For those in denial, Dark Souls is JRPG, not a WRPG

Then why distinguish between JRPG and WRPG if they are not different? Let's face it, most of the time WRPG and JRPG's look and play in a different way, they are RPG's but there are differences. People certainly don't point out the origin of the game for no reason...

Dark Souls is just one of those games where it's made in Japan but looks/plays closer to what WRPG's have been.

Do we call games WFPS (western FPS)? EUFPS (european FPS?)? No, because they're the same. WRPG's and JRPG's tend to be different, as I said.

SaltyMeatballs

It is like ok I am off to play my JRG (Japanese racing game) GT5 or my WRG (western racing game) Forza 4. They are just called racing games. I seriously do not understand how people can not grasp that the terms were started because of the much different styles of rpgs and not where they were made.

[QUOTE="Kolev_Plus"][QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

Quoting somebody means you're annoyed with them?

Master_ShakeXXX

That's what trolling is, intentionally trying to get a rise out of people. That's the second time you've admitted to this. And what's with the long-winded post? If anything you're the one who seems annoyed right now soooooo... looks like your trolling attempt backfired :P

[QUOTE="Crossel777"]

It doesn't play like any JRPG I've played before. I'm inclined to disagree. People generally don't distinguish JRPG and WRPG solely by country. They distinguish it by gameplay. JRPGs are vastly different to that of WRPGs.

Master_ShakeXXX

It's an RPG both published and developed by Japanese companies, so either way you slice it it's a JRPG.

Okay, but JRPGs are still terribad.Stevo_the_gamer

Man, I'm glad you cleared that up, I was all kinds of f**** up about it.Heil68

[QUOTE="mitu123"]

[QUOTE="xXShortroundXx"] Yeah, just because it's called Dark Souls dosen't excuse the piss poor frame rate, broken online, cheap difficulty, lack of any story at all and expoiltable glitches and gameplay elements. ;\ don't try and deny it fanboys.cainetao11

[QUOTE="Gxgear"]

They're not sub-genres of RPG, neither the W nor the R describes the *TYPE* of the game, therefore they must be describing their origins.

This is how ignorance grows: people passing along false information repeatedly until it's regarded as a fact. Sad really.

TerrorRizzing

Trend/pattern still doesn't overrule genre, however strong they may be. You can say that WRPGs or JRPGs tend to play a certain way, but there's always exceptions and that's when this arbitrary division falls apart.

[QUOTE="Crossel777"]

It doesn't play like any JRPG I've played before. I'm inclined to disagree. People generally don't distinguish JRPG and WRPG solely by country. They distinguish it by gameplay. JRPGs are vastly different to that of WRPGs.

Master_ShakeXXX

It's an RPG both published and developed by Japanese companies, so either way you slice it it's a JRPG.

[QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

[QUOTE="Crossel777"]

It doesn't play like any JRPG I've played before. I'm inclined to disagree. People generally don't distinguish JRPG and WRPG solely by country. They distinguish it by gameplay. JRPGs are vastly different to that of WRPGs.

Crossel777

It's an RPG both published and developed by Japanese companies, so either way you slice it it's a JRPG.

I disagree. WRPGs tend to be heavily story driven and that's one of the last things From Software worries about with the Souls games. And in terms of gameplay Dark Souls doesn't play like any WRPG that I've ever witnessed.

[QUOTE="Stevo_the_gamer"]Okay, but JRPGs are still terribad.clone01

[QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

[QUOTE="Crossel777"]

It doesn't play like any JRPG I've played before. I'm inclined to disagree. People generally don't distinguish JRPG and WRPG solely by country. They distinguish it by gameplay. JRPGs are vastly different to that of WRPGs.

Chrome-

It's an RPG both published and developed by Japanese companies, so either way you slice it it's a JRPG.

[QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

[QUOTE="Crossel777"]

It doesn't play like any JRPG I've played before. I'm inclined to disagree. People generally don't distinguish JRPG and WRPG solely by country. They distinguish it by gameplay. JRPGs are vastly different to that of WRPGs.

Chrome-

It's an RPG both published and developed by Japanese companies, so either way you slice it it's a JRPG.

