RPG Video Games

The first true sequel for Nintendo's long-running and ultra-popular creature-breeding RPG franchise, Pokémon: Black Version 2 sends players back to the Unova region for more exploration, collection, and turn-based battling. Unova has changed drastically in the two years since the first game, with new towns to explore, new characters, and familiar friends in new roles. Gamers once again take on the role of a Pokémon trainer and travel around the world battling other trainers, interacting with Gym Leaders, and uncovering the mysteries of the Black Kyurem and White Kyurem.

As was the case in the first Pokémon: Black Version, each Gym Leader controls a stable of themed Pokémon to be captured, with 300 total Pokémon in the game and 22 creatures exclusive to Pokémon: Black Version 2. New features include the Pokémon World Tournament, where players can battle every Gym Leader in a variety of modes, the Hollywood-like Pokéstar Studios, where gamers can make Pokémon films, and the Challenge and Assist modes that raise or lower the strength of rival trainers.

Pokémon: Black Version 2 is compatible with its co-release Pokémon: White Version 2, as well as their predecessors Pokémon: Black Version and Pokémon: White Version. Gamers who also own a 3DS can download the new Pokédex 3D Pro and play Pokémon Dream Radar to capture Pokémon in the real world using the system's augmented reality function. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Role-players scout an uncharted island, battling wild beasts and recruiting new pet monsters as they quest for a way back home. Following the path of the original, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 is a creature-collecting adventure. DSers develop a team of fantastical monsters to fight for them in turn-based battles. When players encounter a creature in the wild, they can try to tame it, with a chance of success based on their Scout Skills level compared to the level of the creature. Players can also "synthesize" new monsters, by combining two creatures they have already captured.

Player characters' skills increase as they conquer enemies, complete quests, and proceed through the adventure. Tamed creatures grow in power and gain new abilities with battle experience. In the field, players travel with a party of up to three active monsters. Each creature has a different mix of strengths, vulnerabilities, and special powers, encouraging players to choose a balanced team. The player's character does not engage directly in battle, but may use influential items that can affect the outcome.

The adventure begins aboard an airship, which is struck by lightning and crashes in a strange land. The hero must seek out other survivors and find a way back to more familiar territories. The island includes more than 300 tamable creatures, all indigenous to previous games in Japan's popular and long-running Dragon Quest franchise. Unlike 2007's self-published original Joker, the Square-Enix sequel spinoff is brought to North America by Nintendo. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

The next chapter in Nintendo's blockbuster Pokémon franchise features 156 completely new creatures to battle, capture, tame, and train. Two distinct starting areas are now available, Black City and White Forest, each corresponding to the game's title. Exclusive legendary Pokémon types are also associated with each version of the game, requiring players to trade with owners of the opposite version to "catch 'em all." A new graphics engine incorporates increased 3D elements and changing seasons for the first time in the series.

Seasons aren't for ambiance, either -- certain Pokémon appear more frequently during certain seasons, while parts of the land are inaccessible during winter or summer. As a male or female trainer, you'll begin your career with a choice of three Pokémon, including grass-based Snivy, fire-based Tepig, or water-based Oshawott. You'll then travel across the all-new Unova region looking to pit your skills against rival Pokémon trainers. Battles are once again resolved in turn-based fashion, as you decide which of your Pokémon's skills to activate while attempting to defeat the opposition. New twists to the battle phase are rotation and triple battles. The former utilizes a tag-team format, while the latter is a three-on-three fight. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The next chapter in Nintendo's blockbuster Pokémon franchise features 156 completely new creatures to battle, capture, tame, and train. Two distinct starting areas are now available, Black City and White Forest, each corresponding to the game's title. Exclusive legendary Pokémon types are also associated with each version of the game, requiring players to trade with owners of the opposite version to "catch 'em all." A new graphics engine incorporates increased 3D elements and changing seasons for the first time in the series.

Seasons aren't for ambiance, either -- certain Pokémon appear more frequently during certain seasons, while parts of the land are inaccessible during winter or summer. As a male or female trainer, you'll begin your career with a choice of three Pokémon, including grass-based Snivy, fire-based Tepig, or water-based Oshawott. You'll then travel across the all-new Unova region looking to pit your skills against rival Pokémon trainers. Battles are once again resolved in turn-based fashion, as you decide which of your Pokémon's skills to activate while attempting to defeat the opposition. New twists to the battle phase are rotation and triple battles. The former utilizes a tag-team format, while the latter is a three-on-three fight. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

More than 15 years after it was released for Nintendo's Super Famicom system in Japan, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation makes its proper North American debut exclusively for the DS. The handheld version offers a host of updates and changes, but players still take on the role of an amnesia-stricken hero who sets off on a quest to discover his true identity. In the process, gamers will recruit allies, battle monsters, and attempt to save two separate but similar worlds from the evil Murdaw. Players choose from nine different character classes (six more classes can be unlocked later) before they begin their trek across the expansive overworld map, exploring dungeons, collecting medals and items, and engaging in random battles. Combat is turn-based, from a first-person perspective, with party members leveling up their battle and magic skills as they defeat enemies. Special DS features include a permanent map on the top screen, the ability to wirelessly communicate and transfer data between systems, and a special curling mini-game starring the iconic Dragon Quest slime. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The third entry in the Nintendo DS-exclusive Etrian Odyssey RPG series, The Drowned City sends adventurers on an epic journey across the sea and beneath the waves, in search of the technological secrets and legendary treasures of a sunken metropolis. Similar to its predecessors, Etrian Odyssey III plays with the sophistication of a tabletop role-playing game. The character-class development trees offer abundant branches of specialization, players create their own maps as they explore, and the secrets of a lost civilization await those willing to follow clues and quests to their convoluted conclusions.

