why the fuck am i doing this
Xenoblade is an excellent game that is definitely Japanese in nature, but it does have noticeable Western influences with the heavy focus on exploration and the real-time, MMO-esque combat system.
I need to get on grabbing a copy of The Last Story myself. The SNES Classic also has SMRPG, Secret of Mana and Earthbound all of which are worth checking out as well. SNES through mid-PS2 era is really the golden age of JRPGs. Staying on the SNES, SoM also has an even-better sequel if you can bother to download a translation patch and emulate... and a self-ripoff named Secret of Evermore (Square makes 'em all, so...) which isn't as good but ostensibly still worth playing.
Lufia II is basically right up there with CT and FF6 for me as an all-time great game.
(I personally don't even like CT that much, I found it to be merely serviceable, but the masses deem it the GOAT. FF6 is my numero uno though.) The characters are actually mature adults and the romance is actually realistic. The puzzle elements of the dungeons are really neat and unique. It's one of the earliest examples of non-random encounters. It's got casino minigames plus the
Ancient FUCKING Cave, a roguelike side game that by itself is more of a complete game than a depressingly large amount of chaff out there (and a fun speedrun). And the ending is the only time I've ever cried over a video game. The combat system is standard turn-based stuff but the rage (IP) system does give a compelling reason to fiddle with equipment setups.
Sailor Moon: Another Story is surprisingly solid, just to throw out a really obscure title. Eternal Sonata, AKA Chopin: The RPG, is slightly less obscure and the music motif is pretty neat.
Radiant Historia is great. The protagonist is notably mature (not so much in age but in action) and the characters are distinct, the grid-based combat adds a bit of flavor to a largely turn-based system, and it has a whole boatload of easily accessible bad endings that are fun to uncover and run the gamut from super cereal to downright silly. Bravely Default is a classic Final Fantasy game in all but name, with a job system reminiscent of 3/5/Tactics, a bit more in-depth equipment system than most FF games offer and a gimmick combat mechanic implemented in an otherwise standard turn-based system.
Pretty much all the old critically acclaimed stuff and major series are popular for a reason:
- Old FF series, particularly FF4-6 plus Tactics (which is a strategy RPG but the gameplay is deep and it basically has the best video game story ever, play it nigga). Your mileage may vary on VIII and IX, but X is as universally praised as the old guard. The series has gotten much more experimental since then and opinions are divided. XII plays like a Western game that retains a distinctly Japanese plot very similar to Xenoblade, a self-contained MMO style with painstakingly programmable AI party members that people either love or hate, but the skill system is really neat and the story is really good if you ignore the self-insert protagonist. XIII has what I feel is the best combat in the series, even as the rest of the game lacks. XV I don't know enough about to discuss.
- The Mario RPG series as a whole is pretty strong even if they're relatively lighthearted affairs, most notably the aforementioned SMRPG, Paper Mario and its direct sequel TTYD. None of the portable RPGs are bad either, though they're all lesser versions of SMRPG. The later Paper games are bad but they're also not RPGs (which is partly what makes them bad because it's not what consumers wanted), so who cares.
- Dragon Quest is the granddaddy of 'em all. I haven't played most of them myself but I'd stick to the newer games (at least V and up), the older ones are rather antiquated. VIII is excellent, a good starting point and it's worth playing the 3DS remake if you wanna jump right in. (The remake adds two playable party members and replaces random encounters with visible ones.) V, VII, and IX all have their good points as well and remakes for the former two can also be found on the (3)DS, while IX is a native DS game. There's also the Monsters subseries which you may know combines classic JRPG gameplay with mons collecting.
- The Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole. Classic SMT plays like a JRPG with mon partners, except the mons are demons and the plot is a mishmash of Jungian psychology and Christian symbolism that is the bread-and-butter of angsty teenagers everywhere. Of course the Persona subseries has overshadowed its progenitor and it exchanges the mons for social/dating sideplay instead, but they're all pretty good whichever way you swing. Better to stick with the modern titles to start out though, the third game and beyond in both series. SMT4 and 4A are native 3DS games. Persona 4 is best experienced through its Vita remake Golden (which single-handedly sold a lot of PSTV's). Persona 5... you've surely heard good things about if you haven't been living under a rock the past six months. Incidentally, P5 rather seamlessly integrates gameplay elements of classic SMT with the Persona formula popularized by its direct predecessors. And it's the most stylish fucking game ever made, holy shit looking at and listening to P5 is indescribably beyond orgasmic.
- Tales series is going pretty strong in the firm direction of turning anime into games at this point. Only one I've actually played is Symphonia, being the only one on a Nintendo console besides the original Phantasia (SNES), since I've never owned a Playstation console after the original PS1. :[ I do know that they're generally well received, and they must be for the series to have such an impressively robust roster by now. Berseria's supposed to be a lot better than Zesteria amongst the newest two, which are available on PC and I do plan to play eventually (at least Berseria). Symphonia is GC and its sequel is on Wii.
