I wish I had some real input but I've never been able to get into JRPGs because I'm terrible at them, out of all the ones I tried (including the GBA ports of FF1 and FF2) the only one I managed to beat was Persona 3 and I haven't even tried one since I tried Wild Arms 3 six years ago.
I'm just not any good at the turn based combat, the element of luck just seems to screw me over or at least the lack of any ability to, ya know, move during combat, I can beat Fallout 1 and 2 just fine but you can, ya know, move, not just have to stand there and get your shit pushed in if a boss decides it wants to push your shit in.
In addition to that these games are just absurd time sinks, JPRGs are made for an audience that plays nothing but JRPGs, not people who want time to play other games.
It's a shame because I love JRPG's characters, stories and overall senses of style, I just suck at the gameplay.
It's ironic because X2 has sexy girls, but you're not wrong, it is also very gay.