LightPhoenix
First Post
Despite DonTadow's comment about age, I believe the point he was trying to make was that first and foremost, RPG's are games, not stories. The very fact that the analogy is to a book is telling - you're not judging it by being a game, but by being a story. There's nothing wrong with that, however there are people who want to play a game and will judge it as such. Ultimately, my feeling is that the G stands for "game," and thus should be judged on that. Otherwise, perhaps these types of games should be relabeled as interactive stories.
As I've said upthread, I didn't particularly like the gameplay in FF12 and so I didn't play much of it. However, one of the biggest problems I've had with most RPGs, as an RPG lover, is that gameplay has always taken a backseat to story*. What I feel should be happening is that gameplay and story should get equal consideration, which would still be unique to RPGs (for the most part). If the game isn't fun to play, it's not a fun game, no matter how good the story is (for example, Xenogears).
*In reality, the number one priority has to be art direction, especially graphics. This is unfortunate but required to compete in today's gaming world. Note that art direction, and graphics, does not imply hyper-realistic, however it does require a well-defined style. The emphasis that is left over goes to story (including characterization) and gameplay.
