World of JRPGs

Might be controversial, but I think Sea of Stars has done more for JRPG gameplay, quality of life and accessibility, art and music, and extra features like multiplayer and free DLC than anything in the last two decades. Chrono Trigger is considered the gold standard for good reason, but Sabotage studio has very deliberately built upon everything that came before in a really pleasing way. Without the benefit of nostalgia, I would have a hard time claiming CT is objectively the better game (unless all you care about is many different endings). The main characters are slightly two dimensional, but so was Crono; a JRPG protag is supposed to be a blank slate for your choices.