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[Afro Republican]

*When it comes to the biggest selling RPGS for Home systems the biggest Wrpg is clearly Skyrim. For Jrpgs in the same category, Final Fantasy VII over 20 years later still holds the crown as the best selling Jrpg game of all time on home systems with over 12 million sold.

Both however have completely different approaches in how they implement gameplay mechanics, and how they approach the rpg genre itself. But with many people on this board having have played both, which of these two juggernauts do you believe is the better game?

Bonus discussion: What do modern JRPGS need to do to sell more copies to a mainstream audience?

 

[DreamsiclesPlz]

It's kinda weird to compare the two, they're entirely different games.

But I'll vote for VII anyway.

 

[off duty ninja]

At the time I played FFVII I was in the Army deployed overseas and my ps1 was my prize possession. It got a lot of play on that little 13" tv.
That was a special time but if I had to choose one to play right now it would be Skyrim so I guess both. Mr. indecisive here.

 

[CloudStrife_ca]

Don't get me wrong I do love both, especially Skyrim in PSVR but I think you know how I'll vote on this one.

FFVII just shaped RPG's for me in general, it was the standard I measured everything else up too and story wise, character wise its still my favourite all these years later. I just reeeaally hope they take their time with the FFVII: R, do it right and please dont fuck it up.

 

[AV]

Isn't this kinda like asking "Forza or Mario Kart"?

 

[off duty ninja]

Isn't this kinda like asking "Forza or Mario Kart"?

Mario Kart 100%.

 

[Fuz]

It's kinda weird to compare the two, they're entirely different games.

But I'll vote for VII anyway.

One and done.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Skyrim’s strongest content is the stuff provided by independent creators via mods. Vanilla is atmospheric and has some shining moments, but it also has loose ends in the design of its RPG systems.

While FFVII is by no means perfect, I find it the preferable favorite between the two. It’s debatable about which is harder to design, games where you craft your own identity or those with developer-dictated personalities, but I’m from an era where the studios decided the story and designed the experience front-to-end.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

They are leagues apart in the things they excel at. Skyrim offers freedom and player choice at the expense of an overall structure. FF7 offers differing but strict gameplay sections and narrative, tied into a masterful overall structure. They are both great games, but for very different reasons.

 

[Afro Republican]

Even for the time FFvii's graphics were pretty bad, however the FMV and cinematic battle really helped it.

Skyrim has the advantages of mods and cross-gen releases so it still looks decent even years later.

 

[Danjin44]

To me is less about which is better and more about preference and I personally prefer JRPG waaaaaay more than WRPG.

 

[Xenon]

Morrowind would have been a better comparison. But this is simply a WRPG or JRPG thread.

 

[Catphish]

For all of its cool gameplay experiences, Skyrim's story is soulless compared to FFVII and, to me, that's the difference.

 

[Afro Republican]

To me is less about which is better and more about preference and I personally prefer JRPG waaaaaay more than WRPG.

This doesn't really make much sense though since Elder Scrolls is quite different from the average Wprg.

 

[Danjin44]

This doesn't really make much sense though since Elder Scrolls is quite different from the average Wprg.

I personally hate Elder Scrolls series worst than your average WRPG, I personally never like them.

 

[Sub_Level]

Final Fantasy VII New Threat

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to replay FF7. Its rebalanced for higher difficulty with new features and requires practically no grinding.

 

[danielberg]

They are completely different games FF7 is a story driven game with one of the best stories in the medium, with almost pitch perfect pacing, some of the most memorably scenarios/set pieces, some of the most memorable characters and a combat system that thanks to materia combinations is still good to this day.
While skyrim is a open world game with countless dungeons, quests, endless things to do, endless characters to role play as and endless mod possibilities with a weak main story that most people dont even bother with, completely forgettable characters and at best average combat.
Both games aim at completely different things and funnily enough at things that the other game doesnt do lol so you need both in your life to cover all bases lol

 

[Afro Republican]

Morrowind would have been a better comparison. But this is simply a WRPG or JRPG thread.

Eh,, this is more about comparing the two best selling games in both sub genres.

 

[anthraticus]

I personally hate Elder Scrolls series worst than your average WRPG, I personally never like them.

Even though they were still pretty flawed, ES did show some promise with Daggerfall & Morrowind. They just fell off a cliff after that, sold out and started dumbing the games down for non RPG fans.

And I can't get into the vast majority of JRPGs. from the cringy artstyles & writing, to the non existent character creation/customization, the linearity/non reactivity, ect..

So I'll go with neither for these 2 choices.

 

[Xenon]

Eh,, this is more about comparing the two best selling games in both sub genres.

