| Dreamcast | D2 | 2000 | Survival/Horror | Warp | More of a survival horror adventure game, with random battles (in which you aim and fire) and XP to gain to increase your small pool of stats, kind of a slog in pacing |
| PSX | Alundra 2: A New Legend Begins | 2000 | Action | Matrix Software | Standalone sequel, more lighthearted than the first, but similar gameplay |
| JP GB+GBC | Arle no Bouken: Mahou no Jewel | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Compile | A monster-training game; monster-summoning cards can be enhanced |
| PSX | Final Fantasy IX | 2000 | Turn-Based | Square | Takes the series back to its fantasy roots, lots of callbacks to older entries |
| Neo Geo Pocket | Evolution: Eternal Dungeons (PAL/JP only) | 2000 | Dungeon Crawler | Sting | A port of Evolution with a major natural graphical change, an altered translation, and more limited exploration |
| PSX | Eternal Eyes | 2000 | Strategy | TamTam | SRPG with a monster-collecting theme |
| Neo Geo Pocket | Faselei! (PAL/JP only) | 2000 | Strategy | Sacnoth | Tactical mecha combat, where even turning costs a predetermined amount of command points |
| PSX | Dragon Valor | 2000 | Action | Namco | Remake and sequel to Dragon Buster (FC), arcade-like 2.5D ARPG |
| Neo Geo Pocket | Nige-ron-pa (JP only) | 2000 | Turn-Based | Dennou Club | A turn-based game all about working various small jobs, party members have a friendship score that can cause them to abandon you if too low |
| PSX | Digimon World | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Flying Tiger Development | Monster-collecting and raising game |
| PSX | Deception III: Dark Delusion | 2000 | Strategy | Tecmo | Dark story with trap creation |
| PSX | Chrono Cross | 2000 | Turn-Based | Square | Masterful soundtrack, confusingly related to Chrono Trigger |
| PSX | Breath of Fire IV | 2000 | Turn-Based | Capcom | Even more Ryu, pretty sprites, and a new combo system |
| Dreamcast | Evolution 2: Far Off Promise | 2000 | Dungeon Crawler | Sting | More of the same, but some random maps |
| PS2 | Eternal Ring | 2000 | Dungeon Crawler | FromSoftware | Another first-person FromSoft dungeon crawl, but this one has customizable magic rings |
| PSX | Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | 2000 | Simulation | Victor Interactive Software | Do ALL the farming! |
| PS4 | Final Fantasy IX (DL only) | 2000 | Turn-Based | Square | See PSX, but with some QoL changes |
| PS4 | Eternal Ring (DL only) | 2000 | Action | FromSoftware | See PS2 |
| PS2 | Evergrace | 2000 | Action | FromSoftware | ARPG with 2 separate protagonists, character parameters are increased via equipment rather than leveling |
| GB+GBC | Robopon: Sun Version | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Hudson Soft/Red Company Corporation | A robot-making and collecting Poke-clone, only one of the three versions was released in the Americas |
| GB+GBC | Quest: Brian's Journey | 2000 | Action | Atelier Double | A demake of the N64 game… if you considered Quest 64 a game to begin with. Taking actions builds stats |
| GB+GBC | Pokemon Gold/Silver | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | More mons, a day/night system, and the ability to revisit the entire previous region |
| GB+GBC | Lil' Monster | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Kid Corp | Another of the many Poke-clones |
| GB+GBC | Dragon Warrior Monsters | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Tose | Sort of Dragon Quest's answer to Pokemon, but with fusion as well |
| GB+GBC | Dragon Warrior I & II | 2000 | Turn-Based | Tose | Keeps the same QoL changes brought by the SFC version, albeit with some naturally downgraded graphics |
| GB+GBC | Crystalis | 2000 | Action | Nintendo | A remake of the original, with greater difficulty and story changes |
| GB+GBC | Azure Dreams | 2000 | Monster Collecting | KCEN | More dungeons, less town-building and dating than the PSX version |
| JP PSX | Brigandine: Grand Edition | 2000 | Strategy | Hearty Robin | An enhanced, expanded version of Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena |
| PSX | Front Mission 3 | 2000 | Strategy | Square | First localized title in the series, greater focus on learning abilities from mech parts |
| PS2 | Orphen: Scion of Sorcery | 2000 | Action | Shade | ARPG with a strange turn-based/real-time combat hybrid, limited amount of battles overall prevent grinding |
| JP GB+GBC | Grandia: Parallel Trippers | 2000 | Turn-Based | Game Arts | Spinoff of Grandia featuring its characters and an attempt at using the same battle system |
| PSX | Torneko: The Last Hope | 2000 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft/Matrix Software | Roguelike sequel to Torneko no Daibouken (SFC), second localized Mystery Dungeon game |
| JP N64 | Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 2 - Oni Shuurai! Shiren Jou! | 2000 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | Shiren's second roguelike dungeon-delving adventure, with monster collecting and castle building as major gameplay mechanics |
