Legend of Heroes, Trails to Azure, actually. The Trails series is very, very involved. Trails in the Sky Trilogy, set mostly in the nation of Liberl, two years later Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, set in the northwest of that, in the State of Crossbell, a sort of Client State set up as a buffer between the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic, and featuring a new main cast. Also, happening simultaneous to Zero and Azure, Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2, but these happen in Erebonia to Crossbell's west, specifically in the eastern half of Erebonia, with ANOTHER new cast. Then Cold Steel 3 and 4 happening... I think 2 or 3 years after THAT, but involving all of the previous plotlines, politics, cults, terrorist organizations, secret societies, and main characters of all the previous story arcs, while ALSO having the new story of ANOTHER NEW MAIN CAST.
It is a very, VERY worldbuilding intensive JRPG series, dealing heavily in both the internal and international politics of all these nations. Also deals with things very intelligently and even handedly. The stewing unrest in Erebonia, for example, between the Nobility and the Peasant Class explores both the virtues of self determination and the ability of a free market to allow the "common man" to rise in status and power through hard work and intellect, and also the virtue of a noble house that originally spent its wealth and blood to build that nation continuing onward in a role of a protector and governor of his lands by governing in accord with the interests of those formerly his vassals but who now think of themselves are free citizens, but still give their loyalty to their baron/duke/what have you because of his fair governance. Villains run the gamut from the aristocrat who believes that Nobility is inherent and the peasant scum must be kept in line to the Communist Agitator who wants to burn the mansions to the ground and unmake the "unfair system," but who has zero plans to replace it with anything. Hell, there's even a part where some commies are disguised as workers to gain access to something, and they've been in place there for months to sell the illusion, but all of the actual employees hate how lazy all the new kids are, that they never seem to want to actually put in any hard work.
I can't recommend the series highly enough, if you've got enough time to spare for really diving into a game and talking with every NPC and getting into a setting. Every NPC has their own life going on, you can follow their storylines across the spans of whole games, whole story arcs, and for two roaming idiots (Ricky and Anton!) across the series as a WHOLE, as the two travel from town to town, nation to nation trying to find... I'm not even sure anymore. I actually tend to take my vacation time so I can submerge myself in this alternate, less infuriating world for a week or so at a time, before resuming my real life where 5 days are nothing but work, sunday is nothing but God, and then my one floating day off is trying madly to catch up on all the shit I fell behind on during the week. Speaking of which, I need to go switch my laundry again.
Legend of Heroes, Trails to Azure, actually. The Trails series is very, very involved. Trails in the Sky Trilogy, set mostly in the nation of Liberl, two years later Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, set in the northwest of that, in the State of Crossbell, a sort of Client State set up as a buffer between the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic, and featuring a new main cast. Also, happening simultaneous to Zero and Azure, Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2, but these happen in Erebonia to Crossbell's west, specifically in the eastern half of Erebonia, with ANOTHER new cast. Then Cold Steel 3 and 4 happening... I think 2 or 3 years after THAT, but involving all of the previous plotlines, politics, cults, terrorist organizations, secret societies, and main characters of all the previous story arcs, while ALSO having the new story of ANOTHER NEW MAIN CAST.
It is a very, VERY worldbuilding intensive JRPG series, dealing heavily in both the internal and international politics of all these nations. Also deals with things very intelligently and even handedly. The stewing unrest in Erebonia, for example, between the Nobility and the Peasant Class explores both the virtues of self determination and the ability of a free market to allow the "common man" to rise in status and power through hard work and intellect, and also the virtue of a noble house that originally spent its wealth and blood to build that nation continuing onward in a role of a protector and governor of his lands by governing in accord with the interests of those formerly his vassals but who now think of themselves are free citizens, but still give their loyalty to their baron/duke/what have you because of his fair governance. Villains run the gamut from the aristocrat who believes that Nobility is inherent and the peasant scum must be kept in line to the Communist Agitator who wants to burn the mansions to the ground and unmake the "unfair system," but who has zero plans to replace it with anything. Hell, there's even a part where some commies are disguised as workers to gain access to something, and they've been in place there for months to sell the illusion, but all of the actual employees hate how lazy all the new kids are, that they never seem to want to actually put in any hard work.
I can't recommend the series highly enough, if you've got enough time to spare for really diving into a game and talking with every NPC and getting into a setting. Every NPC has their own life going on, you can follow their storylines across the spans of whole games, whole story arcs, and for two roaming idiots (Ricky and Anton!) across the series as a WHOLE, as the two travel from town to town, nation to nation trying to find... I'm not even sure anymore. I actually tend to take my vacation time so I can submerge myself in this alternate, less infuriating world for a week or so at a time, before resuming my real life where 5 days are nothing but work, sunday is nothing but God, and then my one floating day off is trying madly to catch up on all the shit I fell behind on during the week. Speaking of which, I need to go switch my laundry again.