Wow, wasn't expecting so many responses so soon, but I guess I should have figured based on the topic.

I've played Final Fantasy II (SNES). I just couldn't take the grinding. The part I don't like about those earlier Final Fantasies is the complete lack of direction besides the generic "To the west lies a great mystery" type of crap coming out of the NPCs.

I've got tons of experience with the western style of RPG. Someone mentioned Eye of the Beholder. I've played through the Gold Box D&D games, Fallouts, etc, so those are what I know.

I have Chrono Trigger and all of the Final Fantasies released for the GBA and DS, so I guess I can start with those.

I was actually planning on playing them on the real hardware vs emulation, but I'll make an exception for the handheld remakes as they'll do nicely.

Super Mario RPG is actually right at the top of my list. From what I gather, it's the best of Square with Nintendo trappings.