It's been mentioned a couple of times and I agree. I think one of the things "killing" the difficulty is checkpoints. A lot of games nowadays auto-save everytime you do anything, like open a door. Alot of old RPGs you could only save in the Inn or a tent and when you go into a dungeon, you're in there until you beat the boss and walk out. That's another thing, a lot of things are done in cutscenes.
I think one of the hardest games I've played is Yggdra Union. This game punishes bad decisions. You can only heal between fights and there's no stores, so you have to use items you found, usually right in the previous map. And the damage sticks, if you level, you're still damaged.