Once upon a time, in the era of the Playstation, Squaresoft made three great, although very different, games. I think I'm not alone in feeling none of their games before or since measured up to these three. (It's a cherished sentiment of my childhood.)
Xenogears. Vagrant Story. Final Fantasy VII.
FF-VI is often mentioned in this company as well.
As for FF-X, it's certainly a big improvement over VIII or even IX, but I don't think it's that great. Recommending the genre/series to someone who expects modern graphics, the Great Three are indeed problematic(*) - XII might be considered too.
(*) But if you're aware of the technical limitations of the PS platform, Vagrant Story truly shines in its accomplishment!
I never liked FF7 all that much, and Xenogears suffered from a translation that, while adequate and free from obvious errors, had a writing style I didn't care for.
I'll certainly endorse Vagrant Story as being very good, though.
Incidentally, my 3 most favorite JRPGs of all time are Final Fantasy 6, Lunar Eternal Blue (the original Sega CD version), and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness.
This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. I find that reading the sequences makes me less likely to enjoy some entertainment media that is otherwise quite popular, and finding media recommended by LWers is a good way to mitigate this. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.
Rules: