Shikamaru's awesome. I haven't stayed up-to-date with the series, but he was definitely one of my favorites. It's nice to see a lazy genius on the battlefield.

Hmm... How to describe the Growlanser games... The battles are real-time, in that everyone walks/runs across the screen and you have to interrupt the flow to control the characters. They're nothing spectacular graphics- and sound-wise, but I play mainly for the neat characters. In both Growlanser II and III, you can make choices that affect your relationships with your party members. In Growlanser III, you can even develop your main character's personality so that he's a total idiot or a playboy. XD