Rune Worth: Kokui no Kikoushi

This is the first game in a rather obscure trilogy of action RPGs by T&E Soft, who are best known for the Hydlide games -- but don't let that discourage you, because they were actually an extraordinarily prolific developer who made a lot of really great games back in the day, many of which were actually quite unique and almost experimental in nature.

Rune Worth is one such game: at first glance, it looks a lot like Ys I & II, but it takes a very different approach. One of its most heavily advertised features at the time was its complete lack of experience points -- level-ups occurred by using certain items found in dungeons, rewarding you for exploration rather than grinding.

Additionally, the game had a day/night mechanic that was used to rather good effect, and often offered the player multiple very different ways to progress the plot, providing opportunities for... well, actual role-playing!