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Role Playing (Games) Entertainment Games

RPGs - East Versus West? 93

Posted by simoniker from the we-vote-hawaiian dept.
Thanks to GameSpy for their Spy/Counterspy column discussing the relative advantages and disadvantages of Western and Japanese RPGs. According to GameSpy editor Benjamin Turner's less-enthusiastic view of Japanese RPGs: "I want to create my own characters instead of playing someone else's; I want to explore a world at my own pace rather than being shuffled through a pre-planned, linear progression. Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience." However, editor Christian Nutt's rebuttal suggests: "While there are entertaining elements to Western RPGs... the way that all of the design elements of a great Japanese RPG work in concert to offer a truly engaging experience as a whole is what really excites me the most."
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RPGs - East Versus West? More

RPGs - East Versus West?

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  • Ultima 7 has yet to be surpassed... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by andrewski ( 113600 ) on Saturday August 02, 2003 @12:10AM (#6594174) Homepage
    In terms of sheer depth, scope, variety, and detail U7 is still king in my mind. The ability to do almost anything silly makes me so happy.
    • I'd also recomment the (shareware!) Exile series. CRPG-style, "Western", where the game is very nonlinear. The Fallout series is also worth a look.

      I tend to also favor nonlinear ("Western") RPGs. I've always felt that if you're going to just want a movie, for the love of God, watch the move. Higher budget, and you don't have to do a bunch of work (build up, build up, build up) to watch little snippits of said low-budget movie.

      Now, a Western RPG lets you explore, do what you want.

      As an interesting asi

      • I've always felt that if you're going to just want a movie, for the love of God, watch the move. Higher budget, and you don't have to do a bunch of work (build up, build up, build up) to watch little snippits of said low-budget movie.

        Console RPGs have a much broader scope than a movie. A novel might be a more fair comparison, but those don't have the audiovisual or interactive elements. A TV miniseries is probably the closest other medium. The experience is still pretty different, though.

        Now, a We

        • Console RPGs have a much broader scope than a movie. A novel might be a more fair comparison, but those don't have the audiovisual or interactive elements. A TV miniseries is probably the closest other medium. The experience is still pretty different, though.

          I don't agree. The story is mostly advanced during cutscenes/story bits...and there isn't more than two hours of cutscenes in any game that I can think of. The overland exploration mode and combat mode generally contain very little story advancement

          • I don't agree. The story is mostly advanced during cutscenes/story bits...and there isn't more than two hours of cutscenes in any game that I can think of. The overland exploration mode and combat mode generally contain very little story advancement.

            Umm... off the top of my head, every Final Fantasy game (to pick the most standard console-style RPGs there are) has more than two hours of cutscenes / story bits, counting all dialogue as "story bits", unless you read really fast. You're right that combat

        • I think the reason they use the terms "Western" and "Eastern" is that they identified the games based on their place of origin, and the reason you (and I) use "computer RPG" and "console RPG" is because we identify them based on their platform. Now, consoles are a lot more popular in Japan than PCs, and perhaps vice versa in the US (although certainly not by as much). However, I think you're reading too much into this. There's absolutely no reason you can't write a {Western,console-style} RPG for the PC, an

          • I think the terms Console-RPG and Computer-RPG are used as much as Eastern-/Western- or American-/Japanese-, and all related to the primary origin of the style rather than any limitations.
            [...]
            It's not that the two platforms limit the games this way (although they may have in the past), it's that it's the traditional style of play on those platforms which leads to the genres being named this way.

            I actually think I agree with you. Note how I (mistakenly) claimed that I use "computer RPG" and "consol

            • I've noted the lack of good terms for these two types of game before. It's kind of annoying, because they're really separate genres, or at least subgenres, that have about as much in common as go-kart racing and a realistic car simulation, or tournament fighters and brawlers, but people who don't really know anything about either one tend to assume they're the same since they have the same name. "Oh, that's an RPG, you'd like that."

