My personal favorite SRPGs and opinions:
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: An awesome strategy game, as well as awesome customizing type RPG (Best ever yet). As far as RPG mechanics go though, the level up system sucks; all characters get the same amount of exp, even lower level characters, so you can't not use characters; pretty much the only fault I found, that and the MP system is not intuitive.. but, overall awesome
Fire Emblem series: Fun strategy..., but the RPG element is downplayed by the fact that you can't grind if it's tough and your characters die permanently... very bad to combine permanent death and RPG, since you feel like youve lost all your work... doesn't help that enemies go after your weaker characters. I love and hate this game at the same time.
Disgaea: NOT a good Strategy game. In fact, I get the same feeling playing it as I would from an RPG. You can bash everything without intelligence or grind to become more powerful - not good strategy. The only strategy there is is in the geo symbols, which acts more like a puzzle aspect than a strategy game. Customization of team with different charactesr is fun though, my favorite aspect.So I would not define Disgaea as a strategy rpg per se. It's good, but my favorite genre is SRPGs and I don't get that good feeling when I play disgaea. At least the story is funny. I also love and hate this game at the same time.
Phantom Brave: My favorite NIS game. The endless skills and customization on top of an Super fun battle system... I can't explain how much joy I get from this. The only problem is that there may be too many skills, an overabundance makes it that you don't know what to choose :S
Valkyria Chronicles: Awesome design, just spectacularly fun strategy elements combined with 3rd person elements. Your characters can die in this, but the way they corrected the RPG element for this is that your characters dont individually level up: you level up entire classes so if a character dies you can replace with another character of the same class. Development is just way too awesome, coming as an underdog and commanding armies.. oh man, yes, this is just an all-around awesome SRPG.
Bahamut Lagoon(snes): Overlooked due to not having been released officially in NA. Possibly the best SRPG on Snes. Worth the mention.
Luminous Arc 1 & 2: A very standard SRPG. Playing this I got the feeling that it was pretty much The template for an SRPG. Not extremely good in any 1 department, but just generally a decent SRPG that feels like the 'standard' for anime SRPGs. Pretty fun.
Tactics Ogre (GBA): Pretty much one of the best SRPGs. It's standard in many ways, but does everything right. Really fun strategy and RPG. Highly recommended for any SRPG fan. Ogre battle 64 deserves a mention as well..
Dofus 2.0 : an SRPG MMO, free to play on the internet, surprizingly fun. Interesting character choices, fun gameplay, amusing to see other people's characters and strategies while playing with them..
Front Mission series: Something about mechs in strategy games that is fun. Super Robot Taisen series would be another good one.
Other decent SRPG mentions: Stella Deus (ps2), Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (DS), Jeanne D'Arc (PSP), Makai Kingdom, Soul Nomad, Yggdra Union, Shining force series (Genesis), Advance Wars (though not really RPG that much)
...forgetting some, but that's the notable ones I think
