I get the impression Persona 5 may be the defining JRPG this generation. Final Fantasy XV has gotten a lot of praise, but I feel like people enjoying it were going to play it anyway. I've heard more than a few people say that Persona 5 got them back into JRPGs. Not a lot of games can say that. That's kind of a Bravely Default thing

For me, I think Dragon Quest may have paved the way, but Final Fantasy certainly engrossed me a lot more. It was a bigger world with a lot more going on, and having a diverse team made it more interesting to me. And I found the music to be a lot less irritating lol

The next generation was a bit odd for me. I got a Genesis/MegaDrive when it first released, and didn't get an SNES until after the PS1 launch. The Shining series (Force/Darkness) definitely kept my attention more-so through the 16-bit generation. I think they were blown out of the water once FFVI came along. Outclassing Phantasy Star IV, Secret of Mana, and Chrono Trigger. It had the most diverse and likable cast I'd ever come across, and a much more compelling and well-realized plot than any of the others

For PS1/Saturn era, it depends on the day and my mood whether I would choose FFVII or Xenogears as the defining game for me. I feel like FFVII was more enthralling, while Xenogears was more impactful. I've played VII multiple times. But there was absolutely nothing like Xenogears on the landscape at the time. It may not hold up as well today, but the groundbreaking peek into the human psyche, the corruption of religion, and super badass mech combat was on a whole other level to everything else I was playing at the time

PS2/GC/XBox was definitely KotOR for me. In fact it was probably KotOR 2 that was the more groundbreaking experience for me. While KotOR felt like a grand adventure akin to the original movies. KotOR 2 felt like a very personal experience. The dialog was punched up and felt a lot more real and impactful, the character motivations were deep and complex. And the plot had a lot of darkness and growth to it. Much like Xenogears, I think I needed the more mature themes at the time

PS3/360 was easily defined by the Mass Effect experience for me. Looking back at all the plethora of games I have for both consoles (and even the Wii), while some games are arguably better, I don't think anything was as impactful or meaningful

And then the current generation, where I don't have enough space left on my console to install Mass Effect or Nier, and have yet to acquire Final Fantasy XV, and I'm struggling to stay interested in Persona 5. I'd almost have to say Hyper Light Drifter has been the most meaningful RPG'ish experience I've had this generation. Possibly Bloodborne.. The only Souls game I don't find to be ridiculously cheap and copy/pasted in its design philosophies