RPGs are some of the most polarizing video games out there, with different groups either loving them or hating them. You need to be in a certain mindset to play an RPG, and it takes a lot more investment than an action game or sports game. However, the very idea of what an RPG is can be debated, and fans of one type might hate another type. This is where the separation between the East (Japan) and the West (America and Europe) comes in, and how the big wall between the two cultures’ approaches to RPGs has effectively made two completely different genres.
To put it simply, western RPGs craft a world, while eastern RPGs craft a story. Yes, the former have stories and the latter have worlds, but the emphasis on each is clear. Western RPGs put the player in control of the game and let them write their own story, following the signposts left for them. Eastern RPGs make the player a part of the story and let them explore the world in the way that (more…)