Surfing around the Internet as I do, I’ve seen many cases of people comparing the likes of Skyrim to the likes of Final Fantasy XIII. As far as I’m concerned, you may as well compare either to Mario Galaxy.
Frankly, it’s time to drop the “RPG” from “JRPG.” They are, simply put, not RPGs. They are often brilliant games, I’m certainly not denying that (in fact, I often prefer “JRPGs” to the output of western developers), but philosophically they’re far closer to adventure games. FFXIII is more like Uncharted than Skyrim.
To explain, we first need to look at why JRPGs got dubbed as such in the first place. Back in the early days of the genre, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy were pretty progressive games. They had worlds that were at the time massive, and there was a sense of exploration that virtually no other game at the time had.
And those games were heavily influenced by pen-and-paper RPGs, which came first and still define the genre. Final Fantasy, for instance, had a spell system remarkably like that of Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition. Mechanically, these games were not so far off a primitive pen-and-paper RPG either. The levelling system was similar, character roles were similar, the idea of having a small party questing through dungeons and fighting ancient evils is similar from a broad story perspective. We forgave those games for their primitive approximations of the other traits that make up the genre on the basis of technological limitations. And so, as the “closest thing” the likes of Final Fantasy became the first RPGs.
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| As you can see, this game is very similar to Final Fantasy games |
Fast forward 20-odd years, and none of those traits we forgave for being technological limitations have been resolved in the JRPG. Let’s look at it philosophically; the JRPG is a linear adventure. Even when there are multiple endings, the player is led by the nose towards a conclusion. Interactions with NPCs are limited and as a result there is no requirement by the player to create a story. That was certainly not what the likes of Monte Cook and Gary Gygax had in mind when they pioneered an entire genre.
Western RPGs on the other hand, have since their very genesis aimed to recreate the spirit and philosophy of pen-and-paper RPGs, even if the mechanics are different. Being able to explore a world at your own pace, and behave according to whatever moral code you like is a critical part of the definition of an RPG, and while western RPGs have it, JRPGs do not.
Another way to think of it is to take Skyrim, and shoehorn it into another genre. We could say Skyrim is a FPS because it plays from the first person perspective, and with a bow and arrow, it’s essentially you’re shooting stuff.
To say that would be missing the broader picture of what Skyrim really is, and what a FPS is. It’s the same with the JRPG. Ignore the philosophy of the RPG and focus on the raw mechanics, and a JRPG still looks like an RPG. But it’s not really.
JRPGs would rather pull you though a story, following the ups and downs of characters that are presented to you by a writer. You’ll fight some battles, and become more powerful. You’ll explore exotic locations, and there’s almost always some kind of sex appeal thrown in. You’re not playing an RPG, you’re playing an adventure story.
Which is why people are right and wrong to say Zelda games are JRPGs, incidently. They are indeed similar, philosophically, to JRPGs. They’re just wrong to assume that the “RPG” bit belongs.
Of course, on a purely practical basis, the JRPG has been a useful four-letter term to describe a style of game with common characteristics. The letters themselves, from a semantic perspective, have no meaning beyond “like Final Fantasy/ Dragon Quest/ Tales Of games.” As such we’ll keep using it as journalists to save us a few thousand words of description every review. That said, hopefully people learn that sharing “RPG” in the name does not mean JRPGs and western RPGs are related in any way.
I can definitely agree with your sentiments here but I honestly don't see this happening. As the industry has progressed and genre's have grown they have been labeled. This happens in all industries, how in-accurate those labels are is irrelevant. Musically Acid Jazz has very little do to with jazz, Heavy Metal isn't very heavy by modern standards, Post-Anything genre's are almost polar opposites of what preceeded them.
Society's need to label things even if those labels are wrong isn't going to change any time soon unfortunately.
I can definitely agree with your sentiments here but I honestly don't see this happening. As the industry has progressed and genre's have grown they have been labeled. This happens in all industries, how in-accurate those labels are is irrelevant. Musically Acid Jazz has very little do to with jazz, Heavy Metal isn't very heavy by modern standards, Post-Anything genre's are almost polar opposites of what preceeded them.
Society's need to label things even if those labels are wrong isn't going to change any time soon unfortunately.
Good post – it sort of reminds me of the article I wrote awhile back that questioned what exactly an 'rpg' means in gaming. There are elements like leveling and skill development that are associated with the RPG world, but really work themselves into all sorts of other games like sports and FPS titles. I agree that RPG to me really means a role-playing experience where choice is a factor in the outcome. That sort of thing seldom was really available in older titles like Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy where there was a story and you were more along for the ride than developing it though, and this is something that is still largely true of the "JRPG" genre, while more western RPG titles like Mass Effect give you branching storylines with varied outcomes that feel more like a true RPG experience.