Ok, but I think it's a bad comparison. Many are burned out on Skyrim. Morrowind matches up much better. Both games are considered the best by fans. Both were evolution to full 3D worlds. Both are viewed through rose tinted glasses of nostalgia. Not that I think it will change the vote much since it boils down to east vs west.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

just going on the variety of monsters alone, FFVII. add to that the amazing summons and the weird and wild Golden Saucer, i'd much rather spend time in that world.

 

[Kamina]

Witcher 3

 

[Alexios]

Not an interesting question at all, if money's so important then gacha game #38923489 above all of gaming. No reason at all to compare the best selling of anything, many wouldn't pick FFVII over Skyrim but would pick a JRPG that sold way less over Skyrim any day or would pick FFVII over Skyrim but a WRPG that sold less than Skyrim over it.

 

[GamesAreFun]

Skyrim for me, though they're quite a different style of game. Choosing between the two soundtracks would be more difficult.

 

[Zog]

Bonus discussion: What do modern JRPGS need to do to sell more copies to a mainstream audience?

Become more like older JRPG's and less like WRPG's. i can only speak for me but here goes:

- Many modern JRPG combat and progression systems are too complex and take hours of tutorials to full explain them, that's not fun and often I just won't use the optional stuff anyway. Complex yet easy to learn is the way to go.
- Concentrate on a single story with very few (but worthy) side quests. A game that consists of hundreds of quest is a turn off for me. A quest to dig into each characters past is great but quests to collect 10 pieces of cheese is....just a waste of time.
- Don't use all the extra space to bore the player to tears with novels worth of text and go easy on the cutscenes. Just tell a good story without acting like we a toddlers.

...and that's really all I can think of. I prefer turn based combat but real time combat is ok too. Stop trying to chase the open world, quest driven games. Who isn't tired of fetch quests, escort quests and even kill quests?

 

[Zog]

Isn't this kinda like asking "Forza or Mario Kart"?

Mario Kart.

 

[woigemok]

I thought Pokemon is the highest selling JRPG to date?

 

[Afro Republican]

Become more like older JRPG's ?

So you want them to sell even less then they are now?

 

[Zog]

So you want them to sell even less then they are now?

They were selling pretty well in the late 90's. What's your solution?

 

[Gander]

I'm just going to call it apples to oranges. Two very different games creating two very different experiences.

 

[Afro Republican]

They were selling pretty well in the late 90's. What's your solution?

Jrpgs were not selling well in the 90s Final Fantasy(PSX games) and Pokemon were selling well in the 90's. (obviously outside of Japan)

 

[Dargor]

I have to say FF.

 

[Zog]

I'm just going to call it apples to oranges. Two very different games creating two very different experiences.

You can compare RPG's to RPG's. Your response is as useful as not responding at all. You are basically saying 'I can't make this comparison so I won't.'

 

[Gander]

You can compare RPG's to RPG's. Your response is as useful as not responding at all. You are basically saying 'I can't make this comparison so I won't.'

It's really not a comparison Skyrim's world is huge compared to FF7. The sheer amount things you can do at random compared to FF7 linear story makes it hard to compare.

 

[Vawn]

I don't know if FFVII would make my top 10 JRPG list, but its definitely a better game than Skyrim.

 

[Zog]

Jrpgs were not selling well in the 90s Final Fantasy(PSX games) and Pokemon were selling well in the 90's. (obviously outside of Japan)

So what's your solution?

 

[Danjin44]

I personally enjoying the crap out JRPG we getting this gen especially games like DQXI, P5, NieR, Octopath and Xenoblade 2 has been amazing to me, I'm very happy with the JRPG the amount of quality we are getting.

 

[Afro Republican]

So what's your solution?

If I had a solution i wouldn't have asked the question the the OP silly.

 

[Zog]

If I had a solution i wouldn't have asked the question the the OP silly.

Not true, I had a solution but also asked for yours.

 

[Afro Republican]

Not true, I had a solution but also asked for yours.

Which makes no sense, otherwise I wouldn't have added the question.

Anyway your solution (other than the first part of your post) is interesting.

 

[Zog]

Which makes no sense, otherwise I wouldn't have added the question.

Saying 'this is my solution, what's yours' makes no sense? In what universe?

 

[Fbh]

Not a lot in common between these but I'd go with FFVII.

I like the world, story and characters better. It's not perfect but it was just more unique and memorable, Skyrim is a generic medieval fantasy world with a generic medieval fantasy plot. The gameplay isn't particularly strong in either of them but overall I prefer a basic turn based combat system over Skyrims janky first person combat

 

[120v]

it's a tough one on paper.... but the hours spent don't lie. spent way more time on skyrim, and i could jump into it right now and easily whittle away 5 hrs or so. can't say that about FF7 though both were life changing

 

[bumleforce]

Both are great. Story is better overall in 7 but Skyrim is a better game

 

[lanadelrey]