gog2002x: My thoughts are that any game that has a story (hopefully a good one), a decent character development system, the ability to make choices that can affect the game world (at the very least the parts the main character is involved in), a sense of adventure where the rewards hopefully match the risks and for me, I'm comfortable calling it an computer "RPG" game or "CRPG" I suppose, eh DTgreene ;).
What would you call a game that has all the elements you describe except for a story?
(Also, please don't capitalize the first two letters of my username like that.)
gog2002x: if I play a game that I'm having a blast playing and as long as it stays that was to the end, I'm OK with pretending it an RPG game.
Why?
Because life is short and I'm well past my prime lol. With a huge backlog of games, I simply don't have the time to worry about nuances of what games fit what genre. I'll be lucky if I get through 1/2 of my backlog before I croak off to the next world. =P (and if there is a divine entity out there, please reincarnate me into a fantasy world with magic, Thanks!)
I disagree on this notion.
A game can be a good game without having to be an RPG. (See, for example, Celeste.)
A game can be an RPG without having to be a good game. (See, for example, Hoshi Wo Miru Hito. Note that I recommend watching the AGDQ speedrun of the game rather than playing itself, unless you're looking for a game that's kuso-level bad to play. Also, see the NES version of Ultima 5.)