The original Final Fantasy was my favorite game on the NES. I still have the original packaging and maps that came with it. Chancing upon it in the bargain bin at a drug store and convincing my mom to buy it was a defining moment in my gaming life. Suddenly, this gaming hobby I was kind of, sort of into had actual depth. Rather than just a mindless way to waste time, it now had me interested and engaged on a level that went beyond simple reflexes and timing.
As a kid, and for most of my life, reading has been my primary hobby. It's been far more important in my life than video-games. I like the complexity of worlds, the interplay of characters who go beyond simple descriptions. I like stories that show true imagination, that pull and tug at me even when I'm not playing. I like conflicts that are more than just backdrops to frame game-play mechanics.
RPGs, quite honestly, are probably why I'm into gaming at all. FF VI pulled me back when I'd grown bored with the SNES. FF VII was the primary reason I bought a PS1. Games like Suikoden and FFT made the PS1 into the first console that I really, truly loved. I can still remember the big moments in those games. Hell, I remember how I felt when a certain character died in Suikoden II; even though I was more than half-way in, after I got over my shock, I looked up the path to save them and restarted the damn game. Even beyond that, Daggerfall was the first PC game to capture my soul, while MMOs like World of Warcraft and Ragnarok Online would keep me bound for years at a time.
Unfortunately, I haven't played many JRPGs this year. Unlike big western games, they stay at full price forever and rarely see serious discounts. Persona 3 and Persona 4 are probably the only two I've bought in 2013. As soon as things in my life even out, though, I have a huge list I'll tear into.
As for what I want from JRPGs, I'd like tighter storylines. At some point, they just got crazy and ridiculous. Something like Suikoden, which had a brilliant meta-story behind it, kept the games themselves tight, with concrete enemies and conflicts. I also want more old-school combat as opposed to the "action" RPG style. A game like Persona, for example, requires you to think about what you're doing, whereas many action RPGs have the combat dumbed down since there is less time for strategy and coherent decision-making.
