Final Fantasy XII Publisher:  Square Enix Developer:  Square Enix

Why It Rocked: It takes a lot of crystals to reinvent a franchise that has been your nest egg for almost 20 years, but that's exactly what Square Enix did with the year's best RPG, Final Fantasy XII. Its combat system, camera placement, character modification, artistic style, and all around presentation were completely revamped; providing a dramatic departure from the formula that made the series so successful in the first place. But, do you know the best news of all? It worked!

Risky as it might have been, the changes in Final Fantasy XII make it incredibly appealing. Whether it's the fluid, almost real-time battles and addictive upgrades, or its always-interesting storyline and completely different characters, Ivalice always has a "hook" to grab you. No matter how far or near adventurers may be to its conclusion, FF12 keeps you working, guessing, and playing like few other games on Sony's console. In short, it's the best PS2 game we played in 2006 and one of the strongest titles ever released for the system.

Runners-Up:  
Guitar Hero II
Okami

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