Friday, August 16, 2013

What is YOUR favorite genre?

In just about any form of media, there is a wide range of genres, and there are different groups of people who enjoy each genre as well. When some turn on the TV they may seek out a comedy, while others may look for one of them dark crime dramas. Everyone has their own reasons for liking specific genres, but about you? In the world of video games, what is your favorite type of game to play, and why? Once again I have opened up a discussion topic on the forums for everyone to discuss just that. By going to (http://forums.nettosgameroom.com/topic/9068029/1/) you can share your feelings about different video game genres, and why you like the ones that you play. Just remember that to join in on the conversation you must be a member of the forums. The sign up process is quick and easy though, so it really shouldn't be an issue. As for me, well... My favorite genre would have to be RPGs, or rather JRPGs.

When I was younger, I really didn't know what a JRPG was. I would pick up and play games hoping for some grand adventure, but I never really came across many games that were. Sure there was Pokemon, and I had also heard about Earthbound, but at the time I never really knew about the JRPG genre. I got games, I played them, and most of the time they ended up being platformers, or some type of arcade game. Not many of them really focused on the story, and that always made me sad. "Why can't more games be like Paper Mario? I want to play more games like Pokemon..." If only I had realized that these games fell into the JRPG genre.

Really it wasn't too long after the N64 came out that I started getting into JRPGs. By this time I knew the genre was out there, and it seems like a lot more JRPGs started to be released as well. Now days, the JRPG genre is basically my favorite, and I tend to buy just about every major (or not so major) release. I love the fact that the games focus on their anime styled story (for anyone who does not know, JRPGs were created to bring Visual Novels into "true" video game form, while Visual Novels were created to bring anime into novel form), I love the unique worlds filled with exploration, and a lot of the time I love the battle system as well. (Although I don't mind playing turn based games if the story is great, or the strategy is dead on, most of the time I'd rather play action RPGs.) On top of all of that, I love how JRPGs, or RPGs in general, reward you for just about everything. While in most games enemies are in your way just to slow you down or possibly kill you, in RPGs you actually have a reason to fight. Each time you kill an enemy you gain EXP, and every time you gain EXP, you are closer to leveling up. As you level you get stronger, and you also gain access to new features in game as well. The system is overall rewarding, and it makes you feel like you are always progressing.

Although I do in fact play just about every genre out there, JRPGs will always be my favorite. Sure from time to time there are other games in other genres that offer the same open world experiences with deep storylines, but it is still pretty rare. Then again in today's world more games do feature more and more RPG elements, but personally I am fine with that.