First Game is the Best

[Darashiva]

Dark Souls. The later games would improve on the gameplay, but the setting, atmosphere, and lore is the strongest in the first one.

Valkyria Chronicles. Again, the games that followed, especially Valkyria Chronicles 4, made improvements and added more variety to the gameplay, but the story and characters are the strongest in the original.

Grandia. The second game is very good too, but the first is still the best one. Great battle system, story, music, and characters that still hold up.