20 Must play RPGs

.hack// series
.hack//Infection | .hack//Mutation | .hack//Outbreak | .hack//Quarantine

Publisher: Bandai

Developer: CyberConnect2

Release Date: 2003 - 2004

While this RPG series has its fair share of faults, it's still worth a look just for the new ground it broke. The serialized gameplay, spread out across four separate chapters, is able to simulate a massively multiplayer online world, despite being neither massively multiplayer nor online. Fans of MMORPGs will definitely want to give these games a try.








Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits

Publisher: Sony

Developer: ARC entertainment

Release Date: 2003

A strictly by-the-book RPG, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits introduced the popular Japanese series to the PS2. While not a visual stunner, its RPG features are buttressed by a strong story—the conflict between humans and deimos (intelligent monsters) told from the perspective of brothers Kharg and Darc—which makes this one a keeper.









Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest

Publisher: SOE

Developer: Snowblind

Release Date: 2004

For those who like their RPGs on the light side, Champions (along with its sequel) offers classic Diablo-style play. Hack and slash your way through the melodramatic story line to save the world from falling to Innoruuk, the Prince of Hate. Or just hack and slash your way to getting cool new loot, like an efreeti war ax with 178-205 damage!








Dark Cloud 2

Publisher: SOE

Developer: Level-5

Release Date: 2004

This is a game in which you can have a kid jump into a robot clown and have it punch evil trees and stuff. Do you need more reasons to try this game? How about the ability to create towns, invent new weapons, or learn how to be a good photographer? Still not interested? You're dead to us.









Final Fantasy X

Publisher: Square

Developer: Square

Release Date: 2001

The 10th game in the Final Fantasy series holds special significance due to the introduction of voice acting. X also introduced a new character-swap system, making battles more interesting and dynamic. And who could forget blitz ball—a side quest that could've easily been its own game.









Final Fantasy X-2

Publisher: Square

Developer: Square

Release Date: 2003

Finally, you can fulfill your dream of playing as three totally hot fashionistas who save the world with their wardrobes! OK, this isn't as heavy or deep as the previous Final Fantasy games, but we applaud its experimental foray into a less linear world and its use of different clothes as weapons. Well, we really just like playing as women who fight monsters with their fabulous skirts.











Final Fantasy XI

Publisher: Square

Developer: Square

Release Date: 2004

While not the first MMORPG on the PS2, it is definitely the first successful one, sucking console gamers into the evil and addictive world of a persistent online universe. Just ask OPM art director Ryan Vulk—in the span of one year, he's spent more than 100 real-time days in the game. We're not quite sure how he has time to do his job....











Kingdom Hearts

Publisher: Square

Developer: Square

Release Date: 2002

Combining Disney and Square characters seems ridiculous, but Kingdom Hearts pulls it off. The straightforward combat combined with amazing locations and characters attracts Disney and Square Enix fans alike. And while the Gummi ship portions leave something to be desired, the rest of the game is top-notch.









Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color

Publisher: Agetec

Developer: Garakuta-studio

Release Date: 2003

Magic Pengel is just one of those games that's charming and has a unique style. For starters, it lets you design your own characters through a doodling system that instantly changes anything you draw into a 3D model. Plus, who can resist those sickeningly cute paintbrush-equipped pengels?











Monster Rancher 3

Publisher: Tecmo

Developer: Tecmo

Release Date: 2001

In a convincing answer to the Pokémon craze, Tecmo's Monster Rancher line (4 shipped in 2003) lets you breed, train, and fight with—yep—monsters. MR3, generally regarded as the series' best, scrapped the familiar farm system in favor of large, open regions, with a greater emphasis on training and combat. Cooler still, MR3 introduced the ability to import your face into the game. Breed, monster, breed!









Phantom Brave

Publisher: Atlus usa

Developer: Nippon ichi

Release Date: 2004

If you're only going to play one weird strategy-RPG, then go with this one. We could talk on and on about how you create units by confining the souls of warriors in everyday objects, but that's just ruining the fun. It's cheap, too!




Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

Publisher: Atlus

Developer: Atlus

Release Date: 2004

To say this is Pokémon plus Paradise Lost plus Final Fantasy is to barely get into it. It's got a crazy story about demons and postapocalyptic conquest, it portrays Lucifer as a doddering wheelchair rider, and it makes the act of fusing angels and demons and ice monsters into weirder creatures a whole lot of fun. Plus, it has the most Japanese name on this list.



Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Publisher: Square-Enix

Developer: Tri-ace

Release Date: 2004

It's a flawed but valiant effort to supply RPG gamers with a huge sci-fi epic that eats up lots of game time and features quirky real-time combat. Plus, it has the trippiest ending since the time you had to read a book in Ultima IV



XenoSaga Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht

Publisher: Namco Hometek

Developer: Monolith

Release Date: 2003

This is more of an anime-style treatise on theology than an RPG. If you want to see a massive space opera that makes you wonder why you're alive and what you should do with your life, then this is a good start. Besides, it has a really hot robot woman as the main character.



