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Past console RPGs I've beaten and enjoyed:

Dragon Quest VIII
Final Fantasy (I, III, VII,VIII,X)
Digital Devil Saga I&2
Various Zeldas (which to me barely qualify as an RPG)
KOTOR 1&2
Jade Empire
Oblivion
Lunar 1&2

Currently working on:
Suikoden IV (I love the naval battles, hate the way the main character looks)

Have and can't bring myself to touch again:
Magna Carta: Tears of Blood. I'm tired of trying to decide if I'm gay because I keep thinking I'm looking at a hot chick only to discover it's a guy. This was in the first 15 minutes of play.

In the wings:
Ys: The ark of nephilim - I've started it but put it aside because it got kind of repititive.
Xenosaga Episode 1 - If I like it I'll get 2 then 3
Suikoden V
Dark Cloud 2 - this one really intrigued me the more I read about it and I caved in and bout a $10 used copy.
Growlanser Generations.

So, beyond these do you guys have any suggestions? I prefer deep stories and interesting characters with lots of interaction and hopefully some character specific sidequests. Too many random battles wear thin with me unless the game is truly engaging. I barely finished the Digital Devil Saga games because of this.

Edit: I added KOTOR1&2 along with Jade Empire and Oblivion. Also I have a 360, a PS2, and a Gamecube to choose from. (Though the PS2 seems to have the best RPG selection by far.)

KotOR 1 & 2. One being the better game, but 2 is decent if you need a western RPG fix. Also Oblivion if you have 360.

chrono trigger/cross

EDIT: skies of arcadia if you have gamecube, although a lot of people don't like it

Chrono Trigger is definitely one of the best RPG's of all time, I second that.  Chrono Cross is good, but I vastly prefer CT.

Also, Jade Empire.  In some ways better and in some ways worse than KOTOR.

Shadow Hearts (1, 2, 3).  Just about to finish 1.  It's goooood.

Actually, I would strongly suggest you buy Final Fantasy Chronicles, it includes chrono trigger and final fantasy 4 (which I noticed you haven't played yet). FF4 IMO has the best gameplay out of the whole series, I think FF7 is a only slightly behind and overall FF7 is a better game because of how groundbreaking it was (all the sounds/cinema shit etc.). the ff4/CT combo includes two of the best RPGs of alltime on one disk, def the best bang for your buck.

EDIT(again): its also the easiest way to get chrono trigger, the SNES cartridge sells for $50+ on ebay last i checked

I can't beleive I forgot the Bioware games and Oblivion in my list. D'oh. Original post now edited.

I have looked at the Shadow Heart games, they look somewhat interesting though I'm wondering how much fun that Judgement Ring system really is.

I'll go look at Chrono Trigger on various review sites, thanks!

Chrono Trigger is like...legendary. Just go get it.


I really hope they put it out on GBA/DS at some point.

Riggs, you're playing a dangerous game asking this question somewhere where I can reply.

Speaking of Chrono Trigger, it didn't hold up for shit. I'll formulate a list later.

Something like FF3 hasn't held up any better - they're both mid-90s console RPGs. Doesn't make them not worth playing.

I edited my list to add Lunar 1&2 to my played games as well as Growlanser Generations ( Really need to finish this one but I keep getting sidetracked for some reason.)

My first console RPG was final fantasy on the old NES, my second was Lunar 1 on the Sega CD. I miss Working Designs...

@Strazos: I disagree with what you said. There's a reason they're bringing FFVI back onto the GBA.

Edit: Man, the voice tracks on the PS1 re-releases of Lunar are....bad.

One step at a time. Also, it couldn't be that bad if it warranted a re-release on the PS platform, and also a sequel of questionable quality (re: I never played it).

It's not as bad as you'd think. It doesn't feel repetitive and eventually just becomes part of combat. You can adjust the ring in the options so it has smaller slices (more dmg) or bigger ones (if you can't seem to hit them, but reduces dmg.) Overall the Shadowhearts series is really good. I liked it mainly because it didn't take itself too seriously. Every character is a stereotype and often they use that to make jokes during the game.

