A Western developer doing JRPGs?

[bluestarultor]

This is a nasty thought that just hit me. I have a buttload of RPG ideas, but most of them wouldn't take well to the WRPG setup. As in not at all, because most of my ideas are very character-driven and linear. I suppose some COULD be modified to offer more player choice in the storyline, but in all honesty, I've essentially got a folder full of unique and amazing games with interesting and new systems... that are all fucking JRPGs.

Not that there's anything necessarily WRONG with that, but it limits where I'd have luck bringing them to life. I'd like to think I could do it independently only hahaaaa, no way in Hell do I have that kind of time and talent. I've spent over four years now on my MMO and have zero code written for it, two songs, and only basic tiles for the art. Granted, the tiles are REALLY PRETTY, but I think it just shows where I've been dumping my effort. Also, I doubt anyone wants such a low-graphics MMO that the interface is a virtual handheld system. Easy on the CPU, maybe, full of interesting ideas, hell yes, but salable, probably not as long as 3D is so easy to find on the market.



Believe it or not, the point of this thread is not for me to bitch, but to ask if anyone can think of all the developers that do stuff nobody else does. In my case, I tried to think of a Western developer that might risk trying out a JRPG and couldn't think of any, because Japan's got a monopoly on that sort of thing and they seem more apt to creep into WRPG territory than vice versa.

Alternatively, if you're a fellow "ideas person" feeling the crushing weight of reality, I suppose you could use this thread for that, too. Or maybe we can all take down names and numbers and join forces someday in hopes of combining our varied and useful skills into one company to start producing stuff. Then again, maybe it'll rain marshmallows and we'll all be selected by secret committees to run the gaming megacorps already on the market. :p

On the other hand, if any of us do make it big, I'd like to think we'd throw each other a bone or two, or at least come back and hang with the plebs. ;)



Edit: Wow, looking at this again, I'm all across the board, aren't I? Probably could have titled it better, too. >>;

[Regulus Tera]

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood was pretty badly-received.

[Premmy]

The minute you put "dark" into the title of a Sonic game, you know you've fucked up.

[bluestarultor]

The minute you put "dark" into the title of a Sonic game, you know you've fucked up.

You have to admit, putting "dark" in ANY title generally means it's a shitty game.

Edit: There are exceptions, but it's still a good rule of thumb.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Lame question but what's the major difference between JRPG and WRPG?

[Premmy]

Lame question but what's the major difference between JRPG and WRPG?

JRPG: Final Fantasy
WRPG: Mass Effect

[Kyanbu The Legend]

JRPG: Final Fantasy
WPG: Mass Effect

Thank you. Looks like most of my RPG game ideas (D-Universe) would be JRPGs by that standard.

EDIT: Wait never mind. What defines WRPG is the player being able to control the flow and direction of the story. Which would make my stuff actually WRPGs.

[bluestarultor]

JRPG vs WRPG is kind of a sliding scale. Things to look for include:

JRPG:
- linear story
- closed-world gameplay
- certain character tropes (plucky idiot hero, calculating 2nd-in command, etc.)
- tendency to "Swords and Sorcery" settings
- often a lighter tone
- colorful world filled with many races, explored by a 99% human party
- turn based / active time battle

WRPG:
- story determined by player choice
- open-world gameplay
- certain character tropes (grizzled space marine, moral choice system, etc.)
- more varied settings
- often more serious
- colorful world filled with many races, explored by party comprised of those races
- real-time battle


There can be major variations, but you can get a good indicator by the tropes that are most prominent.


Edit: In my case, I usually end up with something like:
- overall linear stories with maybe certain differences generated by player choice
- largely closed-world gameplay
- fuck tropes, I'm going to write complex and interesting characters with more depth than a teaspoon
- varied settings
- mostly lighter in tone
- colorful world filled with many races, explored by a party of those races
- active time battle

[Premmy]

- fuck tropes, I'm going to write complex and interesting characters with more depth than a teaspoon

Tropes aren't bad, you know. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools?from=Main.TropesAreNotBad)

[Regulus Tera]

Lame question but what's the major difference between JRPG and WRPG?

Region of origin.

Demon's Souls and Etrian Odyssey are considered JRPGs, for example. The term JRPG is very loose, and encompasses everything from Pokémon to Kingdom Hearts to Fire Emblem.

