You sound JUST like me. My 2 favorite RPGs of all time are Final Fantasy 8 and Chrono Trigger. Not a huge fan of the newer "RPG"..Demon's/Dark Souls, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, etc. And if you've never played Dragon Quest VIII (PS2) youre missing out on a real treat. It's lengthy, and leveling, getting gold, etc. can be grueling, but it RULES! Also agreed on the Tales games, with Tales of Vesperia being one of the more engaging RPG experiences for me as of late. Everything I love about an RPG: Cool main character, group of adventurers, go to a town, upgrade weapons and armor (weapons show on the characters aesthetically, even in cutscenes, i personally love that!), talk to everyone, find out about a dungeon, go there, slay monsters, level up, fight a cool boss, etc. A tad cookie cutter with the JRPG elements and cutsie characters but the character development is really good and I personally loved the story, weapon/armor synthesizing is fun and customizing characters and battle strategy is great. Plus there is TONS to do once youre about 3/4 through the game as far as finding ultimate weapons, abilities, mystic artes, etc. Cant recommend it enough. Another exceptionally great RPG is Persona 3 (PS2). Social link system is really neat and unique (interacting with friends and acquaintances gives bonuses to battle/abilities), awesome turn based battles, cool modern world setting with high school kids slaying demons in an evil tower at night using alter ego-like "personas" to cast magic. Very very awesome game. Look it up it's pretty highly acclaimed. I loved Xenogears on the PS1 but I personally felt that Xenoblade:Chronicles (Wii) is extremely overrated, not to mention overpriced! Good luck trying to find a copy anywhere for less $100-$120, oft times more! It plays like a MMORPG with a storyline. If you want an awesome Wii RPG I have to mention The Last Story. Loved everything about it. Great story, great characters, awesome combat system (diffusing magic circles FTW) and cool weapon and armor upgrade system. That one is up there with Tales of V for me as the two best I've played in many years. Good luck and thanks to everyone responding to this thread. I'm like you OP...I'm a little old school, I like my RPGs to contain all the gameplay elements that made me love the genre in the first place, but certainly dont mind a nice overhaul or coat of paint as long as the key fundamentals are still there.
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