RPG

This article is an overview of the RPG game genre. For the OHRRPGCE's data file format, see RPG format

R.P.G. stands for Role Playing Game

It is a style of game that emphasizes storyline, plot development, and character, and lacks action-based combat (though normally there is turn-based, or menu-based, or strategic combat)

The OHRRPGCE is a program for making your own RPG games. Game files for the OHRRPGCE have the file extension .RPG

Notable Commercial RPGs

(Note: This section refers to RPGs that are notable from a design standpoint. Also, you should play more RPGs than those listed. These are merely RPGs that are considered innovative)

• Dungeons and Dragons - This is not a video game, but its relevance to the genre is undeniable. Dungeon Masters are able to create their own fantasy worlds and edit details and rules as they please. You could say this was the first RPG Maker.

• Dragon Warrior - One of the earliest available RPGs that helped to modernize the genre. It focuses quite a bit on leveling up, and despite being horribly dated, it is useful to see how RPGs played in their earlier years.

• The Legend of Zelda - Although whether or not this is an RPG is debatable, its combination of action and puzzle elements is used in nearly every commercial game--not only RPG, but game--released ever since.

• Fire Emblem - This game was not released worldwide until its seventh installment, but it is the first RPG to utilize an intransitive (basically, a rock-paper-scissors) combat system, and is also one of the first Strategy RPGs.

• Final Fantasy III (NES) - One of the earliest RPGs to incorporate a class system, which effectively allows the player to create his or her own characters. (These systems had been used before, but FFIII is technically the most customizable early RPG) For a more modern twist on this game, try any Final Fantasy game from 5 to 8.

• Final Fantasy IV - The best early example of a truly modern RPG. It was the one of the first RPGs to incorporate a complicated story and well-developed characters. It also introduced the Active Time Battle System (or ATB) which was possibly the first timing system to drastically alter the genre. Shades of FFIV can be seen in every RPG since.

• Earthbound (aka Mother 2) - In some ways Earthbound is a Dragon Warrior clone, but it is also one of the first RPGs to insert a concept into its gameplay and story (the philosophy that video games are, in some ways, a struggle against oneself). It could also be considered the best joke game of all time, and its predecessor was the first RPG to be set in modern times!

• Tales of Phantasia - The best example of an RPG which incorporates a "controllable hero" battle system. In this game, battles take place on a separate map from the game's flow, but the main hero can be moved freely and actions can be used by pressing buttons. Notable as a genre hybrid. If you do not wish to use an emulator, try out Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Destiny instead.

• Super Mario RPG - The first RPG to incorporate a timed hits system, in which the player must press buttons to use actions effectively. (If you want even more action-intensive games, try Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)

• Any modern RPG - Modern (3D) RPGs are all pretty much the same on a design standpoint, so very few of them are likely to introduce any new ideas to a game designer. Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears, Wild ARMS, and Suikoden are all good examples of a modern RPG.

• Pokémon - Although it is not the first monster-catching game, Pokémon is readily available in many incarnations and is possibly the most open-ended RPG that currently exists. The massive amount of customizable monsters with unique statistics and traits make this a game that most players will experience very differently from one another. (The latest versions of Pokémon tend to be the best, since they are basically improved versions of the older ones) Another notable aspect of this game is its incredible commercial success.

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See Also

• RPG file format: the format used to store data for OHRRPGCE games