              I agree, and even though I like fighting games I don't really know the dif

              • I agree, and even though I like fighting games I don't really know the difference between say a brawler or a tournament fighter (though if I knew, it might explain some of my likes/dislikes in those cases).

                Tournament figher: Street Fighter. Brawler: Final Fight (or more recently, The Bouncer). You probably did know the difference but the latter category didn't occur to you... brawlers aren't extremely common these days, and most people just call tournament fighters "fighting games".

                Console-RPGs and

                • Tournament figher: Street Fighter. Brawler: Final Fight (or more recently, The Bouncer). You probably did know the difference but the latter category didn't occur to you... brawlers aren't extremely common these days, and most people just call tournament fighters "fighting games".

                  OK, I get it now, it's probably more that I haven't really played a brawler since the Genesis days than anything else, unless you include the extra mode in a couple of the Tekken console games. For some reason I was thinking that

    • Yeah, Ultima 7 is wonderful. I used to just merely like the game until I actually started playing it seriously, at which point I realized it really, absolutely, totally rules. Not only has the Ultima series generally had extremely original plots, but U7 is particularly nice in this respect.

      Since I've played next to no JRPGs (Some bits of FF7, a hugish chunk of Breath of Fire), I've yet to see a JRPG that has the option of Baking Bread. Bet it's there somewhere, but it sure is in U7 =)

      And while JRPGs gen

      • "I've yet to see a JRPG that has the option of Baking Bread."

        Try Star Ocean II or Legaia II: Dual Saga for bread making. I am sure there are a few other games that have cooking in them, but i cant think of any off the top og my head. Maybe one of the Harvest Moon games.

  • Not East vs. West, but Prolific vs. Sporadic (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Txiasaeia ( 581598 ) on Saturday August 02, 2003 @12:11AM (#6594179)
    It's really, really, REALLY hard to fault Japanese RPGs -- if you don't like one, there's about fifty million others to try. Xenosaga, .hack, the FF series, Chrono series, etc. etc. There's tonnes of good ones out there, with varying themes and settings.

    As for western RPGs... well, we're kinda limited in our choices. Want to play in a fantasy setting? Great! Pick from five (in the last couple of years). Steampunk? One choice. Sci-fi? Sorry, out of luck.

    • yea but while there are loads of JRPGs out there, there sort of the same. i mean, i when i play the newest FF, i usually know at least 80% of the plot in advance, and its not the type of game i want to play twice.
      actually, with the newest FF, i thought it was more of an interactive movie, with the game parts being anoying sequences you had to play to get on with the story

    • blah (Score:2, Informative)

      by Clockwurk ( 577966 )
      Sci-fi? Sorry, out of luck

      Fallout 1 and 2 ??
      • He was talking contemporary, otherwise your point is valid.

      • Re:blah (Score:3, Informative)

        by Rayonic ( 462789 )
        Deus Ex, arguably.

        Freelancer definately.

        Anachronox too.

        Anarchy Online technically fits the bill.

        System Shock 2, Fallout Tactics, Neocron, Wasteland, Earth and Beyond.

        Heck, I'd say there are at least as many sci-fi Western RPGs as there are Eastern ones.

        • Re:blah (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Txiasaeia ( 581598 )
          Deus Ex is a FPS with very, very strong RPG elements. I'd call it a RPG/FPS hybrid.

          Freelancer is not an RPG, any more than Privateer was. It's a great game, but it's closer to an action game than an RPG.

          Anachronox was great, but it's how old now? Besides, it was greatly (and obviously) influenced by JRPGs, as was Septerra Core, so much that I'd call them Eastern RPGs developed in the West.

          Anarchy Online is an MMORPG; strictly speaking, not a CRPG. (This gets fuzzy, but one could argue that MMO games a

          • Re:blah (Score:3, Interesting)

            by Rayonic ( 462789 )
            Well, I don't want to get into an argument about the definition of "RPG", because nobody ever reaches a consensus on it. I was just grokking a list of sci-fi games that could be loosely-defined as an RPG, and not limiting myself to the classic definition of CRPG.

