I know it's long over-due, I'm actually working on a longer project right now. I figured this would be something relevant, what with Persona 4 not even a fortnight away.

If you ask me what my favorite RPG is, I'd honestly be caught between a few. I grew up with a fairly standard "schooling" in RPGs, I played through Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy, The Shining Force series; and they were all alright, I guess. Rarely does an RPG make me sit up and take notice, and even more rare is it that a game actually makes me care about what's going on with the characters anymore. Burned out? I don't want to call it that, but I'm sure that's what it is in all actuality. I absolutely adored the way that Shining Force III was split up into three parts, it was something epic, every character was fleshed out, and had their own story. I then discovered Final Fantasy Tactics, seemingly similar, but entirely a different beast. The plot drudged on (note: the opening text in Shining Force III takes something like 20 minutes to go through, so this is saying something) the characters were under-detailed, and worst of all the supporting cast was either too bland to remember, or they were hired hands. This made an impression on me. Anything can be done, but it takes a certain skill, a special charm to do it right.