Allow me to gush for an instant or two.
EARTHBOUND.
I dunno, they weren't incredibly innovative (in fact, their director laughingly refers to the series as "Dragon Quest with different graphics,) but the scrolling HP bars are a great idea in my eyes. They add a sense of urgency without making things feel hopeless. You take a mortal blow and you still got a few seconds to heal before you bottom out. In fact, it'd be sweet and dandy like lemon candy if someone could script such a thing.
Yeah, that's all I've got. Most of Earthbound's charm comes from the dialogue and the gameplay.
Oh, but then there's condiments.
Those are fun.
I dunno, really? I like simplicity more than anything else. It's not the bells and whistles that make a work of art. Final Fantasy IX has to be my favorite, just for that. It's one last jab at keeping things simple, functional, and fun before they catapulted themselves into brave new territories such as the Final Fantasy X battle system which I hate.
But, um, yeah. Earthbound. Get an SNES. Buy it. Buy it for your friends. Import the final installation, download the ROM of the first installation. You'll love it. If you don't, trout yogurt's on me.
... See, if you'd played Earthbound, you'd get that joke. D:<
EDIT:... Oh ye gods, I forgot about the Baten Kaitoses. The Magnus system? Most fun you'll have in a battle system, period. It's incredibly well-executed in both incarnations, with no apparent opportunity for trial and error on their part; in essence, they hit the nail on the head against all odds... Twice consecutively.
Also, Giacomo's battle themes are sweet. Trance dance suits a boss battle so poorly that it's actually really effective.