I play RPGs for gameplay, item collection and customization. This trend of people who play RPGs primarily for 'epic story' and 'interesting characters' started with the exact examples you brought up; games like Final Fantasy VII and Mass Effect. And in my opinion, mostly was built around hype and advertising for those games, or the illusion of a huge 'epic' plot because stories were longer and had tons more dialogue than previous games. Not really because the stories themselves were good.
Case in point, you can enjoy an RPG just fine for its gameplay and item collection without it having a massive all encompassing story. Hence why some of the best RPGs out there are games not even remembered for their story, but their gameplay. Such as Paper Mario, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest (any of them), Diablo II, etc.
Six upcoming games you should look into:
