Remember RPG's that were actually fun and good?

Like Breath Of Fire or Star Ocean 2? I miss those days...

Yes! Speaking of Star Ocean, I played SO3 this past summer. Not as good as 2, but still enjoyable. One of my favorites is Phantasy Star 4 on the Genesis/Mega Drive. I was really disappointed with the PSO series. It just didn't have enough personalization to the story. While I was in high school I wasted tons of time on RPG maker trying to create a game form my imagination. The Dreamcast had several hidden gem RPGs that I like. The Evolution games were ported to game cube, but were changed a lot from what I've heard. Also there was a game called Elemental Gimmick Gear which was awesome, although a bit much on the difficulty. I'm also a fan of the Grandia series. The one thing I've never understood is the infatuation with Final Fantasy. I've only played a few of them, and I love VI, but aside from that I felt like there were many better games.

The reason why FF was such a big deal in the JRPG world was because of the story. The story of every FF up to (at least) 10 were phenomenal. You played the game not for the graphics, or the gameplay. You played cause the story had you captivated from the jump. The awesome gameplay and graphics and music were a major plus, of course, but the story... the story was the main thing that kept you going. Other JRPGS had that same feel (Breath of fire 3 & 4, Star ocean 2, xenogears, Wild arms, and so forth). You can't tell me a good rpg wasn't good cause of the graphics. Wild Arms 1 & 2 battle graphics SUCK! I have never seen worse graphics in my life. But the story that Wild Arms 1 & 2 had was the reason I played.

That's just the thing though, I don't think very highly of the FF stories. I never felt enough connection to them. Of course that's only my opinion and lots of other people think otherwise, but they just aren't my thing. And I'm personally not a huge fan of the music either, though I do really like a few pieces. Thinking on the SNES, even when I consider how much I do like VI, I would say that Chrono Trigger was a lot better. I also really enjoyed Breath of Fire, Secret of Mana, and Super Mario RPG. I guess I'm just saying that to me FF doesn't stand out beyond it's RPG peers. It's not that I hate the series or anything.

^ontop of story Final Fantasy's art style is very unique and beautiful, even when FF1 was just 8bit pixels. The amazingly rendered music is also a +1. PS wow my post came a couple sec after yours. Site loading slow for me for some reason but yeah FF isn't for everyone. Its like Clannad, large Fanbase but just isn't some peoples cup of tea /edit over/

Chrono Trigger was produced by the same people that made FF. So, liking one more than the other isn't saying too much. I mean yeah, chrono trigger isn't ff, but that's like liking FF 9 but liking Lost Odyssey more. Lost Odyssey was made by the same people that made FF9. And yeah, FF isn't for everyone, but one thing that is a constant with ALL JRPG's is the story. Some have better graphics than others, some have better OST than others, but the stories is what gets them all. I HATE HATE HATE love stories, but fuck... FF10 was amazing.

I see what you're saying but I would tend to disagree that it doesn't say much. The games are made by the same company but not all the same people. Specifically, Akira Toriyama had a big hand in Chrono Trigger as well as someone else from the Dragon Quest series. Also, if for example I like East of Eden by John Steinbeck a lot more than Of Mice and Men, that does say a lot. Of Mice and Men may be written by the same author, but it's much more popular and more commonly read in schools than East of Eden. The two books have their similarities because they take place in the same era, but there are so many differences that my critique of one book as a reader is separate from a critique of the other. Likewise, my critique of Chrono Trigger as a player is separate from my critique of FF. Sorry I feel like I'm turning this into a course on the deconstruction of RPGs.

RPGs are still good today, I don't really see the problem. Have you tried Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Shin Megami Tensei 4, Radiant Historia, Tales of xillia, Dragon's Crown or Ni no kuni? They are still good to me. It depends what you really want to look out for.