Note: Please read the Intro blog first.

Or more specifically Japanese Role-Playing Games vs Western Role-Playing Games and their impact on society: an essay by Professor Kawashima.

Hello and welcome to the first entry into this tome of wisdom and anger. I'm going to talk about the two main "schools" of Role-Playing Games (RPGs) and how they differ. The first of these, and usually the one people (or sheeple, lol) tend to veer towards is the Japanese variety. Now, RPGs come in all shapes and sizes and there are numerous sub-genres such as tactical, real-time, turn-based, etc. I'll write another chapter on Game Genres another time. For now, all you need to know is the basic conventions of both sides.

The general consensus is that JRPGs are more about the hardcore gameplay rather than the narrative. They pioneered RPGs as a whole, and indeed, games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest can be adequately summed up as the archetypal JRPGs. They share similar themes and motifs and despite being around for aeons, their patterns rarely change. Like their Western counterparts, they come in a few flavours, namely medieval-****or sci-fi-**** But with JRPGs, they tend to be the same boring crap.

I mean they never learn those Japanese developers. Take a look at the last few RPGs to be released on the Xbox360. All Japanese, all crap. Yeah, ok, they have their fans, but critics have panned them, and plus I don't like them and since this is my note, and thus my world, I am the winner.

Blue Dragon was supposed to be special. Supposed to be "fresh", and "unique". Supposed to be "good". They got a whole bunch of awesome talent to work on that game, from the creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, writing the plot and art work from Dragonball Z's Akira Toriyama and music from the legendary Nobuo Uematsu (he of Final Fantasy music fame). I played the demo for more than an hour, trying in vain to enjoy it. Alas! 'Twas an impossible task! It's a horribly dated game; with the same old random battle encounters and turn-based combat from the old days. Even the titular "Blue Dragons" couldn't save the game from being abysmally boring.

Then there was Lost Odyssey, another RPG from Hironobu Sakaguchi. Admittedly, I've never played it but I don't need to because the less-than-shining reviews said it all. Plus I've seen enough videos to get the idea. I've heard it's not all that. I win again. And now we have Infinite Undiscovery, which has disappointed those waiting to play it. The conventions never change in these games. Turn-based battling was never really my thing, but very rarely do these games appeal to me. The only one I can think of right now is Paper Mario on the N64, which I downloaded on the Wii's virtual console recently. The thing about that game was that it took the staple turn-based combat and twisted it into a fresh experience. Plus it had Mario in it and all the gameplay features were essentially nods to old Nintendo games, so it was a nice experience.

Now let's look at Western RPGs. Where once Japan was known as the Land of the Best Games, that war has turned in America's favour and the RPG front is where the tide has turned. Japan's best export, apart from hentai, katsu curry and samurai swords, was videogames, and especially their RPGs. The throne has been usurped. The first major Western RPG to make me see the light was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
I was astounded by the intricate levels of depth prevalent in every facet of that game. From material goods such as the graphics and presentation to the gameplay and story; the game is just a masterpiece. Normally, I wouldn't bother with games like these because its backstory is too vast, the genre was too niche, and the series was already well established by the time this game was being made. But I was convinced when I saw the first gameplay footage. The graphics were the first thing that blew me away. Next was the atmosphere and concept. I was in a "Lord of the Rings" mood at the time, and this offered a nice alternative. At the time, I don't think there were any RPGs based on LOTR, and the subsequent titles released under that banner sucked anyway. So this had to do. And it did it well. I was so excited to create my character, my own warrior, and set out into this huge untamed land, to battle a myriad of orcs, trolls, vampires and otherworldly demons. The effort Bethesda put into this little gem was incredible. Where in a JRPG, you'll have invisible walls blocking your path, neglecting your need to explore; Oblivion threw you in the middle of their massive sandbox. The level of freedom is something Japanese developers need to learn if they are to attract people like me. I want to like their games, but after experiencing Oblivion, nothing comes close. Except Mass Effect.

