11 Major Rivalries That Changed Video Game History

6. Western RPGs Vs. JPRGs

The face-off: Mass Effect or Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy? "Would madame like her combat turn-based, or real-time?" Both are a fine choice (well, not really), but both will get you burned at the steak should you ever try and make the opposing side see 'the light'. Let's clarify our terms here for the uninitiated; JPRGs are mostly eastern in influence and feature aesthetics surrounding extravagant hairstyles and clothing, plotlines revolving around young people realising they're the key to saving the universe, combat where you plan your moves out and take your time and gorgeous worlds where each and every inch is about as quirky as a hen in a bath. On the western side of things we've not got time for planning things too much, instead when a button gets prodded we want that action to play out right there and then, hence games that still have a focus on character-building and role-playing also having tactile feedback when it comes to combat, such as Mass Effect, Skyrim, The Witcher, Fallout etc. Of course there's more to the two contrasting styles than just combat, and there's easily room for both, but a quick check of release schedules over the past few years will tell you that JRPGs are pretty dead in the water. Even Final Fantasy has abandoned it's initial turn-based nature these days, but that also means that when something like Bravely Default appears (suddenly, we'd imagine), it's welcomed with open arms by fans of the genre's origins.