Semudara said:
I'm going with Quest 64, one of my all-time favorite games.
It seems like very few people have heard of it, and then four fifths of those who have are only familiar with the unjustified bashing it got when it came out (that's what it gets for having the expectation of being the N64's RPG savior placed upon it, I guess).
Well I hate to be one of those unjustified bashers, but I played several hours desperately trying to like it back in the day and thought it was total crap.
Anyway, a few of mine:
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. It's hard to describe what makes this game so magical. Is it the deep and personal quest? The fantastic and fulfilling conclusion? Brilliant music by Yasunori Mitsuda? Or maybe it's the massive variety the game displays in locals despite all taking place underground? Ooh, and then there's the deeply strategic combat system, survival mechanics which work well (once you get used to them), humorous side mission involving giant ants and the unrelenting yet very satisfying difficulty.
In short, I am a Dragon Quarter whore, apparently.
Recently I've been playing FFV Advance. I only suggest this because it was only available in the US in the Advance release, and despite being Final Fantasy it's more lighthearted and gameplay-focused. There's more of a classic questing feel here. I realize it's FF, but it was Japan-only FF until 2006, so I'm giving it a mention.
Xenogears does indeed have the BEST STORY EVER. Well, I can't be sure until I play Planescape (my gaming comp died and this crappy laptop probably can't even run games that old).
Finally, Valkyrie Profile 2 is a beautiful game everyone should experience, especially fans of high fantasy and Norse gods. Oh, and brief shout out to Persona 3 and 4 (P3 has the better story), although they aren't really underrated or unknown.
I'm currently on an RPG kick, so I'll be watching this topic with interest.