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RPGs - East Versus West?

Posted by simoniker on from the we-vote-hawaiian dept.

Thanks to GameSpy for their Spy/Counterspy column discussing the relative advantages and disadvantages of Western and Japanese RPGs. According to GameSpy editor Benjamin Turner's less-enthusiastic view of Japanese RPGs: "I want to create my own characters instead of playing someone else's; I want to explore a world at my own pace rather than being shuffled through a pre-planned, linear progression. Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience." However, editor Christian Nutt's rebuttal suggests: "While there are entertaining elements to Western RPGs... the way that all of the design elements of a great Japanese RPG work in concert to offer a truly engaging experience as a whole is what really excites me the most."

3 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. blah by Clockwurk · · Score: 1, Informative

    Sci-fi? Sorry, out of luck

    Fallout 1 and 2 ??

    1. Re:blah by Rayonic · · Score: 2, Informative

      Deus Ex, arguably.

      Freelancer definately.

      Anachronox too.

      Anarchy Online technically fits the bill.

      System Shock 2, Fallout Tactics, Neocron, Wasteland, Earth and Beyond.

      Heck, I'd say there are at least as many sci-fi Western RPGs as there are Eastern ones.

      --
      [PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
  2. Re:RPGs that combine elements of both JRPG & U by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    IMO fallout 2 gets closest to what you are looking for. You start out as "the chosen" of a dying tribe which wants you to find the eden creation kit, but after you're out of the camp, you can pretty much do anything you want to. There's only one ending, regardless of what you do while searching the kit, but it's still one of the most "free" CRPGs out there.