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.

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.

...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.