hehe, true. For a great story, I'd recommend the Xenosaga series for PS2. The first game, although it has lots of cutscenes, actually has VERY good gameplay... when you're actually playing (warning: it IS pretty hard, at least compared to most modern RPGs). That, and the storyline is too engrossing to put down. Xenosaga 2... just isn't that great. The story stays fantastic (if you like Jr., you'll love it. If you don't... you will by the end of the game), but the game is very short, AND the gameplay itself needs some work, as well as the voice acting. However, just push your way through Xenosaga 2, because it has a great ending, and, more importantly, you'll understand the storyline enough to play the third game in the series. It's by far the best (although the more generic combat was a little dissapointing, even if it was finely balanced), and is definately worth every penny (it just came out recently, so it'll cost 40 or 50 bucks... the other 2 will just cost you arouond 20).
Another great game is Dragon Quest VIII. Even if you're not familiar with the series, this game has hours upon hours of old-school RPG awesomeness. Don't expect a deep storyline: it's simple, but still entertaining, and the characters are fleshed-out and likeable (hooray Yangus!). The gameplay is where it's at, though. Like Xenosaga, it's pretty hard, and you'll probably spend good amounts of time level grinding, but the amount of freedom you have in the game, as well as the size and beauty of the world map leads to a heavily exploration-based game. You never know WHAT you may find over that hill: it could be a treasure chest... a powerful monster... maybe even a whole mini-dungeon! Oh, and the graphics are awesome. You'll like it.
Like someone above mentioned, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are both fantastic games, although I seem to be one of the only people alive who likes Cross better. I'd recommend playing Trigger first, even though the PSOne port isn't near as good as the original (I hope they release it on the Wii virtual console!). If you don't play it, Cross may be rather confusing (it's already confusing enough if you DID play Trigger), but you'll still like it.
And of course, I have to recommend my favorite RPG of all time, the epic that is Xenogears. Don't believe what you hear: the game is not anti-christian or demonic or any of that shenanigans, it's merely one of the greatest stories ever told, a simple love story hidden in a web of lies, war, hidden agendas, psychological disorders, and philosophical meanderings. If I said exactly WHY people think it's anti-christian, I would have to spoil it for anyone reading this, and I can't bring myself to do that. I'd suggest not reading any reviews that have that particular viewpoint, either, on account of they'd spoil it.
This post was a bit long-winded, but I hope I provided useful information.
