RPG Video Games

The occult-themed Persona series makes its PlayStation 2 debut with a distinctive visual style that closely mirrors Japanese anime. Once again the setting is high school, where a group of special teenagers band together to fight enemies after hours by tapping into the demon personas lurking within. Parties of up to four characters can freely explore their 3D environment, but only one, the lead protagonist, is controllable during combat. Battles are initiated by approaching the onscreen enemies, with turn-based attacks involving swords, bows, and personas available to eliminate the opposition.

Each enemy type has a particular weakness against certain elements, and players will be able to outfit their character with more powerful weapons and persona types by collecting cards at the end of each battle. Persona 3 features a day-night cycle that has players focusing on building relationships with fellow classmates and tending to schedules or hobbies during the day, while exploring an alternate dimension at night. Each visit to this dimensional portal offers hundreds of randomly generated floors, but players have a limited amount of time to explore them before having to return to their academic studies. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Japanese developer Gust Incorporated concludes its turn-based role-playing game trilogy with Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm. The storyline follows the adventures of teens Edge Vanhite and Iris Fortner, explorers by trade on behalf of an organization called the Raiders Guild. After accidentally discovering a piece of what appears to be the fabled "Libram of Escalario," which is rumored to grant the wishes of anyone who unites all eight pieces, the duo takes part in a series of quests to find the ancient tome before their rivals.

As with the two previous games in the series, the 2D action is viewed from an isometric perspective as players explore outdoor regions called "alterworlds" for a limited amount of time. Once time is expired, players are returned to the starting town of Zey Meruze to interact with characters, receive new quests, and synthesize or craft items using Iris Fortner's skill in alchemy. Each alterworld can be revisited multiple times after gaining experience and forging new items to help unlock previously inaccessible areas. Combat switches the default perspective to a side view as characters to the left and right alternate turns and decide whether to attack, use a skill, or to consume beneficial items. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Dawn of Mana, as the title suggests, focuses on the origins of Square's Secret of Mana action RPG series, touching upon the genesis of both the Mana Tree and the Sword of Mana. The game takes place on the once idyllic island named Illusia, where the life-giving Mana Tree has dried up and turned to stone. In desperate need of a hero, Illusia calls upon one of its own to save the land from a dire threat. Players will guide this young warrior on an epic quest that will have them adventuring across a completely 3D world for the first time in the series. From majestic plains to towering mountains, the interactive environments in Dawn of Mana offer an assortment of places to visit, characters to meet, and creatures to battle. The combat system once again unfolds in real-time, with players able to jump, slash with a sword, fire projectiles, and even swing a whip that can attach itself to objects. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The second release in a series of three, .hack//G.U.: Vol. 2 -- Reminisce takes place in a fictional MMO environment called The World. As in previous releases of .hack, The World features elements of online gaming without the actual connection. Gamers interact with people they might find in a real MMO, take on quests, and adventure across a large environment as they increase their level.

In this version of The World, gamers find the once-utopian landscape is now a player killer's (PKers) heaven. A bug in the game is blocking the log-off ability to all fictional gamers; effectively locking them into The World. Now, bands of PKers prey on every character in their path hoping that the slaughter knocks them out of the game and back into real life.

Gamers take the role of Haseo, a killer of players who is stuck in the game. Haseo must work his way through The World by interacting with other character, defeating enemies in dungeon sprawls, and by completing assigned objectives. Navigation through the game requires the use of Warp points located around the map. ~ Gracie Leach, All Game Guide

The most distinguishing feature of the "EXA" edition in Sega's long-running Shining Force series may be its Fortress System, included to add tension and new aspects of strategy to the classic, console-style role-playing. The game's main story follows two young heroes, Toma the warrior and Cyrille the sorceress, who live in a land marred by decades of unending war. The heroes embark on an epic journey, to reach their destinies and return peace to the land. Yet even as they travel the realms, gaining allies and defeating evil, they must also see to the protection their greatest asset of all: their home base fortress. When monsters attack this base, players will have a chance to defend it through tactical combat. The fortress may come under attack at any time, even when the main heroes are busy questing far from home, so leaving a few trusted party members behind seems wise. As the game progresses and the fortress is successfully held, it will develop to become more powerful, larger in size, and better armed to stave off future invasions. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

The development team behind the PlayStation 2's Dark Cloud series returns to the genre with Rogue Galaxy, an original action role-playing game offering an estimated 100 hours of content. After spending an uneventful life on the desert planet Rosa, a weary lad named Jaster is whisked away on an epic adventure led by the charismatic Dorgengoa and his crew of space pirates. Their goal is to find a lost planet rumored to possess the secret of eternal life, but they are not alone in their efforts.

Emissaries from the ruthless Daytron Corporation have been sent to find the planet, and they will stop at nothing to ensure their success. Players will lead an interchangeable party of three characters as they engage in real-time combat across five planets. As Jaster and friends search the galaxy, they can embark on rare item hunts, capture and raise bugs for special tournaments, and even build a factory to forge more than 500 new melee and ranged weapons. Rogue Galaxy also features cel-shaded visuals and more than eight hours of cinematic cut-scenes to further the swashbuckling storyline. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The Final Fantasy series' PS2 opus is set in Ivalice, a land of swords and sorcery familiar to veterans of Final Fantasy Tactics. Here, magic and technology coexist, as do humans and other intelligent races such a s the leporine viera and the scaly skinned bangaa. Airships, in the form of high-tech hovercraft, are also common in this land of Ivalice, and players will pilot these sky-speeders for transportation, warfare, and (perhaps) even a little privateering.

