Coding a 2D JRPG?

I've been pondering with the idea myself for some time now, I'll probably start one after University in about 2 years. Have you considered C++ and SDL 2? I've done a platformer for school and used that and it was easy to use. This guy also has great examples.

You could also use Unity or Unreal Engine but I've never used them. I guess you want to stay away from Game Maker and RPG Maker. If you plan on coding all your tools too it will increase significantly your workload but for certain things there are existing tools versatile enough, like Tiled.

I bought this book last year, I did not yet had the chance to go through it but if you want it send me a pm: https://howtomakeanrpg.com/

It's an interesting project you'll learn a lot from. I would personally mimic the FF4-FF5-FF6 style. If you plan on ripping music and GFX, then you got the assets question almost solved.