Final Fantasy XII

In recent years the respect and prestige the Final Fantasy franchise earned from providing a stellar storytelling experience, backed up by graphics beyond the confines of the other console games, has slowly deteriorated. This is due to the awfully poor Final Fantasy X-2 and the online rendition of the series which has only gained a small cult following (sorry ya losers the FF MMO sucks).

Most of the people I know just gave up on hoping the next game would break Square Enix out of their rut and bring Final Fantasy back up to speed with current games. Some people even fooled themselves into believing every game after X-2 was still amazing, ignoring the stink of mediocrity that currently plagues the series that used to set trends for the market.

The tutorial turns out to be a massacre. Poor Reks.

Genre: JRPG
Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: 16th March, 2006
Platforms: PS2, PS4
Score: 6/10
Similar Titles: Grandia, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean
Worth playing: If you are a fan of Final Fantasy or are running out of alternative RPGs to play.

Kingdom Hearts

The original Kingdom Hearts game ushered the JRPG genre into a new era. It took a step aside from the average turn based and slow paced RPG. Instead, you get to take a more pivotal role in combat, using a hack and slash based system incorporated into the usual Roleplaying blend.

Who would of thought Square-Enix and Disney could come together to create such a ground breaking game? There are many reasons to experience Kingdom Hearts. At a first look, it seems laughable to put Final Fantasy and Disney characters in the same sentence, never mind the same game! But it works, because it's one of the best damn games I've ever played.

Sora and Kairi, before everything turns to darkness.

Genre: JRPG
Release Date: 28th March, 2002
Platforms: PS2, PC, PS4, Android, Iphone
Score: 9/10
Similar Titles: Final Fantasy, Zenonia, Xenosaga

Psychonauts

Genre: Platform/Puzzle
Release Date: October 11th 2006
Platforms: PC, Mac, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Score: 8/10
Similar: Crash Bandicoot, Mario, Sonic
Worth Playing: While a basic platformer at heart, Psychonauts is the type of wacky & innane that you cannot help but enjoy.

The opening screen has you walking on a giant brain.

As a top contender for my favourite game, Psychonauts is really a great experience. Most critics hold Psychonauts in high esteem, despite its lack of sales. Even though it came out back in 2005, the game has aged wonderfully. Even now I'm rather eager to continue, just writing about it is making me want to play. Psychonauts 2 will possibly be coming to town in the future- and despite the douchebag Notch funding the efforts, let's hope he has nothing further to do with the development.

Grandia 3

Genre: JRPG
Release Date: August 4th 2005
Platforms: PS2
Score: 6/10
Similar: Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest

The graphics aren't bad.

Grandia 3 is the final game in a great but deteriorating series. Although the plot and characters cling to the stereotype and refuse to decease in hitting you with the generic stick; at the end of the day it doesn't stop Grandia from being a JRPG worthy of Square-enix.

The characters are kinda horrible though.

Suikoden 3

Genre: JRPG
Release Date: July 11th 2002
Platforms: PS2
Score: 7/10
Similar Titles: Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Grandia

The main character, Hugo.

Suikoden III is a game I always wanted to play, hoping it would live up to its predecessors. Sadly, I never got around to it due to it being console only. Luckily I got my hands on a copy, and I must say it didn't let me down. At heart this game is basically part JRPG and part anime, which suits me just fine.

Final Fantasy X

Genre: JRPG, RPG, Adventure
Release Date: July 19th 2001
Platforms: PS2, PS3, Vita, PC
Score: 9/10
Similar Titles: Dragon Quest, Breath of Fire, Star Ocean
Worth Playing: Final Fantasy X has become widely available through numerous ports, and therefore anyone searching for a fairly decent game to play will find this game a pretty enjoyable experience overall.

The cover wouldn't be so bad if I didn't hate Tidus.

As number one on my list of best Final Fantasy games, this FFX review has been a long time coming. While I say Final Fantasy X is the best Final Fantasy game, that's purely due to the Sphere Grid.

The tenth instalment of Square-Enix's greatest franchise did pretty much everything right. When the game was released it was an unnerving time for fans, who were skeptical as to whether the series would adapt as wonderfully to the playstation 2 as it did the playstation. In my oh so humble opinion, Final Fantasy 10 succeeded in every way possible. I've met more than one person who didn't enjoy playing RPG games until they encountered FFX.