            Also, does changing the perspective and battle system of an RPG suddenly mean it's not an RPG anymore? If Deus Ex is not really an RPG, then neither is Ultima Underworld. Yes, there is some action, but JRPGs mix in action all the time -- Star Oc
          • Could be that is what going on is that these games are far greater in complexity then their japanese counterparts? Fallout had a shit load of different endings, and it takes a lot of work to make sure it all balances out in the end. (no super weapons available to soon, no critical characters killed off, not getting trapped into super though missions to early).

            Compare that to the far more on rails gameplay of the FF series. Do they even have multiple endings? (sorry but I never finished one as I got bored)

            • A number of FF games had differing endings, not sure that all of them do.
              Some key events in the games for example determine the endings.

              Chrono Trigger is the most obvious Squaresoft game that you can see different endings based on a bajillion things inthe game.

      • That is what he was reffering to as steampunk.
    • KOTOR for sci-fi, one needs no other. GG fanboy. Regardless of theme and setting, all JRPGs are the same. Can I have at least one choice in my path please? Please?
      • yeah, like in metal gear solit they threw in the one torture sequence and all it does is give you a choice of one ending or the other, the whole rest of the game is the same. You cant formulate your own strategy, you just linearly do as you're told.

        • It's the difference between *hearing* a story, and *telling* a story.

          With Japanese style RPGs, you're often listening to a story being told; no matter what you do, the basic story is always the same. Sub-plots and side-quests give it some variety, but when you get right down to it, you're watching a play.

          Western style RPGs try to have you *telling* the story; you choose, with varying degrees of freedom, how the story will turn out. You're not watching a play, you're writing one.

  • This is journalism? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rayonic ( 462789 ) on Saturday August 02, 2003 @01:04AM (#6594349) Homepage Journal
    The first guy had extensive experience with both JRPG and CRPG games. He stated his positive and negative experiences with JRPGs, then explained why he later learned to love CRPGs more.

    The second guy admitted that he had no experience with CRPGs: "I'll admit that my experience with Western RPGs is comparatively limited." What the hell? Then he launches into a mushy rant where he describes the strong points of some JRPGs he has played, and hardly even mentions how CRPGs compare in those areas. Well, I guess he can't, since he hasn't played any. (He seems to admit that he fooled around with KOTOR a bit, or maybe just watched it.)

    The very idea that a "Western" RPG can't have an engaging storyline is complete bollocks. Certainly Morrowind doesn't have the most engaging plot, but what about Planescape Torment or Fallout?

    Maybe some people just can't get immersed in a good storyline if they have to make decisions in it (i.e. Role-Play). That indicates a certain lack of imagination, IMHO.

    • It's not even Point/Counterpoint (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Nakanai_de ( 647766 ) on Saturday August 02, 2003 @01:30AM (#6594427)
      The first guy had extensive experience with both JRPG and CRPG games. He stated his positive and negative experiences with JRPGs, then explained why he later learned to love CRPGs more.

      Well, yes, but one of his negative points WRT JRPGs was bad translation. Negative for FFVII: the translation was nearly sub-literate. Positive for Wizardry VII: wonderfully written text. The translation is hardly the fault of the game. In fact, a bad translation can completely ruin the main reason to play JRPGs- the storyline.

      That's just a sidenote, though. The main beef I have w/ this article is that it's not a point/counterpoint. The second person is supposed to take the arguments of the first and refute them. (For example, take the point about lack of character customization in JRPGs and trot out Final Fantasy Tactics as a counterexample. Or counter the claim of Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience. with the example of Seiken Densetsu 3.

      As it is, this article suffers from the main problem of point/counterpoint as it is written by amateurs, namely that the two sides talk right past each other so it's less like a debate and more like two, unconnected rants. I definitely think that the difference between Japanese and Western RPG design makes an interesting topic of discussion, but I imagine there will be more insightful comments here on /. (like this one, if you're reading, moderators :) ) than there were in this drivel.

