KnoxRealtorVOL
First of his name
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Recently a friend and I were having a discussion about video game genres and what games are the best at what genre. We came across RPG's and realized we have a very different viewpoint on what constitutes an RPG. This was spawned by the fact that he said Bloodborne was one of the better RPG's out there.
He's not a true RPG'er like myself. He never played the classic Final Fantasy's, never played Xenogears or Chrono Trigger, etc etc. I tried to explain to him that Bloodborne, although labeled an RPG, was in no way a "true RPG" like the classics. It sparked a pretty lengthy debate.
Our argument came to this: The term "Role Playing Game" is extremely vague and is misused. How many games are there out there where you don't "play a role"? He believes an RPG is any game where you level up your character, pick up new items, etc. I disagree, I believe an RPG, a true RPG, is any game where the focal point of the game is the storyline. You play a role in the most important element of the game, which is the tale it's telling.
Certain games throw a wrench in a lot of theories. Destiny is an RPG, The Last of Us is not. I would consider the Last of Us much more of an RPG than destiny, but Destiny gets the label. Why?
There have been several FF games where you don't level anything up (FF12 comes to mind), but no one would argue whether or not they are RPG's. In the Assassins Creed games you level up a lot of things, pick up new weapons, interact with characters, etc. But the AC games are not considered RPG games.
Thoughts?
He's not a true RPG'er like myself. He never played the classic Final Fantasy's, never played Xenogears or Chrono Trigger, etc etc. I tried to explain to him that Bloodborne, although labeled an RPG, was in no way a "true RPG" like the classics. It sparked a pretty lengthy debate.
Our argument came to this: The term "Role Playing Game" is extremely vague and is misused. How many games are there out there where you don't "play a role"? He believes an RPG is any game where you level up your character, pick up new items, etc. I disagree, I believe an RPG, a true RPG, is any game where the focal point of the game is the storyline. You play a role in the most important element of the game, which is the tale it's telling.
Certain games throw a wrench in a lot of theories. Destiny is an RPG, The Last of Us is not. I would consider the Last of Us much more of an RPG than destiny, but Destiny gets the label. Why?
There have been several FF games where you don't level anything up (FF12 comes to mind), but no one would argue whether or not they are RPG's. In the Assassins Creed games you level up a lot of things, pick up new weapons, interact with characters, etc. But the AC games are not considered RPG games.
Thoughts?