Bethesda: Japanese RPGs “Not Realistic”

Western RPGs:realistic settings and designs,limited gameplay,on the rails pacing/environments(this BTW makes FF13 a western RPG)

Eastern RPGS:Unrealistic settings and designs,limited gameplay,a focus on needless grind,limited pacing and environments.

I really don't see the difference?

Escapism isn't always synonymous with a lack of realism (if ever, really). The point of fantasy is to supplant one reality with an alternative one. There's a reason that a lot of vg reviewers place heavy importance on a game's ability make a player get lost in its landscape. I prefer to think that this is especially true of RPGs.

As far as the article goes, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Some of what he says, I agree with, while other portions I can chalk up to him being relatively ignorant (and lacking in memory) when it comes to a good number of western rpg's that are out there and highly acclaimed. A good number of things from the d20 universe, for instance.

Well said by him....and no, JRPGs arent just for kids. Goto Akihabara, plenty of men.

Nothing wrong with fantasy however...or realistic RPGs either. I have but one complaint, after going through several JRPGs, JPRGs are too linear.

Thats all...who cares about fantasy vs realism...that personal preference.

In reality you need big muscles to carry those big guns.

WOW! Bunch of butt-hurt JRPG'ers here.

I play both mind you, and to be honest JRPG's are getting a bit ... Stale. Same old Angsty/Emo protagonist who uses characters often party members to boost his confidence and then you defeat a final boss.

Fallout and Oblivion however were amazing. I think the Japanese community will agree on this too, because Bethesda supports it's PC modding community. This opened up both games to nearly endless possibilities. In fact some of the Japanese mods are/were the most sought after.

And as linear as FF XIII was, I thought it still had a good story and I enjoyed the 175 hours I put into it. So I think both genres have their ups and downs mainly in terms of STORY. JRPG's tend to have a lovely fantasy that is compelling and in most cases inspiring but rely too much on the same character templates and EMOish emotions. WRPG's tend to have a more bland setting but still manage to entertain and use their "openness" to allow the player to make their own story.

Again, each has their faults, I play both. But I don't blame Todd for his comments, and frankly I agree for the most part.

he sounds way to elist sitting on their high horses
and read dead redepmtion a RPG srsly WTF?
but anyway WRPG > JRPG > WRPG
You know do the math!!!

Why even compare? They're completely different genres... They shouldn't even be both called RPGs...

JRPGs = for 12-18 years old
Western RPGs = 15+ years old

Play them like that and you won't be able to complain which is better.

Strange statement from the the developer of the Elder Scroll series. A pure fantasy game.

And Red Dead Redemption is not an RPG.
It's just Grand Theft Horse and it's nothing more than that. Quite boring really.

Some of you mofos make me sick! The fact of the matter is jrpg's and wrpg's are different. They have their pros's and cons like any thing else. I play both and like the over the action sometimes afforded in jrpgs like ffxiii and tales of vesperia, but then I like the more realistic approach of weapons and monsters like fallout 3 and mass effect. I think anyone who can meld the two and bring a non emo/effeminate male character that isn't too "muscle bound" and have a great story with out a whole bunch men acting all sensitive and emo (ffxii I'm lookin at you!), then throw in guns, swords, over the top final techniques and bosses!

fuck you Bethesda, i never played any of your shitty games

*walks up to peoples faces and steals their shit* its ok I have level 10 stealth.

I killed 500 children but it's ok, I killed 10 rats so I have good morality.

REALISM

Bethesda is a fucking retard no rpg is realistic how can it be real if you are just assuming the role of the main character.

@Jeen "Whatever the hell happened to people who plays both JRPGs and WRPGs?"

as someone who once loved both WRPGs and JRPGs let me tell you. I lost interest in WRPGs because of WRPG developers and their fans constantly acting like retards. No way in hell am I giving my money to faggot trolls like bethesda or Bioware

You're all a bunch of faggots; staring at a men ass for 40 hours and carrying around a large phallic object.

Well, at else he isn't bashing them and saying their bad unlike another western RPG company that we know of.

