So, what makes a game an RPG?

[James8BitStar]

So recently I found this article--probably the wrong section for this since said article seems to concern itself mostly with PC RPGs, though they do mention Chrono Trigger at least, but I agree with the basic idea that RPGs are defined more by a "family resemblance" than by any strict criteria.

One of the biggest buggers I've had, ever, is trying to explain exactly what defines an RPG and, invariably, there are always disagreements--should game A be considered an RPG because it has experience points or should game B be discluded, etc.

So yeah, what makes a game an RPG?  Riddle me this, Batman!

[Dade]

I hate this discussion.

$20 someone says something about Zelda in the next three posts.

[Alisha]

Zelda 2 is an rpg.

[MeshGearFox]

The current game genre classification system is vague and doesn't really accommodate games that properly exist very well. I mean really you can say that computer/console/whatever RPGs try to emulate pen and paper RPGs, except the actual definition of what makes a pen and paper RPG and RPG is sort of vague too, and in general the only specific guideline is that people are acting in character.

In other words I think the best solution is, obviously, screw it, it's not important.

[Eusis]

Haven't read it yet, but I think it's easier to define Japanese RPGs than Western RPGs. Outside of those using the D&D system, they range from Oblivion to Fallout for qualifying, without really using sub genre labels at that. I'll comment better when I actually read it though.

And Zelda totally isn't an RPG.

[Dice]

RPG...Role Playing Game... if you take the role of a character, its technically an RPG then, no?? =P
All games are RPGs at heart! =)

If I am playing as Link, it is a Role Play. ZELDARPG!!!!!!

Anyways, agreed, its kidna ahrd to classify an RPG unless you already know.  If you do any of the following...

-gain levels
-Walk around a map of sorts
-Talk to people with button X
-Enter a menu of sorts to brief character stats and inventory
-Wield a sword
-Recover HP and/or some for of magical power
-Come from a Kingdom fighting the always evil Empire

[D-Rider]

An RPG is a game where you play the role of someone that is not yourself.  Therefore, Grand Theft Auto is an RPG.

(I'm with Dade, this topic traditionally brings out more anger than you would ever think. :P)

[Hidoshi]

Genre is, by and large, no longer relevant to gaming's reality. The only purpose it serves is for the industry to categorise and sell product. In reality, hybrid began to take over quite some time ago. What do you call something like Zelda? It's an adventure game, but sold as an RPG, and has in recent years introducer more and more story sequences, etc. It's one of the games that can anger people when they're asked to categorise it. Does it count? Sure. But then so does GTA, like DR pointed out.

The fact is, the umbrella of "RPG" encompasses such a wide, liquid range, that it's nearly impossible to come up with a concrete definition. Would Zelda count? Why? What makes it more or less valid than say, Dark Cloud 2, or Chrono Trigger? What parts of Metal Gear Solid could be defined as RPG? It's too large a hybrid genre to be clear anymore.

[Ashtrot]

Sonic is a RPG.

[everluck]

Tetris is an RPG.

Also any game with a silver haired bad guy.

[Hidoshi]

Well see, that's the issue. With the story elements introduced in more recent Sonic creations, one could argue that the game is indeed approaching the RPG. Why? Because it's in the name. Role Playing Game. Before, Sonic was little more than a mascot instrument like Mario. But with the Adventure series, one could start to argue (albeit poorly) that Sonic (as a series) is fleshing out its world and you are in fact playing Sonic as an actual character, rather than a mere caricature.

Tetris we all know is absurd. :P How they're making a movie out of it is beyond me.

The Sonic argument is hard to hold up, because the series lacks other ideas we associate with the RPG. Levelling up, skill sets, etc. That's what distances Sonic. On the other hand, you have games like Chrono Trigger which pretty much sums up the classical definition of RPG. Experience points, new skills earned, story sequences, character development, and a battle system which transfers you out of regular control into its own set of rules.

That definition is "traditional", but not the umbrella. The umbrella has come to include games like Dark Cloud, Parasite Eve, Tokimeki Memorial (though here, the tag used is "life/dating sim" and so the industry attempts to remove it from the RPG genre), and so on. The discussion on what constitutes an "RPG" will not find a concrete answer, because it needs to broken down further than that.

"What is an RPG" < -- Nice, general question. But flawed because it doesn't really set specific boundaries for itself. No concrete resolution because of hybrids.

What we're really asking (or should be):

"What is a traditional RPG?"

"What is an action-RPG?"

"What is a strategy-RPG?"

"What is a life/dating sim as versus an RPG?"

Etcetera. The question needs to be specified.

[Dade]

GUYS GUYS GUYS.....


LIFE is an rpg.

[Takezo]

Why take it for granted that the name rpg refers to the literal definition of it's root-words rather than the established gaming experience it originally defined. Semantical noise.

[MeshGearFox]

Well, gaming genres aren't as bas as music genres. We can bitch about what is or isn't an RPG, or we can bitch about what is or isn't post-grindcore thrash techno.

[Spoony Mage]

Anyways, agreed, its kidna ahrd to classify an RPG unless you already know.  If you do any of the following...

-gain levels
-Walk around a map of sorts
-Talk to people with button X
-Enter a menu of sorts to brief character stats and inventory
-Wield a sword
-Recover HP and/or some for of magical power
-Come from a Kingdom fighting the always evil Empire

So...only SNES and PS RPGs count as true RPGs, considering they're the only two systems I know of that use the 'X' button?  :P

Seriously, though, I think RPGs are a lot harder to define among us, rather than the casual, mainstream gamer.  Whenever I mention RPG, people tend to immediately associate that with Final Fantasy, Zelda, and more recently WoW.  It is really difficult to explain concisely because the genre extends well beyond those three titles.  People mostly tend to associate RPG settings with Tolkien-based works or D&D, and they're not necessarily wrong.  It's just a piece of something that has grown much larger over the years.  I'd think it was much simpler to categorize RPGs back in the old NES/Genesis/TG16 days.

I agree that RPGs are no longer a genre that can be simply categorized in one list.