I believe hack 'n slash is the sub-genre Bayonetta fits in, along with Ninja Gaiden, DMC, GoW, etc.

[QUOTE="TerrorRizzing"][QUOTE="Gxgear"]

They're not sub-genres of RPG, neither the W nor the R describes the *TYPE* of the game, therefore they must be describing their origins.

This is how ignorance grows: people passing along false information repeatedly until it's regarded as a fact. Sad really.

Gxgear

Trend/pattern still doesn't overrule genre, however strong they may be. You can say that WRPGs or JRPGs tend to play a certain way, but there's always exceptions and that's when this arbitrary division falls apart.

[QUOTE="Gxgear"]

[QUOTE="TerrorRizzing"] I said it before, there are console style and pc style. Before dual analogue most pc style rpgs werent even possible on console, so they made them differently and most console games came out of japan at the time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdLX6Ibdnyc again an example of a 2001 pc classic.TerrorRizzing

Trend/pattern still doesn't overrule genre, however strong they may be. You can say that WRPGs or JRPGs tend to play a certain way, but there's always exceptions and that's when this arbitrary division falls apart.

In any case, too much confusion surrounds the acronyms for them to be used appropriately. It only makes sense when applied in terms of region.

I guess to a lot of people when they think of JRPG they think of Anime or anything with a strong Japanese culture in it like Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior/Quest, Pokemon, Chrono Series, and Phantasy Star while with WRPG we think of Medievel settings with European Western culture like The Elder Scrolls, Ultima, Dragon Age, Diablo, and WOW.

Because Dark Souls or even Demon Souls looks and feels like a WRPG so some people feel that it isn't a JRPG at all. To me it's seems silly to me. I mean there are tons of JRPG that play or feel different from another such as Pokemon and Valkyria Chronicles which they both have different settings and gameplay and same with WRPG where you have Dragon Age and Fallout who they also have different settings and gameplay. We should call a certain RPG by which gameplay that they are like Action RPG, Real Time RPG, Tactical RPG and etc instead of WRPG and JRPG. Who cares what culture that theycame from.

Dark souls and Elder Scrolls V Skyrim as an example are RPGs which they have different elements from each other and we should use that term instead of what culture they are from.

[QUOTE="Chrome-"][QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

It's an RPG both published and developed by Japanese companies, so either way you slice it it's a JRPG.

Master_ShakeXXX

I believe hack 'n slash is the sub-genre Bayonetta fits in, along with Ninja Gaiden, DMC, GoW, etc.

[QUOTE="TerrorRizzing"][QUOTE="Gxgear"]

Trend/pattern still doesn't overrule genre, however strong they may be. You can say that WRPGs or JRPGs tend to play a certain way, but there's always exceptions and that's when this arbitrary division falls apart.

Gxgear

In any case, too much confusion surrounds the acronyms for them to be used appropriately. It only makes sense when applied in terms of region.

[QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

[QUOTE="Chrome-"] Right ok then answer me this is Bayonneta a JRPG or an action adventure game?Chrome-

I believe hack 'n slash is the sub-genre Bayonetta fits in, along with Ninja Gaiden, DMC, GoW, etc.

Bayonetta isn't a RPG though :?

I can't for the life of me understand how people think JRPG and WRPG are different genres of RPG as opposed to a geographic difference. Let's put our heads together here, folks. JRPG stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game. WRPG stands for Western Role-Playing Game. In an ideal world these stupid titles wouldn't exist because in the end, regardless of where a game is made, it's a ROLE-PLAYING GAME. Regardless, we're stuck with the names, but every time there's a discussion on the top WRPG of the year, some fool has to mention Dark Souls.

It's a JRPG. No, JRPG is not a genre. Action RPG is a genre, which Dark Souls is.

And I know some people will say, "but Dark Souls is nothing like Final Fantasy." That's because Final Fantasy isn't an action-RPG, but they're both JRPGs. You wouldn't go and say King's Bounty and Deus Ex aren't both WRPGs because they play completely differently from one another, so why try and separate Dark Souls from other JRPGs?

Dark Souls is just as much of an action-RPG as Tales of Vesperia is and just as much of an action-RPG as Mass Effect is. You are in full control of your characters actions and success is based just as much on your reflexes as it is your stats.

