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[Julthor]

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[ᛏᚱᚬᚢᛊᛏ]

Breath of Fire 3, it's on PS1.

[Erpy]

Lunar and Grandia both have some similarities to Trails. However neither was released on the PC.

[Sunder]

- Suikoden and Suikoden 2 for the PS1. Suikoden 3 for the PS2.
- Shadowhearts and Shadowhearts: Covenant for the PS2. (Koudelka is a prequel, but it is more of a horror/survival/strategy/rpg. Shadowhearts is more of a classic JRPG with an interesting battle mechanic.)
- Wild Arms 1,2 for PS1, Wild Arms 3,4 for PS2. I heard 5 is pretty good as well, but I haven't played it. (Western/Mecha JRPG).
- All of the Ys games that can be bought on Steam (they go on sale fairly often especially on Steam sale events). They aren't necessary JRPG, more action RPG but lots of fun with great music.
- Vagrant Story is pretty good, but it's more of an SRPG, as is Final Fantasy Tactics (both for PS1). The FFTs for the DS are a good time waster as well.
- Valdis Story, which is a metroidvania game on Steam. (Indie game.)
- Dust, which is also a metroidvania game on Steam. (Indie game.)
- Any of the recent Castlevanias (metroidvanias) on the DS.
- Most of the Fire Emblem games are pretty good, though really hard. The newest one is Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS.
- The World Ends With You for the 2DS is probably my favourite action JRPG for that platform.
- Final Fantasy 4, 6, and 9 are definately worth playing. You could get the first two for SNES, remakes on the DS and I think they can be bougth in the Wii store. 9 is a PS1 games.
- Valkyrie Profile for the PS1, Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria for the PS2, are side-scrolling, dungeon crawling, JRPGs about a Valkyrie (Goddess of death) and their Eiheriar (warriors of the dead). Covenant of the Plume is okay, but deviates too much from the style of the other VP games, it's kind of like an SRPG.
- The Arc the Lad games for the SNES and PS1 are a little like Trails, as in they are JRPGs with continuous plot.
- Super Mario RPG for the SNES is a good beginner JRPG.
- Robotrek is a very cute and light-hearted JRPG for the SNES.
- Breath of Fire 2-3 for the SNES are very classical JRPG. I liked 4 for the PS1 as well, though my favourite of the series (Dragon Quarter) is for the PS2 and is more survival/tactical then classic JRPG.
- Grandia for the PS1 is another light-hearted story with likeable characters like Trails. Grandia 2 for the PS2 is a little more sombre, but still great characters and a nice plot.
- The Luminous Arc games for the DS are fun SRPGs.
- Disgaea. All the Disgaeas (PS2).

And of course, there's Chrono Trigger which has been reported to many systems...SNES, PS1, DS...it is the classic definition of JRPG and beloved by any who like the genre, so it's a good one to give a go when you can.

I mean, there are tons more, but I think this list is already pretty grandiose...

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

What is it that you like about Trails?

Is it the semi-tactical battle system, the massively detailed script, the steampunk fantasy setting, the bird's eye 3D view...?

[Rand]

As a lifelong JRPG vet I'd say the Suikoden series, on PS1 and PS2, are closest in nature. Some key differences in that the game progression is a lot around building an army and recruiting 101 characters, plus the lead character is a silent protagonist. But other than that the story of each installment has the same scope, set in a single country (or two) and revolving around local politics & war. Apart from being a chattermouth Estelle could pass as a female lead Suikoden character: similar style, blunt weapon, offspring of/raised by a war hero. Just do a google image search of Suikoden 1 or 2 and you'll see what I mean.

Anyways going game by game:

Suikoden I (PS1): good game, but a little dated as they weren't quite putting as much character & story elements in JRPG's just yet
Suikoden II (PS1): Series hit it's stride here, one of the top JRPG's of all time. Probably the most similar game you'll find to Trails.
Suikoden III (PS2): Excellent game, though a little controversial among fans as there was a number of gameplay changes
Suikoden IV (PS2): unfortunately a cheap piece of ****. Konami tried to incorprate modern 3d graphics and voice acting, and the cost must have made them make cuts all over the rest of the game
Suikoden V (PS2): went back to the basics, not as good as II or III but still a very good game

Yeah those are PS1 and PS2 games and they've become damn expensive collectors items (which I have all of them!), but hey you're on PC so you can find a way.

