trails in the sky! trails in the sky! a fun, kingdom-sprawling, feet-on-the-ground explorative and npc dialogue/story-focused jrpg with a nice light romance plot, and plenty of problematic 2000s jrpg tropes (oh well)

For better or worse, I've played (Though not completed) all the trails games, and Sky 1 is still the best.

What I like the most about trails in the sky is its slow pacing - the way you get to know each town, read the newspapers, setting up many of the emotional plot beats for Sky 2. Joshua and Estelle are journeying on foot to get better acquainted with their little country of Liberl, and it really makes sense and feels good to walk from place to place, no fast travel or flying around.

If you like more lighthearted JRPGs I'd check Trails in the Sky out. (If the first hour doesn't hook you I'd drop the entire series)