I don't give a damn about realism,graphics and stuff. All that matters in the end is that game is interesting. I still sometimes find that FFIV is 10 times better than a title that cam out this year.

"Not realistic"? More like "Unreal". Is it good or bad, it's only a matter of taste.

Red Dead Redemption is an RPG? I presume he's one of the guys who actually believes Fallout 3 is an RPG too?

I think I now understand why the western developers are perceived to be doing better on the RPG front. They aren't innovating in their games, they're just creating the same old games and sticking the "RPG" label on them to make it sound a lot deeper. If you have a typical FPS, it doesn't really sound innovative when you market it as a "first-person shooter", but it certainly sounds innovative if you market it as a "role-playing game".

They aren't doing anything inherrently different from what they've been doing before--They're just marketing their same old games as if they were of a different genre of gaming.

Listen if you wRPG fegs want realism why don't you go outside?

the whole point of a game is creating a fantasy universe where you can kick ass with awesome spells and cool weapons.

not where the world blows up cuz some dood fucked up and your the only survivor and have to jerk off to the cover of a green peas ad.

I just see them like trolling each other....

This is just another ''culture clash'' like I had when I got into anime. After growing up in a Western society, watching Western film and reading Western books you have created a border of how far things can go fantasy wise. When you start watching anime you notice that sometimes things become very unrealistic. At first you can criticize this but in the longer period you notice that this ''unrealism'' is inherent to anime or Japanese entertainment in general. A good example will be Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan; A cowardly boy that drills holes underground will have to fight for the sake of the universe in a robot spanning a greater size than the galaxies. Unrealistic? To the Western society, yes. Bad? ...No Freakin Way.

From what I've seen, Japanese developers have never even attempted to make a 'realistic' game. They probably could if they wanted to, but that's the problem.

Red Dead Redemption is considered a "great RPG"? I didn't even know it was an RPG in the first place, more of a open third person shooter adventure than an RPG. If he considers Red Dead Redemption as an RPG, he clearly does not know the definition of RPG in the first place, let alone video games. Please continue creating good games, but stfu until you get a good sense of what people want in games and what type they want, kthxbai.

I don't think western rpgs are realistic either. Todd Howard is just a idiot trying to fuel some flame.

Bethesda guys should shut up and concentrate in making a good Elder Scrolls V.
Oblivion was a dissapointment, they must reedem themselves.

Why are you want some Realistic when you play a game?

GO TO WORK THEN !!!!

So what? That's like a Justin Bieber fangirl telling an Iron Maiden fan that he should follow her step to listen "Baby" everyday..

Hmm, i play rpgs because they are not realistic, actually most roleplayers do i think. To flee reality for a bit.
But i dont like bunnyeared FF characters.^^

Also dont think Oblivion, Dragon Age and Fable are more realistic in the sense of "it could happen". But they dont have flying cities or something like that.

it's a shame he hasn't at least tried to play some of them. i think the super nonrealistic sides of rpgs really appeal to massive amounts of people out there. just look at dragon quest. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN F***ING HOLIDAY!! hahaha. don't even get me started with pokemon lol

you want a realistic game? try getting a job paying minimum wage.

I say fuck realism. I want my game to be full of shit that could never ever happen.

Oh, because "The Elder Scrolls" and Fallout 3 are shining examples for realism, eh?

Todd Howard is such a douche. Seriously, it's a crime against humanity that this guy actually makes a living in the gaming industry while talented but unlucky people get tossed around by such dickheads.

i hate muscled lips

they can fuck themselves up with muscles and musle girls while Japs conquer the world with Moe\

One thing to add is that Fallout and Obilivion relies on many many modders to make it look better, while the original character design is total orthopedic failure

I like their stories , but goin over to comment the other side is stupid

Why do WRPG fags care so much about JRPGs?
Who the fuck cares?
What are you trying to prove? Don't fucking play jrpgs then.

Shenmue!

it's just like me who haven't play any western rpg

and saying western rpg is too realistic

The fantastic escapism is why I prefer Japanese RPGs.

Not realistic. Rather, Western RPGs are more gritty, grimbrown and macho.