What Constitutes an RPG

[Lusit]

how come RPG topics get people so angry?

¯\(°_o)/¯

Also I don't think that Zelda is an rpg (Zelda II may be an exception, but I'm not sure on that).

[the7k]

Bioware making themselves look stupid. He should start hanging out with Itagaki and David Jaffe, two other guys who love to regularly make asses of themselves for the gaming community

Ironically enough, Kotaku asked who was your most hated game developers, and I actually said Itagaki, Jaffe and various members of Bioware were some that rubbed me the wrong way.

The one who got the top spot for me, however, is Tim Langdell.

[Gamerforlife]

It's not an RPG if it doesn't have...


-lots of innocuous errands you have to run for local villagers before getting on with saving the world.

FF13 not being an RPG confirmed

You have to talk to some NPCs at one point in the game to find Snow's girlfriend and get on with the story.

The mark missions are basically you taking on missions that other residents of Gran Pulse failed to accomplish

FF13 IS an rpg, it's just one where they don't give you much in the way of freedom, which is really saying something considering how restrictive japanese rpgs already are.

It's just a very streamlined and arguably dumbed down rpg. I say arguably because I think the combat system has some nice depth to it.

And as for the comment from Bioware, I haven't played Mass Effect 2 yet(but I'm getting to it), but I've heard that it removed some rpgs elements and streamlined things a bit too. So talk about the pot calling the kettle black when they decide to criticize Final Fantasy 13.

[yomomma1]

The only thing that was removed in mass effect 2 was vehicle driving sections in the main game. Other than that it is basically the same as far as gameplay.

[the7k]

You know... while defining "RPG" is hard, you know what isn't hard?

Turn-Based RPG. Tactical RPG. Action RPG. In just about every one of these cases, you know exactly what it's talking about... in which case, why even use just "RPG" as the identifier?

[alienjesus]

then the question ends up being - Is Zelda an Action RPG?

[AppleQueso]

I still stand by my statistical growth element being the defining factor.

Only Zelda II is an action rpg

[pepharytheworm]

I still stand by my statistical growth element being the defining factor.

Only Zelda II is an action rpg

Then that would include Shenmue which is another highly debated is it or isn't it an rpg.
Also by your standards a sports game where your stats grow would be an rpg more and more modern games are having this feature, soon rpg want be a genre but only a part of a game. Here's an interesting rpgfan editorial on it.
http://rpgfan.com/news/2010/54.html

[the7k]

then the question ends up being - Is Zelda an Action RPG?

Zelda is an action adventure game. No matter how many times you kill an Octorok, he'll go down with the same number of blows.

I stand with Queso in statistical growth being necessary - and furthermore, experience points being necessary to be considered an RPG.

Experience points are the very reason 'Grinding' has become associated with RPGs. Only time I've heard of 'grinding' used outside of RPGs were with achievement/trophy boosters. (And Jet Grind Radio, I guess.)

I'd also say that Popo is on to something - RPGs are also dependent on chance. A virtual, off-screen, roll of the dice. You can increase the odds, but there's always a chance that you'll lose... or win, even if you are unprepared.

Sports games do not qualify as RPGs. It requires many elements to be considered an RPG - statistical growth being but one of them. Other elements include a strong focus on narrative, developed setting & characters, exploration, sub-quests, customization, management (whether it be of items, stats, skills, party members, etc. - I've rarely seen an RPG that didn't at least try to encourage management), tactical combat, and an array of other themes.

Maybe my time with sports games is limited, but I've never really known a sports game where an emphasis was placed on narrative, building a setting, character development, exploration, etc. Sure, there are elements of them there (like management, stat building, etc.), but I've never known those elements to be either the focus or a requirement for the player. You could easily say "Screw it, I just want to recreate the Super Bowl" and bam, there you go. Instant gratification.

There is no way to by-pass the elements of an RPG in a true RPG. There is no instant gratification. Your reward is made all the sweeter by having you work for it - and if the developers did a good job, the work you put in was neither too little nor too much.

[yomomma1]

So, an rpg has to have plot and character progression.
What if I just skip all the cutscenes, and just care about the gameplay? I am just leveling up, in certain games I don't even gain stat points, it auto-levels. Without watching the cutscense I still know it is an rpg by the gameplay.
There is sometimes NEVER any gratification in some rpgs, you beat the end boss and you get a stupid ending that ends up getting fixed for the re-release(Wow quite specific there)

EDIT: thought I would mention this.

There is not that much chance. If I am level oh 75 and I am fighting a lv 99 boss I might only hit 1's. There is however, chance if the enemy is scaled correctly.