[bluestarultor]

Tropes are'nt bad, you know. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools?from=Main.TropesAreNotBad)

Oh, I know. To clarify that, I recognize that literally everything's been done before, so everything is a trope. On the other hand, I find writers often fall back on them too hard instead of actually writing the characters as people. I'm very strong on characters, so while I do rely on certain things as a base, I tend to mix them in interesting ways and fully flesh out the cast.

It's the difference between "this guy is a drunken skirt-chaser" and "this guy is a drunken skirt-chaser who's also a dog and doesn't discriminate much based on species when he's that far in the bottle, leading to comic mischief; also, he talks in his sleep about random stuff to great hilarity, snipes with the main character about being referred to as an animal, and tries to stand on his hind legs to increase his size during arguments while being totally oblivious to the fact it still leaves him comically short."



Edit @ RT: I have yet to hear anyone seriously try to classify Demon's Souls as a JRPG. Most call it a "Western-style RPG" which is as good as WRPG in my book.

[Regulus Tera]

Edit @ RT: I have yet to hear anyone seriously try to classify Demon's Souls as a JRPG. Most call it a "Western-style RPG" which is as good as WRPG in my book.

You are the first person I've heard that considers it a WRPG.

[Jagos]

Have your people call Blues' people?

Honestly, main game that's really been a "JRPG but from the West Coast" is Secret of Evermore. If you're looking for anything other than modern RPGs, they've all come to prominence in the player choice era.

[Mirai Gen]

Honestly the whole wRPG/jRPG thing is on really shaky territory. It usually falls to thematics and visual presentation to distinguish them, but this is a hard stance to take sometimes, IE, Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, which was basically Final Fantasy X with a LotR coat of paint.

Demon's Souls I'd hardly count as an RPG regardless, since genres are getting mixed in.

[Doc ock rokc]

I thought Demon's Souls Where More WRPG then JRPG.
that's what G4 said at least.

[Amake]

Gordian knot solution: Let marketing worry about what genre label to put on the game.

And if you don't have a marketing department? Then you still don't have to worry about it.

[Regulus Tera]

See this is bullshit back in my day you had console-style RPGs, action RPGs, strategy RPGs, and computer-style RPGs. I hate this generation.

[DFM]

JRPGs = Trash
WRPGs = Possibly good

This is my sliding scale

[Mirai Gen]

Tell us more about the way things used to be, Old Man Tera.
JRPGs = Trash
WRPGs = Possibly good

This is my sliding scale
If you play and like a RPG it becomes a wRPG?

Fits about as well as the current way.

[Regulus Tera]

Tell us more about the way things used to be, Old Man Tera.

Hey, remember when Final Fantasy used to be fun?

FPSes = Trash
FPSes = Trasher

This is my sliding scale

Fixed that for you.

[Mirai Gen]

No that's your sliding scale.

DFM's was right to begin with.

[DFM]

Fixed that for you.

I too hate first person shooteres.

[Jagos]

I too hate first person shooteres.

Do First person platformers count as well?

[Aeria]

JRPGs = Trash
WRPGs = Possibly good

This is my sliding scale

Do you have an opinion that isn't completely close-minded? Saying something like "JRGS = Trash" is roughly equivalent to saying "Books = Trash". To give such an all-encompassing statement based on (I'm assuming here) limited exposure shows only your ignorance. You don't have to like 'em, but that doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it.

I had a whole post in my head about video-game ideas and free time and cool thoughts, but after such random negativity I just don't feel like it anymore. I mean, why share my ideas with people when there's a decent chance they're just gonna shoot them down for no reason.

Moral: think a little harder before you post the first junk that comes to your head.

[Regulus Tera]

something something DFM'd something something

Do First person platformers count as well?

Nah Mirror's Edge was pretty cool

[DFM]

Do you have an opinion that isn't completely close-minded? Saying something like "JRGS = Trash" is roughly equivalent to saying "Books = Trash". To give such an all-encompassing statement based on (I'm assuming here) limited exposure shows only your ignorance. You don't have to like 'em, but that doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it.

I had a whole post in my head about video-game ideas and free time and cool thoughts, but after such random negativity I just don't feel like it anymore. I mean, why share my ideas with people when there's a decent chance they're just gonna shoot them down for no reason.

Moral: think a little harder before you post the first junk that comes to your head.

