So I've played a decent number of JRPGs and there is one almost universal similarity in all of them.

The first hour or so of the game is absolutely no fun to replay.

It's all tutorial bullcrap or world building and character establishment. All the actually interesting stuff, all the real character development, all the stuff you really love about the game is way off in the future. Odds are you are probably starting off in a boring little town or something too as the more awesome locations can only be available much later.

I love Xenosga, I love Final Fantasy X and XII, but Jesus Christ, I just skip everything and turn my brain off for a long, long time until the game "really starts."

But this is not an absolute. Final Fantasy VII starts off strong. So maybe there are others too.

So the topic. Which JRPGs that you love to replay aren't just tedious wastes of time at the beginning?