| N64 | Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber | 2000 | Strategy | Quest | Plays like Ogre Battle, RTS elements and political story |
| Dreamcast | Seventh Cross Evolution | 2000 | Simulation | Atypical Alchemists Associate | Spore before Spore - gain evolution points and make your creature! |
| JP Wonderswan | Digimon Adventure 02: Tag Tamers | 2000 | Monster Collecting | SIMS/Bandai | Turn-based digital monster collecting, fighting, and fusing gameplay, elaborates on a very important plot point in the anime |
| PSX | Koudelka | 2000 | Turn-Based/Horror | Sacnoth | Horror-themed JRPG, the precursor to the Shadow hearts series |
| JP Wonderswan | Digimon Adventure 02: D1 Tamers | 2000 | Monster Collecting | SIMS/Bandai | Direct sequel to Tag Tamers, mostly the same, but utilizes the Wonderswan Color's palette |
| PSX | Wild Arms 2 | 2000 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | Old Western setting, plays similarly to the first |
| PSX | Vanguard Bandits | 2000 | Strategy | Human Entertainment | Fantasy/mech hybrid SRPG with a system balancing actions and resting |
| Dreamcast | Grandia II | 2000 | Turn-Based | Game Arts | It may not wow you, but it's damn good anyway |
| PSX | Vagrant Story | 2000 | Dungeon Crawler | Square | Darker-themed ARPG with the same setting as Final Fantasy XII and Tactics, heavy crafting focus |
| PSX | Valkyrie Profile | 2000 | Turn-Based | Tri-Ace | 2D dungeon exploration, grim themes, and a combo-based battle system |
| PSX | Threads of Fate | 2000 | Action | Square | Two-scenario ARPG with unconventional stat-increasing mechanics |
| PSX | The Legend of Dragoon | 2000 | Timed Turn-Based | Sony Computer Entertainment Japan | Timing-based combat, some funny voice acting, neat concept |
| PSX | Legend of Mana | 2000 | Action | Square | Gorgeously 2D, beautiful soundtrack, disjointed story with an offbeat structure |
| PSX | Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete | 2000 | Turn-Based | Game Arts | If you loved the first one, you'll love this- and how could you not? |
| PSX | Parasite Eve II | 2000 | Action/Horror | Square | More of a survival-horror slant than the first game, including tank controls! |
| PSX | Persona 2: Eternal Punishment | 2000 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Half of the Persona 2 story- the other half wasn't officially localized until years later |
| PSX | Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure | 2000 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | SRPG with painfully easy battles and a musical theme |
| PSX | RPG Maker | 2000 | Turn-Based | Kuusou Kagaku | Included due to presence of sample RPG Gobli's Quest, a short romp with notable difficulty spikes |
| PSX | SaGa Frontier 2 | 2000 | Turn-Based | Square | Watercolored, hand-drawn backgrounds and complex leveling with only 2 scenarios |
| JP GB+GBC | Nushi Tsuri Adventure: Kite no Bouken | 2000 | Fishing | Marvelous/Victor Interactive Software | Catch fishies and fight thingies! |
| JP GB+GBC | Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: Kuro no Sho | 2000 | Monster Collecting | Multimedia Intelligence Transfer | First game in the Devil Children series (the accompanying other version is untranslated), a monster-collector where demon partners can be used to help traverse the overworld |
| Dreamcast | Skies of Arcadia | 2000 | Turn-Based | Overworks | Standard combat and ship battles! |
| JP PSX | Tear Ring Saga: Yutona Eiyuu Senki | 2001 | Strategy | ASCII Entertainment | It's pretty much Fire Emblem, down to the creator of the series |
| PS2 | Okage: Shadow King | 2001 | Turn-Based | Zener Works/SCE | Cute spooky-themed JRPG |
| PS2 | Final Fantasy X | 2001 | Turn-Based | Square | First Final Fantasy game to feature voice acting, battle system employs manipulation of turn order |
| PS2 | Jade Cocoon 2 | 2001 | Turn-Based | Genki | More bug-minion raising and fusion, combat is highly dependent on minion placement |
| GB+GBC | Dragon Warrior III | 2001 | Turn-Based | Tose | Maintains the QoL changes of the SFC version, adds an extra bonus dungeon, downgrades graphics a bit |
| GB+GBC | Lufia: The Legend Returns | 2001 | Turn-Based | Neverland | Third game in the Lufia series, was almost a PSX game before the original dev went bankrupt |
| GB+GBC | Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey/Tara's Adventure | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Tose | Leans harder into the Pokemon slant with 2 different versions |
| GB+GBC | Legend of the River King 2 | 2001 | Fishing | Victor Interactive Software | Actually River King 4 - more fishies = more funsies |
| PS2 | Monster Rancher 3 | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo | More monster raising, but now you can trade monsters with friends/can use past data rather than disc-digging for old monsters! |
| N64 | Paper Mario | 2001 | Timed Turn-Based | Intelligent Systems | Continues the timing-based attacks seen in SMRPG |
