My perspective is a little broken, because I don't believe I ever had "n00b" days, as far as traditional RPGs go. Or probably rather JRPGs. Likely because Final Fantasy 1 and Dragon Warrior were very early games in my life, and I managed to beat them both when I was still a child. Once surmounting that obstacle, everything else was just more of the same. They added new mechanics and beefed up story and worlds and started adding more intricate puzzles, but while they grew, I grew. We kept pace

Honestly, the last RPG to make me feel like I was fumbling was a western RPG. And outside of Baldur's Gate and Diablo, Oblivion was the first real western RPG I sunk my teeth into. I didn't grow with them the way PC gamers may have. Most JRPGs were very linear. They had a story to tell and that was mostly all that mattered. Coming out of the dungeon/sewers in Oblivion and having the vast open world ahead of me with no clear path of what to do and knowing there were hundreds of quests out there waiting, with a dozen towns, and hundreds of people to interact with at my leisure. It was very overwhelming. Not even Baldur's Gate felt that open world. Sadly I missed out on Morrowind and have a hard time enjoying it these days because of its age

But using that as an example, the noob factor was left behind with the experience. Had I not been a PC gaming newbie, I probably would have played Morrowind, and its predecessors. And some of the better Ultima games, and other games of that ilk. If I were a JRPG newbie, that would only mean that I'd missed out on way too much. So I'm glad I had those experiences to hone my skills on. And only wish I'd had more. And more quality ones, rather than some of the garbage I'd wasted my time on over the years. Dozens of Xenogears and Baldur's Gates for me please~