Soulbringer, VtMR, Anachronox and most JRPGs don't have a character creation screen and are RPGs. Fallout 3 does have a character creation screen and it isn't an RPG. I don't know what you people have against menu-driven combat.
I have nothing against menu driven combat. Nobody ever said he is against menu driven combat.
All I say is this: " The amount of freedom you have in character creation (from none in JRPGs to absolute freedom in games like arcanum, fallout and Larian games) is not enough to determine if a game is an RPG or not."
I am sure that there are some games with complex character creation and nobody would dare to call them RPG. (though I do not have an example at the moment )
by the way: I started my gaming career with the snes. I think secret of mana was my first RPG. I have played many JRPGs and I liked many of them. Anarchronox has one of the best stories and characters in gaming history. It had the story that was most fun for me (together with "Sam and Max hit the Road"). At least if you like insane nonsense
Prof. Dr. Dr. Mad S. Tist
World leading expert of artificial stupidity. Because there are too many people who work on artificial intelligence already
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Prof. Dr. Dr. Mad S. Tist 