| GB+GBC | Mario Tennis | 2001 | Sports | Camelot | Grab your racket, go to tennis school, and level up your skills with Mario and company |
| GB+GBC | Metal Walker | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Capcom | Pokemon + robots + billiards = Metal Walker |
| GB+GBC | Pokemon Crystal | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | An attempt to add story to Gold/Silver, but does add a female protagonist! |
| JP GBA | Napoleon | 2001 | Strategy | Genki | RTSRPG starring Napoleon Bonaparte doing some very not-historically-accurate things |
| GBA | Bomberman Tournament | 2001 | Action | Amble | A Bomberman ARPG where you level Pokemon-like creatures that give you abilities |
| GBA | Breath of Fire | 2001 | Turn-Based | Capcom | It's Ryu, but on a tinier screen! |
| GBA | Castlevania: Circle of the Moon | 2001 | Action-Platform | KCEK | Metroidvania with a dual card system to customize abilities |
| GBA | Dokapon: Monster Hunter | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Tycoon/Asmik Ace Entertainment | Battle system is literally rock-paper-scissors, also contains monster collecting elements |
| JP GBA | Magical Vacation | 2001 | Turn-Based | Brownie Brown | Turn-based combat, gorgeous sprites; love/heart isn't just an element in Captain Planet anymore! |
| PS2 | Ephemeral Fantasia | 2001 | Turn-Based | KCEJ | Rhythm mini-games are not enough to save this garbage time-looping game |
| GBA | Golden Sun | 2001 | Turn-Based | Camelot | Lots of exploration puzzles, character/class customization using creature allocation |
| GBA | Mega Man Battle Network | 2001 | Strategy | Capcom | Tactical real-time combat, learning skills from enemies, and memeable spritework |
| GBA | Monster Rancher Advance | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo | Similar to the PSX games, but using words to summon monsters rather than CDs |
| PS2 | Dark Cloud | 2001 | Action | Level-5 | ARPG with roguelike elements and town building; no traditional XP (though weapons do level) |
| PS2 | Ring of Red | 2001 | Strategy | Konami | Alternate-history military turn-based strategy game with cool mechs |
| JP Dreamcast | RUN=DIM as Black Soul | 2001 | Strategy | Yuki Enterprise | Hexagonal turn-based strategy with giant robots fighting |
| JP PSX | Shin Megami Tensei | 2001 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Visually overhauls the SFC version, but is otherwise no different than the original |
| PSX | Digimon World 2 | 2001 | Monster Collecting | BEC | More emphasis on dungeon crawling and monster battling than the first |
| PSX | Battle Hunter | 2001 | Strategy | Success | SRPG of sorts with card-based movement and attack |
| PS2 | Shadow Hearts | 2001 | Turn-Based/Horror | Sacnoth | Takes place after Koudelka's bad ending, incorporates cosmic horror, alternate history, and a timing-based disc that affects success |
| Dreamcast | Phantasy Star Online | 2001 | Action | Sonic Team | ARPG, first online console game |
| Dreamcast | Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2.0 | 2001 | Action | Sonic Team | An expanded version of the original |
| PSX | Dragon Warrior VII | 2001 | Turn-Based | Heart Beat | Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong Dragon Quest game |
| Dreamcast | Record of Lodoss War: Advent of Cardice | 2001 | Action | Neverland | Based on the anime, plays kinda like Diablo |
| PS2 | The Bouncer | 2001 | Action | Dream Factory | Cult-classic 3D beat-em-up with RPG elements |
| PSX | Final Fantasy Chronicles | 2001 | Turn-Based | Tose/Square | Contains inferior versions of Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger |
| PS2 | Tsugunai: Atonement | 2001 | Action | Cattle Call | Broken up into various quests rather than one fully linear experience- not all quests revolve around combat |
| PSX | Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth | 2001 | Strategy | Max Five | SRPG with interesting battle mechanics but unforgiving difficulty |
| PS2 | Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land | 2001 | Dungeon Crawler | Racjin | Surprise! This is actually a JRPG! First-person dungeon-crawler like its parent WRPG series |
| PSX | Saiyuki: Journey West | 2001 | Strategy | Koei | SRPG based on the Journey to the West novel |
| PSX | Tales of Destiny II | 2001 | Action | Wolf Team/Namco | Actually Tales of Eternia - the real Tales of Destiny 2 is a Japanese exclusive |
| PSX | Arc the Lad Collection | 2002 | Strategy | G-Craft/ARC Entertainment | Collected SRPG series, contains Arc the Lad I, II, III, and Arc Arena |
| GBA | Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis | 2002 | Strategy | Quest | Plays like Tactics Ogre- SRPG format, set before both Ogre Battle games |
| GB+GBC | Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors | 2002 | Card-Based | Flight-Plan | Saiyan-Buu sagas featured, card-based combat, blah blah blah |
| GBA | Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars | 2002 | Strategy | Winkysoft | Mecha SRPG with some first-person elements in targeting enemies and attack dodging |
