I LOL'd a bit. - Edit 3
Before modification by Zalis at 10/02/2011 06:24:44 PM
That right there is why I prefer JRPGs. When I play Western RPGs (note that I'm speaking in generalizations here), I feel like I'm on rails. True, I can customize my character to some extent, but it never "matters." I might do 10 damage with the shotgun and 5 with the pistol, or vice versa, but no matter which one I choose, I won't kill the boss any faster. Why? Because the game designers use a variety of tricks to keep me right where they want me. They make sure it all balances out. The stats that have a genuine effect on character power (such as experience) are carefully controlled.
Firstly, excuse the sarcastic tone I'll use. I mean no ill and respect your opinion. However, you say Western RPGs are on rails. That is exactly how I feel in nearly every JRPG I've played. That's not always a bad thing. It's just that RPGs are almost always on some sort of linear path, open world / Elder Scrolls excluded.
Sometimes, for example, there are a limited number of monsters (and, thus, available experience) in the areas I can get to. Or perhaps there's a level cap that frequently rises as plot events are completed. Maybe completing plot events gives me such huge amounts of experience that killing individual monsters is virtually meaningless. You get the idea.
Haven't played Diablo II lately, have ya?
It sounds like you enjoy hundreds upon hundreds of random encounter battles. (as opposed to killing hundreds upon hundreds of Fallen Ones -- I get the irony) That was fine for my taste when I was a teenager, neck-deep in SNES JRPG heaven, but not these days. I prefer a little more variety, though I do see the irony of WRPGs having their own equivalent of grind. ...And I hate the idea. I don't care where I can walk or at what times I can perform the scripted side events; to me, those are not the important elements of role-playing. Rather, what's important to me is feeling like my actions are making a difference. If I spend some time training my character, I want to have an easier time in the next battle. If that makes the boss less difficult than intended, who cares? What's it to you, Mr. Game Designer? Let me do it that way if I want. 
So-called Western RPGs are fun, but really, they don't deserve their genre. They're action games, is what they are. At best, they are action/rpg, and never rpg/action.
So-called Western RPGs are fun, but really, they don't deserve their genre. They're action games, is what they are. At best, they are action/rpg, and never rpg/action. In hybrids in the genre, like Fallout 3, you can be over-leveled or equipped. Your actions do matter. I won't discount that you've encountered this, but I'm wondering what games you're referring to.
Honestly, I feel like most JRPGs are grind-fests until you meet the level check. The difference I find in Western RPGs is that player skill and knowledge of game mechanics can overcome stat debt. JRPGs are more by-the-number, from what I've seen.
They're different flavors, but I hardly think Japan has a grip on the some kind of one true RPG genre. CRPGs like The Witcher have a lot going on, too.