RPG Maker is a great program when you don't want to get too in-depth with programming, or if it's just not your thing. However, it should be noted that you're still trying to make a game, and those take a lot of planning and effort if they're ever going to pan out.
The problem with RPG Maker is actually it's selling point in some ways. It's so easy to start whipping up area maps and events, that you end up skipping the preliminary stages. The stages required to make a good game. Pretty soon, you realize what you have is a big mess, and you'd be better off starting from scratch. That's been my past experience anyway. But don't let that deter you from trying the program out. It really is pretty easy once you get into it, and a lot of fun too.
If you're considering which RPG Maker to try out, I would recommend XP mainly because of the fact that tilesets have a limitless capacity. And sure, 2003 has a really cool default battle system, but all of those things and more can be achieved in XP through the use of scripting. There actually are some custom battle scripts that you can download if you don't want to go through the trouble. I tried VX, and I like the style (which you can achieve in XP anyway), but the setup felt more like 95 and that was sort of odd to me.