[ladynadiad]

Really just sounds like you should avoid FF games and you'd be set.

Some notable games though that people didn't mention yet though that you may like are the Persona games and Tales of games. I also really loved the Arc the Lad games and they have a lot in common with Trails despite not being the same dev. And if you happen to have an Xbox 360, pick up Lost Odyssey, that game was just amazing.

Also am rather surprised no one mentioned the Xenosaga series yet, so will also add that.

If you aren't bothered by random typos and bad grammar, may want to check out the Gagharv trilogy on PSP. That's Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion, Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch and Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean. A lot of what Trails became is based off of things from that series and if you can get past to not so hot localization job so you'll find a lot of the same charm you have here. My personal favorite was A Tear of Vermillion.

Also, since it seems you are into characters and dialog, have you looked at playing more of the visual novel types of games? Winter Wolves and Hanako have some good ones on Steam. My personal favorites are Always Remember Me and Magical Diary. Not on Steam are some really nice ones as well and tend to have a lot more investigative mechanics to them. You might enjoy Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors and Virtue's Last Reward. Or if you want more silly, the Ace Attorney series is quite fun. Ghost Trick was also quite good. You might enjoy such games because the focus is more on characters and dialog alongside a mystery to solve. It's no wonder a lot of JRPG fans also tend to enjoy these sorts of games as well.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

If you're looking for a VN with good writing, try Dysfunctional Systems. Episode 1: Learning to Manage Chaos is currently on Steam.

[Mandrake42]

If you love the characters and dialogues you should try Tales of Graces F or Tales of Xillia on PS3. The combat is a lot more action oriented than Trails but you mostly play a Tales game for the character interactions which are a lot of fun and often hilarious. For JRPG stuff on PC? Pickings are slim unfortunately.

Edit: Though buying Trails helps as it means Xseed might translate more games :)

[kikixeni]

Tales of Symphonia. I personally think it's the best Tales of game in terms of writing and characters, and would say it's comparable to Trails in that respect. Some of the characters have quite a bit in common with Trails characters. It also has the typical goodies- wide world to explore, nice music, nice atmospheres. Gameplay it's pretty different, but good.

[Abiz]

Arc the lad 1 and 2 might be up your alley. A lot of interesting characters and a good plot.

[CherryVampG]

Here's few, that wsn't meationed and few that were already meationed above,

***Xenogears for PS1- (Ignore Xenosaga 1-3 PS2) Amazing story, Cool designs, Great character developments. Has Interesting Battle system styles as well.

***Star Ocean 1 for SNES, PSP and Star Ocean 2 for PS1,- One of also another highly praised JRPG game, Has dual protagonist stories to tell in their own viewpoints, great character developments... there is also feature called "Private Action which allow you interact with your party members, every choices you make will affect characters relationships.

**Arc the Lad Collection for PS1, Arc the Lad: Twilight of Spirits for PS2, (Arc the Lad: Twilight of Spirits)- has well-told story with solid voice acting and interesting plot. I do really like the battle system in this game, similar FFT battle system but better, I did enjoyed that game a lot more than I did with Arc the Lad 1.

**Valkyrie Profile 1-2 for PS1, PS2, PSP-

***Pier Solar and the Great Architects was made for Genesis only but now you are in luck, this game will be on multiple platforms and Steam have the Demo to try too! This is pretty cool game.

***Mother 0-3 (AKA Earthbound series) SNES, GBA. Another classic one.

**Legend of Legaia 1, 2 for PS1, PS2

***Breath of Fire 1-4 for SNES, PS1 (Avoid Breath Fire 5 PS2*)

***Golden Sun series for GBA, DS- How can I forgot about this one?

**Aterlier Iris 1-3 for PS2- Alchemy system is the main focus not story in this game.

*Hexzy Force for PSP Turn based JRPG Two character stories in one, Like Star Ocean Second Story, possibly not that good as Star Ocean is.