Oh. My. Gawd. What a bloody great game ME is. Much like Oblivion at the time, I was in a certain mood for something; this time it was for some sci-fi, something similar to Star Wars but with a base in realism. My prayers were answered when this divine game descended from the heavens. The main attraction of this title was the narrative; Bioware being masters of this particular art, were bound to succeed. They single-handedly pioneered digital acting, and they combined their literary skills with tactical squad-based real-time combat and freedom (all ticks on my checklist) to create a package of sheer quality. It's all about the effort you see. Something the Japanese don't seem to want to put in.

I just don't have the patience for turn-based games with random battle encounters; the preferred method of the Japanese. There's just something about walking through a field with my adolescent "party" of miscreants and suddenly being attacked by an invisible giant venus fly trap that molests you with multiple tentacles (a very Japanese tradition) that annoys me. Sometimes, the developers let you see the blasted nuisance but you can't avoid fighting forever, as you'll need to level up eventually. When it comes to the combat, I simply can't be arsed to take it in turns. It's unrealistic, slow, and unsatisfying. It rewards thought but not skill. I'd much prefer to wade into a group of goblins, my +6 Sword of Doom with added Fire Effect wreaking havoc with each deadly swing that I CONTROL. So much more fun.

Some people, including friends of mine, prefer turn-based. But it's not just the combat, it's everything else. The interface of Final Fantasy games is too confusing. Compare it to the efficiency of Oblivion's tab-based menu system and you will see the truth of what I speak. Mass Effect has a pretty decent interface too, but I'll always remember Knights of the Old Republic and it's superbness. To put it bluntly, that game "smacked it blad". Not only was it a Star Wars RPG (and therefore automatically great) but it was genuinely a fantastic experience. The plot was amazing, the combat was a unique mix of tactical, real-time and turn-based. Kind of. Basically it was bloody incredible. The menus are pretty nifty. When equipping armour, you can assign a weapon to each hand, a defence mechanism to each shoulder, something for your head, chest etc. Simple, but effective. And it's a nice bit of effort. In Oblivion, you can see your character model being updated in real time as you edit their armour. In Final Fantasy? No. You see a picture of their face and you scroll through masses of statistics. Too much crap for my eyes to bother with. It's just that little bit of effort that can make all the difference. To me, JRPGs seem to inaccessible.

It's not all roses and chocolates for Western Role-Players of course. The Americans don't churn out as much pooh every month as the Japanese (have you noticed how many random RPGs there are on the PS2 STILL being released?) but the occasional dollop of manure can seep through the Holy Sieve of Quality. One such game is Too Human. What a shame. I was looking forward to that game for SEVEN years, no joke. Due to a host of problems, it came out wack. I played the demo and it was enough to make me sick. The combat was clunky, the interface was trash and even it's saving grace, the story, was underdeveloped.
The main thing that the West loves but Japan has yet to embrace is the Massively Multiplayer Online variety of RPG. These are typically quite boring and overrated, such as "The Death Bringer", World of Warcraft. These games are just so boring and I'm surprised they come from the same region of the world that spawned Bioware and Bethesda. The Koreans seem to love MMORPG's and it's only a matter of time till Japanese catch on and bore the heck out of me.

Long have these dark thoughts swam in the recesses of my twisted mind. But now is the time to unleash them upon the world.

Alright, enough of the mumbo jumbo; I'll get straight to the point. I'm going to be writing a series of blogs on videogames and my thoughts on current trends in the industry among other things.
The reason I'm writing this intro first is to give people a heads up. Firstly, anyone can read these notes and hopefully all will enjoy them and even perhaps learn a thing or two. They are, however, geared more towards avid gamers like myself, for they will truly understand my points and arguments. If you're a n00b and not 1337, then may this be an educational journey.

I'd also like to point out that there are bound to be spelling errors and other mistakes which I may return to edit. Also, knowing me, I'm definitely going to forget to write stuff and will add them in when I remember. I'll probably put one of those fancy stars (*) with a note underneath. You know, to be all professional-like.

The lengths of these notes may vary; some will be short and to the point, and some will be long essays written in a drug-fueled state of erotic euphoria, or something to that effect.
Anyway, enough rambling and let's get this game started....

Note: These blogs are intended for Gamespot, where I am allowed to swear. I've had to edit some stuff, so the impact isn't as strong. Still, hope you enjoy it.