All I can think of really are old console RPGs for the most part.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Star Ocean 2, Tales of Symphonia, Skies of Arcadia.

Chrono Trigger is pretty overrated IMO. Still a great game, but not really in the calibur of FF6.

Alright. Here goes. ASSUMING you played Digital Devil Saga on my advice...

PS2:
Shadow Hearts 1 & 2 (and by proxy you might as well play 3 though it's the weakest - by far)
Atelier Iris 1 & 2
Front Mission Series (maybe? possibly?)
MS Saga - also known as the only decent Gundam game.
Steambot Chronicles (go go go, this is fantastic)
Disgaea
Makai Kingdom
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Impressive, but terribly punishing)

GC - If you don't have a Gamecube, it's not worth getting for the following though IT is good):
Baten Kaitos (2nd one coming out soon)

GBA/DS:
Summon Night (buy it BUY IT NOW) (I already can't wait for #2 and I'm only about 75% done with the first one)
FFTA (even though it's sorta shitty)
Mega Man Battle Network 5: Protoman & Colonel
Demikids: Dark Version

PSP:
Valkyrie Profile Lenneth (copy it to the memory stick if you have a 1.5, load times are killer)

OTHER (Good luck finding these, lol@missing a few generations):
Panzer Dragoon Saga (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280008493920&category=62053) (Saturn) (Maybe there's a Saturn Emulator out there?)
Saiyuki: Journey West (PS1)
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PS1)
Deception 3: Dark Delusion (PS1) (Also, the best game in the Deception/Trapt series)
Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth (PS1)

That should cover second and third votes and the stuff people missed. :P

Edit: Magna Carta is a giant piece of wretched shit. But the graphics are aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesome.

has anybody actually beaten FF tactics advanced? All of my friends got stuck in the exact same spot versus this unbeatable guy... I think I'm supposed to go grind up levels so i can beat him but that seems so pointless...

Most of the good ones I know were already mentioned.  So, here's a couple debatably good PS2 ones from the same company:
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Radiata Stories.

I thoroughly trounced the game, once I got around to beating it.

Windian, the fight you are referring to is a 1v1 battle involving just the main character and the "evil" elite guardian guy, correct? The best way to deal with him is simply play a delay game: do stuff that will hinder his ability to hit and kill you, such as lowering his accuracy. Don't bother running away, as the layout of the map and the guy's movement rate + attack range make that impossible.

Also, Luck helps. A lot. The game still sucked balls compared to the original. If they had simply put FFT on the DS/GBA, I would have been happy. Fuck those abilities-tied-to-items cockblock and Law systems.

ASIDE: WTF is with the lack of RPGs on the Xbox? This has always annoyed me.

There's an unbeatable guy?  I don't remember too many of the fights being that hard.  Then again I don't even remember the 1v1 fight Straz is talking about, and I'm guilty of level-grinding in both the FF-tactics games.  Must.. get.. every.. ability.. and.. job.. on Hero.

Yeah thats the fight i was talking about... I tried debuffing/poisoning him but the only time I got close to winning he got a crit the turn before I would have killed him :/

Apologies for the derail

FFTA was pretty much a walk in the park. It was also pretty bad, but it stands out as something worth playing since the vast majority of GBA games are worse.

By the end of the game, the hero is the only character you need. The whole thing is balanced for shit. I think it took 2 or 3 hits for my hero to kill anything in the entire last chapter. Meh. I like games where you play as ikids with big imaginations and aspirations though - as you'll see when I finish Swordcraft Story and post my review.

What? no Vandal Hearts 1 & 2 (PS)? Could interest me in a DS if the new one is done right. I'd like to get La Pucelle (PS2) at some point, because I missed that.

Thoose people must hate fun, Skies of Arcadia is awesome.

