What makes an RPG good?

[Man_Over_Game]

So I've been mulling it over in my head, but what exactly decides whether an RPG is good or not?


From what I've gathered, there are two distinct categories of needs from an RPG: Support of the Story, and Support of the Game.

4E DnD, for instance, had terrible story but generally excellent support of the game (which is why many people associate it as a board game instead of an RPG).

While RPGs like World of Darkness are tuned for story, and instead don't have much "game" to win (it's certainly not a combat-oriented game).

And 5e DnD sits in the middle by attempting both, but doesn't really have much support for doing both at the same time (for example, using illusions or skills in combat isn't covered at all).

3.5e, FATE and 13th Age try to sit in that middle as well, but can end up being bogging folks down in rules in order to make everything function together.


So what makes an RPG good? Or are there always major sacrifices in every system, and it's really just about finding the right players for the right game?