Character development is designed to be as engaging and empowering as in any Final Fantasy game, and is accomplished by making strategic "license" choices in a chessboard-like graphic interface. Through the game's new "Active Dimension Battle" system, combat progresses in a pause-able real-time flow, offering a sense of action while retaining tactical options. Companion characters can be assigned customizable battle behaviors ahead of time, through the game's "gambit" system.

Ashe, the princess of a small kingdom called Dalmasca, is the star of the story, although she is joined by several other driven and distinctly skilled characters. The nearby Archadian Empire is in a period of reckless, vicious expansion, and as heir to the throne of Dalmasca, it falls to Ashe and her companions to save the sovereignty of their tiny nation from imperial usurpers. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Players who journey through the Phantasy Star Universe, can find action as a single gamer in either an offline "Story" mode, as an individual adventurer online, or within a group by connecting to the Internet.

Offline, gamers take the role of 17 year-old Ethan Waber, a young cadet in a human security group known as the Guardians. Ethan is thrust into war after an alien race known as the SEED attack a colony of humans and kidnap his sister in the process. To save his sister and eventually the entire Phantasy Star Universe, Ethan must travel through 20 dungeons and three different planets while earning experience, upgrading his gear and attributes, and discovering hidden trinkets and treasures found throughout the game. He won't be alone, however, as an ensemble of characters will join him throughout the single-player adventure.

Connecting to the Internet opens up three types of missions for single-player and group adventuring. Online universe users begin by creating their own character through a customization process complete with a variety of adjustable physical attributes. All players then gather in a pre-mission lobby to select and attempt a quest to complete, either alone or with a group of friends. Mission points, items, and other goodies are awarded in all three adventures based on performance.

There are three types of weapons with 200 variations and 20 categories found in Phantasy Star Universe, including melee, TECHNIC, and ranged combat options. TECHNIC is a type of magical combat executed with a wand or other magic casting weapons. Two items can be equipped at one time, and gamers can group their weapon sets according to each tool of destruction's strength and weakness. All three styles can be used, interchanged, and improved to battle over 200 diverse enemies found in the game. ~ Gracie Leach, All Game Guide

Picking up seven years after the original four-game series, .hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth transports players back to "The World," a fictional online video game. Players take on the persona of Haseo, a gamer whose character has been brutalized by a mysterious figure. Haseo loses all of his experience and must begin again at level one. Meanwhile, his friend who was adventuring with him is attacked by the same enemy and put into a "real-life" coma. It is Haseo who must find the mysterious avatar responsible by searching through "The World."

There are plenty of recognizable people and places for Haseo to see, however, he can also explore additional content, such as guilds and the Arena. Guilds are groups composed of affiliated players who share a private room known as "@Home," where they may conduct business. The Arena is located in the city of Lumina Cloth and consists of three palaces: Demon Palace, Holy Palace, and Sage Palace. Gamers engage in three-on-three battles here, in the hopes of becoming emperors of one of these strongholds.

Haseo can travel on foot, by bicycle, or through the Chaos Gate, which leads to "lost grounds" such as the Hulle Granz Cathedral and the Arche Koeln Waterfall. From time to time, information is sent to Haseo's mail station. He may read e-mails sent to him and send greeting cards. Haseo may also direct his attention to "Online Jack," an in-game web show hosted by Salvador Aihara. The show is about Doll Syndrome, a disease spreading among children, and Aihara believes the affliction is connected to online gaming.

Players who have saved game data from the original series can plug it into .hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth and receive a special item. ~ Gracie Leach, All Game Guide

Air out the tights, slip on the mask, don the cape, and prepare to flex some muscles in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, an action role-playing game featuring the largest cast of costumed crusaders and mutant messiahs in a video game to date. Twenty Marvel superheroes have joined forces to combat the diabolical Dr. Doom and his Masters of Evil. The action will take players to Atlantis, the Skrull home world, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier, and more as they guide a four-person party through 17 comic book-inspired locales. Moves include a flurry of air and ground strikes, from grapples and blocks to chargeable powers and deadly combos. Objects within the environment can also cause damage, and a choice of one- and two-handed weapons can help less extraordinary heroes mete out justice against throngs of enemies.

As players decide on which heroes to enlist in their super group, including such iconic characters as Spider-Man, Wolverine, The Thing, Captain America, Elektra, and Thor, they can customize their team's name, icon, and vehicle. The party's reputation will increase over time through heroic deeds and by successfully completing mission objectives, allowing players the opportunity to further enhance the team's or a specific character's attributes. The cast includes more than 140 comic book characters in total, many of which are available in the single-player storyline and can be unlocked for multiplayer action. The latter supports both cooperative and competitive battles, with in-game statistics tracked for each team as they earn experience points and receive powerful new equipment. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance also features unlockable bonus content, such as alternate costumes that modify a character's base statistics in the areas of defense, melee damage, and so forth. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide