>>717891892
>just has shit locked behind stats then you just pick what you want to unlock and either fight in melee or shoot magic
The RPG experience comes from building a unique character and toolset that's mutually exclusive to other options. The very first time you pick up the spell Force, you have a unique approach to dangerous scenarios that completely changes how you play. This continues with every FIND. You only become more powerful through exploration and discovery. You cannot win from your base character level, you have to explore to get stronger, and you have to get stronger to get to the end, and your strength develops into a specific character unique from others you might develop, unique from what you started as. Obviously this is different from playing Hagane: The Final Conflict where you start the game and end the game exactly the same and you cannot change, find anything to make you stronger, or make any discoveries that will help you.
You didn't seriously start as a bandit and used an unupgraded Battle Axe your entire first playthrough of Dark Souls 1, did you?