Bethesda: Japanese RPGs “Not Realistic”

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

"I think, by and large, if you look at Japanese games, overall their mindset is way more fantastical, even if it’s not an RPG."

"Personally for me, sometimes I like that and sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my hands around it. A western game… again I’m generalizing, they’re more realistic."

and Artefact choose to summarize it into

Bethesda: Japanese RPGs “Not Realistic” (for obvious intentions)

ROFLMAO

Anyway what Beth said was infact pretty accurate, infact by n large if you look at Japanese (anime, manga, porn, tv, game shows and many more ), overall their mindset is more fantastical.

Psychologically I will attribute that to the above mediums being escapes from their daily routine and way of life where sticking out like a sore thumb is something to be frowned upon

He has got a point, the Star Ocean characters look pretty strange and overly cutesee.

I don't understand this weeboo aversion to muscle bound characters either. Theres nothing more stupid than a weak emo looking character carrying a hench sword.

"Bethesda, gave an interview in which he politely rubbished the Wii and 3DS as platforms unsuitable for Bethesda games"

I stopped taking this guy seriously around this point.:/

I think everyone here has completely misunderstood what he meant by "unrealistic".

What the guy means is not that the WRPG scenario's can happen in real life (i.e. Morrowind), but that the choices you make in the game are reminiscent of what can really happen in real life. In the case of Dragon Age, despite it being in a fantasy setting, the people act like REAL people. The choices are like REAL choices. There isn't simply "Yes" or "No" answers like JRPG's (if there even is a choice).

Role playing games are traditionally about having your own, original character who makes his own, original decisions. That is definitely not the case in JRPG's, but WRPG's are doing a much better job at it in recent years.

I'll play JRPG's when I want a non-serious couple hours of fun by looking at the asses of some unrealistic fantasy babe. If I want real, emotionally gripping and impacting games, I'll look more for WRPG's.

By saying realism isn't there isn't saying the game is bad. It's just saying that game has failed to be reminiscent of human society, becoming something which we cannot, as humans, sympathize with. WRPG's can be tear jerking, powerful and make you stop and think "Wow". JRPG's are just... mindless fun. There is a big difference.

Note: When a JRPG kills off a main character (despite how rare that it) or has a sad ending, it doesn't make it more realistic or more tear jerking than a WRPG. Gratuitous character deaths are as worthless as gratuitous sex scenes. To make it truly meaningful, there needs to be a point. So don't try and make the Aeris argument.

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

@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

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

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!!!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Who gives a fuck about realism, yes the atari and the sege genesis and the NES etc really kicked off big because of their awesomely realistic graphics. We play games to escape a drab reality and these fuckers want to put this unwanted shit in the game? Fuck off, I want fantasy I want characters with some actuall fucking unique designs and I want to be able to swing a solid steel sword 4 times my characters fucking size. The Majority of western RPGs have no variety in terms of colour scheme and character design, they're either massively over built or a skinny arsehole acting like a gangster, and of course the weapon of choice is allways a friggin gun.

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

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

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.

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

Shenmue!

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

and saying western rpg is too realistic

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

i hate muscled lips

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.

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

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.