Neverwinter Nights 2

[Dark Jaguar]

Yes, that IS certainly true. I know when I first started playing the PC style RPGs, I was going for long periods without finding any decent weapons, not ones that were better than what I had anyway. The majority of the ones I found were merely slight alterations. Equipment doesn't really seem like a major focus, not like Final Fantasy 9, where every single bit of equipment has a special ability attached to it that you can learn permanently if you equip it long enough.

But yeah, the two kinds of RPGs, Japanese or American, tend to be vastly different.