So let's stamp out the ignorance already, JRPG is not a genre. I don't get why so many users here try and act like JRPGs all suck, but when they find one they like, it suddenly isn't a JRPG. :roll:

NeonNinja

Wow, I didn't know people weren't aware of this. It depends on the developers' region that's all.

LoL at the WRPG and JRPG game of the year !!

[QUOTE="Gxgear"]

[QUOTE="TerrorRizzing"] the division fell apart when people started playing pc style games on console, which is about the same time the term jrpg got coined.TerrorRizzing

In any case, too much confusion surrounds the acronyms for them to be used appropriately. It only makes sense when applied in terms of region.

Or we could just use the correct: Action RPG. Not all JRPGs are inspired by anime, another gross generalization.

It's not that difficult.

Then this and Demons Souls are the only good JRPG's ever released since gaming exists.silversix_

If you say so, man. I'm quite partial to Tales of Vesperia, myself.

[QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

[QUOTE="Kolev_Plus"] Cause I'm allowed to do what I want and it brings me small joy to see people like you lose there cool and get their ass hurt. Jackdonkey. And the game truly did suck.spookykid143

Ya see that Ninja, ****er just admitted he was trolling. Yet something tells me you're still gonna defend him, for some ****ed up reason.

The theme for Dark Souls is a Western medieval fantasy theme. Castles, dragons, suits of armor. But the game has a crappy looking UI like most other Japanese games...

That's how I prefer to cIassify them (been saying the same thing forever), and it makes sense because it's the way you play them: action, strategy, turn-based, MMO, etc.

I understand how the "J" and "W" prefixes came about, but it pits one island nation against an entire hemisphere of countries. And it always dissolves into a debate of which is superior / inferior. I don't think regions are entitled to designs, just the studios and people who create them. Dark Souls is a Japanese-developed action-RPG. It so happens to be my favorite RPG this year as well (still haven't played Skyrim!).

The theme for Dark Souls is a Western medieval fantasy theme. Castles, dragons, suits of armor. But the game has a crappy looking UI like most other Japanese games...

MacBoomStick

Those concepts are identical to Western medieval fantasy, but they don't define the game's designs. And with those concepts, the game exudes Japanese flair and styIe. In the end, it's an action-RPG made in Japan. :P

It's kinda like calling God of War a "Greek hack 'n slash" because it's based off of Greek mythology. Even then, Dark Souls has its own mythology based on some Western fantasy concepts. But trust me, this game is very "Japanese" in other ways. :P

I asked a bunch of people about these titles. "Uh, a RPG is an RPG!"

Agreed. Dark Souls is totally WRPG of the Year.Badosh

Lol. All I can say is that it's going to be the RPG and GOTY here at GameSpot. :P

I am pretty sure Dark Souls is JRPG...

• The Witcher 2 is a great PRPG (Polish RPG)
• Mass 2 is a great CRPG (Canadian RPG)
• Skyrim is a great ARPG (American RPG)
• Dark Souls is a great JRPG (Japanese RPG)
• Fable 3 is a great ERPG(English RPG)

See how ridiculous this is :P? I'll just cIassify them by how they play.

• The Witcher 2 is a great PRPG (Polish RPG)
• Mass 2 is a great CRPG (Canadian RPG)
• Skyrim is a great ARPG (American RPG)
• Dark Souls is a great JRPG (Japanese RPG)
• Fable 3 is a great ERPG(English RPG)

See how ridiculous this is :P? I'll just cIassify them by how they play.

TREAL_Since

Those PRPGs are pretty awesome though, man. :P

I disagree with the entire OP.

JRPG/WRPG both came to life as terms because there were, and still are, very different ideas, and fundamental aspects that separated the genre between Japan, and the west.

JRPG did NOT, in any universe, come to life as a term because RPGs were being made in Japan. No sir, that is NOT how it began.....

JRPG, and WRPG are "sty|es".

Dark Souls is most certainly NOT a JRPG because the definition for JRPG is NOT "Made in Japan".

Otherwise we better start using JPlatformer, JTPS, JFighter, and JAction/Adventure among others to seperate every other genre by where they're made, but we're not going to do so. Know why? Because that's retarded.