| GameCube | Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II | 2002 | Action | Sonic Team | Adds entirely new content for Episode II, AKA Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst |
| GBA | Shaman King: Legacy of the Spirits Soaring Hawk/Sprinting Wolf | 2002 | Monster Collecting | KCEJ | Based on the manga, basically Pokemon-type battles with spirits |
| PS2 | Rygar: The Legendary Adventure | 2002 | Action | Tecmo | Diskarmor shenanigans galore, but now in 3D; gorgeous soundtrack; points enhance player characteristics and strengthen weapons |
| GBA | Robopon 2: Cross/Ring Version | 2002 | Monster Collecting | RED Entertainment | Introduces 4-on-4 battles, but otherwise is more of the same robot collecting and customizing |
| PS2 | Suikoden III | 2002 | Turn-Based | KCET | The turn-based epic saga continues, a variety of protagonists, can import data from the PSX games for bonuses |
| GameCube | Lost Kingdoms | 2002 | Card-Based | FromSoftware | Card-based ARPG, another FromSoft jam |
| GBA | Monster Rancher Advance 2 | 2002 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo/Graphic Research | See above! |
| PS2 | Dual Hearts | 2002 | Action-Platform | Matrix Software | Platforming-heavy ARPG - XP goes towards weapons instead of stats |
| PS2 | Wild Arms 3 | 2002 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | Wild West-themed, turn-based, town discovery requires utilizing a GPS-like system, frequent encounters |
| GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 2 | 2002 | Strategy | Capcom | More or less the same as the first, but a bit more customizable, and no auto-healing after every battle |
| PS2 | Dynasty Tactics | 2002 | Strategy | Koei | Romance of the Three Kingdoms-themed SRPG |
| GBA | Lunar Legend | 2002 | Turn-Based | Japan Art Media | Translation closer to the intended Japanese than the previous versions, but lacks cinematic feel |
| GBA | Breath of Fire II | 2002 | Turn-Based | Capcom | More polished than the SNES version, but gives up graphically in the process |
| GBA | Car Battler Joe | 2002 | Action | Ancient | Exactly as the title implies - you level up your car in demolition derby-style matches |
| GBA | Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance | 2002 | Action-Platform | KCET | Metroidvania with room decorating and traveling between dimensions to progress |
| GBA | Phantasy Star Collection | 2002 | Turn-Based | Digital Eclipse/Sega | Ports of the first 3 Phantasy Star games |
| GameCube | Mystic Heroes | 2002 | Action | Koei | A more mystical, chibi-styled Dynasty Warriors |
| PS2 | Legaia 2: Duel Saga | 2002 | Turn-Based | Prokion | Turn-based button combo combat system like its predecessor, adds item combination to the mix |
| Xbox | Crimson Sea | 2002 | Action | Koei | Musou-like with a sci-fi theme, some shooting elements, party members, weapon XP |
| PS2 | Kingdom Hearts | 2002 | Action | Square | The OG FF/Disney mashup, before the story started to overcomplicate itself |
| PS2 | King's Field: The Ancient City | 2002 | Dungeon Crawler | FromSoftware | FromSoft coming through again with first-person dungeon action |
| PSX | Digimon World 3 | 2002 | Monster Collecting | BEC/Boom Corp | More of the same |
| Xbox | Metal Dungeon | 2002 | Turn-Based | Panther Software | Customizable characters and a futuristic third-person dungeon crawl, turn-based combat |
| JP GBA | Klonoa Heroes: Densetsu no Star Medal | 2002 | Action | Namco | Top-down ARPG gameplay, and cute to boot! |
| JP GBA | Keitai Denjuu Telefang 2: Power | 2002 | Monster Collecting | Smilesoft | One version of a Pokemon-like clone that features sharing your phone number with monsters to befriend them |
| JP GBA | Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade | 2002 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | AKA FE6 - Roy's our boy, and here's where you play as him! |
| PS2 | Grandia Xtreme | 2002 | Turn-Based | Game Arts | The combat you know and love with an increase in dungeon delving, English voice cast is oddly celeb-filled |
| PS2 | Grandia II | 2002 | Turn-Based | Game Arts | Avoid this version- it has bad framerate issues- but the game itself is amazing |
| JP GBA | Tomato Adventure | 2002 | Turn-Based | AlphaDream | You say "tomato," I say "a silly RPG with toy-based gimmicks in combat, humor throughout, and lots of lycopene!" |
| JP Wonderswan | Makai Toushi SaGa | 2002 | Turn-Based | Square | A remake of the first SaGa game (Final Fantasy Legend), upped the graphics and added features like a bestiary and the ability to re-target enemies to not waste attacks once defeated |
| PS2 | Mystic Heroes | 2002 | Action | Koei | Cutesy Dynasty Warriors-like with magic, more characters than the GameCube version |
| PS2 | Forever Kingdom | 2002 | Action | FromSoftware | Sequel to Evergrace, similar equipment-focused character growth, ARPG where all characters share damage taken |