Good post – it sort of reminds me of the article I wrote awhile back that questioned what exactly an 'rpg' means in gaming. There are elements like leveling and skill development that are associated with the RPG world, but really work themselves into all sorts of other games like sports and FPS titles. I agree that RPG to me really means a role-playing experience where choice is a factor in the outcome. That sort of thing seldom was really available in older titles like Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy where there was a story and you were more along for the ride than developing it though, and this is something that is still largely true of the "JRPG" genre, while more western RPG titles like Mass Effect give you branching storylines with varied outcomes that feel more like a true RPG experience.
Once again, I can't complain. I hate what you would call an RPG, so no longer having to associate my favorite genre with them would be great for me.
Once again, I can't complain. I hate what you would call an RPG, so no longer having to associate my favorite genre with them would be great for me.
Great article Matt!
The thing that I enjoy so much about The Elder Scrolls is that it's literally a playable version of the old pen and paper RPG's. But, that just might have a good bit to do with Ken Rolston huh?
Great article Matt!
The thing that I enjoy so much about The Elder Scrolls is that it's literally a playable version of the old pen and paper RPG's. But, that just might have a good bit to do with Ken Rolston huh?
Yeah, Rolston is one of the very few game designers that makes games like he was a fan of Gary Gygax or Monte Cook.
Raises an interesting question, actually – why don't RPG developers (real RPGs, not JRPGs), hire consultants from the likes of Wizards of the Coast to make sure the games remain true to the spirit of RPGs? There's an opportunity there, I think.
It looks like Warner Bros has picked up the Dungeons & Dragons license. I have much greater faith that they will do something good with it than Atari, who never quite managed to get D & D right.
Yeah, Rolston is one of the very few game designers that makes games like he was a fan of Gary Gygax or Monte Cook.
Raises an interesting question, actually – why don't RPG developers (real RPGs, not JRPGs), hire consultants from the likes of Wizards of the Coast to make sure the games remain true to the spirit of RPGs? There's an opportunity there, I think.
It looks like Warner Bros has picked up the Dungeons & Dragons license. I have much greater faith that they will do something good with it than Atari, who never quite managed to get D & D right.
can i make a conter point hear 1. you can't really call tabel top games rpgs becouse that wasn't really invted untill video games. 2. eaven if you were to call them rpgs thire are a few things skyrum lacks too like multi player. 3. it acutly makes more sence to call jrpgs or light rpgs is the apropaite term becouse you do play as a grope insted of one player. like skyrum and usaly they do have thire own back story becouse outher people would make up the story in tabel top games. i guess what im saying the only games you can call tabel top games not rpgs are things eather mmos or something like dragon age. and that they weren't called rpgs to biguin with no one has heard of a rpgs untill wizardly came out. but overall good post.
can i make a conter point hear 1. you can't really call tabel top games rpgs becouse that wasn't really invted untill video games. 2. eaven if you were to call them rpgs thire are a few things skyrum lacks too like multi player. 3. it acutly makes more sence to call jrpgs or light rpgs is the apropaite term becouse you do play as a grope insted of one player. like skyrum and usaly they do have thire own back story becouse outher people would make up the story in tabel top games. i guess what im saying the only games you can call tabel top games not rpgs are things eather mmos or something like dragon age. and that they weren't called rpgs to biguin with no one has heard of a rpgs untill wizardly came out. but overall good post.
i ment the term wasn't invted
i ment the term wasn't invted
also can i just clarfly something tenchly you din't wright the story you did how ever move the story foword what i mean by this is that you mostly had a dm who made up the majorty of the story not you like the stories my dad told me he told me that once he kidnap one of the group members and tied them up see the dm was the story teller not you you can make dessions on what you wanted to do but that was about it
also can i just clarfly something tenchly you din't wright the story you did how ever move the story foword what i mean by this is that you mostly had a dm who made up the majorty of the story not you like the stories my dad told me he told me that once he kidnap one of the group members and tied them up see the dm was the story teller not you you can make dessions on what you wanted to do but that was about it
the only thing i do agree with you on though is the charcter making
the only thing i do agree with you on though is the charcter making
and acutly with the exeption of skyrum i would like to say TABEL TOP is not really a rpg
no one called it that back in the days before video games they eather said tabel top or just leave it at d and d
and acutly with the exeption of skyrum i would like to say TABEL TOP is not really a rpg
no one called it that back in the days before video games they eather said tabel top or just leave it at d and d