So now your criteria for genre classification is 'if it has a story that aligns with my shitty tastes, it can't be a jRPG?'.
Are you mentally retarded or something?
On another note: I began playing Valkyrie Profile. Does this shit actually get good? So far it's been pretty much dialogue after dialogue with poor voice acting and nothing of interest.
I never, ever, mentioned "Valkyrie Profile" and "JRPG" in the same sentence. I simply said the intro wasn't good. It was you who brought "JRPG" into the discussion, not me. A game with a shitty intro is a game with a shitty intro, no matter where does it come from or what style it follows.
Since you decided to bring stories into the table: there's nothing wrong with placing emphasis on a story. I would never say "JRPGs suck because they focus on stories". My issue with JRPGs as a whole is that these stories tend to suck, not the emphasis placed on them. The emphasis only exacerbates the problem, but the emphasis itself doesn't constitute the problem.
The second thing would be its use of more abstract systems and subsystems. There is the usual real-time/turn-based hybrid approach (time pauses when a spell is in effect or when you're targeting an attack), the whole weapon affinity business, the time trials, etc. These things are distinctly Japanese.
What? I never complained about that at all in JRPGs. Nor are those things "distinctly" Japanese in any way or form.
The third thing would be that it's a more streamlined, more restrictive experience. Compare Vagrant Story to other action-RPG dungeon crawlers like Ultima Underworld and Arx Fatalis and the difference should be obvious.
It still isn't distinctly Japanese at all.
It's a dungeon crawler for fuck's sake. All you do in Vagrant Story is go through dungeons and kill shit.
The fourth thing would be interface design: list-based inventory and menus, menus and more menus: always with white letters on a dark blue background. Almost every jRPG has this exact type of interface design, bizarrely enough.
I actually like this about console games. I find most PC interfaces to be fairly shitty. The only issue with Vagrant Story is the lack of a quick-swap button for weapons, and most games have similar issues when it comes to lack of convenience features.
Since you tried to look like a smartass and only made a fool out of yourself, let me explain what my actual issues with your average JRPG are:
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Kiddie characters even when it doesn't make sense. Vagrant Story avoids this.
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Upbeat, cheerful tone that borderlines on cringe. Vagrant Story avoids this.
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Ragtag band of misfits that is composed to creatures from all races and backgrounds, even the most stupid ones. Final Fantasy VII, for the most part, avoided this. Final Fantasy XII avoided this in its entirety: the only standout character is Fran, and even then she's one of the most interesting characters of the cast. Vagrant Story avoids this as well. What it lacks up in "party" it makes up in cast: excellent all around.
- Tons of dumb NPCs who don't say anything useful at all, not even to put things into context. They usually spew out the obvious. Vagrant Story avoids this.
- The combat is usually mindless. Vagrant Story avoids this for the most part, as even chaining attacks requires a degree of reflexes.
- Equipment upgrade that is linear as hell and doesn't encourage you to think it through. Vagrant Story avoids this.
- Convoluted stories that don't make any sense and where your character is completely dragged into it for no reason. Vagrant Story avoids this.
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Anime tropes. Vagrant Story avoids this. No weaboo trash at all to be found in this masterpiece.
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Animu artstyle. Vagrant Story avoids this. Akihiko Yoshida's designs are VERY tame.
Feel free to call Vagrant Story a JRPG if you want. I personally don't consider it as one. One way or another, it avoids everything that I hate about JRPGs. In
bold red are elements which I consider to be very much "Japanese" elements, as they are usually the few who incorporate that crap into their videogames. Number 2 is due to Number 1, Number 3 reinforces Number 2, and the last two are self-explanatory.
As you can see, I don't have any problems with the overarching gameplay itself. It's the disgusting Japanese influence that ruins JRPGs and makes them a sub-genre of their own. Nowhere in any other subgenre will you find such a huge influence of the country of origin's mindset and culture than in JRPGs.