For less than an hour of your time, Florence is one of the most beautiful coming-of-age stories you can experience.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was clearly a labor of love from creative people with the ways and means to bring their ideas to fruition, and it shows.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered does what every great remaster ought to: it recaptures the fun and silliness of the original, quietly removes some underlying flaws, and makes the whole experience look as beautiful as memories seen through rose-tinted glasses.

With its combination of a good storyline, a memorable cast of characters, decent graphics, and beautiful music, Lunar: Silver Star Story Touch is sure to quench your JRPG thirst.

My unease aside, The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is a mighty pleasant way for a sci-fi RPG fan to spend 30-40 hours, especially if you haven’t yet played its two DLC packs. It is wonderfully crafted, offers compelling choices between “right” and “wrong,” and gives curious players a few hidden pathways beyond those binaries. Its worlds are compact and homespun. It is not a galaxy of content, but in a world full of corporate bloat, overlong working hours, console wars, and games as a service, all I can say is thank goodness for that.

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy might take a bit to grow on you. It doesn’t have the most elegant start, and there are many rough edges even after it gets going. And yet, with all that in mind, the sheer variety and ambition still make it something special for fans of both its directors and those looking for a decidedly unconventional experience. For what it’s worth, I’m both, and I can recommend it easily. There’s definitely a lot to unpack with this game, and I know it will have a hold on me for a while.

A solid game that was built for the different needs of mobile devices and modern gamers while embracing its past.

Bigger and better console Diablo III, plus remote play.

Exciting, funny, and addictive: you should play this game.

OoT provides a worthy challenge, and I can't say many games today are making players think as much as they should.

Sakura Wars ~So Long, My Love~ is a great game in its own right. It sports NISA's best localization to date and has truckloads of replay value to boot.

If you're looking for something with a ponderous story full of morality and contemplation – one best savored alone – then you'll need to look elsewhere. Borderlands 2 delivers tons of lighthearted, occasionally juvenile fun with immense replayability, and is best approached with a few buddies in tow. It doesn't revolutionize the concept pioneered by its forebear, but it refines it to a razor-sharp edge and offers some of the most fun you can have in a cooperative action RPG this side of Diablo II. And if nothing else, it's got lots of Claptrap.

A worthy finale to Professor Layton's adventures, whether you've played the previous games or not.

It's been a while since I've been so pleasantly surprised with a game. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling takes inspiration from one of Nintendo's most popular RPG series, but it doesn't rely on the tropes and humour that made those games so beloved. All of the meticulous detail and care that's gone into the world, characters, and mechanics is on display here. Instead of being just a cardboard cutout copy of its roots, Bug Fables embellishes that established template with its own style and flair while improving things where need be, and as a result, it's one of the best and most honest tributes I've ever played.

Even though Mankind Divided's story doesn't quite reach the same heights as its predecessor, the overall package is still an undeniably strong follow-up to one of the best cyberpunk RPGs of the past decade.

This is more than just the original with a facelift; this is truly a different experience. Even if you didn't take to the initial release, the inclusion of the job system and overall enhancements warrant you giving this game a second chance. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is more than just a fun game; it's an achievement for the RPG genre as a whole.

Everhood wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeve, but it’s a different beast entirely. With hidden secrets, harder difficulties, and an absurd world that I’ve grown fond of, I think I’ll be back more than a few times to get on the dance floor with some old friends.

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir shows what is possible when a grand idea is not hampered by hardware limitations.

The game can be completed rather quickly (in less than 20 hours), but there are tons of unlockables to keep you playing well past 40 hours, such as secret characters, a Hard Mode, and the option to start a new game with your cleared save data.

Remember that weird Japanese PS2 game you picked up on a whim in 2004 because it had an interesting cover and the description on the back caught your eye and it turned out to be one of your favorite games of all time? Yeah, that’s Promise Mascot Agency.

Of particular note is the great climax and emotionally satisfying ending. It wraps everything up on a sweet note, and then manages to jam in an absolutely awesome throwback to the original film AND offer up the possibility of future sequels to the game.

If you're the type of person who skips cutscenes or nods off during long bits of exposition between explosions then steer clear of 999. If you want to try something new, though, I would suggest giving the game a look. Aksys has taken a huge risk in bringing something like this to America, and it may just be the necessary ice-breaker to bring a whole new genre to our shores.

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.

Exactly what we've come to expect from Spiderweb Software, however that makes you feel.

A must play for SRPG fans and wistfully nostalgic D&D enthusiasts.

This remains a game that everyone who loves RPGs should play, and I'm pleased to say that the iPad version is as good a platform as any to experience it.

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.

There’s really little else to say about Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster other than that it’s a solid, faithful, and accessible rendition of one of the more underrated Final Fantasy titles. While it kind of bites that we don’t get to see the extra content from the Game Boy Advance version in this remaster, that’s a negligible quibble in the grand scheme of things. If you’re a longtime Final Fantasy fan who has somehow missed out on the adventure of Bartz, Lenna, Galuf, Faris and company, then this is a perfect chance to redress that.