Oh this is a toughie.
I don't know if I can make a particular order, but....
1. FFIX - similar to others in the thread, it was my first FF, and I was blown away - I came to enjoy 7 afterwards (hated 8), but 9 will always have a special place in my heart, warts (including the shitty strategy guide and slow as shit battle speeds) and all.
2. Persona 4/Golden - I honestly think, upon reflection, that P4's story and mechanics works better with the close group of friends and bonds, rather than P5's co-thieves - P5's got a strong evolution on the mechanics end, but I think P4 ekes it out for me, even with the random dungeons.
3. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - it does such, such a good job of making the open world not feel like a chore the way ubisoft games do, simply by giving the quests relationship to the world, and having Geralt always react, yet giving you as the player some amount of choice in it all. Some of that is due to payoff from the first two games, but it still stands really strong on its own.
4. Kotor/Kotor II: I think these need to go together simply for how they play off of each other - two different studios' takes on the force, the Star Wars mythos, and how the two compliment each other. I get that some people scoff at the 'deconstruction' of the force as being hipster or w/e, but it works, damnit.
5. Fallout New Vegas - Its quests blow FO3 out of the water, and if you're in Fallout for roleplaying, rather than just the amusement park 'spectacle' of each location, you're in for a damn treat.
Honorable Mentions:
- Mass Effect (all of 'em, even 3, though you need Leviathan and Citadel)
- Chrono Trigger (I suspect this not being higher is due to me missing it as a kid)
- FFVI (similar situation to Chrono)
- Paper Mario: TTYD - such a great leap up from the still-good original. I wish Ninty hadn't tainted it with the sequels.
- Pokemon series - too many to pick just one.
- Dark Souls - despite everything, I still think of it more as an 'action RPG', than an RPG with action.
- Golden Sun and TLA - supreme RPGs on the GBA - why'd the sequel have to ruin it
- FF Tactics: This one came close to #5, but Wiegraf lightning stab'd it down
- KH 1/2: Not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked 'em, even if they were pretty easy.
- Disgaea series: If you ever wanna lose 100+ hours on an RPG and don't mind the grind, this series is for you (but that grind can be rooouuuuugh at times)
- Tales of Vesperia: This Tales meshes the best of the battle system and an overall likeable set of characters for me. Symphonia was a fun intro on the cube, and Berseria is pretty good, but Vesperia still wins out.
- Alpha Protocol: If you can get past the shit aiming mechanics (or just focus on stealth melee/pistols instead) you're up for an actually iterative method of utilizing the dialogue wheel to shape your character.
- Megaman Battle Network: Stop at 3, but 1-3 make for some great grid-based action with an overarching story and characters.
- WoW: Like as not, this game was a huge part of my time in Wotlk and Cata - it's getting older in the tooth now, but it still deserves its props.
