The first JRPGs I played, even if they were part of the same series, tended to radically change up things. No Xenosaga games has the same battle system, for instance. So FF reinventing the wheel with each new game wasn't really a problem for me.

But having become an Shin Megami Tensei and Persona fan, and watching the games evolve from their respective" third" installments, has made me realize what a crippling flaw FF's obsession with starting over from scratch is. FFX-2 is the perfect example - FFX was a massively popular game much lauded for its gameplay. So what did X-2 do? Threw everything out and made a whole new combat system.

SMT Nocturne and Persona 3 are very rough in places but you can see the potential in the Press Turn or 1 More System. You can watch how each subsequent game refines these systems, emphasizing what they did right and fixing what they did wrong. The result is SMTIV Apocalypse has one of the best battle systems in JRPG history.

It's just not possible that the first implementation of any system is going to be perfect. That's why you make a system, experiment with it, hone it, and create something even better. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.