| GameCube | Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest | 2002 | Action | Saru Brunei/Intelligent Systems | A game about raising cubes like animals and making them fight and mutate |
| GameCube | Evolution Worlds | 2002 | Dungeon Crawler | Sting | Ports of Evolution 1 and 2, but the former is heavily trimmed down |
| Xbox | Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II | 2003 | MMORPG | Sonic Team | Everyone likes playing MMORPGs with clunky controllers! |
| GBA | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | 2003 | Timed Turn-Based | AlphaDream | Comedic RPG with exploration puzzles and a timing-based combat system |
| GBA | Medabots AX: Metabee/Rokusho | 2003 | Fighting | Natsume | Much more of a fighting game, but you do level your robots to fight them in real-time |
| GBA | Lufia: The Ruins of Lore | 2003 | Turn-Based | Atelier Double/Taito | Side story to the main series, has a basic job system, characters can fuse with monsters in battle |
| PS2 | Dynasty Tactics 2 | 2003 | Strategy | Koei | More of the above |
| JP PS2 | Shadow Tower: Abyss | 2003 | Action | FromSoftware | Another first-person FromSoft jam and sequel to Shadow Tower, this one features soul harvesting and independent NPC schedules |
| GBA | Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town | 2003 | Simulation | Marvelous | Level up your tools and grow your farm (and find a nice girl to settle down with) |
| GBA | Fire Emblem | 2003 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Technically Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the 7th game in the series (but first brought to the west) |
| JP GBA | Shin Megami Tensei | 2003 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Keeps the visuals from the Playstation version, makes a few balance changes and adds some unlockable story scenes |
| GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue/White | 2003 | Strategy | Capcom | More customizable than its predecessors, each version has different chips available |
| PS2 | .hack Part 1: Infection | 2003 | Action | CyberConnect2 | ARPG that tries to mimic early MMO features |
| GBA | Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | 7/10, too much water; not possible to collect all Pokemon in these versions |
| JP GBA | Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai | 2003 | Turn-Based | Hudson Soft/RED Entertainment | A gaiden of the Tengai Makyo series, has a free scenario system influenced by real-time passage |
| JP GBA | Mother 1 + 2 | 2003 | Turn-Based | Ape/HAL Laboratory/Nintendo | Ports of Mother 1 and 2, with an extended ending for the former |
| GBA | Onimusha Tactics | 2003 | Strategy | Capcom | Technically an SRPG side story to the main series, but has a similar plot |
| PS2 | Disgaea: Hour of Darkness | 2003 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | SRPG with ridiculous party stats, party lifting, and Prinnies! |
| GBA | Shining Soul | 2003 | Action | Nextech/Grasshopper Manufacture | Isometric ARPG that serves as a reboot of sorts to the Shining series |
| PS2 | Dark Cloud 2 | 2003 | Action | Level-5 | Similar to the first but with less playable characters, more involved town-building |
| JP GBA | Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Tose | Stars a young Prince Keifer from DQVII, where you recruit humans and monsters for your growing caravan |
| GBA | Sword of Mana | 2003 | Action | Brownie Brown | Incorporates elements from later games and 2 story paths |
| PSX | Final Fantasy Origins | 2003 | Turn-Based | Tose/Square | Contains Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II (first localized appearance) |
| GBA | Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Sacred Cards | 2003 | Card-Based | Konami | Surprisingly, there's a story surrounding the gameplay of a children's card game. You level by dueling. Shrug. |
| PS2 | Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter | 2003 | Turn-Based | Capcom | Heavily criticized for requiring multiple playthroughs |
| PS2 | Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Duelists of the Roses | 2003 | Card-Based | KCEJ | Something something loose adaptation of War of the Roses in a children's card game with grids to place monsters (that can rank up) on |
| PS2 | Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits | 2003 | Strategy | Cattle Call | Still tactical, but circular-based movement rather than grids |
| PS2 | .hack Part 3: Outbreak | 2003 | Action | CyberConnect2 | ARPG that tries to mimic early MMO features |
| PS2 | .hack Part 2: Mutation | 2003 | Action | CyberConnect2 | ARPG that tries to mimic early MMO features |
| GBA | Final Fantasy Tactics Advance | 2003 | Strategy | Square Enix | Far lighter tone than the original FFT, many battles have tricky restrictions due to judges |
| GBA | Golden Sun: The Lost Age | 2003 | Turn-Based | Camelot | Plays similar to the first, but from the villain's perspective |
| GameCube | Skies of Arcadia Legends | 2003 | Turn-Based | Overworks | The skyfaring adventure with a bit more spit-shine! |
