If you enjoy grinding to unlock classes, and the experience of playing as different classes is more important to you than random loot drops, you could very well have a lot of fun with this game.

To say that Lost Odyssey is a bad game is to do it an injustice. It's not a fun game, though, and maybe that's the same thing.

Innocent Life would be more of a game for a casual gamer or, because of the ease of difficulty, maybe someone just starting out in the series.

It was a novel hybrid game that felt very familiar and comfortable.

So in the final analysis, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom takes a bunch of decently designed aspects and mangles them into an unfun experience.

Warriors of the Lost Empire is a game you'll want to like, but only hardcore fans of the hack & slash genre will have a very easy time forgiving its flaws.

If you pick up this title, you'll get a face full of space opera, with decent combat and lots of character interaction, and if that's your thing, snatch up this game pronto!

While Revenant Wings may be little more than a handheld equivalent to Final Fantasy X-2, it does what it was meant to do quite well.

The problem with the DS incarnation of Orcs & Elves is that it doesn't give enough incentive to buy it over, say, a $5 download for your cell phone.

If you're looking for a short, fun, single-player romp through magical realms on your PC, this game is a great choice to satisfy that urge.

If you're a fan of the genre and appreciate the ability to challenge others in battles, you'll do well with Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Otherwise, you'll just find a mediocre game with silly dialogue.

However, if you want a Phoenix Wright style visual novel that's set in a hospital where surgeries are there to accent the character interaction, then definitely check out Lifesigns: Surgical Unit.

Even though this is not the definitive strategy RPG of our time, like some have labeled games such as Shining Force, Final Fantasy Tactics, or Disgaea, it's pretty damn close.

For all the twisted, macabre, death-worshiping crap that's found in this game, it only makes sense that the game itself should suffer a terrible fate.

This intangible attribute of the game is difficult to put into words, but Geralt's personality, the mature humor, the bizarre characters, and the sex and drugs combine in odd ways to create a game better than the sum of its parts.

Afternoon of Darkness features a fast startup time, even faster game loading times, and almost unbelievably fast level loading times (under 2 seconds), all of which just add to the many reasons why this port is a great fit for the PSP.

It ranks as my favorite installment in the trilogy. The gameplay brought nothing new to the table, but playing it for the plot and characters has left me more than satisfied.

There isn't much here that has not already been done in Japanese RPGs before and if you keep up with the Naruto manga or anime, there is nothing you haven't already read or watched before.

This game brings both style and content to the table. It doesn't pretend to be anything greater than it is: it's a very straightforward Strategy RPG.

With vibrant visuals, excellent music and voice acting, a deep and complex gameplay system, and one of the best storylines ever to grace a RPG, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is one of the few must-have titles on the PSP, not only for the RPG aficionado, but for any gamer in general.

Since the RPG library on the PlayStation 3 is currently lacking, RPG fans would do well to at least try this game out. The game isn't epic, given its relatively short length, but it is everything RPG fans would want from a short title: fun, challenge, mystery, and an incredible story.

Therefore, the bottom line is that if you could not get into the original Touch Detective, 2 1/2 will not change your mind. However, if you enjoyed the first game, you'll definitely want to pick this one up.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was a fun game. On top of that, it was creative and used the DS in ways that really showed off the potential of the system.

The changes has its ups and downs, but NIS has produced another fine game. The game has a sluggish start, but it picked up the pace by the end.

Save your money (or spend it on "Persona 3," Atlus fans!) and skip this mediocre mess. [Import]

I can see no reason why anyone would want to play this game to completion. In its present form, the game is terrible.

Give this one a chance, especially if you're into this unique brand of games. If you were surprised by the quality of the new Pokémon games, or if you're a long-time Digimon fan, this might be a game worth playing.

Give this one a chance, especially if you're into this unique brand of games. If you were surprised by the quality of the new Pokémon games, or if you're a long-time Digimon fan, this might be a game worth playing.

While the musical presentation was excellent, the gameplay passable, and the controls well executed, the horrible job with the story and the disappointing graphics dragged down the game a lot. Add in the short playtime and you have a game that is a rental at best, but definitely not a purchase.

Due to the unique events that take place in this volume, as well as the great post-endgame quests, I do consider Vol.3 the best in the series, though I also enjoyed Vol.2 a great deal.

Depths of Peril doesn't care to be a book, or a movie, or a soundtrack. It is simply a game, and it is a great game, so long as all you want is a solid, interactive experience with none of the frills of high-budget PC titles.

Overall, Blue Dragon offers an above average, traditional RPG, though only the superb gameplay puts it over the mark of the uninspired and average.

With a fairly lengthy main quest and extras galore, at only $40 it's armed thievary.

What Jeanne d'Arc lacks in originality it makes up for in its polish. It's an all around solid strategy RPG that anyone into that genre will eat up and enjoy.

Even with the dime-a-dozen characters and plot, it was still an enjoyable romp on the PSP.

