Hook them while they are young...

Let's say for the sake of argument, you met a friend who had never played one of these R-P-G-S you and the rest of your cronies keep talking about. They then ask you to hook them up with five games you feel will be the best for not only someone who has never played an RPG before but will definitely give them a good feel for the genre as a whole. Go!

OMG

FFIV

Uh

Breath of Fire II or IV

Oh darn

Pokemon black/white

Radiant Historia


And then show them SMT: Strange Journey so that they start doubting in God's love :monster:

FFVII
Xenogears
Legend of Legaia
The Legend of Dragoon
Super Mario RPG

Granted, that's just JRPGs, but eeh. Most of those are how I got hooked.

...Xenogears? Seriously? No way is that going to be a good game to break someone in to the genre. XD

Dragon Quest IX: Easiest Dragon Quest, but still requires thought. All it's systems are easy to learn, plenty of customization options, decent story and aesthetic. Good all around, contains all the good things about JRPG's, and nothing overly intimidating about it, all while not treating you like an idiot.

Earthbound

Super Mario RPG

Chrono Trigger

Legend of Legaia

Dragon Quest V
Final Fantasy X
Tales of Xillia
Suikoden II
Chrono Trigger

These aren't necessarily my favourites from each series, but they are some of the ones I feel are most approachable for newbies. The Xenosaga series is friggin awesome but the most newbie friendly is III and someone could easily be lost joining in III and the first one is not the most newbie friendly

Chrono Trigger, probably. Tales of Xillia.

Honestly I'd start 'em with Skyrim.

Chrono Trigger
Pokémon Platinum
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Golden Sun
Bravely Default

Phantasy Star IV
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy VII (it hooked a lot of you nerds)
Final Fantasy X
Chrono Trigger

You have to think simple, but not too simple to be boring. These are generally easy to learn & have great stories/characters. I didn't include personal favs like FFXII because the gambit system might be too complex for a n00b. I didn't include Secret of Evermore, because grinding for ingredients can be tedious. VI has too many characters, IV can be frustrating & FFI is too plain for the modern gamer. VIII's junction system might annoy a newcomer. X-2 might be alright, if the friend is an anime fan & is used to Japanese humor, because if they're not, it can come off as cheesy. IX probably just misses the cut, as I didn't want there to be 80% FFs on the list.

It would be a JRPG or Action RPG because my experience of Western JRPGs is very small.

In that case I would probably introduce a child to Super Mario RPG, Pokemon, or Final Fantasy IX first.

I honestly think it would be better to start with something newer and that would be more appealing to look at if you are trying to hook someone into the genre, and then start giving them the really good classics. I'm not as knowledgeable with newer RPGs though.

Skyrim would be good for the more open world, western rpg front.
Tales of Xillia/Tales of Vesperia would be another I think (I've only played a little of both)
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD remaster (this is probably as far back as I'd go in older games)
Mass Effect trilogy
Is Diablo 3 considered an ARPG? Maybe I'd go with that for the last one
If not, I'll just say Kingdom hearts HD remasters

I would go

Chrono Trigger
Super Mario RPG
Final Fantasy X
Dragon Age Origins
Skyrim

I would totally suggest Xenogears as one of the starting RPGs. It has a fantastic story to hook you in, and it's interface isn't very difficult to wrap your head around. So I agree

FFVI and VII would be good choices as well. Very epic, dramatic, and lovable. And as well, fairly easy interfaces

If we're going for baby game RPGs, then Lunar: TSSC or EBC

The Shining Force games are pretty fantastic starter RPGS, if only for the SRPG genre, but still good enough to get a feel for the whole regarding stats and whatnot

Skyrim - Because WRPGs are preferred by some people.
FFVII - For the person who can appreciate a game beyond it's graphics.
FFXIII - For the younger player who loves graphics.
FFXIV:ARR - For the social player.
Pokémon - For everyone.

If none of these games get them hooked in any way, they can just get back to doing whatever else they do in life.

Oh man, how could I forget Chrono Trigger? It's not only great, but also super accessible.

Also, can't agree with Xenogears. The length and clunkiness could scare off newbies. Maybe we can't see it that well because we're native to that era, but for a contemporary gamer who is not into JRPGs, I think it could be pretty painful.

FF7
FF9
Mass Effect 2
Skyrim
Fire Emblem Awakening

All except FF7 are brilliant for newcomers to their respective sub-genres. I include FF7 on the grounds that it was the first JRPG I ever played (I'm european, we got bugger all before that)