Are they very good? I'm mainly looking at the Disgaea game and the upcoming The Witch and the Hundred Knights. Disgaea (at least D2) looks to me like a deeper, chibi Fire Emblem-like. Is that accurate? I haven't really had all that much experience with JRPGs except Final Fantasy (of which I only enjoyed X), Persona/SMT (all of which I love), and the Tales of games (which I found generally enjoyable). Unfortunately, I don't really know how to point out which aspects of those games I enjoyed and which frustrated/annoyed me.

I am a huge fan of NIS/NIS America, Atlus, and a few Enix titles. I have greatly enjoyed the NIS games I own and if you like classic cell shade animation I recommend their work. I own Disgaea 3 on Vita and have enjoyed what little I've played of it. I recommend the Atelier (especially Atelier Iris) games, the Ar Tonelico series, Disgaea, Trinity Universe, Phantom Brave, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, etc.

Also, it's always nice to see another MegaTen fan (I am a huge fan of Megami Tensei 1 & 2, and Shin Megami Tensei 1-4), I think the only one I'm not overly fussy on is Persona 3, not that it's bad game but just I liked 1, 2 (both parts), and 4 better. I am rather interested in Persona 5 and hope it's as promising as what I've heard.

That all being said, I hope these suggestions are of use to you, and I hope you find as much enjoyment of NIS titles as I have. :)

Thanks. Would you happen to have any experience with the Hyperdimension Neptunia games? I wasn't interested in them at first, but they seem quite odd and interesting.

I have very little experience with Neptunia games sadly, I have more or less played a game that has nods to Neptunia for the Vita, but I have been meaning to get the Hyperdimension Neptunia series. They have gotten lousy reviews sadly, but it may be one of those instances where it's an acquired taste. I say this because there are a few games that got bad reviews that I absolutely love. I absolutely LOVE the Atelier Iris trilogy and the first Ar Tonelico. I think Ar Tonelico, because of one of the Reyvateils (Aurica) has a similar personality to a good friend of mine (and someone I was very close to), has a special place on my shelf and in my machine. On top of that I loved the concept, the battle system and the art design. :D

Personally I'm more partial to the Atelier Arland trilogy, but you can't go wrong with Iris either. The first Ar tonelico is also my favorite, though I can't say why. Objectively I'd say that the second is definitely the better game, but for some reason I just love the first one. Perhaps it is just because it was my first introduction to the world, I dunno.

Yeah Arland brought a lot to the table, but Iris was my first introduction to that world and I always loved Atelier Iris 2 best. As for Ar Tonelico, I love all of them but like you the first is my favourite. I think it's more or less not only because of it's first introduction to the world but also because it was new an exciting. Not that 2 was less impressive, but I just loved the first game's story so much. I need to buy copies of the rest of Ar Tonelico, I only own the first and had borrowed the others from a friend. I think that will be on my list at FanExpo this year.

well, let's see.

NIS' games aren't anything like Fire Emblem beyond being turnbased srpgs. Like for example in most of the games classes really only matter for stats and how efficiently they use the stats of equipment and level up weapon skills.

The main draw of NIS' games for many people is the extremely high level/stat/damage caps, with a max level of 9999 and damage in the millions/billions. Though, that's in postgame after lots of number crunching, finding and levelling high end equipment, and grinding in randomly generated maps to take down postgame enemies with levels in the thousands. Main game stuff can be beaten without any grinding, and even most of the post game bosses can be taken down relatively early in terms of early in terms of time/effort grinding if you're smart about how you grind.

And the stories in most of them are fairly lighthearted or quirky with a lot of jokes about anime/hero shows/video games.

there's:

Rhapsody/Puppet Princess - first game in the Marl kingdom trilogy (had a couple japan only sequels, Little Princess and Angel Present). Pretty basic and easy srpg aimed at beginners and best known for being a cheesy musical.

La Pucelle - tangentially related to the Marl series (same world, but on a different continent and not really related beyond one of the characters IIRC). Still kind of rough, besides being able to recruit monsters and a system where there's ley lines on the battlefield and you can get bonuses and damage enemies by redirecting them into circles and then purifying them. Does have some things not seen in the other games though, like alternate chapter endings and the connected maps. Level cap is 9999 though there's not much point in leveling that high or going through the randomly generated netherworld maps (particularly since there's no ng+ like later titles)

Disgaea - put the company on the map for most people. Introduced Dark Assembly to create classes and pass bills that affect gameplay (like enemy levels or unlocking postgame maps). Geo panel system is similar to the ley line system, but affects gameplay more and is easier to manipulate. Introduces the item world, which increases the stats of equipment for each randomly generated floor cleared.

Phantom Brave - completely different, since it uses a gridless movement system (and movement isn't very accurate even before it applies slipperiness and bounciness caused by terrain) and a confinement system for units. Only the main character can stay on the map, because she's the only one alive and like the title suggests the other characters are ghosts. To use them you have to summon and confine them in objects lying around on the battlefield (which affects their stats), and they only have a limited number of turns before they are removed from the battle again and cannot be resummoned. Some units also have special functions if you talk to them on the island base too.

Makai Kingdom - similar to Phantom Brave, but without the turn limit or terrain effects (I think). Instead the main character is completely immobile and serves as sort of a base to summon units out of (and everything on the map takes damage if you don't protect him). Also there's bases and vehicles you can deploy to the field. A bit of a filler game, since most of the maps have some sort of randomly generated element to them (with extensions that show up if you destroy or throw a target item off the battlefield).

Soul Nomad -more like ogre battle games I think (though I haven't played it). Probably the darkest NIS game, particularly the ng+ demon route.

Disgaea 2 - pretty much the same thing as Disgaea 1, but with some small quality of life improvements and some "felony" system that I never bothered with. And Land of Carnage mode, basically alternate versions of maps with some black hole sun that enforces different rules.

