Disagree. PS2 era JRPGs >>>> PS1 era JRPGs for me.
Off the top of my head, and I recall this only from memory, the JRPGs that I greatly enjoyed in PS2
Numerous Shin Megami Tensei games (this alone is enough reason) such as Nocturne and the various spin-offs which is great RPGs in their own right such as Digital Devil Saga and Devil Summoner, Persona 3 FES, Persona 4, Suikoden III (great), Suikoden IV (acceptable), Suikoden V (fantastic), Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2 (don't care what anyone else says, this is a good JRPG with great gameplay mechanics), FFXII, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirit, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (a fantastic experience unlike any other), Dark Cloud 2 (a fantastic JRPG), six .hack games, Dragon Quest VIII, Front Mission IV, Kingdom Hearts 1 + 2, Shadow Hearts 1 2 3, Soul Nomad, Valkyrie Profile 2, Xenosaga Trilogy....
Wayyyy eclipsing the PS1 era.
Disagree; all the "ingredients" of the usual, typical JRPGs are there, down to the fact that if you level up one character enough, he or she can wipeout an entire map all on his/her own, lol.