What's your opinion of JRPGs today vs JRPGs of the 90s?

I'd like to know what everyone thinks of JRPGs that we see today in general vs the RPGs of the 90s.  I know I might be biased, so I wanna know, but I think the JRPGs of the 90's were much better in gameplay and simplicity than a lot of those today.  It seems like a lot of games today are so focused on cutting edge graphics, overly cutesy characters, and rambling soap opera storylines, and we've lost a lot of depth of gameplay and depth. 

Like, for example, I am currently playing Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey.  The monster collecting is fun, the story is okay but stereotypical, the dungeons are lengthy but simplistic, and the music is limited (they reuse songs a LOT).  Whereas something like Secret of Mana had lots of dungeons, plenty of hidden stuff, an amazing sound score, and a story that kept you wondering how things were going to turn out.

I'm not saying new JRPGs are bad, but it does seem like we are getting a lot of mediocre games today instead of a few great ones. 

Thoughts?

Personally, I think it came to money. Game companies are happier to make something mediocre that will sell rather than attempt the new and lose money.

Lose-lose either way, just look at Clover studios.

Gaming isn't better or worse now than it was, it's just more mainstream.  There's plenty of quality games being released.  JRPGs not so much as they aren't as popular in America as other sorts of games.  Perhaps that's why you feel the 90's were better.

Honestly, i say that the 90's rpg's and the ones of today both have really good games and really bad ones, and ones that are in between. but i will agree with you, secret of mana was/still is amazing! it was possibly the first rpg i ever played

Bumping this to say that I utterly despise Secret of Mana, for reasons some of you older posters will surely remember since I made a huge rant thread about it a year or so ago.

I honestly disliked every Mana game I played (emulation). But, Tales of Phantasia was amazing, played that for a while. I feel like today Jrpgs are lacking new content. It seems like the developers are running out of ideas and are beginning to recycle their old material with slight twists that no longer please gamers. They're getting flashier but losing story quality and uniqueness. Also, like most other modern games, JRPGs are trying to grab wider audiences in ways that usually dissatisfy the core gamers of the past by means of toning down diffficulty and shortening game lengths.

JRPGs in general are getting more and more boring the older I get.

Well, okay then.  In your opinion, what are some JRPGs in the last 3 years that you think are as good as the ones from the 90's?

Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Star Ocean 4, all of the DQ DS remakes and DQIX, Magical Starsign, Nier, Avalon Code, Infinite Undiscovery...

Probably more that I'm forgetting.

Living in the past is lame. Embrace the now.

JRPGs in general are getting more and more boring the older I get.

Make up your mind! 

Its not the games though, its me,