I can't for the life of me understand how people think JRPG and WRPG are different genres of RPG as opposed to a geographic difference. Let's put our heads together here, folks. JRPG stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game. WRPG stands for Western Role-Playing Game. In an ideal world these stupid titles wouldn't exist because in the end, regardless of where a game is made, it's a ROLE-PLAYING GAME. Regardless, we're stuck with the names, but every time there's a discussion on the top WRPG of the year, some fool has to mention Dark Souls.

It's a JRPG. No, JRPG is not a genre. Action RPG is a genre, which Dark Souls is.

And I know some people will say, "but Dark Souls is nothing like Final Fantasy." That's because Final Fantasy isn't an action-RPG, but they're both JRPGs. You wouldn't go and say King's Bounty and Deus Ex aren't both WRPGs because they play completely differently from one another, so why try and separate Dark Souls from other JRPGs?

Dark Souls is just as much of an action-RPG as Tales of Vesperia is and just as much of an action-RPG as Mass Effect is. You are in full control of your characters actions and success is based just as much on your reflexes as it is your stats.

So let's stamp out the ignorance already, JRPG is not a genre. I don't get why so many users here try and act like JRPGs all suck, but when they find one they like, it suddenly isn't a JRPG. :roll:

NeonNinja

If the letter J in front of the RPG is merely for geographic reference, then why is it that we have it only for the RPG genre? Why isn't there W-Action and J-Action for say....God of War & Devil May Cry respectively? It's obvious that there is enough distinction in JRPGs and WRPGs for them to be classified differently.

If theres jrpg and wrp then dark souls is a wrpg.

[QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

I can't for the life of me understand how people think JRPG and WRPG are different genres of RPG as opposed to a geographic difference. Let's put our heads together here, folks. JRPG stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game. WRPG stands for Western Role-Playing Game. In an ideal world these stupid titles wouldn't exist because in the end, regardless of where a game is made, it's a ROLE-PLAYING GAME. Regardless, we're stuck with the names, but every time there's a discussion on the top WRPG of the year, some fool has to mention Dark Souls.

It's a JRPG. No, JRPG is not a genre. Action RPG is a genre, which Dark Souls is.

And I know some people will say, "but Dark Souls is nothing like Final Fantasy." That's because Final Fantasy isn't an action-RPG, but they're both JRPGs. You wouldn't go and say King's Bounty and Deus Ex aren't both WRPGs because they play completely differently from one another, so why try and separate Dark Souls from other JRPGs?

Dark Souls is just as much of an action-RPG as Tales of Vesperia is and just as much of an action-RPG as Mass Effect is. You are in full control of your characters actions and success is based just as much on your reflexes as it is your stats.

So let's stamp out the ignorance already, JRPG is not a genre. I don't get why so many users here try and act like JRPGs all suck, but when they find one they like, it suddenly isn't a JRPG. :roll:

jhcho2

If the letter J in front of the RPG is merely for geographic reference, then why is it that we have it only for the RPG genre? Why isn't there W-Action and J-Action for say....God of War & Devil May Cry respectively? It's obvious that there is enough distinction in JRPGs and WRPGs for them to be classified differently.

It's racist to say that a JRPG is any RPG made by Japanese people. JRPG is a style of RPG that was made by Japanese people. Dark Souls was a game made by Japanese devs who wanted to make a WRPG. I thought we were attaching these labels to the games, not the people.

It's racist to say that a JRPG is any RPG made by Japanese people. JRPG is a style of RPG that was made by Japanese people. Dark Souls was a game made by Japanese devs who wanted to make a WRPG. I thought we were attaching these labels to the games, not the people.

GunSmith1_basic

I disagree with the entire OP.

JRPG/WRPG both came to life as terms because there were, and still are, very different ideas, and fundamental aspects that separated the genre between Japan, and the west.

JRPG did NOT, in any universe, come to life as a term because RPGs were being made in Japan. No sir, that is NOT how it began.....

JRPG, and WRPG are "sty|es".

Dark Souls is most certainly NOT a JRPG because the definition for JRPG is NOT "Made in Japan".