      • That's just a sidenote, though. The main beef I have w/ this article is that it's not a point/counterpoint. The second person is supposed to take the arguments of the first and refute them. (For example, take the point about lack of character customization in JRPGs and trot out Final Fantasy Tactics as a counterexample. Or counter the claim of Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience. with the example of Seiken Densetsu 3.

        Just as a quick counterpoint,
    • The very idea that a "Western" RPG can't have an engaging storyline is complete bollocks. Certainly Morrowind doesn't have the most engaging plot, but what about Planescape Torment or Fallout?

      i wouldn't say Morrowinds story is bad, its just that it isn't forced on you. if you really want to understand the world it plays in, you'll have to read lots of (in game) books and talk to otherwise useless people. if you just do the main quest and a guild or two, or think the only use for books is to increase your
  • I have noticed that contrast between RPGs, and I was wondering if there were any that had a set story line and set characters that also allowed one to make your own character and diverge from the set story line. In much the same way that non-computer RPGs (e.g. AD&D, White Wolf, GURPS, etc") do with pen and paper. I know that there are tons of automatic character generation scripts (and programs) out there and tons of map generators but I've never seen an actual RPG that fulfills both.
    I could imagine

    • Re:RPGs that combine elements of both JRPG & U (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      IMO fallout 2 gets closest to what you are looking for. You start out as "the chosen" of a dying tribe which wants you to find the eden creation kit, but after you're out of the camp, you can pretty much do anything you want to. There's only one ending, regardless of what you do while searching the kit, but it's still one of the most "free" CRPGs out there.
    • is called daggerfall [the-underdogs.org].

      Be warned about two things though:
      1) The graphics suck
      2) it can ruin your (real) life.
    • I think Planetscape Torment might fit that bill. You start out with 1 character wich you do not name, The nameless one, and a sidekick. But how you play that character is up to you and in a way that is even the goal of the game. Since you have a pretty defined and extensive past (you are someone who doesn't passover when you die you just lost youre memory but stayed in the same body) it is now up to you to decide who you really are.

      One of the most important parts of the game has someone ask you "What can c

      • I'm curious -- why do you like vi more?

        Most people I've seen that prefer vi do so because it has a fast startup time (so they can open one instance per document), or because they got used to it on BSD (which has a strong vi tradition).

        I use vi only for editing of large files, since AFAIK emacs cannot do out-of-memory editing.
        • Sorry to moderators, this is off topic but the guy asked alright?

          Very simple. I like the difference between edit and command mode. I don't know why but the first time I used it on an AIX machine it just worked for me. I have tried other editors and all of them feel annoying after vi. In gentoo wich comes with an oddball "simpler" editor I always end up with x, i and a all over the place :)

          To be honest I never tried emacs for more then a few seconds. I just can't/don't want to get used to it.

          But yes th

          • Huh. That's actually a good point -- I think that a lot of editor infighting comes from the fact that people have made a serious time investment in really learning one editor, definitely do not want to do the same for another editor, and can't stand the thought of having to learn another. So folks start out with one and then argue in favor of it.

            I happened to start with emacs, mostly because a professor of mine happened to recommend it, and I've generally preferred it to vi ever since, but I also have ab

  • Interactive movies (Score:2, Insightful)

    by nsideops ( 579890 )
    As someone else said, to many rpgs are nothing more than interactive movies to me, and most seem to have very little on the interactive side. I've always been one of those few final fantasy haters and with each release my hate for them just seemed to get worse. 20mins of movie, 5mins of game play. This does not appeal to me at all. To many action games are taking this idea way to far as well (Metal Gear Solid 2), but thats another story. When I play a game, I want to play a game, not watch a movie. No
    • Did you even read the article? do you realize you just repeated a version of the difference between C and J RPGs? I mean you just compared two completely opposing styles - FF and KOTR.
    • Yeah, they should make a movie from Final Fantasy! That would be great... Or mediocre and overhyped.

