page_title: Role-playing video game
section_title: Cultural differences
hierarchical_section_title: Role-playing video game / History and classification / Cultural differences
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of en:kemonomimi-art in en:chibi-style. Deutsch: de:Kemonomimi-Bild im de:Chibi-Stil.
context_page_description: A role-playing video game is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character immersed in some well-defined world. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.
context_section_description: Computer-driven role-playing games had their start in Western markets, with games generally geared to be played on home computers. By 1985, series like Wizardry and Ultima represented the state of role-playing games. In Japan, home computers had yet to take as great a hold as they had in the West due to their cost; there was little market for Western-developed games and there were a few Japanese-developed games for personal computers during this time such as The Black Onyx (1984) which followed the Wizardy/Ultima format. With the release of the low-cost Famicom console (called the Nintendo Entertainment System overseas), a new opportunity arose to bring role-playing games to Japan. Dragon Quest (1986) was the first such attempt to recreate a role-playing game for a console, and requires several simplifications to fit within the more limited memory and capabilities of the Famicom compared to computers; players in Dragon Quest controlled only a single character, the amount of control over this character limited due to the simplicity of the Famicom controller, and a less-realistic art style was chosen to better visualize the characters within a tile-based graphics system. Dragon Quest was highly successful in Japan, leading to further entries in the series and other titles such as Final Fantasy that followed the same simplifications made in RPGs for Dragon Quest.
  Because of these differences, the role-playing genre eventually began to be classified into two fairly distinct styles: computer RPG and console RPG. In the early 2000s, however, as the platform differences began to blur, computer RPGs and console RPGs were eventually classified as Western role-playing games (or WRPGs) and Japanese role-playing games (or JRPGs), respectively.
  Though sharing fundamental premises, Western RPGs tend to feature darker graphics, older characters, and a greater focus on roaming freedom, realism, and the underlying game mechanics (e.g. "rules-based" or "system-based"); whereas Eastern RPGs tend to feature brighter, anime-like or chibi graphics, younger characters, turn-based or faster-paced action gameplay, and a greater focus on tightly-orchestrated, linear storylines with intricate plots (e.g. "action-based" or "story-based"). Further, Western RPGs are more likely to allow players to create and customize characters from scratch, and since the late 1990s have had a stronger focus on extensive dialog tree systems (e.g. Planescape: Torment). On the other hand, Japanese RPGs tend to limit players to developing pre-defined player characters, and often do not allow the option to create or choose one's own playable characters or make decisions that alter the plot. In the early 1990s, Japanese RPGs were seen as being much closer to fantasy novels, but by the late 1990s had become more cinematic in style (e.g. Final Fantasy series). At the same time, Western RPGs started becoming more novelistic in style (e.g. Planescape: Torment), but by the late 2000s had also adopted a more cinematic style (e.g. Mass Effect series).
  One reason given for these differences is that many early Japanese console RPGs can be seen as forms of interactive manga (Japanese comics) or anime wrapped around Western rule systems at the time, in addition to the influence of visual novel adventure games. As a result, Japanese console RPGs differentiated themselves with a stronger focus on scripted narratives and character drama, alongside streamlined gameplay. In recent years, these trends have in turn been adopted by Western RPGs, which have begun moving more towards tightly structured narratives, in addition to moving away from "numbers and rules" in favor of streamlined combat systems similar to action games. In addition, a large number of Western independent games are modelled after Japanese RPGs, especially those of the 16-bit era, partly due to the RPG Maker game development tools.
  Another oft-cited difference is the prominence or absence of kawaisa, or "cuteness", in Japanese culture, and different approaches with respect to character aesthetics. Western RPGs tend to m
caption: Example of kawaii art. "Cute" art such as this is unpopular with some players.
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