I see some Final Fantasy mentions, but I’m throwing Final Fantasy Tactics in particular into the ring.
Great gameplay (min-max to your heart’s content) that will let the player fail. Also will let the player soft lock themselves and require loading an earlier save if they didn’t have “optimal” builds for some encounters…
It has a story! That moves forward all of the time! Just let it happen and don’t think too much about it. You’re a mere mortal fighting up against gods at some point. Maybe?
Great soundtrack! My personal favorites are below.