Final Fantasy XII Publisher:  Square Enix Developer:  Square Enix

Why It Rocked: What makes a role-playing game what it is? Some say that it's a combination of character development and an extensive plot. Others claim that it's all about item collection and conversations with NPCs. Regardless of which school of thought you subscribe to, one thing is for sure -- Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII is in possession of all those descriptors and more.

Set in the war-torn world of Ivalice, Final Fantasy XII was definitely the year's ultimate RPG experience. Bigger and more extensive than its competition, it took six extremely different personalities and challenged them with one important task: to stop the unstoppable. Pitting our heroes against the powerful Archadian Empire, Final Fantasy XII gives players a little bit of everything... fulfilling combat, a cool upgrade system, a powerful narrative, and true artistic panache. Best of all, it plays differently from every other game in the series before it -- truly making it the most unique Final Fantasy adventure since FF Tactics on the original PlayStation. It's a must own.

Runners-Up:  
Suikoden V
Xenosaga Episode III

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