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I'm not playing any RPG right now, but I'd like to be, so I'm turning to you fine folks to help me narrow down my options. While I used to be absolutely obsessed with RPGs, in recent years I've found my feelings towards them have cooled somewhat, and I started to wonder if I might be losing interest in the genre. However, I played through both Dragon Quest XI and Live-a-Live over the summer and had an absolute blast, so I think the issue is really more that I'm tired of the bloat that seems to clutter up a lot of modern RPGs. I find that a lot of 60-100 hour games are really 30 hour games that are crammed with a lot of unnecessary cutscenes/dialog, overly-complicated combat mechanics, and filler plot beats. What I'm looking for is really something like a Dragon Quest, where the narrative is simple, the combat is fast, and the mechanics of character growth are engaging but uncomplicated. Bonus points if it's 30 hours or less.

A few other points:

I'd prefer something turn-based, but I won't turn up my nose at a really good action RPG either. Tactical RPGs are definitely good as well, although I'd prefer something more like Final Fantasy Tactics and less like Fire Emblem.

Similarly, I'm in the mood for a jRPG, but I do like solid western RPGs as well.

I'd like something with difficulty around the level of a Dragon Quest or retro Final Fantasy. I've been trying to get into Shin Megami Tensei IV, but I'm finding the way random encounters can really turn on you with one mistake to be beyond where my ability to concentrate is right now. I love the Shin Megami Tensei series and the Dark Souls series, but right now I want something a little more relaxing.

I have access to most retro and modern consoles. I'd love something handheld, but it's not a deal-breaker.

Before you recommend Dragon Quest, I've already beaten almost all of them. VII is the only one I haven't, and as I understand it, it's the most notoriously bloated of the series. I have most of the Dragon Quest Monsters games, but I'm not sure I'm exactly in the mood for a Pokemon-style game right now.

The recent Tactics Ogre Reborn is excellent; it has a fair amount of quality of life stuff that has been added to the base game. Final Fantasy Tactics was created by the guy who did Tactics Ogre when Square enticed him over to their side. It's available on the Switch.

On the DS you've got Radiant Historia. It's a JRPG based around time manipulation, but like Chrono Trigger this one is much more fine grained. Early in the story the timeline splits in two and you have the freedom to bounce between the two main timelines, as well as rolling back in those timelines in order to progress the story.

Grandia. The combat has lots of neat options but can also be played pretty breezy. And it’s not a 100 hr RPG.

I was also thinking a Tactics Ogre might not be a bad choice. La Pucelle Tactics also came to mind, along with the original Front Mission.

Tactics Ogre would definitely be a good choice, but I played through the PSP remake a number of years ago. I'm probably not quite ready to run through it again, although I am curious to know about the specific changes to the Switch port. The PSP version made some extremely welcome quality of life improvements from the original game, but it also made a few baffling decisions that I felt like really bogged things down, especially for completionists.

I had actually just popped Radian Historia into my 3DS, thinking that I might give that one a try. I had played through a chunk of it years ago and enjoyed it until I got to a point where I couldn't figure out how to advance the timelines. So I'll probably go with that one (although I did just grab 13 Sentinels for my Switch, so I may do that first).

Thanks for the suggestions, gang! Let me know if anyone thinks of anything else.

I'm currently going through Mary Skelter: Nightmares on PC (a first person dungeon crawler). I've got 2 and 3 for the Switch on the way so I need to get through the first game before I tackle those.

Running a few PS2 RPGs on my Retroid Pocket 3+ and they run decently. Mana Khemia, Atelier Iris and .hack//INFECTION run pretty well, though Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Story tragically ran like shit. And if it's an issue with the emulator, AetherSX2 was abandoned by its developer due to harassment and they haven't released it as open source.

I second Grandia, both that and the sequel have a unique, fun, and engaging battle system.
I just played through Lufia recently it was about 30 hours, I would recommend that and Lufia 2 as fun traditional RPGs.
I personally love Lunar, it was the first RPG I ever beat, I am playing Lunar 2 on the SCD right now and loving it.
Last summer I played through SoulBlazer and it was one of the best Action RPGs I have played. Not as in-depth and deep as LTTP but it was really fun and I recommend that. Popful Mail was more action than RPG, but I played that this summer and plan on playing Alundra this summer.

Finished up the Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) this afternoon/evening, and now I'm gonna go focus more on Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

Been derping around with the original versions of Ys I & II and I gotta say..... PC-88 sound chip was quite impressive!!

If you're used to modernized versions of Ys you'll be surprised by how truncated these feel. Short and sweet.

btw for those who want to dive into retro Japanese computers, I highly recommend getting on "Project EGG" for official emulation. Dunno why I waited this long.