What Is and ISNT an rpg

Zelda is not, I repeat is NOT an rpg.
Neither is almost any mana game. And no matter how much you like metroid prime, you KNOW that isn't an rpg. castlevania however, IS an rpg, howver barely. Dragon quest heros rocket slime is not an rpg.
It isn't "a game thats fun and dosent feel like an rpg" Thats cause it aint one! And lastly but certainly not least, ANY megaman game, exempt from ht egamecube one, IS NOT AN RPG.

Dont get me wrong, i like these games, im not flaming them. People just need to stop calling them rpgs.

 

I define an RPG as any game where you have direct control of one character, or more, whom you upgrade via some stat-based system & better gear. A somewhat interesting story should evolve, usually involving saving the world. A large world with different locales & enemies is also a staple of the RPG.

 

This means every game we play is a rpg.

 

-zelda isn't an rpg, it's an action adventure game
-metroid is an action adventure game that you shoot aliens and sort
-i'm not sure about the mana series, but i know that the children of mana isn't an rpg but action adventure
-castlevania is actually an action adventure game

there are certain criterias that make an rpg game [btw, no specific orders here].
1-epic story, think about lord of the rings
2-it involves a party
3-upgrade levels
4-a sub-quest that interlinks with the story

lets see what else...
refer to the rpg games from the past [both consoles and pc] and you'll get a clear and more robust understanding.

 

In some circles, depending on the game (specifically portrait of ruin) castlevania in some of the incarnations is an action adventure/rpg/platformer

 

I consider Castlevania games that have came out since Symphony of the night as a Action/Rpg for the fact you can level up your character and other things, but not all Castlevania games are like that. and I have no clue who deemed Metroid as an RPG, but as for the Megaman X Command Mission it was also on Playstation 2 as well as Gamecube, but what would you call the Megaman .EXE series of games?

Anyway it's a loosing battle everyone has their opinion on what people claim as the genre of a game because there being so many factors.

 

there is a problem with this. if you put that word, action, followed by rpg, then everything is rpg. this would make the definition of what an rpg obscure. this would then by that definition mean metroid could be an rpg, a shooting/rpg. but metroid isn't an rpg, it's a shooters.

i still don't believe castlevania, even after symphony of the night, is considered an rpg. it's just an adventure game. just becaue the character levels up doesn't necessarily mean it's an rpg. if you look at zelda 1, it would be similar to castlevania after symphony of the night as link gains experience by obtaining hearts. because there are some rpg elements to a game, it doesn't necessarily mean it's an rpg.

i believe the big main criteria for rpg would be the grand story. if you look at a game such as final fantasy or tales of symphonia, it has a huge storyline that the player goes through.

 

The only real RPGs are Turn Based.

And tactical RPG games are the best.

I am infallible, my word is law.

 

Megaman.exe or starforce is nowhere near an rpg. just because it shifts to a different screen for battles dosent mean it's an rpg. And remember, I said castlevania is barely an rpg. besides the leveling up, you also have to factor in the position of character stats, equipable weapons, skills, and armor. I still dont get when megaman.exe is considered an rpg. It features about as many rpg elements as grand theft auto.

And not all rpg's are turn based. you're forgetting things that are similar to tales or star ocean.

 

RPG games require:
Some random noob that gets involved in the bad guys plot, gets some magical weapon, saves the world and get the girl.
Some kidnapped princess, priestess or mage that falls for the main character.
Main char best friend, dies half the time, sometimes sacrifices himself.
Grinding and buying new weapons and armour.
Bad guy that wants to take over or destoy the world for some dum reason.

 

These "requirements" are all just RPG game stereotypes.

Also, Zelda 2. That is all.

 

cant you really say any game that involves you playing someone else is an rpg since it does stand for role playing game

 

No, because such a loose definition is entirely pointless.

 

i understand that but it is literally what it means isnt it? who made up the phrase role playing game anyway the actual meaning is totally different than what we think an RPG is today

 

The most basic condition for a game to be called an RPG is "experience points". As long as the character/object/contestant/etc you are controlling involves level-up then it has an rpg-element. Now sometimes you might see that the genre is ACTION like Mass Effect because the dominating feature of the game is, well, ACTION. Some games even have more than 2 genre that we hear about which, for example, are Lunar Knights(Action/Adventure/RPG), Rune Factory(Strategy/RPG/Action/Adventure) and such but won't be listed, only the defining factor of the game. i.e. Strategy-RPG, Action-Adventure, etc.

 

[quote author=Wikipedia]A genre of video game is also referred to as role-playing games. These games do not involve "role-playing" in the sense used in role-playing games; they take their name from the settings and game mechanics which they inherit from early role-playing games. Due to the popularity of video games, the terms "role-playing game" and "RPG" have both to some degree been co-opted by the video gaming industry; as a result, games in which players play the roles of characters are sometimes referred to by the retronyms "pen and paper role-playing games" or "tabletop role-playing games," though neither pen and paper nor a table are strictly necessary.[/quote] Wikipedia has all the answers.

 

wikipedia does have all the answers

 

The most primary and important requirement of any rpg is that you level up. however, leveling up doesn't make the game an rpg alone. Other elements, such as things mentioned in my earlier post.

 

Just because you gain experience or level up doesn't explicitly make it an RPG.

Look at COD4. You gain levels don't you? You get new guns as you increase in levels.

Look at FF7CC. You don't gain experience, but you randomly level up.

What TirithRR said is true.
Anything that deviates from that simply has RPG elements in an Action/FPS/etc. setting.