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[fireflame]

Despite having played jrpgs whne i was a teen, i find it harder nowdays to get back to jrpgs after having played western rpgs.

I have tried to figure why, and i have realized that one of the main reasons is that secondary quests in JRPGS are often lacking when compared to their western counterparts. A lot of them are mmo designed and involve collectin a certain amount of items, and the writing is not developped. I have read some feedbacks about ff15, and many gamers point out the repetitivty of side quests. I feel those people have probably experienced western rpgs and that their expectations are influenced by that.

I know that people often say that this is how jrpgs are meant to be, but i feel jrpgs would gain intensity and depth if they broowed some ideas from games like the witcher.

The Witcher 3 has a strong main quest but also awesome optional quests(the red baron and the tower of mice are my best memories of the game).

Another element s that generally, JRPGS focus on characters while western jrpgs develop the background, the credibility of the universe. But today, western rpgs are starting to develop the background of characters as well(and old crpgs used to do that already).
The consequence for me is that when i go back to jrpgs once in a while, i find myself frustrated because there is a main quest to follow, but i have not many opportunities to wander around. Even rpgs that are not poen world like Shadow Run games give me the feeling i have more freedom because i can pick contracts and do the quests i want, when i want.

Finally, there is a last element that is part of the essence of jrpgs, that bothers me. I feel that jrpgs are mainly "anime style" and that there are not many alternatives. My favourite series is smt series so far, because the universe brings me something other jrpgs do not, but i tend to yearn for new kind of jrpgs. I cannot help but wonder how things would be if jrpgs took a more realistic approach : would it hurt their identity or could it bring a bit of freshness?

While mangas have promoted japanese culture around the world, i am sure there are a lot of things about japanese medieval history that are not really explored, and that a lot of tales and myths are unknown to us.Things like wars between clans are generally developped in musou or strategy games, but few jrpgs take a historical approach.

 

[xviper]

you're not used to western RPG, you're used to The witcher 3, that what happens when you play a masterpiece and then play mediocre RPG games

 

[janoDX]

you're not used to western RPG, you're used to The witcher 3, that what happens when you play a masterpiece and then play mediocre RPG games

But I played TW3 and never had those kinds of problems with JRPGs and other RPGs even putting over 100 hours in that game.

 

[Renekton]

They have far better combat than Witcher 3.

 

[Itchy//Tasty]

I am directly the opposite to you, OP.

 

[AzureFlame]

I had problems with Witcher 3 after playing bloodborne lol, also XV is one of the worst jrpgs I have ever played and is a bad example.

 

[Ascheroth]

This isn't so much a 'I like wrpgs more than jrpgs' problem, but rather a 'I like good games more than bad games' situation

A lot of your points aren't really inherent to either WRPGs or JRPGs.
You can have JRPGs with good side content and well-developed worlds alongside a strong main story and characters.
You can find WRPGs with braindead MMO fetch quests.

What I'm saying is, you should play Trails in the Sky.

 

[Travo]

Same here, OP. It's hard to go back to something like FF.

 

[Sentenza]

They have far better combat than Witcher 3.

Some may have it, some decidely don't.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Conversely, I find JRPGs to have way more variation in artstyle than than WRPGs. You get everything from Bloodborne to... er... Neptunia.

 

[Stygr]

I've been playing RPGa for 20 years, and yes, the western RPGs are my favorite, non linear story, character customization, deep and intricated storyline are all featurs that i liked compared to the standard JRPG hero, linear storyline with no choice and often bad side quests.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

you're not used to western RPG, you're used to The witcher 3, that what happens when you play a masterpiece and then play mediocre RPG games

I thought the same after he was talking about a focused main character and quality side quests. Thats a witcher 3 thing.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

Some may have it, some decidely don't.

Like?

 

[SomTervo]

Conversely, I find JRPGs to have way more variation in artstyle than than WRPGs. You get everything from Bloodborne to... er... Neptunia.

I find that artstyle almost impossible to stomach, in 98% of cases. More variety != better, necessarily.

They have far better combat than Witcher 3.

I had problems with Witcher 3 after playing bloodborne lol, also XV is one of the worst jrpgs I have ever played and is a bad example.

why would you do this to this thread

 

[Marcel]

One style of genre doesn't make me feel different about another. You have to separate these things out so you can ultimately enjoy a diverse amount of games. I'm not going to comparison shop between Witcher 3 and Persona 5 because they have totally different objectives for gameplay and player enjoyment.

 

[redcrayon]

I feel like it's not a fair comparison when you take one of the highly regarded wrpgs of recent years and compare it to FFXV, which is like me drawing conclusions about WRPGs and the level of their bloated MMO-like side-content based on DA Inquisition instead.

