If you don't mind the unforgiving difficulty it's pretty good, but the story takes a lot of time to pick up pace.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is another good one.
There's a demo available on the eShop so that you can get a good idea if it's worth a shot.

I was going to suggest the Etrian series, but you don't like the first person perspective. There's still the Etrian Mystery Dungeon game, if you like roguelikes.

Otherwise, Tales of the Abyss is a decent entry in the series, even if the middle drags on too long. You should also try Crimson Shroud on the eShop, especially if you enjoy tabletop RPGs.

It's kind of like Pokemon in a way but with mythological figures. Try Devil Survivor first since it's possibly the most accessible game for newcomers. I hate first person view as well, but I didn't mind them with these games because of the difficulty and strategy needed.

Tales of the Abyss is good too

Im currently playing SMT4. Although it's quite enjoyable, do take note that it is hard specially for beginners.

If you prefer traditional JRPG, then Tales of the Abyss would suit you better.

All the SMT games on the 3DS are great, you get used to the first person battle view as the battles are usually intense enough you barely notice after a while. As others have mentioned the Devil Survivor games are the most accessible of that series and great RPGs overall.

If you don't like 1st person, then that does rule a lot of games out. There are several kinda-RPGs on 3DS like Lord of Magna and Code of Princess that aren't bad. Monster Hunter is also a kinda-RPG, but I would only recommend that to someone who has people to play with.

Conception II

Any SMT game.

Dang, I was going to make suggestions, but every single one I thought of has already been mentioned, haha. There are plenty of other RPGs on the 3DS to keep ya busy.