I've never been that deeply into JRPGs -- FF might be the only series from which I've completed a game -- but it does seem like the genre is faltering right now. I've been meaning to try Persona but I appreciate the heads-up about potential problems there.

It took me a while to figure out which death scene you meant in FFXII; now that I do, I can understand being put off by it, but I don't recall there being anything else like it in the game, and if you ever feel like giving it another shot, I recommend it.

I enjoy the Mass Effect games, although they didn't grab me quite as hard as the Dragon Age series. Still, I'm looking forward to the new one.