What makes a good RPG? Is it story? Battle mechanics? Spell combinations and variety? For every gamer, there is that one nugget in a game that keeps you coming back. To RPG lovers everywhere, you latch onto a game that has multiple nuggets hidden throughout.

In my opinion, the Playstation has numerous nuggets of gold scattered throughout a variety of titles, some very well known such as the Final Fantasy series, and some not so well known such as Breath of Fire 3 and Ogre Battle. These nuggets will gleam more brightly to each gamer in the light of their own personal preferences. To me, a combination of story line, sub-plots, battle mechanics and strategy build a great game. With all these pieces in mind, the first few recommendations should not come as a surprise.

The number one RPG on the Playstation in my opinion is Final Fantasy VII. Not only does this game offer significant battle mechanics over many others of its class, but the interaction the player has with mastering materia usage, breeding chocobos and following through countless side quests give hour upon hour of satisfying gameplay.

If you prefer a more direct, action oriented RPG, you may find Legacy of Kain more to your liking. This game offers a very unique, involved and intriguing story line. While much darker in nature than many other games available, Legacy of Kain is a great addition to any RPG collection.

When it comes to strictly strategy, there are plenty to suit your fancy as well. Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre are wonderfully thorough games that immerses the user into a fantasy realm while allowing for fully non-linear gameplay. In fact, Ogre Battle offers up to 13 different endings to the game. Final Fantasy Tactics is an incredibly intensive strategy RPG as well.

While these specific games give you an overview of some of the great variety available to the Playstation RPG gamer, there is a nearly endless list of worthy titles to check out. Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Xenogears, Tales of Destiny, Suikoden, Suikoden II, and Legend of Legaia name only a few. These great games alone represent nearly 800 hours of gameplay. If that doesn’t quench your thirst for Playstation RPGs, there are more where these come from.

Final Fantasy VII engrossed those who played it. With its unforgettable characters and compelling story, it kept me eager to find out what would happen next even as I explored towns, battled monsters, and collected items. I have a special place in my heart for Red XIII, the cat/dog creature with a tail whose tip appears to be a flame. Gentle Aeris, Brave Barrett, and the tortured protagonist, Cloud all found their way into my affections.

Who could forget Sephiroth? Unlike the more common evil-for-the-sake-of-evil video game villains, Sephiroth had all the emotional depth of a Marvel comics character. The victim of a sick corporate science project, we could almost forgive him his warped soul, at least until he murdered Aeris. For the final battle scene, the brilliant Japanese composer Nubo Uematsu had written an operatic march worthy of any epic clash and sung by an actual choir. At the time, voices in video games were rare, and the piece was a stunning and welcome surprise.

The unpopular Final Fantasy tactics captivated me as well. The gameplay involved moving characters on a board, making it a sort of stochastic chess. I had no interest in it but told my husband he was more than welcome to buy it if he wanted it. Soon we were fighting like a pair of twelve year olds over who got to play and for how long.

Final Fantasy IX was enjoyable despite a lackluster villain and a forgettable main plot. The graphics had a more “cute” appeal than previous games. There were moogles and chocobos a-plenty, and the black mage, Vivi, captured the heart of any gamer who has one. My husband and I chuckled over a message board post to the effect of “you know you play too much Fantasy Fantasy IX when” One of the conclusions to that sentence was “you have 99 Vivi dolls.” My husband howled with laughter, but in all fairness to me, I have only one Vivi doll, if you don’t count the one I crocheted out of scrap yarn while killing time at a boring job. The ceramic pot I painted to resemble the little black mage can hardly be called a doll, and the adorable action figure that sits among our other geeky collectibles doesn’t count. “Ninety nine”- hmph!

Starcraft and Warcraft must be mentioned. I once enjoyed Sim City, where I got to build things, and of course Final Fantasy tactics, where I got to fight battles. Now, I could both build and fight! What more could be asked?

Not to say that Starcraft lacked frustrations. The SCV’s would take only

A good story is nothing without a good lead, and the Final Fantasy series has always been known for the diversity of its lead characters through the years. Here we will detail all the leading characters from Final Fantasy VII – XII.

Cloud Strife

Cloud Strife made his debut in the acclaimed Final Fantasy VII. His most noticeable features are his chocobo-inspired spiky hair, and his famous Buster Sword, a giant sword almost as large as he is! Cloud has become a staple character for Square Enix, and has appeared in FFVII, FF Tactics, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, the Kingdom Hearts game, and Itadaki Street Special.

Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart is the lead protagonist in Final Fantasy VIII. The series took a major shift into a more realistic visual style, and this showed heavily in Squall, who had a very natural dress sense and an appearance which is alleged to be inspired by Gackt. Although older Final Fantasy fans has often criticise Squall’s character for being too angsty and emotion, he has become a popular favourite, and made numerous appearances in the Kingdom Hearts games.

Zidane Tribal

When Final Fantasy IX revisited the more traditional roots of the series, so did its lead character. Zidane Tribal turned out to be a much more upbeat and energetic character than either Squall or Cloud, which never hindered him! Although not as popular as some of the other leads, he has appeared in Itadaki Street Portable, and appears to be on the front of the cast leading the upcoming Dissida -Final Fantasy-

Tidus

Tidus was the main characters in Final Fantasy X. His design was centred on that of a footballer, which was also emphasised by the game’s popular sport, Blitzball, which was essentially football underwater. His hyperactive and emotional character would see him loved and hated by fans in equal measure. He made a brief appearance in the first Kingdom Hearts game, and also appears in Itadaki Street Special.

Vaan

Although the story of Final Fantasy XII is not directly centred on Vaan, it is told from his point of view. Vaan would turn out be more unique from past characters in that his story is developed and his character matures more quickly and more profoundly than past leads, and this maturity also helps develop some of the other characters in the game. His appeared in Itadaki Street Portable, is set to appear in the upcoming DS bounded sequel FFXII: Revenant Wings, and will also make a brief appearance in FF Tactics A2.

A cutscene from Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX Ending