Can anyone suggest some JRPGs

[A random person]

Chrono Trigger is mandated by law in certain jurisdictions.

Also, if you want something goofy yet a little dark, try Earthbound. If you want something goofy yet surprisingly deep, try Paper Mario (Thousand Year Door is even better). If you want a good action RPG that messes around with the whole "chosen one saves teh worldz" thing, try Tales of Symphonia (warning: starts as cliche storm. Reserve judgment until Tower of Salvation). Persona 3, even though I've only played a little bit of it, has a somewhat dark yet bouncy reflection of Japanese pop culture, not to mention a surprisingly interesting interplay of school-life and world-saving.

And while these aren't straight-up JRPG's, I recommend Fire Emblem and Valkyria Chronicles as great SRPG's, despite being stuck on chapter 14 of the latter.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Although I have most likely been ninja'd by now, I whole-heartedly suggest the following:

Chrono Trigger (SNES,DS, PS1--under "Final Fantasy Chronicles," which is also features Final Fantasy IV, also recomended and also available on the SNES as Final Fantasy 2, on the GBA with the correct title, and on the DS in the form of a remake)
Chrono Cross (PS1...grindless gameplay, complicated plots, and a kickass soundtrack)
Kingdom Hearts (If you have a friend with this game and a PS2, give it a try. It has a very polarizing effect on people, but if you like it, then it you may find that it's singlehandedly worth tracking down a used PS2)


Wild Arms (PS1...it's got sort of an old west meets classic fantasy meets sci-fi game...where you fight extradimmensional metalic demons. And it works!)


Mario RPGs...seriously, all of them!
the original is available on the Virtual Console,don't bother trying to track down a SNES copy
Paper Mario is on N64 and Virtual Console...its sequel, Thousand Year Door, is Gamecube excluesive, but fortunately, Nintendo decided to make Wii backwards compatible
Super Paper Mario (wii) is different, but still good. Worth a rental at least.

In the portable world, I've only played Partners in Time (DS), and it is great! Just from basic patern recognition, I'd venture a guess that Superstar Saga (GBA) and Bowser's Inside Story (DS) are awesome as well.

Finally, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver. Classic pokemon with all the subtle updates that have been throughout the series...I love it!


Edit: Chrono Trigger's PS1 port had some technical issues (like taking about ten seconds to load your menu), so only try that version as a last resort.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

A lot of the games I would have recommended (SMT, Shadow Hearts etc) have already been suggested but I will point out a few specific ones.

* The Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga subseries. Arguably the 2 best games in the entire franchise, they were shamefully overshadowed by Personas 3 & 4 (which are also fantastic, don't get me wrong) and almost completely forgotten. They were once described as "like Final Fantasy X, but the characters eat each other." [http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/digitaldevilsaga/index.html] Also notable for featuring the hardest hidden boss in the history of video games, bar none. GET THEM.

* The Disgaea games. If you like strategy RPGs they don't come much broader. ANY of these games can conceivably last you forever and they're funny as hell (which is ironic, as Hell is pretty much where they're set). OODLES of content and near-infinite challenge (or if you don't want near-infinite challenge, just a damn good game experience). The second game contains the funniest moment in gaming history ("Hey, TAXI!")

* Grandia II. Best game in the Grandia series. Try to avoid the absolutely HORRIBLE PS2 port if you can, the original Dreamcast version is the best, but that'd be a bit difficult to get. There was a PC port as well, but I don't know how well that turned out. Grandia III has slightly better gameplay, but the story sucks by comparison.

* Wild Arms 3. An early PS2 RPG, now sadly forgotten. Featured a pretty unique setting (post-apocalyptic western) and some REALLY neat gameplay ideas (the force point combat system and the encounter gauge for avoiding random encounters). 4 & 5 may have been even better, but I never got to play those so I can only speak for the 3rd installment.