More like saying "Westerns=Trash"

I think this entire post is pretty funny given your overreaction. I'm not sure if it means you're too sensitive, you take things too seriously, or that you're personally attached to a genre to the point where you take broad, baseless insults against it as personal attacks that scare you away from posting on a web forum. Better run, I'm gonna get you.

Moral: A three line post about video games hurt Aeria's feelings.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

East meets West? Presposterous!

[Eldezar]

East meets West? Presposterous!

You play a hairy little gnome with a gunblade whose goal is to protect the Royal Observatory from mutated teaspoons after a nuclear fallout. Also, magic. The battle system is actually a bloody version of red rover played in real time.

[Premmy]

The battle system is actually a bloody version of red rover
Soooo, regular old turn-based final fantasy then?

[DFM]

Regular old red rover, then?

[krogothwolf]

Regular old red rover, then?

that'll never work, it's not Xtreme enough for today's market!

[Eldezar]

Soooo, regular old turn-based final fantasy then?

No, see, cuz in this version you can crouch and sneak behind the other team unnoticed and stab them all in the back before it's their turn again.

[Jagos]

Why not add a grid? Or a hexagon! That hasn't been done before!

[Aerozord]

although they are called JRPG and WRPG, might be more accurate to refer to it as old and new style RPG. Japan isn't exactly known for creativity, especially to the point of a genre shift. Games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were good solid games, so although they made minor changes ultimately kept the genre the same. Eventually some western developers decided to change things by allowing the player to determine the main characters personality rather then it be forced on them. This did further create the mute protagonist trope, and objectively limit the main characters developement since players often look at their choices from mechanical advantage over role playing, further damaged by how binary the systems are. Still it allowed alot more freedom in how you go about problems and interact with people.

Western developers were quick to latch onto this and made more of its type. While Japan stuck with the tried-n-true formula. Thus how they became known as JRPG and WRPG. Being from one location doesn't make it one or the other, but thats arguable.

Like the arguement of whether anime is a style or if everything animated from japan is anime, everything else is not. Personally I think defining something by its geographic origin is rather stupid, unless its alcholic beverages.

[MuMu]

Wouldn't wRPG be the old RPG instead, D&D and all?

[Jagos]

That, FallOut and Baldur's Gate.

[Regulus Tera]

although they are called JRPG and WRPG, might be more accurate to refer to it as old and new style RPG.

What people call "WRPG" now is not new at all. They've been existing in computers since the eighties. They just are more popular today because they've jumped to consoles.

Japan isn't exactly known for creativity, especially to the point of a genre shift. Games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were good solid games, so although they made minor changes ultimately kept the genre the same.

I'm gonna call bs on the grounds that:
Final Fantasy XIII exists and it couldn't be more detached from what the original Final Fantasy was.
Turn-based exploration-based RPGs à la Dragon Quest have been a rarity since the PS2 era. Almost every RPG title that comes out from Japan these days is a variation on Action RPGs.

Eventually some western developers decided to change things by allowing the player to determine the main characters personality rather then it be forced on them. This did further create the mute protagonist trope, and objectively limit the main characters developement since players often look at their choices from mechanical advantage over role playing, further damaged by how binary the systems are. Still it allowed alot more freedom in how you go about problems and interact with people.

This was all stuff that titles like the original Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Megami Tensei did.

[Bells]

Decent, Western Developed RPG's are not new at all...

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070223b/Eye%20of%20the%20Beholder%20%28DOS%29.jpg

humph... kids

Also, it's a pretty bullshit standpoint to declare stuff like "I don't like jRPG's cause they all suck and are the same!" for every 2 jRPG's you can cite that are alike you can cite a third one that is different or unique in some respect.

What? The only Brand attached to wRPG's is Bioware and the one Brand Attached to jRPG's is Square-Enix? C'mon....

Arc Risde Fantasia is coming for the Wii soon enough, i like the story but it's absolutely nothing to fanfic about (?) but it's enjoyable, and the gameplay is a blast. Really fun... why should i give a fuck about anything else besides that?

This was all stuff that titles like the original Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Megami Tensei did.

Also Zelda, Metroid, Mario.... yeah there is no real connection between "Character Customization" and "Mute Protagonist" there are games where Mute characters have full personalities fleshed out for you, and others where he is a blank slate, it's not a "W or J" thing

[krogothwolf]

Decent, Western Developed RPG's are not new at all...

