Yeah, I'm an old bastard. I had a stretch from around 2000-2012 where I barely played anything aside from Counter Strike and Team Fortress.
Chrono Trigger was great, I'll admit. As you said, great characters and engaging gameplay, not just tapping A and healing occasionally.
I played the first two gens of Pokemon when they came out, skipped a bunch and returned for Arceus and Scarlet. I'm sounding like more of a hypocrite with every sentence. Heh.
Maybe I'll bite the bullet and try a Persona game or a Final Fantasy that was released this millennium.