I'm gonna recommend Final Fantasy VI. The FF games generally aren't sequels to each other (the ones that are have titles like Final Fantasy X-2) and FF6, while on the older side, is not only very beginner-friendly, but also has quite good writing.

So-called JRPGs (Japanese Role-Playing Games) tend to offer decent bang-for-buck and are generally more controller-friendly than CRPGs (Computer Role-Playing Games). Besides the Final Fantasy games you could also check out the Persona series.