Disgaea 3-4 - 3 and 4 are way different than 1 and 2. They massively shook up the formula, with a lot of new subsystems that get mixed reception. Like instead of weapons/skills gaining exp as you use them, you buy and level weapon skills with mana from defeating enemies (which makes that the bottleneck, particularly when you still need it to pass bills and make characters). And they tried to get people to use different classes as well as monster units instead of just trying to unlock Majins ASAP, with the Evility system, which are innate perks that apply to the unit or class and the Magichange system which lets monsters turn into weapons (but I doubt that really affects high end play much). Haven't gotten to 4, but I think people see it as a step forward in trying to straighten out 3's systems, as well as switching over to hi res sprites.

DIsgaea D2 - kind of a direct sequel to the first game (in a maybe maybe not alternate canon way), and more of an extension of the first two games in terms of mechanics than 3 and 4 turned out to be. It's basically the first two games with Evilities (and a monster mounting system instead of magichange... which just sort of a side step and still not terribly useful overall) and tons of quality of life/convenience features that should have been implemented like half a dozen games ago seriously come on.

There's also ZHP and the Guided Fate Paradox, which are more roguelikes with the ability to grind and carry over a lot of stuff even if you lose.

Also I should point out that you should get the PSP/Vita if you can, since those are the improved/definitive versions with new features and alternate scenario modes (and in the case of 3/4, all the DLC content. well maybe with 4 I don't think it's out yet).

Actually, as far as I know the Vita version of Disgaea 4 should be coming out this year. Not sure about any other titles, I'm looking forward to this and God Eater 2 (both look brilliant from what I've seen of them). I know God Eater 2 isn't a NIS game I'm just looking forward to it too.

... and arguably the best NIS game of the PS2 era, at least as far as I'm concerned. :)

I believe it's a lesser known NIS title because it has a darker story and a different character design. It really departs from the light hearted, silly and over the top tone of most NIS games, and provides a more "classic" Tactical RPG experience, which may have driven people away from playing. Which is a complete shame, because it's a gem of a game.
It is indeed reminiscent of Ogre Battle games in terms of gameplay, in the sense that you move several groups around on a map and when one of your groups encounter an enemy, you enter a sort of semi-automated skirmish mode. The player needs to put a lot of thought into the formation of each group they send to battle, as well as who to choose as leader. The system is very deep and engaging.

I don't remember now how much you affect the story itself during the main game - I've played Soul Nomad six years ago, and my memory isn't what it used to be :) - but there are plenty of different endings, and indeed, the infamous demon route you can choose on your new game + run (and it's bloody horrible, I couldn't actually play through it xD).(*)

One thing that may be a minor aspect for many players but is a major one for me is the soundtrack and the voice acting: both are superb, and the arranged soundtrack of Soul Nomad is one of my favourites to this day.

Basically, if you're a NIS fan and have never tried this game... give it a shot. Really. It's not your standard quirky NIS fare, but it will definitely deliver. :)

(*) EDIT: I wish to specify that it wasn't horrible as in "bad" (gameplay- or story-wise). It was horrible in the moral sense, and I couldn't go on slaughtering characters I had grown attached to on my first playthrough. You become a sort of Chaotic Evil character (at least from what I've seen of it), and I couldn't stomach it (I'm a teddy bear paladin at heart :) ).

Wow - other people that have played Ar Tonelico! They do exist. I absolutely love that game. One of my faves of all time.

I can't bring myself to play the other two in case they're disappointments.

Absolutely go play Ar tonelico 2, it won't disappoint. 3 is disappointing in some ways, but I think still worth playing. Not a bad game, just not quite so good.

I'd heard of Soul Nomad long after its release, but never knew a thing about it. I tried Ogre Battle back in the day and didn't like it (mostly the automated battles), but I'm still up for trying Soul Nomad one of these days.

I love the Disgaea games. They do play on a grid like Fire Emblem but there's no perma death and there's all the crazy stats, attacks, etc. Disgaea is a very over-the-top SRPG and for many it really starts after the story ends because there is always loads of post game stuff to do and that is where the grinding and crazy stats will come in. You can enjoy it like any other RPG for the story though, it's never very hard(though it can be if you decided to make the enemies more powerful). I have played all three of the Hyperdimension Neptunia games and they all over the board in quality. All of them have okay stories with characters and humor that could be hit or miss depending on where your tastes lie. If moe and cutesy style annoy you then don't bother.

1st game - Needlessy complicated and the game is very boring overall. I did not make it very far into this game, I decided to try it after mk2 overwise after this I probably would have avoided the sequels.

mk2 - Much better battle system but the quests/locations can get repetitive. The game is short though(around 20 hours) so that wasn't much of a problem since as it started to feel like it might wear thin the game was ending. There is one disturbing character that makes some bad comments/actions towards two twins in the game who appear to be 10-12 years old but nothing is shown.

Victory - This would be the same quality as mk2 as not has changed in gameplay or presentation but I found myself having to complete the same quests over and over to get the story moving, I'm not sure why they felt the need to pad the game out with filler. Maybe people complained about the second game being short, I guess.
The second game is good, avoid the third one.

I love Disgaea. It's probably my favorite game series. The PS3 version of the third one looks rather pixelated on an HD screen, but that's my only criticism (and it's a minor one) of any of those games.

La Pucelle Tactics, Phantom Brave, Soul Nomad, and Ar Tonelico (2) are also varying degrees of good/great.

Disgaea D2 and Guided Fate Paradox are the top two games on my To Play list.

Also forgot to bring up, I'd suggest playing Disgaea or Disgaea 4 first. I really like D2 but a lot of the humor/character interactions would be lost on someone who doesn't know the characters from the first game.