It took me a few games before I really got into the JRPG scene.
I began with FFX-2 back in 2004 of all games. At the time, I had no conceptual idea of what an RPG is, and I was puzzled as to which character I was controlling, why I couldn't freely move any of the characters in battle, and how you even win the fight. It was unlike anything I had ever played before, and my mind was blown. I wasn't sure if I liked it, but admittedly, it was the Charlie's Angels and the pop song of FFX-2 that enticed me to pick the game up in the first place.
A couple more Final Fantasies followed (FFVI and FFVII, didn't get X until I returned to X-2 a couple of years later to finally play through it and appreciate it), then Level-5's PS2 RPGs, Dragon Quest VIII and even Disgaea followed. The stories easily captivated and enchanted me, and even though I have grown very critical of much of JRPG storytelling in recent years, I will always remember the genre for the years of narrative inspiration it gave to me as a young teenager growing up and becoming very fascinated with the idea of fantastical worlds awash with imagination, as a form of escapism. I was inspired to come up with fantasy ideas of my own, and I do have fond memories of after-school writing clubs when I was the one to whip out fantasy stories as my peers produced comparatively very dry content.
Dragon Quest VIII and FFXII would make me truly appreciate their own worlds' size and scope, and the contents of their respective worlds. I think the former left a greater impression on me, because having that large a world scaled properly made me realise how much I needn't miss the world map. Running around a fantasy world, discovering things, coming across vast, unique and alien landscapes, with hopefully a charming narrative to go with it - that's when I truly understood what I wanted out of the genre, and why I harked for it so much. And FFXII's fantastic localisation work did wonders for my vocabulary. My 14-year old self would otherwise not have trotted out "I do not ask for your fealty, nor do I expect farcical parades of servitude" in a weird role-reversal Romeo & Juliet reconstructive poetry piece in an English class.
As for what made WRPGs tick for me? The answer is probably less profound. I'll make one thing clear though: I have yet to properly play a D&D-inspired RPG. I mean the old CRPGs of Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment. I intend to at some point in time, but my WRPG experiences so far have been two chapters of The Witcher thus far, KOTOR, Mass Effect, Dragon Age (though technically, DA: Origins was designed to be a spiritual successors to the CRPGs of yore), Fallout, the first Fable game, bits of Morrowind and Skyrim, and Jade Empire. Mass Effect stands out for the glorious space opera vistas and the fantastic range of characters. But what I think makes WRPGs particularly enjoyable is the ability to choose to be a bad 'un. I love being a villain. I enjoyed playing through the KOTOR games as a heartless Dark Jedi. Nothing makes me more giddy than earning the trust of an NPC, only to betray them two minutes later because I feel like it, and because it could be worth looting them.
It's pretty appropriate I think for me to say there were various games and stages before I truly appreciated the RPG genre, given that it's just so huge, diverse and encompassing compared to other genres of games. It's a genre that I have the most hope for next (current?) gen aside from open-world action-adventures. Here's to another glorious decade of the RPG. Whether they're made in Japan, Korea, America, Britain or Poland.