Otherwise we better start using JPlatformer, JTPS, JFighter, and JAction/Adventure among others to seperate every other genre by where they're made, but we're not going to do so. Know why? Because that's retarded.

SW__Troll

You're going to have to tell me what the definition ofa JRPG is in that case. To me it says Japanese RPG. If there's a different definition than enlighten me and I accept it. But until then, JRPG and WRPG are not genres.

It's a hack n slash adventure game hiding in wolfs (RPG) clothing, and a pseudo-rpg at best. As far as whether it's J or W, it's from Japan so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that part out.

People who think Dark Souls is a WRPG are the same type of people who think Avatar: TLA and The Boondocks are Anime.

[QUOTE="SW__Troll"]

I disagree with the entire OP.

JRPG/WRPG both came to life as terms because there were, and still are, very different ideas, and fundamental aspects that separated the genre between Japan, and the west.

JRPG did NOT, in any universe, come to life as a term because RPGs were being made in Japan. No sir, that is NOT how it began.....

JRPG, and WRPG are "sty|es".

Dark Souls is most certainly NOT a JRPG because the definition for JRPG is NOT "Made in Japan".

Otherwise we better start using JPlatformer, JTPS, JFighter, and JAction/Adventure among others to seperate every other genre by where they're made, but we're not going to do so. Know why? Because that's retarded.

NeonNinja

You're going to have to tell me what the definition ofa JRPG is in that case. To me it says Japanese RPG. If there's a different definition than enlighten me and I accept it. But until then, JRPG and WRPG are not genres.

Well of course it's a JRPG...

The game wasn't made by western devs so it can't be a WRPG.

[QUOTE="SW__Troll"]

I disagree with the entire OP.

JRPG/WRPG both came to life as terms because there were, and still are, very different ideas, and fundamental aspects that separated the genre between Japan, and the west.

JRPG did NOT, in any universe, come to life as a term because RPGs were being made in Japan. No sir, that is NOT how it began.....

JRPG, and WRPG are "sty|es".

Dark Souls is most certainly NOT a JRPG because the definition for JRPG is NOT "Made in Japan".

Otherwise we better start using JPlatformer, JTPS, JFighter, and JAction/Adventure among others to seperate every other genre by where they're made, but we're not going to do so. Know why? Because that's retarded.

NeonNinja

You're going to have to tell me what the definition ofa JRPG is in that case. To me it says Japanese RPG. If there's a different definition than enlighten me and I accept it. But until then, JRPG and WRPG are not genres.

You're using the term incorrectly then.

You might as well just save yourself the trouble, and just label all JRPG/WRPGs as just "RPG".

Or add some extra hassle to your life, and start attaching letters to the front of every other genre depending on wherever the games, within that genre, are made.

So we have Halo as a UFPS for USA FPS

Battlefield is a SFPS for Swedish FPS

Mario is a JPlatformer while Banjo Kazooie is an BPlatformer

And so-on and so-forth.....or is this stupid beyond reason?

Everyone knows what a JRPG looks, and feels like in comparison to an WRPG. You find minimal to no stat trees, no character customization, very linear story lines, no dialogue choices, random encounters, and in many cases they're turn-based. Also, the anime art sty|es give them a nice touch.

With WRPGs you tend to find stat trees, character customization, open-ended stories, heavy dialogue choices, and action-RPG gameplay.

Yes, yes there are outliers. Some JRPGs will use action RPG gameplay in place of turn based, and some WRPGs dont' have character customization.... The seperation between both sty|es came long ago, and the definitions have become more vague, but they still hold in practically every case, and it's still INCREDIBLY possible to understand that Tales of Symphonia looks, feels, and plays entirely different from The Witcher whereas games like Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, and Elder Scrolls all share a lot of similarities to The Witcher despite some of them having different camera perspectives, or story settings, or w/e.

A game like Dark Souls shares little-to-no commonalities with games like Final Fantasy, or Tales of Symphonia, and yet shares a ton of them with WRPGs like the ones I've mentioned.

You are using the term 100% incorrectly if you think JRPG = Made in Japan. That's not why the term exists, and that's not what it means. If you don't want to call Dark Souls a WRPG because that feels incorrect then by all means don't call it that, but I'd suggest not calling it a JRPG either. Just call it "RPG".