Players adventure from a 3D, first-person perspective in the top screen, moving one grid square at a time in the touch-screen map below. With an affirmed "old-school RPG" style, the game rewards patience and perseverance with depth and detail. The Drowned City features a new set of ten main character classes, including diverse choices such as Hoplite, Ninja, and Farmer. Acting as a guild master, players recruit new characters, decide who will go on which adventures, and assign skill development points as they are obtained.

Combat is turn-based, allowing players to formulate strategies and execute tactics that maximize the team-based attacks and defenses of their five-character parties. As in earlier Etrian Odyssey adventures, the game world is a sprawling labyrinth, full of danger and almost completely uncharted at the beginning of the game. By keeping a detailed map in the touch screen, players gradually create an invaluable tool for finding new conquests, as well as for finding the way back to the safety of town to recuperate (and save the game!) after a big fight. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Dawn of Heroes is a classically styled turn-based role-playing game, designed especially for play on Nintendo DS with touch-screen controls and wireless multiplayer modes. The game's grid-based battles can be controlled completely with the stylus, through a simple drag-and-drop interface. In the heat of combat, the game switches from its iconic top-down viewpoint to present the battle in full 3D, with magic weapon attacks and spell effects from the up-close perspective of the characters in the fight. The game's plot twists and turns through the fantasy land of Brimthule, a realm contested and controlled by various factions, where players can take on more than 50 dangerous and rewarding missions. While progressing through the story, players will encounter characters of more than two dozen class types, who may be recruited into the team and developed as the player wishes. Characters' colors and appearances may be customized, as well as their abilities and equipment. Players can choose and equip their combat party before each fight, and thoughtful preparation can easily make the difference between victory and defeat. Although there is always a challenge to be found, the game's story is full of humor, and even the most vicious battles are presented with cute character models and lighthearted animation. Through a local wireless connection, players can skirmish one another, or trade character items and equipment. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Ragnarok DS is a handheld counterpart to the online computer game of the same title, set in a realm based on the Ragnarok Korean comic series, inspired by Norse mythology. The game follows a well-defined single-player storyline, set in the world of the "massively multiplayer" version of the game for PCs. Players take control of a brave young man with a tragic past, destined to save a world on the brink of chaos. The game can be controlled almost completely with the touch screen, as players tap, slash, and draw other simple symbols to guide their characters in exploration and combat.

The adventure leads the hero through the enormous Mirage Tower, where more than 50 floors of randomly generated maps hold dangerous monsters and glorious treasures. As they earn experience, characters have the opportunity to gain new abilities by specializing in one of 17 jobs, such as swordsman, archer, magician, or thief. Players can also choose to become Dark Knights or Shamans, two specialty jobs not featured in the original computer version of the game. Up to three Ragnarok DS players can explore the tower together, through a wireless local DS connection. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

A remake of the mid-'90s role-playing/strategy PC title, Jagged Alliance is a turn-based man-to-man combat game with an emphasis on fun rather than strict realism. The player has been hired to take back control of the island of Metavira. You must select (and pay for) the mercenary force which will carry out the mission. During the campaign, other missions will arise. Each of the 60 mercenaries you may select from have their own personalities and skills. They also have unique voices and will speak to you throughout the game. The battle is viewed from a bird's-eye perspective and the player's visibility is limited to what the characters in the field can and cannot see, making cautious tactics mandatory. Three skill levels are available, and the game features a large amount of digitized audio and speech. ~ All Game Guide

This sequel to Atlus' 2007 release Etrian Odyssey tells the story of the flooded Grand Duchy of High Lagaard, ruled by a duke rumored to be a descendant of the chosen ones who inhabit the mysterious castle in the sky. When a crisis cripples the nation, a call goes out to all explorers willing to go on an adventure to the great castle to retrieve the Grail of the Kings. A lifetime of fame and wealth will greet those who successfully return.

Like it's predecessor, Etrian Odyssey II is a dungeon-heavy role-playing game inspired by its traditional pen-and-paper forebears. By using the touch screen and stylus, gamers can chart their progress through dungeons, and map out halls, chambers, treasures, and pitfalls. The roster of character classes has been expanded from nine to 12, and players can customize their characters' name, sex, skills, and spells. Though dungeon crawling is the primary focus, more than 100 side-quests help give gamers a varied experience every time they play. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide