RPG Games

Early computer RPGs in the late 1970s and 1980s directly adapted rules and conventions from tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, including stats, leveling, and turn-based combat.

Final Fantasy VII's 1997 release is widely credited with introducing many Western console players to the Japanese RPG genre at a mainstream scale.

Massively multiplayer online RPGs like World of Warcraft expanded the genre from single-player adventures into persistent online worlds with millions of simultaneous players.

JRPGs, largely developed in Japan, traditionally favor more structured stories and turn-based combat, while Western RPGs often emphasize open-ended player choice and real-time or tactical combat, though many modern games blend both traditions.

Most RPGs include some form of character progression, such as leveling up stats or unlocking new skills, though the specific systems vary widely between games.

RPG stands for role-playing game, a genre centered on character progression, stats, and often narrative choice, rooted in tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons.

JRPGs traditionally favor scripted, turn-based storytelling (as in Final Fantasy), while Western RPGs tend toward open-ended exploration and character customization (as in The Elder Scrolls).