* Odin Sphere. More of a 2D action game than a traditional JRPG, it nevertheless has many elements of JRPGs. Either way, I just can't pass up the opportunity to plug this game for all it's worth. It is FANTASTIC. Gameplay is very hard to get the hang of and may not appeal to everyone and it occasionally has serious slowdown issues, but the graphics are a frickin' work of art and the story is quite possibly the BEST I've ever played through. I say it's even better than its own spiritual successor, Muramasa: The Demon Blade despite Muramasa's superior gameplay, because Muramasa just doesn't pull me in and grip me NEARLY as much as Odin Sphere did. I could not put this game down.

Whatever you decide to do, I urge you to stay as far away from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and Final Fantasy XII as you can. These two games are inconceivably terrible and may very well ruin jRPG's for you if you play them before any other titles.

Ignore this guy, or at least take his words with a grain of salt. These are just games he doesn't like because they didn't appeal to him specifically. Both games are pretty far removed from the norm. Hell, I don't like Star Ocean III myself, but you should find out for yourself whether or not it's the kind of game for you. And even then, I wouldn't say it's "inconceivably terrible".

Soul blazer and its sequel Illusions of Gaia.

I had no idea Soul Blazer even had sequels. Loved that game.

Much as I love Illusion of Gaia myself, the SECOND sequel (or to be precise, spiritual sucessor), Terranigma, was much, MUCH better. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Terranigma is the finest top-down 2D action RPG of all time, even better than any of the 2D Zelda games. Unfortunately, it was never released in America.

 

[Baldr4500]

The Shin Megami Tensei series are very good but you will need a backwards compatible PS3 or a PS2 to play them.

 

[wkrepelin]

SKIES OF ARCADIA.

bump

 

[Domou]

Lost Odyssey, The World Ends With You, SMT Persona 3 & 4 (Teddie. ), Disgaea(all of them are pretty hilarious and fun, especially if you love turn-based combat and stratageh. My favorite is Disgaea: Hour of Darkness), and...how can I say this really loud on the interwebs...ODIN SPHERE. It's a fantastic game. I am the only person I know who's played this game, and am now forcing it onto every human being I've spoken to. Wonderbar indeed.
Oh, and I can recommend Kingdom Hearts I and II, also.

 

[Diligent]

If you go back as far as SNES, there are some great ones.
Earthbound!!!
Final Fantasy VI (aka III)
CHRONO TRIGGER!!!

And as already said, the PS1 has some stellar ones too.
Recently I've been playing Persona 3, and it's pretty cool, but is becoming quite a bit too repetitive for me.

EDIT: How could I forget Skies of Arcadia. Go play it now.

 

[sudokucrazedman]

Tales of (Symphonia/The Abyss/Vesperia/etc)
FF4 DS was quite enjoyable
The Fire Emblem for the GCN and Wii were enjoyable
Skies of Arcadia Legends for the GCN is the best you can get if you can ever find the damn thing.

 

[Silva]

Since a lot of people have mentioned Golden Sun, I should point out for those who don't know, and for the OP, that a new Golden Sun is on its way, called Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It was spoken about at length at this year's E3, as one of Nintendo's feature releases, and I must say, it is sure to be a hit.

My other suggestion would be the Tales of franchise, most notably Tales of Symphonia. I'd suggest the PS2 version since it (sadly) has extras that the Cube one doesn't.

 

[Pecoros7]

While I have enjoyed almost all of the games suggested here, I would recommend renting or downloading demos of newer titles that you won't be able to get cheaply as small tweaks to the core turn-based gameplay styles that make most of these games classics can also be a huge problem for some players. I, for one, couldn't stand Lost Odyssey's level up system to the point that it was a complete deal-breaker for me.

 

[Garrsus]

ff7, kingdom hearts wont hurt and maybe some ff7 sequels if you like ff7! i know i did

yes i know ff7 is an incredibly old game for ps1 but it is on psn now!