Best PS3 and Xbox 360 RPGs: 2005-2009

We're five years into the seventh generation of consoles. Both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 have released a number of wonderful RPGs. I thought I'd go down the list of the best ones released thus far. The list below also includes the ranking of the game according to Gamerankings.com, to show how my rankings below compare to the broader audience.

[Editorial Note: Due to multi-platform releases, downloadable content, expansions, and collectors additions, I have adjusted the original Gamerankings list. The numbers listed below are from a merged list of PS3 and Xbox 360 RPGs released between 2005-2009. Non-core titles were removed, multi-platform game scores were averaged, and strategy RPGs were merged into the RPG genre list.]

12) Eternal Sonata - PS3/Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 9

Eternal Sonata was a solid game. The story was interesting, in that it played off of famed composer Federic Chopin, but ultimately did not seem to meet the potential the story had. The cast of characters was largely ok, with Polka perhaps being a bit annoying. The battle system, while interesting in and of itself, proved to be too repetitive and boring. At one point in the game, a dungeon has the exact same enemy for level after level. The highlight of the game was the graphics. It used beautiful cell-shading with unique bright colors throughout the dream world, all of it built around a musical theme.

11) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - PS3/Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 1

This game is phenomenally well reviewed, but I wasn't too excited about it. While it was initially fun to explore the land of Cyrodiil, it ultimately became boring, as many of the sidequests really didn't excite you. Eventually, killing more goblins or vampires just got boring. The main storyline was pretty generic and was never capable of capturing my interest. The first person fighting was fun and decent, although largely unspectacular. For myself, having a gigantic land to explore isn't fun in and of itself, there needs to be real purpose behind it.

10) Star Ocean: The Last Hope - PS3/Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 18

Similar to Eternal Sonata above, the game's battle system was interesting but ultimately got a bit too repetitive and boring. There was a more interesting mix of enemies to take some of the repetition away. The characters were a generally entertaining bunch, although the collection of characters seemed to be pasted together too haphazardly. The story of the game wasn't the space odyssey it was expected to be and quite bland. The graphics of the game were solid, but nothing special.

9) Fable II - Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 5

Fable II was a really fun action RPG, as you lead your hero to save the world. You can do almost anything you want, talk to the citizens, become famed of feared, buy property, start a family, raise a family, take on quests, and just have a lot of fun. While a lot of fun, the game falls short by not really giving you any characters or story to remember the game by.

8) Blue Dragon - Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 14

Blue Dragon is the first game from famed Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi after he left Square Enix. While hyped heavily, the game was a bit of a disappointment. It's not bad, but not a masterpiece. The battle system is it's best part, with a lot of customization and fun turn-based fighting with some twists to make it interesting. The problem was the story and the characters. For the most part, the characters were paper thin and the story was extremely cliche.

7) Disgaea 3 - PS3

Gamerankings Position: 10

Disgaea 3 is a good solid strategy RPG, that follows the same model of previous Disgaea games. It was had crazy special moves, crazy battle grounds, and crazy level caps. The game kept its pop culture and RPG genre mockery in the story. While a good game, the story and characters didn't stand out compared to those in Disgaea 2. The graphics were also largely disappointing. They were borderline PS2 quality.

6) Mass Effect - Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 3

Mass Effect was a very solid game, that ultimately was hurt by the fact that it couldn't do enough well. The main story was a bit too short. The third person shooter mechanics were solid, but not deep enough to be interesting. Many of the sidequest missions had duplicated floor layouts. The side quests were boring and repetitive. You never really got to learn about the other characters in your party. While you got the opportunity to learn a lot about the Mass Effect universe, it felt shallow, as the majority of it was done inside the primary base. Mass Effect laid the groundwork for what would be an incredible game, and all of these mistakes were fixed in Mass Effect 2.

5) Tales of Vesperia - Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 8

Tales of Vesperia doesn't do anything particularly special, but makes sure to do nothing poorly. The action battle system was fun and balanced, so that it didn't get too repetitive or boring. The characters were a funny entertaining group filled with humorous personalities. The story had your typical twists and turns and was engaging and made you want to finish the game. The graphics were great, basically giving you living breathing anime video.

4) Lost Odyssey - Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 12

Like Tales of Vesperia above, Lost Odyssey was very good, but didn't do enough to make it incredible. Several of the characters were pretty boring, but several really stood out as deep memorable characters. While you might expect learning about an immortal's life can be quite cliche, the game told their stories in a moving way. Some of the poems and stories in the game, something I normally would ignore, were enjoyable to read. So much so I made it a goal to find all of them. The story was engaging enough to make you want to figure out what happens next. The battle system was a fun turn based system, although it felt a tad unbalanced as magic users were more powerful that fighters. Graphically it was solid, but nothing special compared to some of the other games on this list.

3) Fallout 3 - PS3/Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 1

While I found Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's exploration to be boring and without purpose, Fallout 3 was far different. The Fallout 3 universe was far more interesting, as you explore a post apocalyptic Washington D.C. wasteland. You get to see the Fallout 3's American universe twisted upside down, along with fun, interesting, and unique characters. It's tie to American history is what really makes Fallout 3 special and meaningful. In addition, the battle system was wonderful. I'm not a huge fan of first person shooters, so I worried about playing this game. However, the pause/aim function of the VATS system helped give it a turn base strategy feel to the game, making it far more enjoyable for the non-FPS fan. The only downside of this game was the relatively short number of quests. With a game this big, you would have expected more.

2) Dragon Age: Origins - PS3/Xbox 360

Gamerankings Position: 7

Dragon Age: Origins was a tough game to review. On the one hand, the battle system was pretty generic. It amounted to a fun hack and slash, with some special moves for the main character. Like Final Fantasy XII, it had some AI like control for your party members to make it a bit deeper than your normal hack and slash. The story was solid and engaging, although nothing spectacularly exciting. What was incredible was the exploration, the world of Ferelden, and the incredible characters you meet along the way. The sidequests you get along allowed you to get to explore the land of Ferelden and its people in a fun way. Talking to your characters, developing relationships with them, and character sidequests helped you learn more about your party members, all of which had interesting backgrounds and personalities. Several of the characters stand out as some of my favorites of all time.

1) Valkyria Chronicles - PS3

Gamerankings Position: 6

Valkyria Chronicles is a game that I consider on par with the best I've personally ever played. The story was emotionally engaging and really made you want to know what was happening and what would happen next. Within the story, they capture a small group of lovable character's struggles with politics, interpersonal conflict, racism, and war. Compared to many other RPGs, the story was much deeper and more mature than you would have expected. In addition to the incredible story, the strategy RPG battle mechanisms were unique, new, fun, and challenging. It mixed both real-time strategy with turn based strategy. The icing on the cake for all of this was the phenomenal watercolor cell-shading graphics that looked like movie quality anime. With most RPGs, I can usually find a flaw. I really struggled to find something wrong or unlikeable about this game.

References

"Browse and Search Games", Gamerankings.com