      Actually the creators of Xenogears/Xenosaga have announced they're going to make a Xenosaga anime, and fans have already cut together Xenosaga episode 1 into a 13 episode anime-like series. Check that out if you want to get the story without the game.
    • The FMV "problem" really isnt a FF specific problem, square jsut makes with the pretty.
      FF1-6 never had a lick of FMV, and only a few small non user controlled cutscenes.
      FF7 gave us some pretty cutscenes that IMO were well used to creat an atmosphere or tell a part of the story that the ingame engine couldnt do justic to (a few years later we have square amking a game with no FMV and all ingame cutscenes).
      With FF8 we had a little bit more FMV, and the same escalation happened with 9.
      IMO in 9 the non cutscene

  • KOTOR (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 02, 2003 @01:16AM (#6594384)
    First of all, I'll come out and say im a Japanese RPG fan, so you know where I'm coming from.

    Im just playing through Star Wars: KOTOR for the second time... The first time through I was the perfect hero in every situation, and the story arc basically followed a Japanese RPG. Your character is selfless, etc, etc. With the Evil character though, I was really dissapointed. You have freedom, but it was very very limited. You become the most evil and powerful sith in the galaxy, and people will still refer to you as a member of the republic, etc. There are lots of faults with consistency and what "makes sense." Fallout did a much better job with this, I think. Western game's freedom is just another variable that can be pulled off very well or not so well. Once games get ambitious enough to really let you do anything (*crossing fingers for Fable*) I think Eastern RPG fans will be more pleased. Personally, I would rather have a completely linear story than something that is only partially open ended. You have to ask yourself, if you have freedom with THIS, why not freedom with THAT? If things get open ended enough though, and do so with a decent story line, that would be great.
    • But you can't always base a game on what could be, you must base the game on what they actaully offer you. KOTOR does have a far more linear storyline than say Morrowind, but I see it as a linear storyline with a lot of leeway. Personally, I would rather have the freedoms to explore and experiment than be locked into a set path for the entire game like so many eastern rpgs limit you to. Sure, some eastern rpgs offer great stories but they have little to no freedom or differences to experience on repeated
    • Pretty much no one refers to you as a member of the republic in KOTOR after you actually go sith with your allegiances. When you encounter Bastilla on the unknown planet, you can decisively "go evil", at which point no one will have much doubt who you're working for. Until that point, you're still ostensibly carrying out the mission of the Jedi council - even if you're privately already planning to betray them all.
  • Chrono Trigger.

  • A hybrid of the 2 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by saia ( 657352 ) on Saturday August 02, 2003 @01:50AM (#6594476)
    Each of the 2 different styles of RPGs are great in their own way, but I have only seen one game I would consider a hybrid of the 2. That game would be Legend of Mana for PSOne.

    It's got the whole Japanese elements of the cutesy anime graphics and predeteremined plot lines.

    The Western elements are that you choose what your character uses and by using certain skills, they develop into other skills. You also determine how the world is rebuilt and what order you choose to do side quests. You can even tell the NPCs to screw off if you want and thus end a plot line. And if you do one set of events before another, they are no longer available.

    The replay value of this comes from discovering the various plot lines you miss the first time, and you will miss some.

    So each time you play, the world comes out a little different and your character comes out a little different but the overall plot is still followed.

    Any other hybrids between the 2 styles?

    • Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Lands for the PS2 is one of the most interesting hybrids I've come across. It's a Western series but this particular game was done by a Japanese developer, covering a lot of the pros that the article mentioned on both sides. First person dungeon hack action, fully customisable characters and interesting quests/side-stories abound. The art is fairly incredible too, but lots of text descriptions of events keep the old-school feel.

      People tend to forget that Square are not the on
      • You forgot Game Arts.

        Lunar and Grandia, some of the most entertaining and challenging JRPGS ever made.

