@rosutoenjeru: Is there a Zelda or Skyrim game that allows a player to control the whole team? I'm not sure why they are mentioned.

BTW, I recently modified the subject header for more clarity.

@Enragedhydra: Did you finish the game FFI, or where did you stop?

@Enragedhydra: Um... I recently played Golden Sun and would somewhat disagree. Despite entertaining and thrilling story, the gameplay has old-school mechanics that would not appeal to casual gamers. I had to hold down one button to dash anywhere, especially in the overworld. Also, some bosses are tougher, and battles are random. If the genre beginner doesn't mind random encounters, which is what Octopath Traveler is doing, then that's great.

Question: do you have the "old" or "New" 3DS XL? I read that some games like Radiant Historia would not work well at "old" 3DS and is intended for "New 3DS" most likely due to hardware capabilities. There are games that do not belong to Mario or Pokemon, like you said, and that are available only on 3DS. An RPG game Shin Megami Tensei IV is available only on 3DS at the moment.

@RSM-HQ: Very nice suggestions. You can also throw in any party-based RPG that you think is not suitable for beginners or casual gamers. I, myself, played some or many RPGs, like Wild Arms 2 and 3, yet I only completed WA2, which IMHO hasn't aged well, especially in terms of old-school 3D graphics (i.e. polygons).

@Yams1980: Can those games allow a player to control the whole team or just one character? This thread is intended for team-based combat, like RSM-HQ said.

Wait... I'll change my question. Do those games you mentioned have recruitable team members for combat? I did throw in KH, where a player controls only one character in combat with two others being AI'ed.

I'm thinking that Chrono Trigger is a good start for beginners who have never played RPGs before. The gameplay is easy to understand and fun, enemies can be avoidable because areas make them visible, the story is intriguing, and a player can control characters in battles. I'm unsure whether it's suitable for casual gamers; the game is way text-heavy, and there are no voiceovers.

Alternatively, Kingdom Hearts 1 is another way to start getting into JRPGs for beginners and casual gamers. The game has heavy amount of many Disney references and Final Fantasy series, but it's good for those who have watched Disney movies. It's also a best starter to get into the KH series.

I don't recommend playing anything after Final Fantasy I as the subsequent installments up until X have tougher enemies. FF3 is very tough. Even FF6 gets tougher when the world is ruined; even FF4 has versions containing various difficulties and tougher enemies in the huge giant robot coming out of the gigantic tower. Not sure whether FF9 is easy for casual gamers and beginners, but I read that it has in-game references of the FF series, which would befuddle those unfamiliar with the series. FF10 is very linear and grindy; I had to give the PS2 copy away for that reason.

FF15 looks like a mixed bag (EDIT: though I've not yet played it), yet the opening says "Final Fantasy XV" for newcomers and veterans (or something like that). However, the storytelling (from what I read) may be convoluted or not well-explained at best.

I also would not recommend Star Ocean till the End of Time for casual gamers (or sensitive beginners). From what I've read, the PS4 port may have bugs and glitches. Also, a character would be annihilated when his/her HP or MP (yes, MP!!) goes to 0 unless the RPG beginner doesn't mind the challenge. I wouldn't recommend previous Star Ocean games (and their remakes) as their gameplay would require a lot of strategy.

Which party-based (EDIT: i.e. team based) RPGs do you think are good (or unsuitable) for RPG beginners and/or casual gamers?

What about sword-based RPGs, like Skyrim? Hmm... that's still killing a lot of enemies.

How about Mario platformers? Oh... wait, Mario can kill or stomp on Goombas and Koopa shells. Same for Kirby, which can swallow an enemy and then adapt abilities and discard them as stars... or just convert abilities into helper friends, like a snowman. Can you handle that?

How about Brain Age games, including one on 3DS? Or Wii Fit U? What about other puzzle games, like Picross 3D: Round 2, Professor Layton, Zero Escape games (including 9 Lives, 9 People, 9 Doors or something like that), etc.

There are simulators, like Cooking Mama, Nintendogs, Harvest Moon (which is later renamed), Animal Crossing, The Sims, etc.

Not all games are like what you described.

1. Final Fantasy X is dull and difficult. Tidus's running is subpar at best compared to Noctis's in FFXV.
2. Final Fantasy II (the real II, not to be confused with the other US "II" ;) ) is surprisingly sweet and decent, and its unique battle system is severely underrated.
3. SaGa Frontier 1 looks more charming and has better battle music tracks than Final Fantasy VII
4. The experience points system makes RPGs look dull and less innovative. I want something like FFII and SaGa games.
5. 3D-platformers and 360-degree platformers are not the same, and people should use "360-degree" instead of "3D"
6. I like cel-shaded 360-degree platformers. For example, The Simpsons Game... which isn't that great, unfortunately

Wild Arms 2 - Mechanics and graphics were okay-ish at first. I was able to complete it. However, with so many other games, I found the graphics poor aged at best. Also, the story is kinda... I don't know... Average? Also, it has random encounters, which became less than common over the years.

Xenosaga Ep.1 - The 3d graphics aged also badly. Well, it serves as an introductory game to the Xenosaga series, and the characters are interesting to get into. However, the battle mechanics are too grindy and would make a player spend hours to improve characters. Probably still good, but the series needs a remake and re-expansion.

Tom and Jerry (SNES) - A platformer game that was a typical 2d sidescroller like any other. After watching one of YouTube videos, I realized how bad it was.

Mickey's Ultimate Challenge - A poorly-executed puzzle game, and its Medium and Hard modes are awful, especially for children.