Dragon Warrior VII

Publisher: Enix

Developer: Enix

Release Date: 2001

This is a fine history lesson in which great gameplay is coupled with not-amazing graphics. But if you love killing things and running around in dungeons, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better game. It also provides good prep background for Dragon Quest VIII, which looks pretty awesome.



Final Fantasy VII (BEST OF ALL)

Publisher: Sony

Developer: Square

Release Date: 1997

If any game is responsible for introducing RPGs to the masses, it's Final Fantasy VII. Its deep (and occasionally convoluted) story, along with its amazing cut-scenes, provides a cinematic experience that few other games have matched. It's no wonder the game's fans still ask about Aeris to this day. This is the best of 20 most wanted RPG game.



Final Fantasy Tactics

Publisher: Square

Developer: Square

Release Date: 1998

One word summarizes Final Fantasy Tactics: depth. The Shakespearean story of betrayal and murder and the expansive class training system are just two of the reasons Tactics can suck away hours upon hours of your day without you even knowing it. It also gets the award for having the most shanking of any videogame.


The Legend of Dragoon

Publisher: Sony

Developer: Sony

Release Date: 2000

This visually awesome game was Sony's answer to the frenzy stirred up by Final Fantasy VII. While disparaged by some, it inspired many gamers to rabid fandom. Just how fanatic are these people? Well, OPM has received more mail asking whether there will be a sequel to Legend of the Dragoon than it has for any other game.



Star Ocean: The Second Story

Publisher: Enix

Developer: Tri-ace

Release Date: 1999

If you like big, sprawling RPGs but aren't so big a fan of Final Fantasy, then Star Ocean is probably more your cup of tea. Its sprawling worlds and pretty graphics drew gamers in, but they were kept there by the endlessly branching story lines. In fact, it is so sprawling that your choices can result in more than 80 endings. Talk about replayability.



XenoGears

Publisher: Square

Developer: Square

Release Date: 1998

If you liked all the theological space opera-ness of Xenosaga, then hunt down this game. It's even weirder and more theological, but it still features fun fights using big robots. One word of caution, however: Don't get this game if you're sensitive to alternative
portrayals of God (this applies to Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne also).

Final Fantasy Fans ! Hear this ! Great news

Square's second foray into feature-length computer-generated storytelling, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will ship on DVD in Japan on September 14th, 2005, with the U.S. release shipping a week later. The difference between the Japanese and U.S. release is that in Japan, consumers will have the option of buying the regular edition of Advent Children, or, if big spenders feel like laying out nearly $300 bucks, they can snag the limited boxed set, called "Advent Pieces." Click on the pictures for the big, tasty images.
To recap, the Advent Pieces box will come with a big Cloud-on-motorcycle (the Hardy Daytona reinvented?) figure, a paperback compilation of the Advent Children script (in Japanese), a mug and a hat with the Cloud Wolf motif emblazoned on the pair, a snazzy t-shirt that will most likely not fit most standard-sized American importers, a silver keychain, a DVD created by famed animation studio Madhouse (Ninja Scroll, Animatrix, etc.), and a reissue of the PlayStation 1 game Final Fantasy VII International (with new cover and disc art). Take a look at the new hi-res pics of the items in case it helps you decide whether or not you're going to purchase this exorbitant item. We sure as hell are.
n other interesting news (ALERT: STOP HERE IF YOU'RE GONNA WHINE ABOUT SPOILERS), toy maker Kotobukiya, known for their high-quality Final Fantasy X and X-2 figures have released images for their upcoming FFVII: Advent Children merchandise. The revelation found in these images are the names of the huge monster(s) seen in the various Advent Children trailers, which were presumed to be, among other things, Bahamut, but never quite confirmed. Now, thanks to the miracle of Internet goods shops, the names of Shin Bahamut, Jado Gripper (an as yet unseen monster), and the Shera airship (Cid must have traded the High Wind in at the airship dealership for something with power windows) are finally revealed, only a few weeks before the finished movie debuts at this year's Venice Film Festival (last year's festival showcased the first ever work-in-progress in its history, giving the honor to Advent Children via a 25-minute trailer). And beginning the week of September 8th, Advent Children will see a limited theatrical release in Japan, preceding the DVD launch at retail. I'll have more coverage of the highly anticipated sequel to Final Fantasy VII (the game) as it develops, but take a peek at the uber-rare goods Square-Enix is packing in with the LE set and drool.

Pump It Up heads to home console

I'm a crazy fan of DDR series from Konami and Pump It Up from korean dacing game maker Andamiro. But Pump it up is just for arcade version, now this news will make many dacing gamer happy a lot. Th reslease date was set August 31th 2005 . For your reference , heads to their officcial website, can't waitforo "pump it up" : Pump It Up For Home Official website

Win $1,000,000!! ! Are you ready for rumble !

