Disgaea 3! I know what some of you are thinking "oh the graphics are all crappy" "Oh it looks weird and lame". I thought those things and more for years. I didn't play a single disgaea game until just a little while ago when I picked up disgaea afternoon of darkness for the PSP. I was SO wrong about the series. It is in many ways on par with Final Fantasy Tactics, seriously. It has different strengths of course, Final Fantasy wins in the sweeping epic story angle though Disgaea is hilarious, its one of the first "Japanese humor" filled games where I've really thought the jokes were funny and not just kinda awkward.
It has a very deep and involved class and stats system, a really original item system (you can go inside items and fight though levels to unlock greater capabilities, you can move different item characeters from one item to another to provide bonuses, al kinds of things), intricate and difficult combat and more. It also has puzzle aspects to battles with the geo system (kinda have to see it in action to understand, but it adds a LOT to combat) and a lot more. If you really do like JRPGs (and have a PS3 or at least a PSP) pick up a disgaea game, they're 100x better then you'd expect. I only wish I hadn't waited 5 years to try one myself.
Of course Disgaea is only the 3rd best JRPG of the last few years, the 2nd best is Persona 3 and I'm assuming the best will be Persona 4 when it finally gets a stateside release.
Tales is only anything special because of how few next gen RPGs there are, it was just a middling release on the PS2 and would be a middling release now if the next gen consoles weren't so starved for RPGs that are any good. Ditto for tales of symphonia. They were pretty fun but in no way ground breaking. I wouldn't even put any of the tales games in the top 20 for PS2 generation RPGs. Come to think of it I don't think I'd put any Namco/bandai games in the top 20 for RPGs.
If a mid level RPG series from last gen ends up the best this gen has to offer that will be very, very sad. Though with the crap Square/Enix has been churning out since the merger that may end up the case.
Might as well put the top 20 in no order since I'm sure some people will say I'm just being anti xbox with the tales comment. Dark Cloud 1,2, Final Fantasy X, X-2, XII, Persona 3, Kingdom Hearts 1, 2, Dragon Warrior VIII, Star Ocean, Disgaea 1,2 Suikoden 3,4,5, Valkarie Profile 2, Xenosaga, Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga (3 games, other Atlus games in the persona vein but a parallel universe), Shadow Hearts Covenant (VERY VERY underestimated, easily in the top 3), Shadow hearts from the new world. Also notable are the Wild arms games and Rogues Gallery.
Tales comes in somewhere in the mid 20s around Magna Carta and a bunch of other "hey we are on the PS2 too!" games.
