BioWare: Final Fantasy XIII isn't an RPG

NewsPosted 14/05/2010 - 11:29am GMT+1

An adventure game maybe, but not an RPG, says Old Republic writing director Daniel Erickson.

Final Fantasy XIII has been criticised for many things, but perhaps none so damming as those from Star Wars: The Old Republic writing director Daniel Erickson.

According to Erickson, Final Fantasy XIII shouldn't be classed as an RPG.

"I just want to take a slightly more controversial route: You can put a 'J' in front of it, but it's not an RPG," Erickson told Strategy Informer. "You don't make any choices, you don't create a character, you don't live your character... I don't know what those are - adventure games maybe? But they're not RPGs."

Despite some redeeming features, we felt more than a little disappointed by Final Fantasy XIII.

Are Erickson's comments controversial? Is he right to say Final Fantasy XIII isn't an RPG? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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User Comments

dudester

Labels are bad mmmkay!

technically Football manager is a role playing game your playing as a roile as manager of a football team doesn't mean you find it in the "rpg" section on game websites etc.

I should read up as it is what marink said :D

Posted 20:07 on 14 May 2010

Marink

Time to bring in the "Zelda Theory" (for need of a better name)?

Technically all games could be considered to be RPGs, as you play a role of some kind in pretty much all of them. This is not really what I believe, but it's a technicality.

Posted 20:02 on 14 May 2010

Clockpunk

For me, the genre of JRPG is defined by linear story, preset character, and turn/item/choice-base-restricted combat. Otherwise they're 'action' titles (if we are using preconceived archetypal theory when applying genre models) to my mind.

Posted 17:38 on 14 May 2010

Mr_Ninjutsu @ FantasyMeister

Yeah what they have done is essentiall transcend into another existing genre or albeit mixing the two together; RPG/Adventure but with restrictions on the adventuring? (confusing)

I love Neverwinter Nights, best RPG in my mind.

Posted 17:29 on 14 May 2010

Stegosaurus-Guy-II

That guy is just trying to change the meaning of 'RPG', he's not being controversial.

Kotaku made an article about how game genres don't really work, maybe he should just read that instead of trying to make them work.

Posted 17:10 on 14 May 2010

FantasyMeister @ Clockpunk

I'm not sure what his point is. Final Fantasy isn't an RPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic isn't a Driving Sim.

The difference here (in my admittedly twisted FFFanboyish mind) is that whilst Final Fantasy transcends RPGs and is to all intents and purposes a genre to itself (see? I'm twisted), Bioware keep churning out western RPGs - albeit very good ones that tend to set new standards each time - but they don't yet transcend the genre to become something completely different.

Posted 16:54 on 14 May 2010

He makes a fair point. As a traditional pen-and-paper gamer (20 years) and writer of (7 years), my interpretation of roleplaying games is freedom and choice, enmeshed within an overall narrative, as opposed to purel 'rail-roading' action down a set path with no chance of deviation.

Posted 15:14 on 14 May 2010