        But yea, people tend to forget that there is more than Square in this genre. In fact, there is more than Final Fantasy. Want a non-linear JRPG? Try the Saga series. It's not that GOOD, but it's something.
        • I think it's more to the point that FF is the most well-known of the JRPG series. Even most of the stuff mentioned in the previous post was at least published by Enix, which is part of Square now.

          Personally, I like the SaGa series (at least, what I've played of it, which admittedly isn't much), but it's very definitely a different style of game. Still, the games are very much story-driven, just as the FF games are, even if you get to choose the order in which the parts of the story are told.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Mmmff..I'd say that Legend of Mana leans seriously towards the Eastern side. It does have a few Western elements in it, but so did, say, FF5.
  • It depends on what your playing.

    Sure, we all have a pretty good idea of what a typical Japanese RPG is, but this ignores the fact that they are not all the same. For every Final Fantasy style game, there is a Dragon Quest style game with its own look and feel. Not all games force you to move from one cut scene to another, it just so happens that the most popular and most easily recognized Japanese RPGs do.

    Western RPGs have their draw backs as well though. Games like Balder's gate or Morrowind are absu
    • There are *really* people out there who consider games like Baldur's Gate I and II to be *too* long? No wonder the devs made NWN so short!

      Seriously man, give these two another go. The ultimate conclusion of the plot in Throne of Bhaal is incredible.

      • NWN short? It's only as short as your imagination... Or are you talking about the near useless module included in the box, do people even play that?
    • agreed BG 1 and 2 were 2 slow paced for my tastes as well try Neverwinter... it is exclent it sucks you in and doesnt let go the story is exclent

    • Re:depends (Score:3, Insightful)

      by IIRCAFAIKIANAL ( 572786 )
      Games like Balder's gate or Morrowind are absurdly long, 60 hours plus

      Somebody hasn't played Dragon Warrior VII - I'm 60 hours in and I still have at least 10 hours before I can beat it. DWVII also features interesting character customization abilities - not too different than FFV or FFT - though it would easily take 200+ hours to master all the classes for everyone.

      For comparison, I beat morrowind in around 40 hours and baldur's gate in 60 hours (and I did every single quest in baldur's gate too).

      Final
      • Oh no I know how long DW7 is, but I was able to stick with it a lot longer, it just has, IMO much better pacing. Balders gate was like this big rut: welcome to town, half a dozen people unload their troubles on me, I run around and solve the quests, move on to next area. Sure this is typical RPG structure and certainly DW7 does it too, but its so much more elegant in DW7, and it ultimately leads to a more interesting game.

      • I beat morrowind in around 40 hours and baldur's gate in 60 hours (and I did every single quest in baldur's gate too).

        Not in a single 60-hour game you didn't. Certain quests are spawned by alignment and people in your party -- there is no possible way to have every NPC join your group at every required point that a side quest can spawn, and there is no way to have every alignment in a single game. In addition, certain quests are based on other quests -- if you did one, then the rest are closed to you.

    • I definitely agree with this, I recently tried to play Morrowind and was really impressed with how much freedom I had. This was until I got lost several times, died a bit, and then couldn't find where the plot was going. I gave up playing that and went back to finishing Final Fantasy Tactics, which has a linear storyline, but it's a good one. Sometimes all I want is a good story which I have to fight for.
  • As I was reading the article and the responses here, I just couldn't help thinking "what about pen & paper RPGs?" I know, I know, it's not technology, it's not computers...but it could be, in the game. That's the whole point of "actual" RPGs, they can be anything and everything you want them to be. Don't like a rule the people who made the game came up with? Don't use it! Make up your own! Why not? Do whatever is the most fun for you and your friends. I dunno. Maybe I'm just a geek.
  • Although I like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior/Quest, Games like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, and Morrowind completley outclass even the best final fantasies.
  • Seriously; I love well told stories and interesting plot developments, hence, I love the good JRPGs, such as Phantasy Star 1/2/4, Chrono Trigger, PANZER DRAGOON SAGA, and some FF games.