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070223b/Eye%20of%20the%20Beholder%20%28DOS%29.jpg

humph... kids


I loved that game! I have such an urge to play it now. All wRPG's have done recently is turn their 2D First person view adventures into a full 3D graphicfest!

[Kim]

Theory: Maybe both genres have gone through plenty of innovation if you're willing to look for it!

I'm also surprised anyone took DFM's comment seriously. You can't really get more obvious, poorly executed trolling than that, made worse by the fact that it was intentionally poorly executed so yeah.

[Ravashak]

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070223b/Eye%20of%20the%20Beholder%20%28DOS%29.jpg

humph... kidsEoB was glorious and the first RPG I played and beat, even if I beat the Beholder by beating it up instead of using the whatever-it-was-you're-supposed-to-use. Walking faster than thrown daggers was funny xD

Another old RPG that I enjoyed a great deal was this:
http://www.snesclassics.com/history/images/full/densetsu2.jpg

Getting into the Cave of Medusa was quite annoying if you don't know exactly what to do, and the hint didn't help me too much.

[Tev]

Getting into the Cave of Medusa was quite annoying if you don't know exactly what to do, and the hint didn't help me too much."Palm trees and eight" my ass! I spent six months trying to figure out how to get into that place and it was only by the grace of the gaming gods that I stumbled upon it by accident. Of course by that time I was power-leveled enough to kill just about any boss in two hits and had sold enough Rubies to max out my gold field in 9's.

I swear if the game would have let me I'd have set that little kid's city on fire and then burried it in ice.

[phil_]

nothing to fanfic aboutI'm going to start using this.

[Aerozord]

What people call "WRPG" now is not new at all. They've been existing in computers since the eighties. They just are more popular today because they've jumped to consoles.


New genre as in new to the masses. Like how people refer to quick time events as something new they've been using but its been out forever

I'm gonna call bs on the grounds that:
Final Fantasy XIII exists and it couldn't be more detached from what the original Final Fantasy was.
Turn-based exploration-based RPGs à la Dragon Quest have been a rarity since the PS2 era. Almost every RPG title that comes out from Japan these days is a variation on Action RPGs.


1. thats entirely possible. I stopped playing final fantasy because I realized the storyline is always the same, characters are basically the same, the shoe-horned love interest I despise that. Though if you mean gameplay, gameplay isn't what sets JRPG and WRPGs apart its what makes them the same. If you dont have a certain degree of character customization and leveling system then its not a RPG at all.

2. yes, after about two decades. I wouldn't exactly call that rapid growth. Not to say innovation doesn't exist. The Wii is Japanese after all. But its not the over all majority of developers over there. Why do you think nearly every single legacy franchise in the entire video game industry is from Japanese developers.


This was all stuff that titles like the original Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Megami Tensei did.

ok maybe I missed it. Which Final Fantasy game had a story based around non-linear gameplay and branching diologue trees?

[Jagos]

ok maybe I missed it. Which Final Fantasy game had a story based around non-linear gameplay and branching diologue trees?

FF6 had a few limited choices for their second world. Saga Frontier was built around nonlinearity. Live-A-Live (though not shipped to the US) has a story that you could play in any order. IIRC, Vagrant Story had some branching dialogue (and even had a mature protagonist) And who can forget Crono Trigger?

Point being, I'm focusing more on Square's games outside of FF, because those came out around the same era but had various gameplay elements that the FF series don't necessarily represent.

[Aerozord]

ah I haven't played those. I do see your point that new and old might not be the best alternate term. Still that just furthers my other point that that geographic origin isn't what really seperates the two. While I am fine with conceeding the point that japanese RPGs have had western RPG elements, the majority of their RPGs are the same. Its why those types of games are refered to as JRPGs in the first place

[Jagos]

The same how? Linearity?

[Kim]

the majority of their RPGs are the same.

You haven't played many jRPGs, have you? I mean, hell, if you're going to go that far, then I can safely say the same thing about wRPGs, and have it be just as true. Actually, fuck, I can do it with any genre.

@Jagos: Obviously the only gameplay elements in any RPG ever are stats and if you can choose dialogue. Anything else is just fluff. [/sarcasm]

[Mirai Gen]

The entire schema is in a serious need of reform, especially since they're becoming more focused on action sometimes too.

jRPGs can't just be reliant on country of origin otherwise it makes it utterly redundant, and I had assumed it was based on the 'look' of a certain game. Again, it's a hard stance to take when you factor in stuff like LotR:The Third Age, but still.

