I finally picked up Alliance Alive because of Alfred’s description in the 3ds thread:
And it’s great! Suikoden SaGa! Eventually the signal towers you encounter throughout the world can network with each other and this produces a twitter feed featuring every named npc you’ve recruited
I went to a secret hot spring run by beastfolk, found out they were torturing some frogs. So I defeated the beastfolk in battle and the frogs thanked me by joining my crew.
There’s also a hidden women-only bar with a few recruitable npcs, and no one in that bar will talk to you unless you switch to an all-women party.
Truly a game made for people who enjoy the marginalia of any jrpg.