you know what I hate? I hate when people are all like "that's not an RPG it has RPG elements". Technically what does RPG stand for? ROLE PLAYING GAME. Does it say anywhere in the name Stat-building-wh0re? No.
A roleplaying game in reality is any game where you take control of a player. Before Dungeons and Dragons there was a game by the same maker that simulated a life in a town. There was no stats. You simply went about your everyday life by pen and paper. This is the real definition of a RPG.
Final Fantasy is a story driven RPG with extreme rails. In this sense, I admit it is not an a real RPG. It is a forced story driven game with stats. You can't change the outcome of anything, you are constantly broken away from your character and forced into situations with no choice but to advance.
STATS DO NOT EQUAL ROLE PLAYING! A good open ended game with adventure and loot would be the best example of an RPG, one where you take on the life of the character. Sleep, eat, travel and fight.