I am pretty sure most gamers must have heard the same old news now, the age of JRPGs is over! It is a new dawn for Western RPGs. While that is depressing to me, a JRPG gaming-vore, it also got me thinking about the main differences between both kinds of RPGS. So here it is: the five biggest differences between WRPGs and JRPGs in my own personal and not-so-humble opinion. Let the debate begin!
5. Cast
One of the most obvious differences is that in JRPGs, players get the ultra cool ninjas and/or samurais (Auron! Paine!)! That beats the wise-ass sidekick (ala Donkey - a totally random choice) from WRPGs. However, WRPGs have assassins in their arsenal. To combat that, JRPGs tend to have a genius little kid who can kick ass via magic or a long range weapon. How can WRPGs win?
To settle their differences, WRPGs and JRPGs shook hands and made up by introducing a commonality: Skimpy ladies wearing nothing more than strips of cloth. WRPGs get lampooned by the media, caved in, and dressed those characters in corsets (Blood Rayne) instead. Problem solved.
4. Ultimate Weapons
Maybe it's the cultural leftovers from the past, but JRPGs' ultimate weapons are usually sword-related....cue Squall's gunblade. I remember a quote from an old Jet Li film where a guy says, if you want to kill people quickly, you use a gun. That is so true. Asians are perpetually romanticizing the past, and that is why the sword will always triumph over the guns in JRPGs.
It makes no sense for First Class Soldiers to be equipped with swords. Unless you are Bruce Lee, you cannot be faster than a gun. WPRGs, however, use mostly firearms e.g. Bioshock.; a quick and efficient way of getting rid of baddies -- unless the game has a strictly medieval/fantasy setting without those pesky dwarfs or gnomes.
3. Pretty Boys as Baddies
Never have I seen a single pretty boy VILLAIN in WRPGs. They are most probably ugly as hell - Palpatine from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, monsters like - Diablo and his brothers , or strong and brutish - Arthas from Warcraft (Did you see his muscles?!).
JRPGs, in contrast, are littered with pretty boys (usually with long hair) as bad guys: Genesis (Crisis Core), Lezard (VP), Jowy (Suikoden 2). Shuyin, the final boss in FFX-2, has perfectly blow-dried hair and manicured hands!
The most popular bad guy, A.K.A the poster boy is, of course, Sephiroth...pretty by Westerner's standards (Check out his vamped up look in Crisis Core.)Thank goodness Sephiroth has an evil, sadistic smile. That and his kick ass sword saved him from being a complete pansy.
2. Overabundance of Pretty Boys in non-villainous roles
For this, I blame Squenix for starting the trend. When I asked my hetero hubby whats the biggest difference between WRPGs and JRPGs, he summed it up in 2 words, Pretty boys. There you go.
For those who argue with me on this point (the 0.001% minority), let's go through the list.
- Lost Odyssey's hero Kain and that-guy-with-freakishly-long-eye-lashes, Jansen.
- Most Final Fantasy guys. (Sorry, Squall.)
- Suikoden V main protagonist, Rahal, and at least hundreds more from the other Suikoden games.
- Eternal Sonata , Chopin, who is prettier in pixels than in real life!
- Tales of Symphonia, Lloyd Irving
- Grandia III, Yuki
- Breath of Fire, Ryu
- The Legend of Zelda, Link
- Symphony of the Night, Alucard
To be fair, when I visited Japan last year, I did notice a lot more pretty boys than girls, but still do we want it to become a global epidemic in video games? Enough said.
1. Individualism versus collectivism
Obviously, this is the most serious and credible point in my entire article...just check out those long, difficult to enunciate nouns. :)
Basically, WRPGs want to immerse you in its universe by being yourself. It focuses more on YOU and your experience as an individual gamer or as part of a community. For example, in both Baldur's Gate and Might & Magic series, you create your own protagonist giving him/her a class and later on, customizing their appearances. WRPGs encourage you to do whatever you want. There are no strict rules governing your action; the plot line is there for you to follow whenever, wherever, ala Fallout 3. This inevitably leads to a mushrooming of MMORPGs.
A JRPG wants to immerse you in its world by you slipping INTO a character's skin. Earlier JRPGs are huge about exploring the new world, but ever since FFVII, subsequent JRPGs focuses more and more on immersing in that fictional world to the point where the game is an interactive movie. You become another person and see the world through their view. Even the hugely innovative Lost Odyssey requires you to sit on Kain's shoulder and follow him around; hence, the main reason why JRPGs tend to be from the third person perspective.
The difference has its roots in how a culture thinks and its belief system. Americans believe strongly in individualism. You as a person and as the gamer are be given the choice and freedom in the game. You have the power to move the game. JRPG are more about you slipping into the role of the designated one. You can't be Joe the Plumber trying to save Spira whenever you get done collecting bottlecaps.
Asian cultures are mostly collectivistic, especially Japan. It is easier for Asians to slip into the plot because they were trained from young to think less about themselves and about the greater good in general. When there is less emphasis on individualism, gamers don't mind the game's heavy-handedness attempt to immerse them in the epic struggle between good and evil. In effect, I believe that it is easier to become someone else by letting go or decreasing our individualism.
Now bear in mind that this is purely a rant of my opinions. If you want to add your two cents' worth or dispute one of them, feel free to drop a note. Don't worry, I won't chase you down with the Masamune unless....