Awesome recommendations guys, especially from Schild. Looks like I have enough to keep me busy for the rest of the year with all of these. (though it sounds like some of these may be hard to find.)

I have to admit, I wish I knew Japanese so I could import some of their RPGs that never make it over here.

I'm not sure if it's on the 360 compatibility list, but Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth is teh awesome. It's not RPG in the sense that you get stats and skills and shit, but it's a damn fine game.

I liked Radiata Stories quite a bit, however Star Ocean 3 made me want to stab people.  I found SO3's story and art unappealing or uninteresting at best, and combat a complete chore.  The characters in SO3 made me want them to die in unpleasant ways, which wasn't conducive to completing the game.  Radiata had better art and characters, the story was better than a lot of JPRPGs, and there was actually a reason to play twice.  The grind was mostly optional, too.

well, I finished Soukideon IV and started V. So far, V is a better game in every sense of the word.

I'm also eyeing Enchant Arms for the 360. As well as Blue Dragon. (Which so far is looking a bit corny to my tastes.) I'm hoping Enchant Arms is a good game and sells well, so maybe more RPGs will show on the 360.

Enchant Arms is a terrible piece of shit actually. Unfortunately I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just buy it because I want a lot more RPGs to come out for the 360.

I played the demo to nintey nine nights, which is SORT OF rpgish, that seemed fun.

OK, it's stretching, it's not really RPG at all. :/  It was cool, though.

I couldn't do the Ring 10 to get Yuri's ultimate weapon ><  That's really the only time I felt true frustation with the system. 

It makes combat a little more interesting and you can take chances that can result in a better outcome or a complete miss.  I'm terrible with rhythm based actions but I was able to survive just fine.  I never got to be enough of a badass (and never will) that I could use an item like the Mind's Eye (makes your hit areas invisible but doubes your attack).

I read the Shadow Hearts 2 manual and found that they went with the "bad" ending of Shadow Hearts 1 as to what happened.  :cry:

I was ALL OVER Mind's Eye.  I had it on Yuri, Main Girl, and Street Urchin (I changed their names, can't remember the "real" ones).  I could even perform different actions, like the big heal, but the key is mostly using the tic-marks on the ring as your guide.  Yuri just attacks all the time, so you should at least be able to use it on him.  In fact I found Mind's Eye to be easier than trying to hit a perfect.

The thing that royally fucked my game, though, was changing sweep speeds.  Even using different speeds on different characters caused me to WHIFF a lot.  Monkey's Paw?  LOLZ!

The genius, of course, is that if I didn't feel like doing all that, I could get by with normal hits even in most boss fights.

Heh, perfects.  Being red/green color blind, I couldn't really see the shade of red they used.  On the raffles, I couldn't see it at all.  On ring exercises (ring 3s, ring 5s, tap-ring and land in area) I could barely see it at all and in some instances not. It was a lot easier to see on some of the perfects, but on some.. invis.   I really hope Shadow Hearts 2 uses a better shade.

Oddly enough monkey's paw was easy for me.

I probably should have used the mind's eye for at least Yuri, but like you said, it was never really needed.  Once you got Alice, Yuri + whomever (I used Keith, his judgement ring was HELL) with crucifixes (other stuff like Will Power, Leonardo's Bear, Pocket Watches), boss fights weren't really that bad.  It just takes longer if you play it safer.

You guys are reminding me how much I loved the Judgement Ring system.

Judgement Ring > All MMOG combat Ever.

Yep, that's a game-fucker right there.  You really might want to see about taking note of the tics on the ring edge and using that, after which you can equip Mind's Eye with no penalty.

I seem to remember that aqua is the base color in SH2, but I can't be relied on just now.  I am pretty sure the ring is more distinct in #2, however I don't know what it would look like to you in any case.  Good news is that there is a Super N00b Mode in SH2 so you actually don't have to fuck with the ring as much.  IIRC, Easy Mode gives you one hit area and you do slightly sub-par damage all the time.  #2 really does a lot of neat shit with the rings that you don't see in #1.

