

Developed by Sonic Team for Sega.
Sega's long-running RPG goes handheld for the first time in North America with Phantasy Star Portable, a story set between the events of Phantasy Star Universe and Ambition of the Illuminus. Players return to the Gurhal system where they join the new character Vivienne in an attempt to investigate and clear out an area contaminated after the perceived eradication of the alien SEED menace. Gamers can choose from a wide variety of options when creating a custom avatar, and then set about meeting new characters and collecting more than 150 items. Multiplayer fans can also join up to three friends for wireless co-operative exploration and combat.

Role-playing (RPG) / Adventure / Fantasy / Sandbox
Final Fantasy II is the second installment in the Final Fantasy series, developed and published by Squaresoft. It was directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, with Yoshitaka Amano designing the characters and Nobuo Uematsu composing the score. It was notable for being one of the first story-intensive RPGs released for console systems, and introducing many series staples, including chocobos and a character named Cid. Its story is unrelated to the original FINAL FANTASY, and its gameplay is a major departure from the previous title for eliminating the traditional experience-based progression system.

Role-playing (RPG) / Action / Fantasy
Gameplay is similar to the original Phantasy Star, the first game in the series. Its battle system is turn-based, allowing the player to choose commands for their party of up to four characters. Each of the eight characters has a different set of preferred weapons and armor, as well as techniques, suited to the character's job. The player must defeat enemies in the overworld and in dungeons to advance in the game. The game abandoned the first-person view that the first game used for dungeons and battles. Phantasy Star II instead uses a top-down perspective for exploration and a third-person view in battles.

Role-playing (RPG) / Adventure / Card & Board Game / Fantasy / Science fiction
Final Fantasy VIII is the eighth main installment in the Final Fantasy series. The gameplay makes a departure from many series standards. While it still uses the Active Time Battle system, it deviates from the series' traditional means of boosting a character's power via leveling, although levels are not completely abandoned as they were in Final Fantasy II. In addition, it does not have a Magic Point-based system for spell-casting. Instead, magic is collected, drawn, and created from items, and is used to power up the characters via the junction system.

Role-playing (RPG) / Adventure / Fantasy / Drama
Final Fantasy IX is the ninth main installment in the FF series. The title is a return to the series's roots, with gameplay features and references to the past games featuring throughout, as well as a medieval fantasy setting and cartoonish art style as a break from the sci-fi slant style of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII.

Platform / Puzzle / Role-playing (RPG) / Action / Fantasy
Sorcerian is a side-scrolling action-RPG. The player can create up to ten characters, from whom up to four members can be present in a party at the same time. Each character is highly customizable, with four different classes/races (fighter, wizard, elf, and dwarf) and over 60 possible jobs/occupations (ranging from clown to exorcist) available for them to perform; each has its own strengths and weaknesses, affecting the seven primary attributes (strength, intelligence, protection, magic resistance, vitality, dexterity, and karma) in different ways, as well as different equipment limitations. The player can choose from fifteen different scenarios, or quests, to play through in the order of their choice. The party must battle enemies and perform tasks within the given levels to clear each scenario, before moving onto another scenario of their choice. The player controls the entire party at the same time, with all four members running in a line, jumping in sequence, and attacking in unison. The party members follow behind in a manner similar to the Options in the arcade shooter Gradius (1985). Sorcerian also employs class-based puzzles, such as using a high-strength character to force open doors. All the characters have a default starting age of 16. Each time a player begins a new scenario, a year passes by, while additional time passes by in towns as a character goes through training or enchants items. The characters age at different rates depending on their race, with humans reaching old age at 60, dwarves at 100, and elves at 200. Upon reaching old age, for every year that passes, a character can die permanently at a random time. There is also an “Advance Time” to speed up the flow of time. Another new feature of Sorcerian was its episodic format that extended across various expansion packs. Besides the default fifteen scenarios that come with the game, there were a number of additional scenario packs released. The aging system was created with the additional scenario packs in mind.

Role-playing (RPG) / Sport / Fantasy / Historical
Dragon Quest VI did not receive an enhanced remake on a console until the Nintendo DS. The Dragon Quest VI enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS was announced in late 2007 by Square Enix and was developed by ArtePiazza. A handful of changes were made to the game, some remaining controversial among fans.

Role-playing (RPG) / Turn-based strategy (TBS) / Adventure / Fantasy / Sandbox
In Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, players begin their adventure as a city guardian who is sent to retrieve a sacred trees fruits, which have the power to grant wishes. Players travel the world, conquer fearsome monsters and unravel an epic storyline. During their journey, players will encounter mighty opponents in fast-paced battles, and also interact with a colorful cast of characters.

Role-playing (RPG) / Fantasy / Science fiction
Wild Arms is a Western-themed role-playing video game developed by Japanese software company Media.Vision. Originally released in Japan in 1996 for the Sony PlayStation video game console, it was later translated and released in North America in 1997 and Europe in 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is noteworthy for not only being one of the first role-playing video games on the PlayStation, but also one of the few to feature a Western American setting and motif. The game features 2D computer graphics for normal gameplay, while battle sequences are rendered in 3D.