Some hardcore D&D fans will be disappointed by the things left out of the 3.5 ruleset, but any tactical RPG fan who doesn't know about what's been left out or doesn't care will enjoy Dungeons & Dragons Tactics.

I loved Persona 3. It delivered an experience that was both novel and familiar, and with the exception of the anime cutscenes and some of the voice acting, did so with excellent quality.

While this game will not end gamers quest for an irreplaceable Nintendo DS RPG, it can certainly entertain them for 15-20 hours.

Let this game serve as a warning to Square Enix: we don't want an RTS for the Mana series. And even if we did, we would only want it if the game wasn't broken from start to finish.

Rune Factory is a great portable action RPG/sim with a vast array of activities and a great addictive vibe.

While it may be a little easy and a little childish, Brave Story: New Traveler is an RPG that will appeal to an incredibly wide audience and is one of the first titles to truly take advantage of the handheld hardware Sony has provided.

The developers clearly put a lot of love into this game, and in my opinion, it paid off. I spent 40 to 50 very enjoyable hours with Alien Syndrome, and am several hours in with a second character.

Perhaps in the course of the nearly 30 hour romp I had through Final Fantasy II, I missed some mystical item that magically makes the game fun and so I was never able to actually appreciate the full worth of the game.

Regardless of version, I think Riviera: The Promised Land is a decent JRPG, and it marked a great comeback for Sting.

It's not that Final Fantasy for the PSP is bad - far from it - it's just that it's nothing gamers haven't seen, and played, many times over.

Grim Grimoire is not a deep RTS, but it is a fun one.

I did not enjoy playing Hoshigami: Remix. I did not find it fun. I found it irritating, monotonous, and cruel.

Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground is a mixed bag. Rather than randomize everything, it allows players to create their own world, which is both its biggest draw and biggest flaw.

Though plenty of fun is to be had in Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm, it's also short, slightly repetitive in scope, and lacking a compelling plot.

This all goes to show that eye candy and excellent music mean nothing if everything else is weak.

To sum up, never have I seen a game so visually pleasing. If you look past the heavy repetition, Odin Sphere is a fun game with solid concepts, along with a great musical score and interesting plot.

Whatever the sentiment, it is clear that Etrian Odyssey is a niche game that is sure to find the hearts of some and draw the ire of others.

While it was nice to see some new things for the Harvest Moon series, Innocent Life just didn't give me the thrill I was hoping for. There were some good ideas, but they were poorly executed.

The plot is compelling, the combat is exciting, and the aesthetics are excellent as always.

The addition of an online function in the game has made its replayability soar to new heights.

Renting won't do justice to the amount of content the games provide and the inclusion of online (though limiting) boosts ups the replay value tremendously. It's simple and engaging for newcomers while catering to long time players. Buy it and go catch 'em all!

Valhalla Knights lacks soul.

The premise may be simple, but the plot is surprisingly good, especially for a Mario game. Part of it is thanks to the excellent localization and likeable characters.

A lot of people bashed on this game when it was released for 360, and it has seen similar mediocrity in sales performance on the PlayStation 3. However, I stand firm in my opinion that the game is a decent, semi-epic RPG that's worth playing, if only to have such a grandiose tale to play on a next-gen before Final Fantasy XIII.

The unique setting and duality of madness that Shivering Isles possesses provides an excellent backdrop for more Elder Scrolls adventuring.

If you've been hankering for a good 2D Action RPG that lets you dash around as a half-vampire in a massive dungeon, maybe it's time you go back and check out the game that really started the modern Castlevania phenomenon.

While not the worst game I've played, the combination of a dumb story, repetitive gameplay, and those damn in-battle voice clips made me have to relegate it to the scrap pile.

New unique minigames and a gigantic island to explore makes Lost in Blue 2 an engaging purchase for anyone who can get past the daunting first few hours of extreme survival. However, the one-two combo of a companion who lacks any sort of survival competency and the required precise micromanagement of each character's vital stats can tempt even the most hardened survival buffs to snap their DS clean in half.

There was nothing fun, enjoyable, or remotely redeeming about this game at all. The experience was akin to having a root canal.

So Disney published an RPG with some innovative mini-games utilizing the DS to its full extent. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was garbage.

Nothing more than a short and simple game that provides a thoroughly unsatisfying experience. While the localization is excellent, not only is there not enough of it, what's already there is lost in the torrent of monstrous difficulty, subpar aesthetics, and an overly simplified game system.

The bottom line regarding Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner is that the game is a colossal disappointment.

While part of the fun is in exploration, I just found it very difficult to figure anything out. Add to that a translation that is at times pretty bad and, at points, incomplete (parts of text are just cut off and missing), and you have a game not worth a purchase.

It doesn't have an incredibly lengthy quest or a massive skill system for hardcore RPG fans to dig their teeth into, but Gurumin is the type of game that will snag the attention not only of a core gamer, but also of the younger sibling or sometimes-gamer significant other.

