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Where did you first hear the term JRPG?

BocoDragon said:
It's not really pointless in the sense that jRPGs and wRPGs are like entirely different genres. It's almost as if FPS were called "wAction games" and DMC/Ninja Gaiden games were called "jAction games".

Perhaps neither should be called "RPGs" except that neither are willing to budge as being the true heirs to DnD.
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I say we should get some paper out, and try to draw out each of the subgenras.

JRPG, WRPG, Comptuer RPG, Console RPG, Handheld RPG, are all junk terms that don't tell you much about the game.
 
Drkirby said:
JRPG, WRPG, Comptuer RPG, Console RPG, Handheld RPG, are all junk terms that don't tell you much about the game.
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Disagree. If my buddies tell me a game is a JRPG or WRPG I have some idea what I'm getting into, what I may like and what might annoy the hell out of me.

JRPGs and WRPGs are not nearly the same, but I also don't specifically tie those terms to the regions where the game was produced, as much as to a certain set of design or presentation ideas.
 
Yeah I used to love Gamefan but don't remember ever seeing it there. Although maybe they started using it the last couple years, I think I stopped reading it by 1998.
 
It was a term I hadn't heard before this generation as even more computer RPGs started being ported to consoles. It definitely started out as internet slang.

I also dislike it BTW and I use it selectively, but unfortunately it's become too popular to avoid and it's even commonly used in gaming journalism these days. It's difficult to use sometimes mainly because some people are easily confused since there's no clear definition for it. Some use it for purely turn-based RPGs, some thing it can be used to describe any RPG that has anime artwork, and some use it for the regional connection.
 
Last gen, because until the Xbox hit the scene a JRPG was just an 'RPG' on console gaming boards.

As a matter of fact, I didn't really see a lot of hate for the JRPG genre until WRPGs began releasing on consoles thus bringing the fanbase and put the whole hive mind to work.
 
So uh, before this thread dies, has anyone ever seen the term WRPG anywhere in print or on a major website? I actually think this term is not only internet exclusive, but message board exclusive.

You see Western RPG sometimes, but I can't find WRPG anywhere amidst my half-assed googling (and procrastinating).
 
randomkid said:
So uh, before this thread dies, has anyone ever seen the term WRPG anywhere in print or on a major website? I actually think this term is not only internet exclusive, but message board exclusive.

You see Western RPG sometimes, but I can't find WRPG anywhere amidst my half-assed googling (and procrastinating).
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Yeah, after doing some decent searching my self, I am going with no. What people think of as "WRPGs" most of the time are Action RPGs that keep exploration and combat in the same area, and what people think of as "JRPGs" are Command RPGs with random battles and over used tropes.
 
Some anime forum. The term made sense there were obvious diffrences between RPGs made in the two regions. So I keep it around and I feel people have an idea what a game intails when the term is used.
 
I probably heard it first on a message board, but the first time i saw a jrpg describe itself as jrpg in its trailer was really the point were i realized i could use it in casual conversation.
 
I've heard it used since the late 90s.

I'm not sure how accurate these newsgroup timestamps from the google groups search are, but they seem to confirm that:

http://groups.google.com/groups/sea...as_ugroup=&as_usubject=&as_uauthors=&safe=off

also if you wish to see wrpg/jrpg/crpg/console RPG/etc. arguments of old, this is sort of interesting to read:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec....6b143379629e5/38c7d1c953fbd8da?q=JRPG&lnk=ol&

like somebody in there recommends the first persona game for some dude that's a fan of the old D&D gold box games. It's amazing to me such discussions even took place.
 
DeBurgo said:
I've heard it used since the late 90s.

I'm not sure how accurate these newsgroup timestamps from the google groups search are, but they seem to confirm that:

http://groups.google.com/groups/sea...as_ugroup=&as_usubject=&as_uauthors=&safe=off

also if you wish to see wrpg/jrpg/crpg/console RPG/etc. arguments of old, this is sort of interesting to read:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec....6b143379629e5/38c7d1c953fbd8da?q=JRPG&lnk=ol&

like somebody in there recommends the first persona game for some dude that's a fan of the old D&D gold box games. It's amazing to me such discussions even took place.
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Wow thanks, really cool find! This is so fascinating to me as I read through this, and hilariously, I recognize the name Henry LaPierre, he was the dude who wrote that awesome Persona FAQ that's still at gamefaqs. I remember printing the whole thing out way back when, and even using it a bit just recently when the remake came out. How random, heh.

So yeah, we've got an official answer. Everyone in the linked newsgroup thread is talking about console RPGs vs. computer RPGs, which is how I remember it being. But then someone steps up with this comment:

Balut said:
For the "rpg-purists," which I take it you are, I prefer to use the term "JRPG" or Japanese RPG, to encompass games such as the Final Fantasy series, Suikoden, and Wild Arms, to name a few examples.
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So congrats Balut, on July 9, 1997, you single-handedly coined the term JRPG.
 
jeremy1456 said:
Last gen, because until the Xbox hit the scene a JRPG was just an 'RPG' on console gaming boards.

As a matter of fact, I didn't really see a lot of hate for the JRPG genre until WRPGs began releasing on consoles thus bringing the fanbase and put the whole hive mind to work.
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this. it began when PC gamers were infiltrating into console gaming.
 
NullPointer said:
JRPGs and WRPGs are not nearly the same, but I also don't specifically tie those terms to the regions where the game was produced, as much as to a certain set of design or presentation ideas.
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Absolutely. Demon's Souls is a more of a WRPG and Anachronox is basically a JRPG.
 
I am thinking maybe during the time where RPGs in the PC appear in consoles. So maybe around 2006-ish?
 
Seems to me a more recent thing. I always just grouped everything under the same category of RPG when I was growing up. DQ1/FF1/Phantasy Star were the same in my 8 year old mind as Ultima 3 Exodus.

Usually when I hear the term JRPG it's usually used by western RPG fanboys in a condescending manner, so I tend to avoid the term.

DeBurgo said:
I've heard it used since the late 90s.

I'm not sure how accurate these newsgroup timestamps from the google groups search are, but they seem to confirm that:

http://groups.google.com/groups/sear...hors=&safe=off

also if you wish to see wrpg/jrpg/crpg/console RPG/etc. arguments of old, this is sort of interesting to read:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.g...q=JRPG&lnk=ol&

like somebody in there recommends the first persona game for some dude that's a fan of the old D&D gold box games. It's amazing to me such discussions even took place.
Click to expand...

Heh, reading through those now... interesting to see DarienA post in there.
 
Like most everyone else here, I heard the term "JRPG" propagated on the internet. The term has fully superseded the acronym, as the games don't even have to be Japanese nor have they ever demanded much role-playing. I just got done with Magna Carta 2, a Korean JRPG. When I describe it as a JRPG, we know that game places a heavy emphasis on cutscenes for the narrative and a focus on building stats for a party of characters with real-time or turn-based combat mechanics. Everyone is pretty up to date on what to expect when we use this label - they are games distinctive from other RPG's.
 
djtiesto said:
Seems to me a more recent thing. I always just grouped everything under the same category of RPG when I was growing up. DQ1/FF1/Phantasy Star were the same in my 8 year old mind as Ultima 3 Exodus.
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No doubt. I was so starved for RPG's I would never delineate where an RPG came from. I was just thrilled that one was made. Plus, back then they borrowed so heavily from western RPG's it was hard to really tell the difference.

It's not surprising that the term (or classification) began to pop up after 10 years or so. By then there were dozens of console RPGS that vaguely resembled the same mold and began incorporating heavily-stylized animation as cutscenes.
 
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