Most, if not all, the games I enjoy the most are the Japanese ones.
IMHO, Japanese games have better storylines, better character designs, better music, better replay value, better graphic designs... just downright better than any American game I have played, with few exceptions like GoW, GTA, The Curse of Monkey Island, etc.
Here are some great Japanese game titles/franchises:
Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy, Tales of Eternia, Legend of Dragoon, Bushido Blade, Tekken, Street Fighter, ICO, Shadow of The Colossus, Sonic The Hedgehog, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest, Metroid, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, Kingdom Hearts, Castlevania, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Pokemon, Mega Man, Okami
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"Farewell, Damos... Ash, Pikachu... And you. All of my beloved." -- Arceus
KotOR is overrated, I admit, but it still has more plot and depth than most JRPGs, which, other than a few exceptions, are just the same things over and over again. FFVII, VIII, and IX are all nearly the same in all ways other than story(cause VIII's was bullshit fail). Mass Effect had better gameplay than most JRPGs, and a far better plot than all but a few exceptions like Tales of the Abyss or Legend of Dragoon. Oblivion a waste of time? Why?
2. What style of gameplay?
3. I'll give you this, I was very angry at Fable 2 for its bullshit claims that you can change the game in so many ways when you...Can't.
You are wrong. There is nothing in the definition of the RPG that requires the story to be the primary focus. The primary focus of an RPG is staying completely in a role of a character throughout the course of a game. Which is why many argue that games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion and even to some GTA games are more of an RPG than many Japanese RPG's, which tend to be more of an interactive movie.
Also, JRPG's have a different method of storytelling than American ones. You are right in that American ones do tend to be darker and bleaker, but that's not inherently bad. Japanese RPG's are extremely melodramatic, even the best ones, they are over the top while American ones tend to be much more grounded.
The focus is simply different. American RPG's like Fallout 3 is focused not on melodramatic storytelling but sheer exploration of its world. Its heart and soul is in the world it built, rather than the story, where as in JRPG's their soul is in their story rather than the world they built or exploration.
Frankly I pity those who call themselves RPG fans but can't enjoy a game that focuses more on exploring a world infinitely more detailed and nuanced than any game world any JRPG has ever created. Both types of games can be extraordinarily satisfying.
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Last edited by BackFire on Apr 11th, 2009 at 09:36 PM
WoW absolutely isn't shit. It's not for everyone, some people just don't like the style of MMO's, but the game certainly has quality there, it's world is the most complete and purely explorable world of any MMO out there and its attention to detail is simply amazing. And as far as storytelling goes, it's what you make of it. It does have some great story told through questlines that are pretty damn good. Frankly I think the only people who really complain about the lack of story is the ones who simply close the quest dialogue without reading it, just noting the objective, and then wondering why all the quests are boring.
MMOs are a different breed of RPG, is what I meant.
KOTOR had depth? You're joking, right? It really didn't. It was just the same basic plot that's been done in SW EU time and time again. There really was nothing deep about the plot at all.
I don't like the sort of open action-RPG gameplay that most western games use. I'm more used to the sort of turn-based thing, and that's what I prefer. It always feels like it works better to me. If the game itself is enjoyable enough, then I can deal with the crappy gameplay (Fable 2 kept me entertained enough to play), but I'm not going to prefer it.
Oblivion was a waste of time in that I have never been so bored in a game before. I don't like how it was completely open-ended. I hate that in games. That's part of why I greatly dislike most MMOs, btw - and part of why I like GW, in that it's not, there is a definite plot and end to that plot.
They can be, but that doesn't mean they will be. Pointless exploration just for the sake of it bores me. I play RPGs for the story, and how it's presented. Just wandering around exploring a world is not in the least bit engaging to me, and is just tedious and boring.
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Apr 11th, 2009 05:21 PM
And Morgoth came...