    When I want a very customizable dungeon crawl/quest-oriented game, CRPGs fit the bill. The shortcomings with these are the exact opposite of JRPGs; weak stories most of the time (there are some notable exceptions such as Fallout and Planescape: Torment) and more of an emphasis on character stats.

    It really has to do w
  • How about art? There are some people who are no fond of running around with spiked hair, a six-foot sword and the eyes of the size of coasters. While we don't try to wipe such games of the face of earth, we choose to ignore them on the store shelves and rather opt for games where your character actually looks vaguelly human (or reptilian or feline, for that matter). As it so happens, people like would pick a western RPG over a Japanese RPG 99.9% of the time. But as they say - there's no coounting for ta
    • Apart from the quibe that 56% of statistics are made up on the spot I have to disagree with you a bit. Sure there is no accounting for taste in liking or disliking the art in a game.

      For myself however I would have missed a great game in Planetscape Torment if I had let myself be turned off by the huge boobs. Every female character no matter her age had a rack that would make Dolly Parton go "Ouch my back".

      Great games are more then just the artwork. Maybe I am just to old and to used to games where you wer

      • I agree that great games need more than artwork, but in the case of RPGs, the atmosphere is still the king. I've been playing games ever since I remember, and I must admit that with rare exceptions, DOS games have had the best atmosphere. Games like DUngeon Master, the Wizardry series, Might and Magic series, Ultima Underworld, Lands of Lore, the Ishar series and the Eye of the Beholder series never leave my harddrive. All these games have one thing in common: they take place in a fantasy world that's mo
  • I have high hopes for Black Isle Studio's Lionheart. It uses the same S.P.E.C.I.A.L RPG system as Fallout and I imagine it will be very open ended. In the Demo I killed a merchant out in the woods. Instead of all of the NPC's coming after me like in other RPG's I got the Merchant Slayer Perk which said the "The Underground notes that you have an inclination towards killing merchants." Which I am sure would lead to side quests later in the game. If it is anything like Fallout you should be able to do whateve
    • Yeah, there was a link to the demo on the article's site. I didn't know it was out. I've been looking forward to Lionheart for a while. I didn't know there were still so many OTHER fans of Fallout(actually, I only played Fallout 2).
  • From my experience here are the differences between Western and Eastern RPGs:

    JRPGS:
    Mostly console only which results in:
    -You put the damm disc into the machine and it magically works! (though lately console games are begining to crop bad bugs)
    -Graphics: Typically jrpgs are visually more pleasing than wrpgs, even though wrpgs run on much better hardware
    -Extremely linear storyline: some people like it and some people don't, I think this stems from most consoles not having a harddrive and also from Asian

    • JRPGS:
      Mostly console only which results in:
      -You put the damm disc into the machine and it magically works! (though lately console games are begining to crop bad bugs)
      -Graphics: Typically jrpgs are visually more pleasing than wrpgs, even though wrpgs run on much better hardware

      This is just a matter of what pleases your eye. WRPGs tend towards more 'realistic' graphics, whereas JRPGs tend towards anime-like graphics. One is easier to pull off than the other (though I'd note that certain new technologies (li
  • I kinda grew up playing western rpgs. i didnt have any consoles when i was young, but we had the family computer. i was addicted to the (now boring) Wizardry dungeon crawler games, various D&D games andbest of all the Ultima Series. In fact I LOVED the Ultima series. I own original copies of 4, 5, 6, 7 (and the expansion packs) and 8. I loved the Brittania world, I loved the storyline ansd grew attatched to the characters. Even though I enjoyed playing the more non linear D&D style create-your-cha
    • The funny thing is that Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior over here) was spawned from Dungeons and Dragons players in Japan.
      anyone who thinks RPG games over there were not influenced by D&D hasnt looked closely. Most things get a bit of a cultural twist, or borrow from the mythology/religion of the area.

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