[Jagos]

@Jagos: Obviously the only gameplay elements in any RPG ever are stats and if you can choose dialogue. Anything else is just fluff. [/sarcasm]

It's what I'm finding confusing with his argument. He's comparing Legend of Zelda to Illusion of Gaia simply because they both came out of Japan. Let's not forget Disgaea to Fallout 3 because the main character has Silent Protagonist Syndrome (Disgaea, no) which just reads that he hasn't really played either game to find the differences and wants to just say they're the same to call it a day.

[bluestarultor]

I almost posted this before and then decided it wasn't needed, but then I re-read a bit and I'm re-typing it:

Zelda, Pokemon, etc. = top-down RPG. There are Western games that also did this during their heyday. It is neither J nor W.
Eye of the Beholder = first-person RPG. Usually older games, but you can make the argument for stuff like Oblivion. Again, neither really W nor J, although I don't have a good example of a Japanese one.
White Knight, FF, DQ = JRPG. They have certain hallmarks that make them patently Japanese-styled, including setting, characters, and styling.
ME, DA, Demon's Souls, Oblivion = WRPG. They ALSO have certain hallmarks in setting, characters, and styling that make them Western-styled, regardless of physical origin.

[Magus]

I know I was the only one who played Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled by Graffiti Entertainment but for a first attempt at an SNES-style JRPG with a similar battle system (and graphics) to Chrono Trigger made by a Western developer without a huge budget, I give it a 7 out of 10, even if there were numerous things I could gripe about, I give it a huge pass for delivering something I've been waiting forever for (another game with CT's battle system).

[bluestarultor]

I know I was the only one who played Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled by Graffiti Entertainment but for a first attempt at an SNES-style JRPG with a similar battle system (and graphics) to Chrono Trigger made by a Western developer without a huge budget, I give it a 7 out of 10, even if there were numerous things I could gripe about, I give it a huge pass for delivering something I've been waiting forever for (another game with CT's battle system).

You... haven't played the Grandia series, have you? :sweatdrop

Really, I'd say Grandia in general takes something similar to the CT battle system and improves on it greatly. My only major gripe is the utter nerf of the magic in Grandia 3. And even then, it added in the totally sweet system of being able to knock foes into the air with a Cancel attack and perform aerial juggles.

[Ryong]

I know I was the only one who played Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled by Graffiti Entertainment but for a first attempt at an SNES-style JRPG with a similar battle system (and graphics) to Chrono Trigger made by a Western developer without a huge budget, I give it a 7 out of 10, even if there were numerous things I could gripe about, I give it a huge pass for delivering something I've been waiting forever for (another game with CT's battle system).

But Black Sigil is terrible!

Okay, no, a real post:

Someone mentioned the difference between wRPGs and jRPGs being that your cast of characters consists of either just humans ( jRPG ) or of a mix of the races ( wRPG ). The Breath of Fire series says hello. I guess Star Ocean also counts, but surprisingly there isn't a lot of difference between most humanoids from completely different planets. Go figure.

[bluestarultor]

But Black Sigil is terrible!

Okay, no, a real post:

Someone mentioned the difference between wRPGs and jRPGs being that your cast of characters consists of either just humans ( jRPG ) or of a mix of the races ( wRPG ). The Breath of Fire series says hello. I guess Star Ocean also counts, but surprisingly there isn't a lot of difference between most humanoids from completely different planets. Go figure.

That would be me, and there's always the exception. I haven't played Breath of Fire, but I do know there's at least a dragon-guy in there somewhere.

[Kim]

That would be me, and there's always the exception. I haven't played Breath of Fire, but I do know there's at least a dragon-guy in there somewhere.

Or how about pretty much any FF title featuring intelligent races that aren't human. VI, VII, IX, X, XII... Granted, in XII the only non-human was Fran, but still.

Or how about Star Ocean. They mostly look human, but I look at elves and dwarves of wRPGs and think that's probably okay.

I could probably find plenty of others, were I so inclined, so I'm gonna go with this claim that is is a definite difference between the genres as being straight-up wrong.

[bluestarultor]

Or how about pretty much any FF title featuring intelligent races that aren't human. VI, VII, IX, X, XII... Granted, in XII the only non-human was Fran, but still.

Or how about Star Ocean. They mostly look human, but I look at elves and dwarves of wRPGs and think that's probably okay.

