Another thing you could try...
Press F11 to access the Script Editor. Scroll down to Main and add these two lines after the begin line, before the call to Graphics.transition...
Font.default_name = "Arial"Font.default_size = 22...I believe those are the actual *default* settings for RPG Maker XP's font. The size might be 22, maybe 24. If that isn't working, change the font name to another font (ensure it's installed on your computer) and see if that displays instead.
You can preview different fonts in any text editor that might be installed on your machine to see what alternatives may look best, but keep in mind that not everything will render properly in RPG Maker. Fonts that show up on your computer won't necessarily show up on another person's computer, so you might have to distribute your project with the .ttf file and have the user install it.
NOTE: If you set Font.default_name to an array of names, it should auto-pick the first one that displays. For instance ["Arial", "Tahoma", "Georgia"]. If Arial is not installed, it'll display Tahoma instead. If Tahoma is not installed, it'll display Georgia. If that's not installed, then no text is visible.
^As far as I remember, that method works, but you might want to test this theory yourself. With changes to the RGSS dll, it's possible this doesn't work anymore.