With Final Fantasy XII recently being released and copping a lot of flak over having a linear path to follow, it's got me thinking. Have RPGs always been this linear? What makes an RPG linear?

My argument is that majority of RPGs really are linear and that modern RPGs are designed with percieved dynamic flow. Most games that pride themselves on having an open story will give the player a variety of options, yet by the end of the game, they end up with the same ending no matter what choices or decisions were made.

Final Fantasy X and XIII are one in the same when it comes to linearity. You have a main storyline and a general path you follow. These paths are broken up with unique areas, rather than "Oh hey, here's 600 KM of desert that looks the same". Each area has a variety of high & low roads, mixed up with dead end branches for items and extra battles. In essence, this is really an RPG with the fluff cut out and that doesn't hold it back.

Why should a player have to traverse large fields just to get to a town they're not going to care about 5 minutes after they leave it? Why does having large sprawling areas with the same 3 monsters make a difference?