Commenting on FFIX, I agree that it didn't risk anything or push the limit in any development direction. However, I would argue it's the most well rounded game in the series, and could make it on an essentials list as a definitive example of an RPG whose parts are all proportionately adequate and sum up to an amazing whole.

The list was good though, I think it was well put together and covered most of the games that would need to be covered, although I agree there were a few that shouldn't have been.

At the same time, assuming Kurt Kalata is not Japanese, I think it's inappropriate for Western gamers to suggest what the essentials of Japanese RPGs are. For example, FFVI isn't anywhere near the top ranked games over there, yet in America it has a cult following in the RPG community. The opposite is true of Final Fantasy III. Part of the problem is that Americans are so opinionated on Final Fantasy, yet we were only exposed to half of the first six games, until Anthology. So while I personally think it's a great list, I'm sure the people who actually make these games, the culture from which its perspective is rooted in, and the audience it is targeted to would have very different opinions than we do.