy... Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wasteland, Dragon Age, Witcher, Fable, Pillars of Eternity, Mass effect I can go on and on..

[videogamesworld]

who cares whitch is better? both have many things to offer and both are incredible the only reason jrpg stand more is because they made the genre more accesable 

[iKhanKing]

I think the recent success on handhelds of JRPGs is a great indicator that demand for photorealism and a lack of publicity is the main factor. Handhelds really aren't that powerful, and therefore can't hit the level of photorealism consoles can. So the market is very open to new JRPGs. Thats why we saw The World Ends With You succeed.

[レッド-hi]

Easy, JRPG. My fav jrpgs are Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Persona 3, and Lunar Eternal Blue. My fav wrpgs are SW KOTOR, Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 2, Planescape Torment, and Witcher 3

[Kytota]

The idea of the RPG did start out in Western countries but the Japanese helped the RPG genre by innovating it in the early 90s and improving it by leaps. Without Square Enix and the other companies, we probably would not get many great games we have today.

But, its obvious as hell that JRPGs have slowed down to a near-halt. Games like FF became a joke and there technically isn't anything 'new'. Its sad, really.

[ihatecabbage]

Jrpg all the way, yeah I do WRPG, they are good! But to me JRPG with vibrant world, colorful characters and funny dialogue is actually make the game fun.

The reason I play Skyrim, Dragon Age and Baldurs Gate is simple, MODs! 

Japanese RPG, you need mods only for graphic overhaul, if not they are perfectly fine!

[VelvetAura]

Like I said, it depends on your stance. I feel as though the immersion factor has merit in its own right, because not everyone can feel immersed and involved if they're just following a set story, like in JRPGs. You can care, because it was made for you to care, but they can still sour the experience quite a bit if done incorrectly because of that.

[JimmysGeoLP]

JRPGs all the way!I can't even compare them to WRPGs!I am a huge JRPG fan!!I love them!

[Sephyroth]

Bioware's RPG focus more on immersion on the world created by them; while in JRPGs you often feel like you're following the protgonist on his journey, in bioware's rpgs you're the protagonist. It's different, but forging your own story doesn't have the same emotional ammount of following a precise one that's made to hit the player u_u