| GBA | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | 2003 | Action-Platform | KCET | Metroidvania with the addition of collecting enemy souls to augment abilities |
| PS2 | Final Fantasy X-2 | 2003 | Turn-Based | Square | Fast-paced Charlie's Angels with banger vocal songs |
| GameCube | Lost Kingdoms II | 2003 | Card-Based | FromSoftware | Pretty much similar to the first, some tweaks to the cards were made |
| GameCube | Medabots Infinity | 2003 | Action | Natsume | 3D robutt arena battles! |
| PS2 | Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Garakuta Studio/Taito | Think Pokemon, but if you as the player drew them instead to bring them to life |
| GBA | Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand | 2003 | Action | KCEJ | That crazy Kojima made an ARPG where you have to use actual UV rays to power your weapons! |
| PS2 | Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht | 2003 | Turn-Based | Monolith Soft | Spiritual successor to Xenogears, with similar AP-based combat; has a ton of cutscenes |
| PS2 | Unlimited Saga | 2003 | Turn-Based | Square | Much-maligned game with 7 different protagonists, a board-game style of exploration, and an obtuse combat system |
| GameCube | Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II Plus | 2003 | Action | Sonic Team | PSO with additional formerly online-only quests and items |
| PS2 | Monster Rancher 4 | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo | Allows for more customization of your training facilities and adds a major exploration/adventure mode |
| GBA | CIMA: The Enemy | 2003 | Action | Neverland | ARPG of sorts- can level up weapons and armor while controlling Lemmings-like civilians |
| GameCube | Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Falsebound Kingdom | 2003 | Card-Based | Konami | It's an RTS/turn-based RPG hybrid with Yu-Gi-Oh characters. I don't make the rules here. |
| GBA | DemiKids: Light/Dark | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Multimedia Intelligence Transfer | Pokemon-like demon collecting and fusion, but each version has a separate plot/protagonist! |
| GBA | Zoids: Legacy | 2004 | Turn-Based | Amedio | In Japan, known as Zoids Saga II; standard turn-based combat, based on the anime |
| GBA | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | 2004 | Action | Nintendo | See NES |
| GameCube | Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution | 2004 | Turn-Based | Sonic Team | Grid-and-turn-based card battling system, because that was the style at the time |
| GameCube | Pokemon Colosseum | 2004 | Turn-Based | Genius Sonority | You're a trainer, go purify some Shadow Pokemon! |
| GameCube | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | 2004 | Turn-Based | Intelligent Systems | Everything that made the first game so great, but more of it! |
| GameCube | Mega Man X Command Mission | 2004 | Turn-Based | Capcom | Dungeon Crawler |
| PS2 | .hack part 4: Quarantine | 2004 | Action | CyberConnect2 | ARPG that tries to mimic early MMO features |
| GBA | Yu-Gi-Oh!: Reshef of Destruction | 2004 | Card-Based | Konami | You will be judged by many for playing this game and even more for enjoying it- be warned |
| PS2 | Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monster Coliseum | 2004 | Strategy | WinkySoft/KCEJ | SRPG featuring the Capsule Monsters before they got their own spinoff anime |
| GameCube | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles | 2004 | Action | Square Enix | Multiplayer ARPG- no traditional leveling, using items instead |
| JP GBA | Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Meisou no Rinbukyoku | 2004 | Turn-Based | Tom Create | Based on the anime, no real levels to gain, but turn-based combat utilizing alchemy combinations |
| GameCube | Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean | 2004 | Card-Based | Tri-Crescendo | A curious take on card-based combat, poor quality voice acting |
| PS2 | Monster Hunter | 2004 | Action | Capcom | These monsters aren't gonna hunt themselves! Origin of the popular series |
| JP Wonderswan | Dicing Knight. | 2004 | Dungeon Crawler | Platine Dispositif | A roguelike with hectic gameplay, dice literally fly out of enemies when you attack them to determine damage done |
| PS2 | Phantom Brave | 2004 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Another Disgaea-adjacent SRPG; gridless system and borderless maps (characters and objects can fall off) |
| PS2 | Shadow Hearts: Covenant | 2004 | Turn-Based/Horror | Nautilus | More of the above, but it has a vampire wrestler, so it's immediately 5203487203 times better |
| PS2 | Shaman King: Power of Spirit | 2004 | Strategy | WinkySoft | SRPG of sorts, but individual fights between units are settled in a 3D fighting game format |
| N-Gage | Pocket Kingdom: Own the World | 2004 | MMORPG | Sega | A spiritual sequel to Dragon Force, but with insane amounts of groan-inducing leet-speak and lots of tongue-in-cheek self-awareness |
