"The most exciting RPG games you've ever played"-thread

[crisosphinx]

And that's the core of the Roleplaying experience, to create the story yourself and immerse yourself in the world as the character you create. Playing an already defined role is not roleplaying, even though the term is a bit vague, you do play a role but you didn't create it, thus it's not your role, which is the premise of the RPG genre since it was first invented in the 70's. JRPGs generally break these rules, and it's actually one of the core elements of JRPGs, to not create your character but be given one.

I was using ARPG for American RPG. Action RPG could work, too. You are disregarding the fact that a roleplaying game is a game where you play a role as a character. JRPG is a completely viable RPG genre. You are playing the role of a character in a story, whether or not you want to agree with that. Thus, JRPG is still an RPG, regardless of what you say.

Darksouls is a JRPG. You still get to completely customize your character.

American RPG's (anything with full customization, regardless of whether you want to do it or not) is so open ended, it could also not be considered an RPG. Instead, it's more of a life simulator with RPG elements, if you want to get technical.

I'm sorry, but if you disregard this fact, that JRPG's are still RPG's according to the rules of playing the role of a given character in a given environment, leveling up, expanding options, progressing storyline, obtaining new and unique weapons, getting to choose different paths of a story, etc... Then you are clearly being too close-minded. JRPG's are still role playing games. They may be a bit more linear than your traditional American RPG, but they are still an RPG, not an action game with role playing elements.