Bwahahahahahah, so true.

^Well, the point of my comment was "for an action franchise"...and if I may add some detail to that , a straight "hack n' slash" game.

I'd buy it. If only for the twist where you actually lose... big time before you win, and with all the drama that was in it. Hard to say with games like that though since they do follow your pretty standard mold aside from that.

Reminds me of another square game that never got localized, that seems to follow the script of an RPG perfectly, but then you the hero... don't get the girl. In fact someone else does... after you spend like... years preparing to get her back and go through all sorts of trouble to do so. It's great cause it leads you to think the main characters are going to hook up, leading up to the rescue, then it doesn't happen and your in a weird place motivation wise, cause the other side is definitly still evil but your pissed off.

I mean, i've played games like Front Mission 3.  Where the geo-political goings on actually made sense in real world settings and not how most geo-political games don't because they just wouldn't work how they do in the game.  Which I guess would count. 

Ace combat belkan war.

In the game you had to fight a army who wanted a world without borders...It let me think...'I am the bad guy..Or are they bad'.

Ah yeah. Tactics Ogre.

That's the game I was thinking about. Your a people who are basically ethnic cleansed... you free a forced labor camp and none of them want to help you fight for liberation.

Your leader orders you to pretty much comit ethnic cleansing on your own people to rally those around you to your cause. I found it pretty hard hitting.

The really hard hitting part... killing the camp is the default option. Even if you don't you get another chance where you can team up with the guy who commited the crime down the line to help vs another invader.

The only way it could of been smarter really would be if you lost if you said no... or it was waaaay harder at least.

Of course that was the same thing with Ogre Battle. You had a reputation meter, so you had to "Play smart". Unlike other reputation meters where it was fairly easy to avoid being a huge dick in Ogre Battle you pretty much had to limit yourself at doing things like winning too many battles, as if you got too strong too fast you were seen as the bullys.

When it comes to story I find Star Ocean Till the End of Time and Folklore to have pretty smart stories.

 Yeah, I would never call the story of FFVI one of the best stories ever since it's more or less generic but when the writing makes you feel for every character in the game the way it does it definitaly deserves mention.

 lol at you and at that

As for me, I would say...

Metal Gear Solid on PS

Fahrenheit is a HUGE smart game. Did someone play it ? 

I woud also go for tactic ogre because you mentionned it

Chess... it's sure not a puzzle game.

But being more fair in my response (I'm assuming you see Myst, and the like as puzzle games):

1) Portal
2) System Shock 2
3) Ico
4) Shadow of Colossus

Honorable mention for Fahrenheit which was indeed smart before it kind of imploded with too many ideas and not enough focus later in the game.