I am a self-professed japanese role playing game nut. My resume includes every offline main canon Final Fantasy title out there and most major JRPG titles from the 16-bit era and beyond. You may have heard of such titles as Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Xenogears and Super Mario RPG just to name a few.

"Hey! We're relevant too!"

Big whoop. There are probably thousands more out there who have way more JRPG experience than I could possibly accumulate in this lifetime. Some may even be reading this article right now. Suffice to say however, that I have enough credentials under my belt to postulate that RPGamers who cling on to the notion that 'old school' JRPGs are fundamentally better than modern offerings are delusionists who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, and nothing irks me like a middle aged gamer condescendingly dismissing modern JRPG "MeToo" with cries that anyone who has not played "Classic Awesomesauce" is automatically categorized as a gaming retard because the poor sap felt "MeToo" was an overall better game.

The only winners here are the readers

The 'Golden Age of RPGs' is the respectful unofficial term used to group and label such 16-bit greats like FFIV, FFVI, Chrono Trigger, SMRPG and Earthbound, and with good reason. Every single game had a certain pizzaz that made it stand out among the glut of JRPGs of the era. It could be an epic story, outstanding score, endearing characters or plain weirdness that kept each game highly sought after. It is also hardly any surprise that most of these games constantly feature near the top of any 'best-of' RPG lists. Heck, my personal favorite is FFVI, say what you will of my choice.

However, personal favorite does not equate to creme-de-la-creme. In fact, it seldom ever applies. Many times, we are blinded by rose-tinted glasses and fail to differentiate between genuine quality and nostalgia. And with nostalgia comes expectations. Unrealistic expectations. The Opera Scene in FFVI was way impressive when it first debut. It was poignant, powerful and showcased the musical genius of Nobuo Uematsu. Everyone who experienced it back then was floored by the entire experience, and rightfully so. Fast forward a few years to the release of FFIX, again to a similar Opera Scene staged early in the game. Suddenly its muted in comparison isn't it? its blah and unoriginal. Wait. Does anyone even remember such a scene? Does anyone even like FFIX? (I love it btw)

Draco vs Ralse. Oops.

Its easy to leave an impression in the early 1990s when RPGs of the time were still charting new narrative territory, and any new ideas contrary to the established norm (anti-hero, character death, mature themes) were seen as groundbreaking and original. While many gamers can differentiate a decent game from a bad one easily enough (Unlimited Saga I'm looking at you), it is still commonplace to compare popular current releases against the same standards set by the 'Golden Age'. No, modern JRPG is unlikely to ever leave as a deep an impression on you like Chrono Trigger did all those years ago, and it never will. Practically all narrative tropes have been exploited to the point of abuse that nothing short of in-game beastiality would shock the player (and even that is debatable). The classics need to be taken off their unrealistic pedestals before anyone can even attempt to compare. In fact in most cases I've come across, RPGamers who developed their love for the genre after the 3D revolution and tried to play the older classics found the games primitive and unplayable by comparison.

May not be so awesome this time

I've completed FFVI more times than I care to count and can name all the playable moogles off the top of my head, but I'm also acutely aware that I'm attached to this game for personal reasons independent of the quality of the game. Make no mistake, it remains a game of exceptional calibre by 90s' standards, and holds a special place in the pathenon of JRPGs for many others because it was perhaps their virgin step into the nerd-dom of RPGs or because it simply blew them away with its (then) impressive production values. Likewise, there are some folks who believe FFXIII is the new awesomesauce for whatever valid reasons that are personal to them, and we should all respect each other's preferences (or at least appear to). Of course, with everyone feeling self-important on the internet, its natural and even encouraged to voice your opinions about a game to stimulate discussion or controversy. However, its one thing to bemoan FFXIII for having a less than stellar cast of characters, and another entirely to treat the game as garbage because your all-time favorite JRPG had towns and overworlds while the current iteration doesn't.