A weak story and semi-clunky controls prevented the game from being a lot more enjoyable. Regardless, it's a good game that has some great style and music with very interesting concepts.

Because of its hybrid nature as an RPG/visual novel, it's quite different from our previous tastes of Gust (in Atelier Iris 1 and 2). And, when you stop and think about how rare the dating-sim, visual novel, and love adventure genres are in the US (some Hirameki titles and a few other obscure releases), it's great to see a game like this represent that faction of Japanese culture, on the PS2 no less.

With an awful plot, some shoddy controls and poor dialogue working against it, you might expect that Rogue Galaxy would receive a poor overall score from me... and you'd be right if it weren't for everything else. The gameplay, in particular, was a saving grace but the music and graphics also pulled this game from the depths of despair into something fun.

InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel is a dud.

If you're into RPGs for that rush of fun and adventure, avoid this game. Heck, avoid the whole Legend of Heroes series. But, if you've stuck it out so far and have enjoyed the storyline created by Falcom, a company respected by many a J-RPG fan, know that this game has a plot that enriches the others even as it proves its own value to the gamers' imagination.

The story was engrossing, getting me engaged from start to finish, and the 2D styles on the characters and environments gave the game some charm.

Overall, this is a Metroidvania game. Get it if you like Metroidvania games. Otherwise, find something else to do with your time. This game does well for what it is, and does not stray even an inch outside.

If you like comic books and action RPGs, I can easily recommend that you purchase this game.

At this point, I don't think it's reasonable to recommend playing this particular version of the game, unless you absolutely loathe voice acting (and/or refined graphics, and/or the PSP as a platform).

A fun, but dated and unoriginal flight through the land of Hyrule. The main quest may be longer than most, and the sidequests may be in abundance, but that doesn't help Twilight Princess from feeling like the same thing we all played nearly ten years ago.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is the result of two games' worth of experience on Raven Software's part, and it shows.

In the end, if you're a fan of RPGs, the kind of person Square Enix wants to pick up this game, you're going to like Final Fantasy III.

The game is very well balanced.

As with its handheld predecessors, Dark Kingdom is a game that can be enjoyable to hardcore fans of the genre who are willing to overlook its flaws, but probably not to anyone else.

All of the additions to the "Advance" port of Final Fantasy V are worthwhile, but it is a shame that the new jobs and bonus dungeon are only available right at the end of the game.

Another nail in the coffin of the Seiken Densetsu series.

Final Fantasy's final swan song for the PlayStation 2 is a complete masterpiece. Square Enix's attention to detail and love for their craft is embodied through and through. This is an adventure that will, without a doubt, stand the tests of time.

A splendid platform bundled with a highly agreeable romp through a lengthy and entertaining sample adventure. In addition, fan-made modules are already beginning to pop up, and while most are tests and exploratory attempts at present, there are a few coffee-break modules that immediately extend the life of the purchase.

Regardless of how the series pans out, as a stand-alone title .hack//G.U. Vol.1//Rebirth is a fun title to play, especially if you're stuck with a PS2 while everyone else spends big money on the next-gen consoles.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is the result of two games' worth of experience on Raven Software's part, and it shows.

Every piece of the game is well-executed, and given the PSP's exclusive gameplay modes, it is easily the best version of the game for anyone who's not going to fault the PSP's inability to match the Xbox 360's graphical power.

A unique little adventure game with loads of style, fun characters, and plenty of charm.

Magical Starsign does an excellent job at taking the classic Turn-Based RPG formula and turning it into something fun for Nintendo's new handheld device.

Contact is a classic case of A for effort, C for execution. It is easy to tell that a lot of love was put into this game and it had the potential to be a classic of Earthbound proportions. Unfortunately, despite the game's merits, I ultimately found it too mundane, boring, repetitive, monotonous, and dull to recommend.

It's not a direct sequel in terms of story, and it's not a simple dungeon crawler either. Instead, it's a sort of wayward, roundabout RPG that gets the job done well. Personally, I still prefer the first game to this one, but objectively, Swordcraft Story 2 makes serious strides to improve on the first, and I cannot overlook that.

If you're a SMT fan, are jonesing for a game that combines Pokémon with an action-RPG, or just are looking for some great characters and setting, then by all means, pick this game up ASAP. Otherwise, wait for it to come down in price or rent it, as it is relatively short.

After a rocky start, Tales of the Abyss proved to be a truly enjoyable game; possibly the best in the series so far, and a contender in my book for game of the year.

Uninspired slop. MKA had quite a bit of promise, and we were extremely excited to play the game based on interviews with the staff members, but issues with the control scheme and gameplay functionality killed what we were hoping would come about in Mage Knight: Apocalypse.

One of the best games of this year, and was entirely deserving of our "Best of E3 2006" award. With a fantastic tri-Ace battle system that's both accessible and deep, Square Enix has provided a sequel that both fans and newbies will love equally.