Another element s that generally, JRPGS focus on characters while western jrpgs develop the background, the credibility of the universe

Some do, some don't. The most popular wrpg last gen allowed you to be a Thane (sort of a household knight) in every single province simultaneously, the head of the mages guild without needing to cast a spell, the head of the Warriors guild without needing to swing an axe, the head of the thieves guild, the head of the assassins guild, a confidant of the leaders of all three factions, a master blacksmith, master alchemist, master-of-near-enough-anything on top of being dragonborn, having the Greybeard's attention, and the spawn of the mythological antagonist of the realm personally hunting you down, all at the same time and while nobody even comments on how many hats you're wearing or knows who you are. Freeform, a highly flexible roleplaying playground for whatever you choose to be? yes, and that's great. Credible in terms of any NPC commenting on how you can roam Skyrim doing 15 highly-influential and somewhat mutually-exclusive jobs while other high-tier npcs barely move between a table and their bed? Not really.

To be honest, that element of all factions keeping their doors open to you when you are clearly dedicated to other causes is a game design idea torn between not restricting the player at the cost of that credibility, it's something I really liked in Fallout NV as roads close to you.

There's such a wide variety of both types that it's possible to find good and bad examples of sidequests, combat, characters, exploration etc, whatever you're looking for in an rpg, on both sides of the (increasingly silly) divide as they take influence from each other.

 

[Nikodemos]

What I'm saying is, you should play Trails in the Sky.

You know, for all the acclaim that series gets, I simply can't get over the gaslamp fantasy look.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I find that artstyle almost impossible to stomach, in 98% of cases. More variety != better, necessarily.

Sure, but OP was claiming that there wasn't a lot of variety. If you aren't into realistic artstyles, there isn't a lot to choose from WRPGs.

 

[AzureFlame]

I find that artstyle almost impossible to stomach, in 98% of cases. More variety != better, necessarily.





why would you do this to this thread

Just sharing my opinion.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

What I like about JRPGs is that they're way more focused compared to WRPGs.

So yeah the lack of side quests is actually a plus for me.

 

[Sentenza]

Like?

Xenoblade and its Wii U sequel XBX have a surprisingly garbage combat system from top to bottom, if I've ever seen one.

But there would be plenty of other examples.

 

[-MB-]

Completely the reverse here. JRPGs actively make me dislike the WRPG genre from ever standpoint. No fun to be had with those for me.

 

[Ratrat]

you're not used to western RPG, you're used to The witcher 3, that what happens when you play a masterpiece and then play mediocre RPG games

The Witcher 3 is boring.
I have more fun playing Final Fantasy Tactics.

 

[JustSomeone]

Then just don't play JPRGs..No one is forcing you

 

[MKIL65]

You know, for all the acclaim that series gets, I simply can't get over the gaslamp fantasy look.

It has it's own charm too.

The Gaslamp Fantasy setting will always be there in many Jrpgs. That does not mean it can't be taken in a good direciton!

 

[LotusHD]

Don't really have much love for WRPGS outside of Witcher 3 tbh, and even that took me over a year to feel motivated to beat due to not enjoying the combat. Best RPG I've played so far this year is NieR: Automata. I enjoyed both of their approachs to the sidequests.

Those two aside, I dunno, I just generally lean towards JRPGS due to them tending to be far more interesting to me.

 

[crazy monkey]

Only things i do not like in any rpg( western or jrpg) is turn based fighting, too many items and bad inventory management.

 

[Kill3r7]

The only subgenre of JRPG games I like playing today is Soulsbourne games. That is it. I need to make time for P5 and Nier but that likely won't happen until next year.

 

[Sentenza]

Only things i do not like in any rpg( western or jrpg) is turn based fighting, too many items and bad inventory management.

Turn based when done well (i.e. Divinity Original Sin rather than Dragon Quest VIII) is my favorite style of combat, on the other hand.

 

[Arklite]

JRPGs could generally do better to improve side content and world interaction, but the rest sounds more like a distaste for JRPG aesthetics/tones. You're asking for a less JRPG JRPG? Or a more Westernized design to JRPGs? You bring up SMT so you'd like more somber/stoic tones? Any of these could happen but ideally they'd occur because of clear vision and design goals and not marketability.

It'd be great if we all liked all styles, but I could never get into Witcher and others could never stomach Persona, yet they both do different things brilliantly. East and West don't have to coalesce in design to be genuinely great separately.

 

[Nick Van Excel]

I had problems with Witcher 3 after playing bloodborne lol, also XV is one of the worst jrpgs I have ever played and is a bad example.

Nailed it. After playing Demon's Souls, Skyrim and The Witcher just seemed clunky

 

[hydrophilic attack]

if you want a slightly more realistic style and more focus on the world and lore over characters, then maybe you would enjoy souls

 

[Abdiel]

Yeah, I'll disagree here. The Witcher 3 was amazing in its own right, and I got the plat for it. But I overwhelmingly prefer jrpgs. Western rpgs tend to lose my interest really fast. I'll never play another Bethesda game again after wasting my time on Skyrim. Ugh.

 

[Patison]

The only issue I have with JRPGs is writing - the dialogues are far too patronizing and naïve most of the time. That's why the only ones I truly enjoyed are Nier and Trails in the Sky. Also I'm currently 8hrs in FFX and so far it's been a slog for that particular reason. The story itself is pretty interesting, but the way people talk... meh

 

[boiled goose]

Xenoblade and its Wii U sequel XBX have a surprisingly garbage combat system from top to bottom, if I've ever seen one.

