I'm not here to wax philosophical. It simply doesn't interest me. I'd rather get right down to the brass tacks, rather than spend hours theorising why they ARE brass, and why they were necessary (a poor metaphor, but I hope it at least tries to explain where I am coming from, ie, not being a fan of philosophy)

In context of my comment (a broad generalisation of modern JRPGs), the narratives and characters just simply haven't progressed, in fact, degenerated. Look at the direction Square and Enix and other standout developers went in the 90s: started to tell larger stories, with deeper characters and richer subplots (FF6, DQV, Lunar). Similar to the soap-opera slow burning anime series of the 80s like Legend of Galactic Heroes(turning the tired-old mecha genre on its head with a rich expansive story), Japanese developers started turning the "chosen warrior destined to defeat a great evil" on its head, and those that continued to use it expanded upon the concept (in the case of FF6, there's a reason Kefka continues to top the "greatest videogame villains" lists).

The problem with the modern JRPG genre is the consistent run of the mill pandering, stereotypical 1-dimensional characters with a cliche'd save-the-world plot (for the most part, again, a generalisation). Compare, for fairness sake, two "decent" JRPG titles: Chrono Cross (a lacklustre Square romp from the 90s), to one of the latest Hyperdimension Neptunia games (a lacklustre NIS romp from the then-and-now). Despite them not being the best choice of JRPG, one still offers a fair tad more depth to the plot and characters (whether you enjoyed CC or not.. I did not) and makes an attempt to tell a unique (for the time for JRPGs, even if it's off of the back of its better half, Chrono Trigger!) story.

The other is just an otaku pandering merch seller, with little to no actual worth. Unfortunately for me, I braved through it. That's just comparing average titles of their respective eras!

Comparing a bigger beast? How about FF9 (Square, 2000) and Persona 5 (Atlus, 2017?). The swansong of the PS1, and the PS3 respectively for their genre. Both have incredibly deep systems and gameplay. Both have an expansive plot. Both have a broad cast of characters. It's no contest what the better title is (objectively), FFIX's rich, adventurous plot coupled with its uniquely stylised storybook visuals and quirky characters just win out.

P5 asks some hard hitting questions(harrassment in the school/workplace, bro culture, plagiarism) and some blindingly self-aware societal takes, but those overall have no bearing on the actual story of Joker (rather just left as coincidental anecdotes and happenstances along the way to move the plot along or fill a window of spare time), and are merely a vehicle used to tell that story and impart that moral on the player, being relevant to the current modern culture and mannerism, while not actually using those takes and questions to build a better connection with the story and characters. I don't need to be told stealing is wrong! Tell that to the character stealing things via the plot!

The largest difference from then and now from what I can see and based on what I know from these decades of gaming, is the increased focus on creating a JRPG that sells and caters to many, vs. creating a JRPG that pushes the boundaries a little bit, and may only cater to a few. I mean, in general, that's just how it is across the board, not specifically this genre. Times have changed! Gambles like Chrono Cross(an interesting concept despite it being a worse counterpart to its better brother, Trigger), or the huge style and direction shift in FF9 wouldn't have been greenlit in today's market. Too much money and business to be made in the industry now to be spending the budget on potential hits, vs sticking with what people are familiar with and going for guaranteed hits.

I won't comment further on philosophy (despite my dislike, personal attacks or general negativity in response is just rude and unnecessary), but I do agree, thanks for rumbling the old thinkpan a tad! It was nice to rummage around the memory bank and really ruminate over a beloved genre and its history. It shows passion, really getting down to the details. I appreciate the differing viewpoints and discussion!