I may be late to the party, but I'll give you a few less common suggestions, simply because they fit your criteria well and, like you, I'm always watching for RPGs "like Secret of Mana".
White Knight Chronicles [PS3/PSNow] *involves an action gauge but otherwise real-time, maps and party like SoM, custom character, sequel includes remastered original on-disc
Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll [PS3/PSNow] *3-character team, lots of environmental interaction
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning [PS3/XB360/PC] *often quests involve AI partners, combat and maps like SoM
Lord of the Rings: War in the North [PS3/XB360/PC] *3-character team, fast-paced combat, eagle assist
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen [PS3/XB360/PC] *custom characters, recently released on Steam, highly recommended
Ys: Memories of Celceta [PSVita] *basically a perfect equivalent to SoM in every way
Rune Factory 4 [3DS] *allows AI partners for questing, very similar aesthetic to SoM
And hey, there's a mix of both Japanese and Western titles in there. Look into all of them. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Also, when we're talking real-time combat, I assume you mean seamless encounters that occur on the field, and that's not usually the case with Tales games. Even with the newest ones, there are still menu-driven elements too, and I don't know if that will satisfy what you're looking for.
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