Here are the requirements:

1. The game must be a turn-based JRPG; none of that action stuff that people like to stick the term RPG on.
2. The game must be 2D and must not have been released on optical media, and it must have been released before 3D and optical media became commonplace for JRPGs.
3. The game should be one I have never heard of.

Any suggestions?

(Note: The game doesn't have to actually be good, but if it isn't, it should at least be interesting.)

How does that work?

You have heard of the crescent hawk inception.

SNES Robotrek? I hold really good memories of this game... :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XbsGeul6fM

Super Mario RPG, EarthBound Beginnings/Mother 1 and Earthbound/Mother 2 are the ones that come to mind, beyond the obvious candidates that you probably already know (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior, Tales of Phantasia).

Tales of Phantasia is a funny thing in that it did come out on optical media, but only in Japanese for the PS1 and PSP. Ergo, if you don't want to play the SNES version or the atrociously bad GBA version and don't speak Japanese, you'll have to use an emulator, a modded PS1 or a modded PSP to play it with the translation patch.

Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age deserve special mention, although they both appeared after 2000. Didn't you know? He's opened his miiiiiiiind....

Phantasy Star 4 (I loved this game)
Lufia series.

Hmmm other uncommon games... Damn, I remember going through a lot of games a while back before I was really really poor and didn't have time, so I can't recall most of the other games...

Try Final Fantasy 7, you're gonna love it!

...but how are we to know what you've never heard of?

dragon slayer i said slayer not quest
xanadu
romancia
drasle family
sorcercian
legend of heroes
lord monarch
legend of xanadu

dragon lair
dunjonquest ( that would be temple of apshai but all jrpg's are descendants of dragon quest which is a mongrel combining ultima and wizardry anyway )

dragon lair

46 okunenn monotagari

7th dragon
brandish
cave noire
dark half
destiny of an emepror
dinosaur
dreammaster
goemon gaiden
psychic war
segagaga
the saga series ( lots of grinding and its ridicilous hard just how you like em )
tao
treasure hunter G
kings field

that should be enough for a while
the first 7 games are one series
and some of them predate dragon quest he assumes we know cause..well just cause

The only mind I'm capable of reading around here is tinyE's. And that's because there's nothing to read.

other then an obsession with huniepop ?

https://67.media.tumblr.com/c80747613b988c00344b6e09c0abcf0f/tumblr_ns79is7NVn1uylbt1o1_250.gif

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/dcanimated/images/8/8d/Can't_read.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080713175342

http://www.superdickery.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/comic-book-covers_0005.jpg

monolouging !

somehow very apt for jrpg's they tend to waffle on as well