Wow, what the coolest gaming prize I've seen ! Now these are rules :
General Guidelines*:

Gamer registers for a given tournament for $10.
Gamers are organized into groups of 10.
Each gamer will play every other gamer once.
Gamers will participate in a minimum of 9 games each time they register.
Each 9 game set is called a round.
Gamer with the most wins in a round advances to the next round (for tie breaks see GENERAL TOURNAMENT RULES 9)).
Prizes are awarded to the winners of each round.
Prizes are as follows: Round 1-$10, Round 2-$100, Round 3-$1000, (Final) Round 4- $2,000 to $10,000.
The number of rounds will be determined by the number of participants in a given tournament.
Tournament sizes will be up to 10,000 gamers based on the following schedule: 10, 100, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, 10000.
When registration for a tournament closes, registered gamers falling between tournament sizes will be rejected and refunded their $10 entry fee (ex. if 2056 people register, 56 will be rejected and refunded)
Previous round awards will be netted out of later round awards (ex. A round 3 winner will be paid for his last round won, $1000, not $1110).
* Rules may change on a tournament by tournament basis. Please be careful to read and agree to the specific rules for each tournament.

Player Classification:

As you play tournaments, you will receive a power ranking based on your stats.
Your power ranking will classify you as a beginner, amateur, or expert Gamer.
In the future, tournaments will be offered for every class to give everyone a better chance to compete.
Cash prizes, trophies and published interviews will be awarded to the top three highest ranking gamers by class.

World Cup Championship Tournaments:

A World cup championship tournament, made up of the highest ranking egamingleague.com gamers, will be run once a year for every game.
The grand prize for the World Cup Championship may be as high as
$1,000,000!!

Here are the general tournament rules:

GENERAL TOURNAMENT RULES

1) Gamers must have access to the console assigned to the tournament for which he/she registers. Example, for X-Box tournaments, you must have access to X-Box Live.

2) EGAMINGLEAGUE.COM is not responsible for any hardware, software, networking or logistical problems that may affect your ability to compete according to the rules of the tournament. These are the sole responsibility of you the user.

3) Once a gamer registers for a given tournament he/she will be provided with a schedule

4) Gamer is responsible for adhering to this schedule. Failure to do so will be recorded as a forfeiture (loss).

5) You must log into egamingleague.com and report your score within the time frame designated in the individual tournament rules (typically within 2 hours of the game START time).

6) Your entry fee is non-refundable unless your registration is cancelled by EGAMINGLEAGUE.COM before the start of a tournament

7) In the case that an opponent does not show, the gamer must immediately contact egamingleague to report the no show. The gamer who reports the no show will be credited with a win at the average winning score of the tournament. False reports will result in severe punishment and possible expulsion.

8) Reporting scores:
We have an honor system in our lower rounds using the following rules:

• a) If only one user reports a score by the deadline, that is the final score.
• b) In the case that a user reports a conflicting score, they will be made aware that the scores do not comply. If they choose to submit it anyway, an email will be sent to the other gamer notifying him/her of this conflict.
• c) The second gamer will either update their score or choose arbitration.
• d) If scores conflict and the winner is not agreed, gamers will go to arbitration.
• e) In arbitration EGAMINGLEAGUE.COM investigates the game in question in order to determine the actual outcome.
• f) If the score cannot be determined via X-BOX Live or Playstation On-line gaming, gamers are solely responsible for proving their case. Therefore, it is recommended that precautions be taken prior to game start that will verify scores and outcomes. (such as video taping the games).
• g) Gamers agree that EGAMINGLEAGUE.COM will make the final decision in all arbitration.
• h) If a gamer is found to have deliberately lied or reported the wrong score, this gamer will be banned from participating in any future tournaments.
• i) In addition, any conflicting scores will result in a foul being assessed to the gamer. Gamers with excessive fouls will be barred from any further tournaments.
• j) Inappropriate reporting can result in disqualification from the tournament and forfeiture of prize money.
  

9) Tie breaks: As this is league style play, ties can occure and will be broken according to the following rules:

• a) Two-way tie, same record: Winner of head to head game wins.
• b) Three or more way tie, same record: Player with most points wins.

10) Prizes:

• a) Entry fee prizes will be credited back to the credit card used to register for the tournament.
• b) All other prizes will be mailed by check or transferred via paypal, or directly deposited into gamers account electronically.
• c) Taxes will not be withheld from the prize checks. 1099 forms will be mailed to the gamer within one month after the end of the tax year.
• --------------------------------------------------

Register at EGamingLeague

Nintendo sold 320,000 copies of the DS fighting game Jump! Super Stars in the first day

Jump! Super Stars Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo DS Genre: Fighting Origin: Japan Release: August 8, 200