| JP PS2 | Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome | 2004 | Turn-Based | ArtePiazza/Matrix Software | A 3D remake of the Super Famicom classic with an increased party size |
| PS2 | Mega Man X: Command Mission | 2004 | Turn-Based | Capcom | It's Mega Man X, but it's also turn-based? Now I've seen everything! |
| PS2 | Front Mission 4 | 2004 | Strategy | Square Enix | Mecha SRPG with more complex mechanics such as a day/night system |
| JP GBA | Rockman EXE 4.5: Real Operation | 2004 | Strategy | Capcom | Not part of the MMBN story, gives you the ability to control multiple Navis |
| PS2 | La Pucelle: Tactics | 2004 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | SRPG that has some crossover with Disgaea; can purify enemies on maps to recruit them |
| PS2 | Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask | 2004 | Turn-Based | Kamui | Based on the anime, laughable graphics, minor dating sim elements - only play if you're a shojo-loving masochist |
| JP GBA | Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Omoide no Sonata | 2004 | Turn-Based | Tom Create | Original story, sequel to Stray Rondo, adds a leveling system but otherwise similar mechanics |
| PS2 | Crimson Sea 2 | 2004 | Action | Koei | Sci-fi musou-like with weapon/magic XP, multiplayer, and a non-linear mission structure |
| PS2 | Growlanser Generations | 2004 | Strategy | Career Soft | Collection of SRPGs Growlanser II and III, last Working Designs release, include auto-battle systems |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne | 2004 | Turn-Based | Atlus | AKA Shin Megami Tensei 3 - has all the expected demon recruitment, does not feature a Law/Chaos branching system |
| GBA | Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls | 2004 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Adds dungeons and tweaks the translation of the originals |
| PS2 | Crimson Tears | 2004 | Action | Dream Factory | 3D beat-em-up/randomized dungeon crawler hybrid |
| PS2 | Drakengard | 2004 | Action | Cavia | Musou-like RPG with some heavy/dark themes, direct predecessor to the Nier series |
| PS2 | The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon | 2004 | Dungeon Crawler | Arika/Matrix Software/Chunsoft | Actually a title in the Mystery Dungeon series, sequel to The Tower of Druaga |
| GBA | Mario Golf: Advance Tour | 2004 | Sports | Camelot | Story mode and leveling, now with even more strange human characters to beat Mario's crew in golf! |
| GBA | Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen | 2004 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | Remakes of Red/Green versions |
| PS2 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 | 2004 | Fighting | Dimps | More of a 3D fighter with the Z crew, but there is also a story mode where the main characters can train and level |
| GBA | Advance Guardian Heroes | 2004 | Action | Treasure | Sequel to Guardian Heroes, with similar beat-em-up gameplay but more platforming and characters |
| GBA | Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django | 2004 | Action | KCEJ | They done did it again, but now the sunlight also works as a form of currency! |
| GBA | River City Ransom EX | 2004 | Action | Million | Removes co-op and replaces it with an AI partner and more game customizability |
| PS2 | Eternal Quest (PAL/JP only) | 2004 | Dungeon Crawler | Tamsoft | This randomly-generated roguelike was created as a budget title… and it shows |
| GBA | Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | 2004 | Action | Jupiter | The first of many, many side stories- takes place between KH I and II, uses a card battling system |
| PS2 | Star Ocean: Till the End of Time | 2004 | Action | Tri-Ace | AKA Star Ocean 3 - losing all HP or MP will knock a character out in battle, very complicated Private Action scoring system to determine ending |
| GBA | Shaman King: Master of Spirits | 2004 | Action-Platform | KCEJ | Metroidvania based on the anime |
| GBA | Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon | 2004 | Strategy | Amusement Vision | Remake of the first Shining Force with new plot and characters |
| GBA | Shining Soul II | 2004 | Action | Nextech/Grasshopper Manufacture | Similar to the first, with more classes to choose from |
| GameCube | Virtua Quest | 2004 | Action | Sega-AM2/Tose | An ARPG starring a lame kid who has to enslave the souls of Virtua Fighter characters to become cool |
| GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon/Red Sun | 2004 | Strategy | Capcom | Now emotions must be controlled during battle, and fusion (like traditional MM) is available |
| GameCube | Tales of Symphonia | 2004 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | Brought the Tales series into the 3D realm, chibi character models belie a twist-heavy story |
| PS2 | Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome | 2005 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Disgaea-adjacent SRPG with vehicular combat and an assortment of weapon types for each class |
