Japanese or Western Role-Playing Games?

GR: The role-playing genre can be split into two major categories: Western and Japanese. In the earlier days of gaming, when Japanese development ruled the industry, JRPGs dominated the gaming scene. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy were all the rage, and to this day Chrono Trigger is regarded as one of the most beloved titles of all time.

Fast forward a couple generations and you'll notice a marked decline in the popularity of role-playing games coming out of Japan. Thanks to western studios like BioWare and Bethesda, the role-playing genre began to evolve, rendering the traditional hallmarks of most JRPGs archaic by comparison.