…For the RPG obsessed: Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings
We loved Final Fantasy XII, with its bondage gear-clad bunny girls and pirates and monsters. This DS entry drafts some of the main characters and heaves them into an interesting battle system that finds you actually commanding up to five small battalions of fighters, who bang it out in real-time. It’s a definite departure, but it works. And really, telling you readers to buy a Final Fantasy game is kinda like suggesting to Kid Rock that he should pick up some more beer and cocaine. It’s already on the list.
Second option: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
The colorful, cheery Dragon Quest RPG universe is timeless, and retooling the combat so that you’re collecting and battling teams of monsters (a side-quest in DQ VIII) Pokemon-style is a pretty safe risk.
…For the gamer with a detective streak: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
If you’ve played a Phoenix Wright game before, be aware that this third episode in the loopy courtroom drama ties up the storyline begun in the first two titles. If not, this is your chance to be a lawyer who isn’t hated by all of society. Granted, with all the anime hair, bizarre plot twists, and the occasionally psychic assistant moment, this isn’t a normal courtroom. But it’s better this way because the judge can’t make you wear pants.
Second option: Hotel Dusk
A more noir-ish story with a refreshing, sketchbook-looking art style, Hotel Dusk is the perfect game for those overcoat wearing, chain-smoking detective types among us who don’t happen to be super-powerful British warlocks.
