Chrono Trigger.

Shit, this. It's fun, it's straightforward, it's got excellent visuals in and out of combat, and it's got a great soundtrack. I know someone who didn't like RPGs at all and played Chrono Trigger top to bottom pretty much without putting it down.

I'd also recommend the Golden Sun games. I really enjoyed them, plus they have a lot more focus on advancing through the game then they do on grinding.

Earthbound is also a really good game. I haven't tried Mother 3, but Earthbound is an amazing game and really tailored for people who don't like grinding. It has touch battles, and you don't even have to fight weak enemies! Plus, it doesn't take itself seriously.


My first RPG was Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. I had the map up on my wall and everything. After that, everything just seemed better and better!

everyone dogs on this game but it really had a rockin' soundtrack

Everyone says that!

I really enjoyed it. I was really young when I played it (like, nine or ten) so the puzzles were challenging and fun. The battle system was kind of silly but I was mostly impressed by the puzzles and how you could avoid certain monsters and stuff. When you got the hook claw I was so juiced.

It was one of the first games I had played that had secrets and stuff in it so I was really impressed! It looked like an NES game but I still liked it a lot.

My first RPG was Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. I had the map up on my wall and everything. After that, everything just seemed better and better!

This is what I'd suggest.

It's relatively short, easy, fun, and uses some minor puzzle solving.  Definitely a good beginner's RPG.

Paper Mario is a good choice as well; though I seem to be in the minority in thinking that the first one is far superior (there were two or three chapters in the second one which I just found to be mind-numbingly boring, especially the forest one and the train one).  It's also pretty simple, and easy to figure out (other than maybe the entrance to the cloud level; I had so much trouble figuring that out when I was a kid).

Either of those would be a good way to go.

Jagged Alliance 2, amazing game I only play it to test out my tactics and going taking on a whole army of mercenaries with my night ops and stealth guy is really enjoyable.

What the hell.  No doubt this game is really good, but extremely complex and confusing to get into.

I'd say Zelda games would probably be a good starter for your friend.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot about Terranigma.

your friend should play ff7 it's what got me into games before I played that I was only a casual gamer.1st reason is because it's not too hard and 2nd you can win most battles by mashing attack.

your friend should play ff7 it's what got me into games before I played that I was only a casual gamer.1st reason is because it's not too hard and 2nd you can win most battles by mashing attack.

I tried playing FF7 like five times and I never really got into it. I'd say it's a pretty bad suggestion. The graphics are pretty much as bad as 3D graphics can be, which was fine at the time (sort of, I never thought so) but isn't really appealing these days. People can accept 2D graphics (I love 'em, myself) but when they hear "3D" they want something at least halfway decent looking.

Plus, it's very hit or miss. Like I said, I really never got into it for no real reason (that or 8). I just... didn't have a desire to play it after a short while.

As far as turn based games are concerned Id go with Suikoden.
Its pretty short (about 20 hours) and not too difficult. It has a lot of charm and a fairly involving while not too confusing story.