| Xbox | Digimon World 4 | 2005 | Action | BEC | An unexpected departure from the series format |
| PS2 | Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose | 2005 | Turn-Based | Monolith Soft | Made some changes to the combat system that were largely panned at the time, but otherwise more of the same |
| PS2 | Romancing SaGa | 2005 | Turn-Based | Square Enix | Remake of the sandboxy JRPG with gameplay elements taken from other games in the series |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga | 2005 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Straightforward turn-based JRPG, characters transform into demons in battle, lots of turn manipulation in combat |
| PS2 | Ys: The Ark of Napishtim | 2005 | Action | Falcom | Technically Ys VI; Adol can jump now, so that's cool |
| N-Gage | Xanadu Next | 2005 | Action | Falcom/ScriptArts | Isometric ARPG gameplay with a clunky class-switching system of sorts and a different story than the PC version |
| PS2 | Musashi: Samurai Legend | 2005 | Action | Square Enix | Sequel of sorts to Brave Fencer Musashi with similar ARPG gameplay |
| PSP | Metal Gear Acid | 2005 | Strategy | KCEJ | An SRPG using cards (that can be leveled) to determine actions taken by an alt-canon Solid Snake |
| PSP | Kingdom of Paradise | 2005 | Action | Climax Entertainment | ARPG with lots of references to Chinese culture, customization of martial arts moves in combat, stat allocation when leveling up is determined by favored battle actions |
| PSP | PoPoLoCrois | 2005 | Turn-Based | G-Artists | Adorable characters, wholesome setting, turn-based combat with some grid elements, a combined enhanced version of two previously Japan-only PSX games |
| PS2 | Radiata Stories | 2005 | Action | Tri-Ace | ARPG with a majorly branching storyline, tons of recruitable characters (all with their own schedules), and lots to kick! |
| PSP | Rengoku II: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. | 2005 | Action | Neverland/Hudson Soft | Makes very minimal changes to the gameplay loop from the first game, culminating in another lackluster experience |
| PS2 | Graffiti Kingdom | 2005 | Action | Taito | Draw-your-own-monster ARPG, sequel to Magic Pengel |
| Xbox | Castlevania: Curse of Darkness | 2005 | Action | Konami | 3D ARPG - level Hector's stats with items and his familiars with good ol' XP |
| PS2 | Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King | 2005 | Turn-Based | Level-5 | Can you really say no to more slimes? In a fully 3D environment? |
| PS2 | Colosseum: Road to Freedom | 2005 | Action | Goshow | A gladiator simulator is a bit of a strange choice to make an ARPG about, but here we are- |
| PS2 | Shining Tears | 2005 | Action | NexTech/Amusement Vision | Plays vastly different to the rest of the Shining Force games- is an isometric ARPG rather than turn-based |
| PS2 | Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity | 2005 | Strategy | Pinegrow/Atlus | SRPG with a similar position-heavy system to Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth |
| PS2 | Suikoden IV | 2005 | Turn-Based | KCET | Takes place long before other games in the series, smaller party size, looooooooooooooooooooooooooads of slow sailing |
| PS2 | Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana | 2005 | Turn-Based | Gust | First localized Atelier game- you know the drill- turn-based combat and loads of item synthesis |
| PS2 | Arc the Lad: End of Darkness | 2005 | Action | Cattle Call | Radical shift in gameplay to an ARPG, had online multiplayer, widely panned |
| PS2 | Suikoden Tactics | 2005 | Strategy | Konami | An SRPG with a heavy focus on elements and support characters; takes place both before and after Suikoden IV |
| PS2 | Fishing Fantasy: Buzzrod (PAL only) | 2005 | Fishing | Starfish | Who would have guessed that fishing would be the key to discovering an ancient civilization? |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 | 2005 | Turn-Based | Atlus | See above - direct sequel to Digital Devil Saga |
| PS2 | Trapt | 2005 | Strategy | Paon Corporation | Unofficially part of the Deception series, with all the trap-placing gameplay intact |
| PSP | The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion | 2005 | Turn-Based | Microvision/Falcom | Second game in the Gagharv trilogy, despite western release order; run-of-the-mill turn-based gameplay and an arbitrary pet system |
| PS2 | Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir | 2005 | Action | Racjin | Prequel to its predecessor with greatly improved visuals |
| PS2 | Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel | 2005 | Action | Racjin | ARPG based on the manga with an original plot |
| PS2 | Genji: Dawn of the Samurai | 2005 | Action | Game Republic | Musou-like ARPG loosely based on a Japanese epic tale |
| PS2 | Shining Force Neo | 2005 | Action | Neverland | More realistically proportioned models than Shining Tears, but overall plays similarly |
| PS2 | Virtua Quest | 2005 | