Graces is pretty poor unless you want a game with no flavor. The story was completely soulless and boring compared to other installments in the Tales history.
I'd probably enjoy all the cliche crap in it if I was like 12 years old, awful game.
My favorite RPG series is Star Ocean, generally because it is what introduced me into the JRPG genre. SO2 was probably the most fun I've had in a RPG, I could play the game for hours.
A lot of people dislike SO4, and for what it is, it does come off as half-assed. Tri-Ace have been slowly heading towards the gutter after the PS2 era, but I still enjoy their next gen games like; Resonance of Fate and Infinite Discovery. If only they would release a new Valkyrie Profile, I would be so hype.
Also, one of my favorite RPGs that is not widely known at all is the MagnaCarta2. I think the story and characters make the game a great endeavor to complete. Gameplay admittedly sucks, but it does get more entertaining and better as the game progresses. I'm still in the process, and almost completed, a 1000G completion of the game =) If you own a Xbox 360, I'd advise you pick it up (It still might be cheap, I don't know).
Lastly, NIS America need to burn with all these awful Japanese imported games like Hyperdimension Neptunia, the game is so stale I can't even being to imagine what the 2 sequels are like. The only good to come out of NIS is Disgaea, which is really enjoyable. The story and characters are complete ass as well as the graphics, but I can still enjoy grinding to ridiculous levels then wondering where the whole day is gone.