First of all, I must say that I am very grateful, you've not only replied to my question, but you've given me a very thoughtful reply.
About Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I actually started skipping all the cutscenes after a while. What I did not like was the anime-chicée nature of both the characters themselves, but also the overall story. If I do buy Torna, it will be to wander around in a new world, and experience some nice battles. And, I was unclear when I wrote my post, but I did complete Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Your reply made the game move higher on my wanted list :)
About Banner Saga, I kind of got that impression from the game too. The best srpg games I have played, are Tactics Ogre on psp and Shining Force 2. I am norwegian, so the Viking-inspired world is not as interesting to me, as Vikings are something I've heard about a lot during school / education. If I do buy it, it would be for the gameplay.
It's a shame about Lost Sphear, I bought and liked I am Setsuna. But year, my gut impression on this latest Tokyo RPG factory game, is, well a game coming from a factory. Kind of devoid of any soul, if you get what I am trying to write. Thanks for letting me know I should stay away.
I have all the other games you mentioned, except West of Loathing & Earthlock. I'll google the games later :)
Again, thank you for your time.
Btw, I thought I should add some information about what I often do, or do not like in rpgs.
++ Grown up characters
++ Possible to grind (I like grinding, and I am not a skilled player)
++ turn based or tactics tun based
++ action rpgs
+ colorful worlds
+ unique settings / worlds
+ a nice story, but without much chatter
-- Fanservice / anime chichées
- hard games
- real time tactics
- generic in a way that makes it feel like I've seen the same characters many times before
Torna has two titan areas, one of which is completely new, and takes place 500 years in the past. Its playable cast is mostly different from the original game, with only Mythra and the two later tank blades returning. I wouldn't normally recommend playing it before the original, just because of spoilers, but if you don't intend to play the original, Torna could probably act as an okay standalone — though several of its characters' fates are not re-shown, so you may be left confused and wanting by the end, depending on how far you made it in XB2. Whether you would like the game to begin with, when you disliked XB2, is difficult to say; its tone is a little darker and more mature.
I'm just playing The Banner Saga 1, and almost everything about it is wonderful. The art style, the choice-based narrative divergences, the characters — all great. The combat, while certainly tactical, feels a bit dry, though, and the map designs are non-existent: just uniform grids with zero terrain. It isn't unenjoyable by any means, but it's not exactly what I'd call fun, even as a huge SRPG fan. Perhaps those two facets are improved in the sequels.
Lost Sphear really shouldn't be on your radar outside of a major sale, IMO. Trust your instincts with its demo.
As far as games not on your list: have you played Cosmic Star Heroine, Battle Chasers, Valkyria Chronicles 1 / 4, or West of Loathing? Highly recommend all of them. You say you've bought some obvious ones, so I assume that might mean Octopath and maybe Mario + Rabbids, which are both fantastic as well. I hear good things about Ys VIII. Earthlock is an okay indie RPG — I'd definitely recommend it more than Lost Sphear — and World of Final Fantasy comes out in a few weeks.