I could probably find plenty of others, were I so inclined, so I'm gonna go with this claim that is is a definite difference between the genres as being straight-up wrong.

I should note that I really don't much count elves and dwarves as non-human unless there's an actual issue made of it. If it's essentially humans walking around with funny ears and no one cares, then no. If there's actually a significant difference, then yes.

Out of FF 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12, hmmm... I never much thought about it before. Didn't play much of 6, but I guess Umaro and Mog, but Umaro is totally optional. 7 had Red, 9 was actually pretty diverse, and 10 had Kimahri, 12 had Fran. On the other hand, in 9, it was pretty clear nobody much cared about race, and the same pretty much goes for 12, past a small bit, since Viera are all over anyway.

I do see your point, though.

[BloodyMage]

On the other hand, in 9, it was pretty clear nobody much cared about race,

By the half way point of the game pretty much every one on the mist continent hated Black Mages, and they made a point of taking the Geonmes to The Black Mage Village precisely because they would have an easier time integrating with the Black Mages than with others. Queen Brahne referred to the Cleyran's as rats more than once, and the fact that Garnet is of the Summoner race played a large part in the plots of both Queen Brahne and Kuja.

Ok, it's not a huge issue considering that they're pretty much fighting to keep the world from, firstly, being assimilated and then, by the fourth disk, being destroyed, but it was there.

[bluestarultor]

By the half way point of the game pretty much every one on the mist continent hated Black Mages, and they made a point of taking the Geonmes to The Black Mage Village precisely because they would have an easier time integrating with the Black Mages than with others. Queen Brahne referred to the Cleyran's as rats more than once, and the fact that Garnet is of the Summoner race played a large part in the plots of both Queen Brahne and Kuja.

Ok, it's not a huge issue considering that they're pretty much fighting to keep the world from, firstly, being assimilated and then, by the fourth disk, being destroyed, but it was there.

Well, I took it more in terms of the black mages had a bad rap because they'd been doing bad things and Brahne called the Cleyrans rats, but then they really were and nobody else seemed to care much. And nobody had anything against summoners in the least. The genomes went to integrate with the black mages because the black mages were good people with a lot of patience and the genomes were pretty much just empty, so it was more babysitting than anything else, rather than an attempt to form a united society.

I mean, there were minor hints of individual racial issues, but it wasn't really a hindrance to normal life, which is more what I meant.

[DarkDrgon]

That would be me, and there's always the exception. I haven't played Breath of Fire, but I do know there's at least a dragon-guy in there somewhere.

Dragon Guy, Bird Girl, Spirit Thing, Ox guy, naga, dog guy, cat girl, armadillo guy, plant guy, frog guy whatever the hell Ershin is..... I could go on.

/fanboy

[Jagos]

Naga/Deity

Batgirl/thief

You can continue but that about covers it for main species.

[Ryong]

Dragon Guy, Bird Girl, Spirit Thing, Ox guy, naga, dog guy, cat girl, armadillo guy, plant guy, frog guy whatever the hell Ershin is..... I could go on.

/fanboy

You forgot whatever the hell Ursula and Momo are. There's also Bo, who's a wolfman, whatever the hell Garr is ( a gargoyle, I guess ) and well, Ershin is a robot housing a naga deity in it that ends up achieving conscience because of said naga. Also, an onion.

A mutant onion.

Enriched with the power of dragons. Or something. I'm not kidding, guys.

[bluestarultor]

Wow. That's a crazily animal cast.

[Jagos]

Just sayin, we ARE forgetting a few and the worlds of BoF are heavily populated by humans and anthromorphs alike.

[DarkDrgon]

Naga/Deity

Batgirl/thief

You can continue but that about covers it for main species.
I said Naga, and The Batgirl is a dragon girl.

You forgot whatever the hell Ursula and Momo are. There's also Bo, who's a wolfman, whatever the hell Garr is ( a gargoyle, I guess ) and well, Ershin is a robot housing a naga deity in it that ends up achieving conscience because of said naga. Also, an onion.

A mutant onion.

Enriched with the power of dragons. Or something. I'm not kidding, guys.

Bo and Bow are the same species, and I always lump Spar and Peco in the same category.

also Peco is the strongest character in the series. I shit you not.

[Mike McC]

If a game looks like a metrosexual clown exploded over everything, especially the main girly-boy protagonist, it's probably a modern jRPG.