I've had this gripe for forever, and no, it's nothing original, but hell, now it's my turn to vent, dammit!
 
I hate the term JRPGs. Always have, always will.
Japanese Role-Playing Games should actually be Japanese Interactive Soap Operas.
Ok, lemme first clear up that I've played many of the "legendary" JRPGs like the SNES Final Fantasies, Chrono Trigger and Cross, and loved 'em. Those are dear to me. That said, I cannot accept those games as "role-playing games". If anything, I'd call 'em "Tactical Adventure Games". TAGs. JTAGs. It's even easy on the tongue. I'm specifically referring to the old-style top-down JRPGs, of course.
 
The thing is, in my opinion the term "role-playing" is awfully misused in general when labeling such games. If there's a character levelling up system and/or points distribution system, then bam!, "role-playing game".
No. U-uh. I'll never accept that. 
Character advancement by way of stats by itself should not automatically mean "role-play". That's tactics. It's a tactical, purely gamey system.
Sure, this system originates from pen-and-paper rpgs that definately used stats and levels and such, but in those games there was a way more important aspect : actual role-playing! The numbers on your character sheets were just guidelines... parameters... for that role you played. For a character you acted out as if playing an improv role on stage!
That is the gist of my gripe. "Role-playing" is simply that: playing a role. What role do you play when all you do is move your character from cutscene to cutscene, sporadically engaging in purely tactical combat? All your doing then is just watching a soap opera that you interact with in between events that are triggered by reaching waypoints. Kinda like if in LOST you controlled all the off-screen moving around from one place to the other of say, John Locke, so as to trigger whatever event/cutscene happens as soon as he reaches a set destination.
 
Now, to be clear, I have a gripe with the term RPG in general, but in this case, I'm focusing on the "J" variable because Japanese Interactive Soap Operas are just so far removed from any form of actual role-play, dammit! Zelda games have more role-playing in them than any "JRPG labeled" game! JRPGs just don't have the freedom of choice required for any bare minimum of role-playing to happen. I mean, compare the old Fallout games to, say, Final Fantasy VII and tell me in which one you have the closest resemblance to actually playing a role? In Fallout, if you feel like it, you can depopulate the world via shotgun blasts if you were inclined to do so. But in FFVII, do you choose to disguise yourself as a lady in order to infiltrate that pervert's mansion? No you do not. You have no choice on the matter.
Even "sandbox" type games like the GTAs or Red Dead Redemption have more role-playing in them than any JRPG ever!

Of course, I am aware that from a social and I guess business standpoint, you have to label 'em somehow, but that's not the point. What I'd really like is for there to be an awareness of the subject, even if only subconscious, whenever you read, hear or use the term JRPG or even just RPG.
 
Again, this gripe o' mine is not original, but dammit now I have it written down on the internets so as to be able to point to whenever I wanna bring this up, so, yay for me I guess?