But there would be plenty of other examples.

Disagree.

Xb was all about synergy and xbx was about making optimal skell builds.

On the surface they may seem simple, but they are pretty fun once you try to min max

 

[fireflame]

if you want a slightly more realistic style and more focus on the world and lore over characters, then maybe you would enjoy souls

That is a convincing example and in fact every time i am reminded it was made by a japanese studio it is hard for me to realize it, like it is an instance where i could not guess it was made in Japan.

 

[purseowner]

Opposite here, OP.

I have an insatiable appetite for JRPGs, and yet nearly every WRPG has bored me to tears.

 

[dukie85]

I'm the same as some other ppl here. I'll play WRPGs, but if you put a JRPG and a WRPG in front of me to choose from, I'll always go for the JRPG every time.

 

[Nikodemos]

I personally consider turn-based eastern-style RPGs weaker than their western counterparts, due to several issues: traversal and combat occur on different tilesets, combat areas tend to be small, combat mode can't be initiated at will (there's no "enter combat" button), enemies tend to respawn (I hate this).

Also, I can't seem to recall any example of an eastern-style RPG which uses command-RTwP combat mechanics, which I happen to prefer out of all combat systems. All I can think of are either full real-time (either direct control or timing-based) or turn-based. Anybody know some examples?

 

[theofficefan99]

WRPG's definitely have better world building and dialogue.

Outside of that, though? IMO JRPG's are far better.

I just can't get over pretty much all WRPG's being unpolished, having sloppy combat, forgettable soundtracks, generally uneventful stories, extremely dull artstyles, etc.

And I don't care for customizable characters or dialogue trees or whatever.

I'll take one well-crafted, exciting story with excellent presentation over a sloppily-presented story with a bunch of branching paths.

Of course, more power to the people who enjoy WRPG's and especially to those who love both.

 

[void666]

My first WRPG was oblivion. Mediocre as it may be it was mindblowing at the time. After that i just couldn't go back to JRPGs.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Witcher 3 has in its ancestry the revolutionary FF VII PC port.

There was much of what you seek, but you don't actually seek it. Many didn't either, that's why I went with "was" and not "is" there.

 

[Ralemont]

I can't play a specific style of game twice in a row; I get burned out and usually quit. Typically I try and alternate Japanese games with Western games because of how different they are.

By the time I finish a WRPG, I'm usually yearning for linearity and good combat
By the time I finish a JRPG, I'm usually looking for a fleshed out world and good writing

Or I just keep playing Matsuno games because they have everything

 

[emag]

Play Nier Automata.

The Witcher 3 has a strong main quest but also awesome optional quests(the red baron and the tower of mice are my best memories of the game).

It feels like a sidequest because it's largely unrelated to Geralt/Ciri, but the Red Baron storyline is mandatory (apart from accompanying the Baron to the confrontation with the Witches, which is optional). It's the main plotline for the first third of Witcher 3 (although why Geralt doesn't just use Axii to get the "information" he desires is never addressed).

 

[Budi]

Play Nier Automata.



It feels like a sidequest because it's largely unrelated to Geralt/Ciri, but the Red Baron storyline is mandatory (apart from accompanying the Baron to the confrontation with the Witches, which is optional). It's the main plotline for the first third of Witcher 3 (although why Geralt doesn't just use Axii to get the "information" he desires is never addressed).

It doesn't work on the stronger minded and trying to use it and fail would break the trust. It's like Jedi mind trick.

 

[petran79]

It is difficult to choose both D&D and Japanese otaku culture. Either one of two or none. But never both.

 

[Aters]

Stuff like Baldur's Gate or Divinity Original Sin are the only western RPG that can grab my interest. The Witcher 3 is the worst 60$ I have ever spent. Dreadful combat, unlikeable characters, all the shit in the world to pick up.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Xenoblade and its Wii U sequel XBX have a surprisingly garbage combat system from top to bottom, if I've ever seen one.

But there would be plenty of other examples.

How bout no

 

[Van Bur3n]

Conversely, I find JRPGs to have way more variation in artstyle than than WRPGs. You get everything from Bloodborne to... er... Neptunia.

That Neptunia shit is the epitome of disgusting weeb shit and one of the reasons I cannot dig most JRPGs. So many hideous art styles.

But yeah, OP. I myself am a WRPG guy with the only JRPGs I can stomach being Souls games because they actually have a good art direction. And The Witcher 3, well, that's just unfair. It tops all games of both genres. It's going to be troublesome to play an other RPG afterwards regardless. Except for Fallout New Vegas.

 

[Aaronrules380]

This isn't so much a 'I like wrpgs more than jrpgs' problem, but rather a 'I like good games more than bad games' situation

A lot of your points aren't really inherent to either WRPGs or JRPGs.
You can have JRPGs with good side content and well-developed worlds alongside a strong main story and characters.
You can find WRPGs with braindead MMO fetch quests.

What I'm saying is, you should play Trails in the Sky.

This person is correct on all points, especially the last one.

Also, it's weird to rag on JRPGS for being anime style when WRPGs tend to be far more samey and less varied in their settings and aesthetic sense than JRPGs