well majority of jrpg`s recive low to medium scores, in fact id say overwhelming majority.

but they have a unique gameplay element, and thats the story to plod through. it dont matter to much on grafix and sound as long as the story is good to sift through and has a decent battle system.

for example one of the most enjoyable jrpg`s ive played is "enchanted arms" by a company called "from software" this game is availiable on 360 and ps3, i had it on 360 ages ago and it was an extremly good and cheesy playthrough, battle system was like a puzzle at times and played right through to the end. it only recived 6`s 7`s and mabey if you push it a few 8`s but the fact is i played it to the end and enjoyed it, even though grafix was off.

so the reasons above^ are why people like jrpg`s

PLEASE "FROM SOFTWARE" BRING A SEQUEL TO "ENCHANTED ARMS" IT WAS A TRULY BRILLIANT EXPERIANCE GOING THROUGH ATSUMAS JOURNEY. BUT FOR GODS SAKE LEAVE MOKOTO OUT OF IT THIS TIME.(those who have played enchanted arms will know why mokoto needs to be left out!)

When I mean skills, I mean the players reflexes.

From Software aren't exactly a top tier development company.  Enchanted Arms was a mediocre game from what I heard.

 You got to be joking man; get the hell out of here with insinuating comments like that like you know me.

We must test this!

*Ties a Tifa plushie to a fishing line and dangles it in front of Ajax*

lol

It is fine that your opinion differs from mine, but please don't insult me by saying that I never did something because your experience lead you to a different opinion. Yes there was a lot of grinding in the older JRPGs, but the amount of grinding needed to complete the game depended on the stratagy you used to defeet the enemies.

I do agree somewhat about the choice and freedom part, although I feel that many of the earlier turnbased JRPGs although linear were less linear than many of the newer ones, in a way. The newer ones have a lot of options pop up just before the final battle.

It's not an opinion.  I spent hours grinding in Final Fantasy games up through FFV.  FFVI didn't require much grinding unless you wanted tons of magic.  Dragon Warrior itself was about grinding for a while.  I own the original Dragon Warrior and Dragon Warrior III.  I've spent at least 50 hours just grinding in Dragon Warrior III because the monsters get ferociously hard at certain points especially if you choose to go sailing without having any clue where you're going.  Heck, you couldn't even go sailing without fear of ocean monsters eating you alive unless you spent time grinding.

Back in those games, there wasn't that much strategy.  Most of the strategy amounted to:  Did I beat the enemy?  If yes, go on.  If no, grind for more levels.

JRPGs benefit more from being linear than people think.  FFXII allowed you to go almost anywhere from the beginning.  Unfortunately, the story, while not bad, was not as interesting as the stories of previous games in the series.  When I first played this game, I had a feeling the story was going to be epic and that this would be the best FF yet and it was, for the first 10 hours or so.  After that, there is less cutscenes and more dungeon crawling.  I still think it is a great game because of its gameplay.  It didn't help that will the exception of Bathier, the "main" characters, while not bad, were just very bland compared the cast in FFX.  This is the only JRPG that I really like that has a not-so-interesting story.