The ring is MUCH MORE distinct in 2. We're talking hard edges and more vibrant colors across the board.

Yes, so far is it MUCH easier to see.  Thank the risen Yuri.

This game so far is beautiful, polished and deep.  I am excited.

Does using the technical ring make a tremendous difference?  I hate having 2 attacks being negated because I missed the third target area.

Edit: combos frighten me.

I am waiting until I finish Atelier Iris 2 before restarting SH2, so not 100% sure.  When I originally started SH2, I remember the normal ring required slight adjustments to my SH1 skillset, and I never moved up to the Tech ring other than to try it.  After a few total misses, I dropped back down a bit.  Hitting consistently is better than inconsistently, of course.

Edit: Combos are interesting but of course require practice.  I think I should try to get good at them, since extra turns are very good.

Have you played the Japanese version or something? Can you tell me what you didn't like about it?

I was interested in this until I found out it didn't have coop. What I love about the Dynasty Warriors games (which this resembles) is the mindless fun with a friend you can have.

Most of it's heresay. Just people who played it and thought it was generic trash. No one had anything specifically bad to say about it because there's nothing special about it. I, however, am always willing to struggle through the first few JRPGs of each generation. It's sort of like a self-inflicted hazing ritual.

Sounds like we have that in common Schild. I constantly bitch about JRPGS, the monotonous random battles, the cutesy animal character that usually shows up, the stereotypes most of them have, the feminine male characters...

Then I go buy the damn things anyway.

Dark Cloud 2 is good fun (hey, you get to pilot your own steampunk "mech", what's not to like?). Still has the best fishing mechanic I've played in an RPG.

If you like the Action RPG genre there's the Kingdom Hearts series.

The Xenosaga series is a strange beast. The game plays more like a semi-interactive movie with oodles and oodles of cutscenes. If you are really into deep stories it might be worth slogging through.

If you like SRPGs there is, of course, Disgaea (like schild mentioned).

Front Mission 4, though it is an RPG (with mechs!), is really all about the tactical combat. If you don't enjoy long drawn out battles, don't bother with it -- the story isn't all that interesting.

The Shadow Hearts series is good as well, as other people have mentioned. The stories are darker and more mature than your typical JRPGs released in the West so they are a nice change of pace.

Star Ocean 3 is not good. Stay away from that.

Since you have a GC I recommend Tales of Symphonia as well. The real-time combat is fun and the characters are reasonably interesting (except for the main character, of course). The complexity of the story is along the lines of the more recent FFs (and rips off many elements from them).

Crack.  You smoke it.

Steambot Chronicles > Dark Cloud 2.

Skip Darkcloud 2 and if you must play a game by Level 5, wait for Rogue Galaxy this fall.

Dark Cloud 2 is a fairly good and deep game, but it drags on a bit long.  Like, here's 200 dungeon levels to trample through, and please repeat each level a dozen times to cash in on all offered incentives and to rebuild the cities 100%.  I gave it away knowing my life span likely would not be sufficient to complete 100% of what the game offered.  Well, at least you can find it a lot cheaper than Steambot Chronicles, which I've yet to play, but looks fairly orgasmic.  Rogue Galaxy desire has erected a small shrine in my frontal lobe.

I was gonna say that, but for god sakes turn the voice acting off! It is fucking terrible. The game is pretty though. And the card battle thing is tricky to get used to but fun once you do.

These Suikoden games are not good for me. I get obsessed with finding all 108 Stars of Destiny. In V I just screwed up and missed one and now I'm considering losing my 50 hours of gameplay to restart it so I get her this time around.

Damn.

I put it down for awhile and played some Dark Cloud 2. It's fun so far, though I suspect I'll get obsessed with the camera and trying to make inventions. I don't like how so far at least I just have to make random guesses (unless the invention is needed for the plot) about how to invent things with my "ideas".

I am going to look at some of these others. I have Zenosaga 1 but haven't been able to make myself play it. Something keeps holding me back.