I'll forgive you for not reading all of it. I do the same thing alot and I hate making long posts. I've been drinkin with the gf and I guess I got carried away. I think I've only created a thread here when I was under the influence of beer and RUM!
I guess I can add that it's not simply the 2d way of the battles, but the way it goes about it. I mean, you say those games are not so much 2d but if they are 3d and I assume they are, is it still similar. I'm going to admit now that I'm a huge fan of the classic turn based RPG.
I'm also sorry that while I wanted my thread to focus on the Tales series, I let it slip and become a lot more about RPG's in general.