Western RPG's that are creative?

[Qeo]

I hate how when I think of "Western RPG" I think of a tolkienesque world devoid of creativity. There must be some that are interesting and creative..

If you can find any interesting western rpgs that are just as interesting as "JRPGs" and actually try to create a world worth caring about I'll appreciate it.

 

[hyde9318]

I feel this falls under the realm of opinion though. I mean, to each their own, but I personally find Tolkien's Middle Earth stories to be much more creative than the typical JRPG, and much more thought/planned out. But I also see why certain people don't care for his style of story telling. But my honest opinion, if you are a JRPG fan, you most likely won't find an appealing WRPG out there. Not saying it isn't possible, but they are so different that I feel you are either a fan of one or the other (I am in NO way saying you can't love both, trust me).


Again though, opinions.

 

[Alexander Amnell]

   Wasteland, Fallout 1 and 2 (kind of 3 an new vegas, but whether they are actually rpgs is up for debate. Regardless they borrow and pull from the same rich world, though that might make them less creative in your eyes considering how you phrase the topic.) Borderlands 1 and 2, Deus Ex(first one, haven't played the newest one), demon/dark souls(I think) The Witcher (Tolkienesque, but it's still plenty creative.) and Vampire: The Masquarade are a few that I can think of off of the top of my head. Western Rpgs are plenty creative, but they are certainly of a different style. Other than Demons/dark souls, all of these games have some impressive world building to them, and in their case it isn't about that in the first place. Perhaps you are just more a fan of jrpgs, I like both about evenly but to say that you can't think of a western rpg that is creative is a bit of a harsh statement. (Or maybe I'm just a fan of Tolkienesque stories in the first place, either way I wouldn't believe that this excludes creativity. Jrpgs have their tropes and borrowed stories as well.)

 

[Uzuki]

^Everything he said, plus the first Dragon Age.

 

[Milkdud]

 

There must be some that are interesting and creative..

Planescape: Torment, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Divinity: Original Sin, Age of Decadence, Wasteland, Fallout 1, Underrail,  The Witcher. There's also Darklands which puts the setting in a richly detailed 15th century Holy Roman Empire and then spices it up with some fantasy elements.

   Borderlands 1 and 2, Deus Ex(first one, haven't played the newest one)

I kinda disagree on these two, while it's for an entirely different discussion, I wouldn't really consider them RPG's.

^Everything he said, plus the first Dragon Age.

I like Dragon Age: Origins, but that is quite frankly, a generic Tolkien-esque setting.

 

[Uzuki]

Fair enough that was the only that came to mind when everything else was taken.

 

[Alexander Amnell]

I kinda disagree on these two, while it's for an entirely different discussion, I wouldn't really consider them RPG's.

   Regardless they are quite fun (though I can't classify Deus Ex as anything else really.) I consider them rpgs because if I didn't then logically I couldn't really consider the Witcher or demon/dark souls games to be rpgs either. Progression-wise it is very similar to borderlands. pseudo-openworld areas that open up new areas as you go along, very similar skill progressions and focus on item gathering to strengthen your one character (more so in borderlands even than the witcher.) Really the only thing that separates them that I can see structure-wise is that the witcher uses rpg-like systems in an action game setup while borderlands does it in an fps. If action-rpgs are a thing then why would the same type of system in that setting not also equal an rpg? Either be a purist or accept them all, middle of the road is just silly in context. Though it isn't really a discussion for here I guess, still that's my reasoning for including them as well.

   I thought of another one; Summoner, play summoner. Problems solved.

 

[Milkdud]

Either be a purist or accept them all, middle of the road is just silly in context. Though it isn't really a discussion for here I guess, still that's my reasoning for including them as well.

I just find the RPG mechanics in place in those two games more bare bones than compared to what's offered in The Witcher, Demon's/Dark Souls, or Fallout: New Vegas. Especially with Borderlands where it's similar to Diablo where the loot plays a more important role than anything else in the game. But hey, to each their own.

I thought of another one; Summoner, play summoner. Problems solved.

Oh wow, I completely forgot about Summoner, gonna have to replay that game some time.

 

[Kyutaru]

Putting my vote in for Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption.  Easily one of the most creative western RPGs, though it was lower budget and dates back to 2000.  You can still download it some places for like $6.

 

[Qeo]

To hyde: Tolkien's stories were good, and were very creative. His world was new and different. I just wish so many games didn't try to copy that world and take more risks.

To Alexander: While I prefer a more... colorful world, the fallout games did try something new, and I do like the post-apocalyptic style sometimes.

Demon/Dark Souls are japanese RPG's but are a more "Western RPG" style. At first I thought it looked tolkienesque but it seems to have some interesting monster designs. A lot of boss fights too, which games like oblivion/skyrim don't have for some reason. I've watched some of it and it doesn't seem to have any towns which is unfortunate.

The Witcher looks good. Again, I don't really like gloomy kind of games but they clearly put effort into the enemy designs. I like how the main character looks kind of old... Why are JRPG's so afraid of making their main characters older? It's obviously not just western RPG creators that are fearful of trying new things.

To Uzuki: I've heard that game was good. It looks tolkienesque but to be fair they have created some of their own creatures.

To Confederacy: I think The Witcher looks the most appealing to me out of them, because of the enemy designs.

Edit: I had a look at Summoner, good on them for trying something different.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

Borderlands is an RPG with an FPS battle system. Its basically Diablo the FPS with a sense of humor. And Diablo is an RPG, therefore...


I mean if we go purist, then lots of games stop being RPGs. Hell, Borderlands is more of an RPG honestly than Nier was, but no one ever seems to claim that Nier isn't an RPG.


Also, to add to the actual conversation: Mass Effect.

 

[Qeo]

One thing I'm not into about a lot of western RPGs is that they're so firmly into their setting that they won't have any unexpected locations.

In a JRPG, you can find yourself in a modern setting, an ancient setting and a futuristic setting all in one game. Makes it feel more like an adventure to me.

 

[C-C-C-Cashmere (old)]

Yeah. I find this question strangely ironic, since I think it's the other way round. I think that one of the strengths of Western RPGs is that they thrive on innovation, whereas JRPGs thrive on nostalgia. Most JRPGs shy away from what the Western RPG scene tackles with full force. Western RPGs assimilate genres such as FPS and Platformer elements, while JRPGs tend to stick to fantasy lands. Although that's what I like about JRPGs - they have so much nostalgia! I won't usually play a JRPG to see innovation though, because it's mostly what I've seen before. Western developers are much more forward-thinking in that area. It's not a race thing, it's just how it turns out.

 

[Mouser]

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (be sure to get one of the 'unofficial' patches for this)

The Witcher

Knights of the Old Republic
Baldur's Gate Trilogy (and get the 'trilogy' mod).

Planescape: Torment

If you're willing to go back a ways, there's Might and Magic, Wizardry, and Ultima. Each of those series had major upgrades to the gameplay about halfway through. The Ultima packs are currently on sale at GoG, and they have Might and Magic I through V that will run on a modern PC (comes with VI too, but that always worked).

I don't know which side of the East/West spectrum Dark Cloud 2 falls under, but that's another good one.

Some of the best 'mini-games' (spheda and fishing, both 'catching' and racing) in any RPG.

Some of the original 'Forgotten Realms' games are pretty good too (just don't lose the wheels).

Then you could look at games like Gothic and Krondor... There's a lot out there if you turn a few rocks over