And if you have a Wii, make sure you don't get the game from Gamestop.

http://kotaku.com/extreme-gamestop-pricing-leaves-some-fans-calling-scam-1108627828

 

Nocturne is a great jRPG, though, it's not as nearly as story heavy as P3/P4 (which are more like visual novels with gameplay added in). Its story is rather odd, but that's SMT tradition. It's probably the most approachable one, besides the 3DS one, though I haven't played SMTIV yet.

And just to balance out this thread's story-heavy nature, you haven't played an open world, free-form game until you've played Liberal Crime Squad, from the makers of Dwarf Fortress.

http://www.bay12games.com/lcs/

 

Dragon Age and Mass Effect, incredible games, that are very nice to replay.
Red Dead, one of the best main characters of all times.
Witcher, amazing and comolicated story, with deep consequences for many of your choices. Also, very fun to replay.
Bard's Tale, the funniest game I've ever played. It's old and the mechanics are boring, but the characters and the narrator are amazing.
Brutal Legend, a very fun game, with a fun gameplay.

 

Beyond Good and Evil. It's not not a complex game, but it's wonderful, very story driven, and a fantastic world to run around in.

 

I recommend Dreamfall (2006) and, if you're up for it, The Longest Journey (1999). Here's a trailer for Dreamfall and some guy's review of TLJ, because the trailers sucked. They're adventure games that take place in the same world, though you don't need to play one to understand the other. TLJ is a traditional point-and-click while Dreamfall is in third person and incorporates some new mechanics, like a somewhat dodgy fight system.

Neither game is perfect, but they have a very striking tone and the worldbuilding is fantastic. Dreamfall has aged pretty well and while TLC looks choppy by today's standards, the design and - above all - story is still top notch. Lots of great dialogue. A third part in the series is due to come out in late 2014, or so they say.

 

If you want a story-driven game that is basically perfect, find an emulator and go Chrono Trigger.

And while you're there, play Final Fantasy VI. You're not allowed to like any other Final Fantasy if you haven't played VI at least once.

 

After finishing FFVII twice I could never see the point in going back to the SNES graphics and gameplay of FFVI. I tried. I stuck with Chrono Trigger for a day, but dropped it too. I guess I'm a bit of a graphics whore with RPGs. I don't mind LQ graphics for short games. 3-6 hours or so. But a full length game... yeah, but no.

I make an exception for old school Zelda, but that's because the gameplay is fun.

 

You're missing out on some of the greatest video games to ever exist.

And the sprites in FFVI are hand drawn art by Yoshitaka Amano.



And Chrono Trigger did multiple hidden endings before multiple endings were even a thing. Want a time travel game that accurately portrays your ability to change the past, present, and future, and possibly fuck things up royally? Spoiler alert: it already exists.

Here's how Chrono Trigger is awesome. About a third of the way through the game, you fight the final boss. He's not gimped or nerfed at all. You lose, and the repercussions of losing are a major plot point. But here's the trick; that fight isn't scripted. It's just way, way, way fucking above your level. If you New Game + your file, you start the game over at the level you beat it at. Which means when you show up at that particular plot point, you can hand the final boss his ass. You can legitimately kill the final boss right there, and the game will end, and there is an entirely different alternative ending in the game for doing this.

And that's just one ending of a little less than two dozen you can see. And one of them is a gag ending.

 

I'm not saying that they're not games worth playing, just that they can't hold my attention.