Now that they've gone full retard and haven't made a RPG in years can we remove them now?
Not until we decide on what makes an RPG.
In the purest sense, RPG's must contain all three of the following elements:
>(1) Player character(s) must have a class, either chosen at the outset, or developed through gameplay, that improves the efficacy of at least one play style over another.
>(2) This class must intimately integrate with gameplay, and not derive merely from choosing to interact with certain non-player objects over others.
>(3) The player must have some degree of freedom in approaching story/quest progression greater than freedom of that variety in other kinds of games.
(1) Class
RPG player characters have always chosen a class, either during character creation, or throughout the game's progress. Character class is often determined through stats systems that directly affect the player character himself. For example, the Attributes and Skills found in The Elder Scrolls.
However, classes do not require picking and choosing stats that define a character's effective play styles -- the key is not selecting certain metrics in general, but rather selecting certain metrics over others. For example, choosing to play Pokemon using all fire-type pokemon is not a decision made via spreadsheets at the beginning of a game, nor a matter of selecting a mere aesthetic. By selecting all fire-type pokemon, the player has opted for one play style over other styles, such as mixed types, or all water-type.
When a player chooses one play style over another, he effectively assumes the role of the player character. Selecting a class through whatever means is a fundamental element of RPGs.
Further, we note that limitations on choosing play styles is only necessary on a sliding scale relevant to the point in time of the game; the ability to master aspects of all classes after pouring 500 hours into a game does not negate the first 499 hours wherein other character capabilities remained comparatively stronger than others. Thus, a game like Morrowind remains an RPG, even though it is possible to max out all Attributes and Skills.
(2) Class Integration to Gameplay
Classes are intimately woven into the fabric of the player character -- they are not modular components that can easily switch at will. Classes require choosing at least one play style over another, as we have carefully highlighted. The gravity of these decisions are completely lost in a modular system, wherein investments into a class are not integrated to the character.
For example, training a pokemon to level 80, providing it upgrade items like Iron, and teaching it special moves requires a significant time investment. Switching to a brand new pokemon at the end game is difficult. Thus, the player has necessarily chosen a role as a trainer who uses that particular pokemon.
Conversely, in Fortnite, a player can spend an entire round building forts, and then spend the next doing nothing but sniping. In other words, Fortnite satisfies the first element for being an RPG. However, neither of these choices impacts the other. There is no significant time investment required to switch between these play styles, because they are not styles integrated with the player character. Thus, Fortnite would fail the second element, and is therefore not an RPG.
Integrating the player character's class with gameplay is essential to an RPG.
(3) Freedom
RPGs require some level of nonlinearity. Playing a game that is entirely "on the rails" removes choice from the player. Given that RPGs require the gameplay to revolve around choice, so must the game's narrative structure allow for choice. This freedom can come in a variety of ways. For example: branching quests with various outcomes depending on player actions, an open world that allows the player to explore options outside of the main narrative, or the ability to dungeon-delve in various orders. Without this element, Galaga would be an RPG.