I agree with mark_n_b here, in that turn-based combat is best utilized in the strategy RPG's, not the console-style ones, as the selling point in turn-based combat is that you can take as much time as you like to plot out the best move possible. But in most JRPG's that use the game mechanic, the best option is, 9 times out of 10, to wail on the enemy with your big fuckoff swords or blast them with the tasty new spell you just bought in the previous town. In short, you've been using a dated battle system, designed around thinking and careful planning, to do just the opposite. It's just pointless having four characters stab a mutated vulture one at a time when they could all just go at once and be done with it.
To their credit, though, more modern turn-based RPG's are actually utilizing the turn-based bit with a good deal of polish, particularly in Final Fantasy X and Lost Odyssey, where enemies are actually strong enough to warrant some discretion. And although in FFX's case, not much thinking is involved as your battle plan is laid out in front of you with big neon-glowing signs (if there's a wolf, kill it with Tidus, if there's a flan, kill it with Lulu, etc, if there's a big ol' monster, summon an aeon, etc.), it still utilizes the turn-based aspect to a satisfying degree. And in LO, the regular encounters can flat out kill you if you make a big misstep. In fact, I'm seeing this in the new FF IV remake for the DS as well, which received a difficulty-smothered steroid injection. I mean, the original wasn't exactly turn based, but it still fell under the dated "whack things with swords until dead" routine, and that's definitely no longer true in this new version.
Huh, maybe turn-based combat isn't dying at all. Maybe it's finally evolving.