Make no mistake about it: Final Fantasy XII is an average game. But it’s a kind of average that most games can only dream of. It is spectacularly average, and could very easily have been an all-round superb experience if not for all the ways it went wrong.

Final Fantasy XII is the second traditional Final Fantasy Title to be produced for the Playstation 2. It is also the last. FFXII incorporates many features new to the franchise–most notable a real-time combat system–that has unjustly polarized fans. You either love it, or you hate it. Indeed, it seems that the game in its entirety is either loved or hated, depending upon who you ask–and when you ask him or her. It’s all very subjective, and very messy. Read more… »

It’s been seven years since we last saw the Persona series, and when we did, it took the gaming community by surprise. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 changed what the Persona series used to be and created one of the freshest Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs) to ever hit the PlayStation 2.

A few months after the release of Persona 3, Atlus brought us Persona 3 FES, an expansion which includes the main story (The Journey) with a hard mode and new additions, and it also includes the follow-up story (The Answer). Is Persona 3 worth another semester if you have the original, and what about newcomers?

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The Shin Megami Tensei series is known for having mature themes and being more difficult than your average Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs). They have been largely ignored by western gamers, but it has gathered a cult following. Atlus’ Persona 3 is a more accessible game for JRPG gamers due to the inclusion of an easy mode and friendlier atmosphere. Persona 3 takes an interesting approach by combining sim-dating elements with traditional RPG elements, but how well does it mix them? Does it create a mess or a masterpiece?

You take the role of a nameless, transferred high school student. Upon arriving, the main protagonist notices an unusual change in the city and his classmates living at the dorm won’t tell him anything. After a shadow attack and awakening to his persona, his classmates finally tell him about all the shadows and the “Dark Hour” – a period of time that occurs every midnight which only a few people are aware of and remain conscious during that hour, and shadows appear. Read more… »

What do you get if you cross Final Fantasy and Disney? Kingdom Hearts. KH is a crossover between Squaresoft (Now Square-Enix), and Disney Interactive. Released in 2002 Kingdom Hearts is an Action RPG of epic proportions. Being the first game in the series it’s got a lot to prove to both Action and RPG fans alike. Can it satisfy both? Or does it just come off as mediocre across the board? Hit the jump to find out.

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Part of Atlus’ 3 big releases for the Holiday Season along with Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 and Luminous Arc 2, Eternal Poison was the one with the least anticipation or hype due to it being a new IP and a strategy-RPG, one of the least popular genres. There was something about Eternal Poison which caught my eye; maybe it was the attractive box art. Developed by Flight-Plan, known for their Summon Night series, their latest RPG to make it to the United States introduces us to medieval, gothic world of Besek filled with unusual demons and great art direction. Atlus’ latest strategy games weren’t met with praise, but can Eternal Poison change this trend?

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Everyone who’s ever lifted up a controller, or set hand to a mouse, to play a game knows that some games  are good, some games are bad, and some games can be so enthralling experience that they defy any such  label. Those are the games we find ourselves playing when the alarm clock buzzes at six in the morning,  and we realize we forgot to sleep. Those are the games that drive us to become what we are: gamers.

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