Requesting second opinion on Ys. Is running into things fun?
I'll also chip in another recommendation of Fortune Summoners. It's a greatly charming, very unique game, a mixture of sidescroller, 2D fighter and classic RPG - it sometimes reminds me of Maple Story, except without all the bad and a lot of good (thus, this game is what Maple Story should have been, in singleplayer). There's three different characters with three different playstyles (Warrior, Cleric, Mage), and you sometimes have to coordinate them all for some Lost Vikings-esque puzzles - but most of the time, you pick one character, and the AI controls the others. Don't worry, this game has some seriously good AI.
The main thing that drives me nuts is that there is no coop mode, the game was almost made for it. Difficulty balance is also wonky, each dungeon tends to have at least one monster that gives you serious problems but most of the bosses are almost too easy. (There's one or two noteworthy exceptions.) Abusing MP restoratives might just break the game. Also, the game's story ends on a cliffhanger, and the game itself has nearly zero replayability. It perhaps is a bit too cutesy for you too...
I still had an absolute blast throughout the entire game. I wish there were more like it.