Golden Sun is the obligatory portable mention. Shame Dark Dawn was ass and killed the series prematurely but I don't think anybody disagrees the original and its sequel, The Lost Age, are two of the best games on the GBA.
Baten Kaitos: Overly Long Subtitle and its sequel, Origins, are both really good ones I've actually fucking played. They have a pretty unique card-based battle system that keeps you engaged in real time. The plot twist in the first game is probably the most well executed I've ever seen in a video game, as it's basically impossible to see coming if you play it blind yet makes 100% perfect sense in hindsight. (The second game pulls something similar, but in the wake of its predecessor it's a bit easier to see coming.) They're both Gamecube games.
Skies of Arcadia is a good game where you actually play the role of sky pirates instead of just being called that as they exist in most recent Final Fantasy games. Plot has pretty strong FF6 vibes if they fleshed out the Empire and did away with the second half of the game. The original is a Dreamcast exclusive but the director's cut, Legends, is available on the GameCube.
Lunar: The Silver Star and Lunar: Eternal Blue are originally Sega CD games games that you'll likely easiest find in their PS1 incarnations, Silver Star Story Complete and Eternal Blue Complete. They're top-shelf classic JRPGs, and anime as fuck. Grandia likewise, though the main characters of the first game are young children and not teens. In both cases, do yourself a favor and stick to the first two games of their respective series. :P Grandia has a pretty neat battle system though, which Child of Light lifted (a great RPG itself but not Japanese-style).
Xenogears is the only loosely connected with Xenoblade by sharing the name and exploring the same general themes. Excellent game, though I've never been a fan of mechs. I'm also a big fan of the entirely unrelated Legend of Legaia. Legaia and its sequel have a nifty, kinda action point-based combat system (there's no hard numbers but the similarity is apparent and it's the easiest way to explain it).
Star Ocean hasn't fared so well as a series, but 2 and 3 are fairly well-recieved. The former is the only one I've played and it's alright, if not a bit button-mashy in combat. It features extensive crafting and skill systems. Suikoden series is much stronger all-around, and 2 is considered an all-timer, but I can't personally vouch for any of them. Same with Wild Arms, but I've played a good chunk of Wild Arms 3 that I can personally recommend it.
My body is ready for the Trails of Cold Steel series on PC, and the Trails in the Sky trilogy is on my Steam wishlist waiting for me to get through my existing backlog. Mana Khemia and its sequel are relatively straightforward JRPGs compared to the Atelier series they spin off, which are much more focused around the crafting aspect of their gameplay with relatively whimsical storylines.
Tales of Game's Presents Chef Boyardee's Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa AKA
Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, for the lulz. Gameplay is competent if not unspectacular stock JRPG but the memetastic writing and pop culture references make it worth playing. And to continue with free PC games, the Epic Battle Fantasy series is also really good if you like the combat aspects of classic JRPGs. The first two games are strictly combat games, in turn-based style, but EBF3 begins the transition of the series to full-fledged RPG. The stories are generic fluff but the writing is funny and combat remains the highlight of the gameplay. They're actually Flash games, though you can also purchase EBF4 on Steam for added content and the soundtrack.
If you like dungeon crawlers, pretty much the entirety of Mystery Dungeon games are decent at worst and extremely good at their best, though roguelikes aren't
really JRPGs. Still, I'd recommend the Wii Chocobo's Dungeon (Final Fantasy Fables) which I didn't know existed and randomly received as a gift back in the day. It's surprisingly solid and features a job-based character system similar to the relevant FF games that have them. The popularity and success of Etrian Odyssey has also led to a number of clones there too.
If you like action RPGs, Crystalis on the NES is pretty good, like Zelda with extra RPG elements emphasized. (Or an extremely well-polished Zelda 2, if you will.) See also: Ys series, especially the later ones and recent remakes (Oath in Felghana is sex). Terranigma. Illusion of Gaia, which I'm not a big fan of personally.
Quick reference of the shit specifically on the mentioned consoles though:
Radiant Historia
Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. All the portable RPGs, though the original Sugarstar Saga is GBA. Still, it's getting an enhanced 3DS remake in October.
DQ4-8 and up all have (3)DS remakes. IX and both DQ Monsters: Joker games are DS native.
SMT4 and SMT4: Apocalypse
Tales of Symphonia and its sequel, ToS: Dawn of the New World
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean and its sequel, BK Origins
Skies of Arcadia: Legends
A lot of Mystery Dungeon games, of which I personally recommend Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.
Etrian Odyssey is a thing.
Then there's plenty available on PC natively, and of course emulation of most older titles if you will. Other than the upcoming Trails of Cold Steel trilogy (first comes to PC in August, third game isn't even released yet) and the recent Tales titles, you can probably run the rest on a potato. Heck, the Epic Battle Fantasy series are literally Flash games. That also reminds me to mention Ge.ne.sis. and the Mardek series, though neither of those will ever be completed (Ge.ne.sis. is half of a game and Mardek was episodic from the start) so I wouldn't bother with them.