what do you mean? Is RPG Maker not free anymore? I used it for free back in 2001...
Viewing post in new wolf rpg editor user help
If I remember correctly(not 100% sure), RPG Maker was never free.
What happened is that the first versions were only sold in Japan (and only in that language) and what arrived in the West were illegal copies that were translated by the community.
Surely what you remember is one of those versions, but technically, they were illegal copies.