XII brought back something I had really missed from the genre, the ability to explore the world. The towns and world zones were huge and every new horizon offered something new. VIII and IX had one or two little things that made exploring the world map worthwhile but overall, they were pretty barren to me. X completely wiped out exploration which bugged me to no end.

I actually liked wandering around and finding my own way, not just take a quick look and see where I need to be or wander around a huge map only to find out I have only one option as to where I can go. Exploration and forcing the player to explore I felt helped RPGs, it made the worlds more interesting to the players and they generally appreciated the game each time you found that hidden goodie, like an optional town that sells excellent equipment or an optional dungeon with bountiful rewards.

I also miss challenge, XII brought it back a bit but even then the main story is still pretty easy cause the challenge comes from the Mark Hunts and optional content. Like Hsu said, I miss earning the ability to progress the story. RPGs are so notoriously easy nowadays that battles are like the equivalent of watching a movie and pausing it for a few minutes and one click of the button later, the movie starts again. Playing through Persona and MegaTen III Nocturne made me appreciate the old days when I actually had to put effort into the game to progress the story. It made those cutscenes and story parts more exciting and compelling cause you poured your heart and soul into figuring out that puzzle or beating that really tough boss.

RPGs nowaday are casual affairs, which is surprising when you think about how they were a hardcore genre 10 years ago. They basically are designed to hold your hand and allow you to get everything out of it without putting any time or effort from the player. The actual game part of it is optional.

As for random encounters, I would need them to diasppear from the genre completely for a few years to say whether I would miss them, or not. I don't hate them but I can't say I feel they are important for a game to be good. I always thought of them as a solution to a limited technology. Besides, games like Persona 3, Xenosaga series, and BoFV have shown that a lot can be done to add depth and strategy to normal enemy encounters by allowing you to see them on the map.

I can't say if XIII will remedy my two major problems with modern RPGs, but I do feel the enemy encounter system is pretty good and the combat system holds a lot of potential. If it can remedy my other two problems and tell a decent story to boot, I might say SE is closer to reclaiming their throne.