And Many MORE!! There is a lot JRPG in SNES/PS1 Eras! SO MANY!!

[Matots]

I cant really think of any other classical Rpg's that haven't already been named (FFIX FTW).

If you're searching for RPGS in STEAM, keep in mind the trend of porting JRPGS to PC is still taking babysteps... however, here are the ones I've downloaded, liked, and that maybe could fit your needs:

*Do, however, play the afore mentioned titles in other messages. Snes and PSOne emulators are really good, and you shouldn't have much concernes when running 2.5d games. You should start with those since they are less pc-stressing and less dependent on good hardware to run.

NOW, to the list:

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Here's the deal: Do you like balanced turn-based combat? Funny yet intelligent jokes? Well written lovable characters - even though they are the bad guys? Yeah, this pretty much has it all. Besides, it is a completely different game (quite literally, gameplay-wise) in episodes 3 and 4. If you buy all of them (4 in total), you end up with a 20-25$ish costing game, and each episode nets you about 10hrs of fun. No replayability, but thats about the only drawback for me. Do check this one, in particular, out.

Agarest Generations of War// Zero - An O.K experience overall. Don't expect ANYTHING ELSE besides tactical-ish combat and textbook anime-style interations between characters. The combat is fun, but gets mashingly repetitive over time. 15$

You can basically ignore the rest of the list as they're basically not JRPG's if you want to.

Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok - a FREEEEEEE old-school adventure-RPG with very well written characters, a good nostalgic feel, but lacking in depth since it focuses more on being funny rather then serious. It's worth a try, since it's really free.

Baldurs Gate: Enhanced edition: your traditional tabletop Dungeons&Dragons experience. Has clunky commands, interface and rules(god forbid the THAC0 system) compared to newer realises, but a wonderfully deep and envolving story. Definetly worth a try you get into RPG's 15$.

Dragon Age Origins: An overall great game. It's very choice related, and they can actually impact gameplay. Well made deep combat (can be both tactical or..."on-demand turn based") and very good story. Cheaper on Origin (about half the price). 15$

[Cyniqual]

Originally posted by Rand:

Suikoden II (PS1): Series hit it's stride here, one of the top JRPG's of all time. Probably the most similar game you'll find to Trails.

I just started playing Suikoden II for the first time in search for another nice JRPG and I have to say I don't think its similar to Trails at all (other than being a JRPG) and I suspect your oppinion is biased by nostalgica.
The dialogue in Suikoden II is ridiculous compared to Trails, mostly consisting of 1 sentence or less and more often than not pretty generic. The translation isn't really well done neither. I really liked reading the text in Trails and found it entertaining and funny which isn't the case in Suikoden, which focuses much more on the Fighting, Collecting and Leveling aspect of the game. It's not a bad game I suspect and it still keeps me interested at this point, but I wouldn't say its similar to Trails at all.
Even though the OP seems to dislike Final Fantasy (one of my favourites btw), I would say that FF1-7 are at least a bit closer because it's very story focused - not as verbose as Trails of the Sky neither however.

[Vashe]

How... How can you NOT like FF7 ? I love Sora no kiseki series but FF7 is FF7... The story and background are really well made.. What did you not like in FF7 ? Old graphics ? Did you play long enough (at least after you leave Midgar...)

If you don't dislike "old" graphics, just look at the SNES. There's litterally a TON of good JRPG
(FF4-5-6, Chrono trigger, Rudra no hinou, Lufia 1&2, Tales of phantasia...)

There are even more on PS1 (FF7-8-9) (ff9 is really good too), Grandia 1, Legend of dragoon, Chrono Cross, Tales of destiny, Tales of Eternia,...)

I personnally don't really like Suikoden that much, there are TOO MANY characters and you forget them eventually...

ps : Grandia 2 pc version DOES exist. Breath of fire 4 got a pc release too. (but obviously, not steam)

On steam, don't forget "The last Remnant"... I love that combat system.

[Purple Tentacle]

Alot of good JRPG's being mentioned in this thread but I would say Grandia and Breath of Fire 3 are the games I find most similar to this one.