So when I was about 12 years old, I discovered my first role playing game which was Final Fantasy 8. At the time I had no idea it was a role playing game but what I did know while I was watching MTV and saw the commercial was that it looked awesome and I wanted to have it immediately. Fast forward to today and I now know that there are a lot of sub genres to role playing games that I learned through trial and error. If you managed to stumble across my humble little blog, I figured I would try to give you the basic knowledge that I learned on my own so here we go.
Role Playing Game (RPG):
A game by which the player (you) assume the role (haha) of an imaginary character and essentially play out their adventure from start to finish by some brilliant developer. The usual elements include character customization, classes, a great story, character battles, etc. Examples would be anything from Final Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons or Dragon Quest.
Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG):
These are role playing games that are usually created and/or modeled after Japanese culture and history. Even if the concept is new in concept, usually the models are made to resemble anime characters or have traditional Japanese features. These types of games also used to have a set way they were made like being turn based, sometimes linear and contained an immersive story. Examples would be the Persona, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest and those are the popular ones.
Western Role Playing Games (WRPG):
I don't really see the acronym used a lot for these RPGs but for the most part take the Western (American) culture, history and character model references for their games. Unlike JRPGs though, these games tend to be open world and expansive allowing the player as much choice as possible to customize their experience. Examples of this are Dragon Age, Skyrim, Witcher etc.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game {MMORPG):
Did I mention that most RPGs are single player experiences? Well with MMORPGS these games are usually played with other people online through computers or console game systems. These games are open world, open ended and usually player run ecosystems. They try to encourage social interaction while you escape and play the role of your character. Some Examples are World of Warcraft (WoW), Final Fantasy 11 and 14, Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) etc.
Table Top Role Playing Games:
These are Role Playing Games that the players describe their character's actions through speech. There is definitely a lot of imagination used for these types of games but they have their own lore, world and rules to help the players make the game immersive. Examples of this are Dungeons and Dragons.
Now that we got that out of the way, there are several subtypes of RPGs that you should be familiar with.
Strategy Role Playing Game (SRPG):
A type of RPG where the player gives commands to a unit of characters to complete the assigned objective. Usually the battle field is grid like requiring you to move your units in a certain amount of moves or turns. These aren't my favorite because they actually require strategy lol. It reminds me a lot of planning for a war which is usually the main plot thread in the game. Examples of this are Valkyrie Chronicles, Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem Series.
Action Role Playing Games:
A type of RPG where the player gives commands to their character and the moves are executed in real time. Like if you press X and X makes ur character strike with a sword that's exactly what your character will do immediately. With that being said, the enemy characters can also attack you with that pace. Examples of this would be Kingdom Hearts, Tales of Series and Final Fantasy 15.
Turn Based Role Playing Game:
The traditional form of RPGs that require the player to input commands to their characters that the characters will then execute after a time delay. It goes in the order of character, monster then character depending on the game. This type of rpg gives you time to plan without having to worry about commanding a whole unit and you can normally recover quickly. It also usually has the battle take place in an alternate space than the field. This type of RPG gas fallen out of flavor recently to more action rpgs but tis is my favorite type of RPG. Examples of this would be Final Fantasy 1 through 10, Dragon Quest, Person Series.
Rogue Like Role Playing Game:
This is a type of RPG that has the player take their character through a randomly generated dungeon that's grid like. Usually each time the player enters they will start at level one and will lose all items found if they are killed in the dungeon. This type of rpg can be very unforgiving and require for the player to be patient and have good item management. You can normally see your character on screen but they are normally super-deformed in comparison to their cut-scenes. Examples of this would be Azure Dreams etc.
Dungeon Crawling Role Playing Game:
This is a type of rpg that is normally shown in the first person perspective as the player navigates through labyrinth type dungeons. You are unable to see your character and most times unable to see the whole dungeon or rooms as a whole. Some dungeon crawlers can have rogue like elements like starting the whole dungeon over when killed and losing all items. Some examples of this would be Diablo, Persona Q, Mind Zero.
So we went through a lot in this article but of course if you have anything that you want to add that I missed let me know. This list is by no means comprehensive and there is definitely more information out there but this should at least point you in the right direction. As my blog posts continue a lot of these will be elaborated on when I describe games that I play. But I hope the information is here was helpful. Be sure to share, subscribe and comment.
Until Next Time
DreaPoetic :)
Images found:
FF14: http://www.justpushstart.com/2013/06/final-fantasy-xiv-a-realm-reborn-beta-is-live-once-again-for-pcps3/
FF8: https://www.pinterest.com/krilynebluemage/final-fantasy-viii-ix/
Witcher 3: http://www.gameondaily.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-hopes-and-fears/
Dungeons and Dragons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons
Final Fantast Tactics: War of Lions: http://www.emuparadise.me/PSP_ISOs/Final_Fantasy_Tactics_-_The_War_of_the_Lions_(Europe)/157288
Tales of Zestria: http://kotaku.com/tales-of-zestiria-takes-a-cue-from-classic-literature-1692549754
Persona 4 Golden: http://gamingtrend.com/game_reviews/following-the-golden-rule-in-persona-4/
Azure Dreams: http://lparchive.org/Azure-Dreams/Update%2042/
Mind Zero: http://www.3djuegos.com/15855/mind-0/
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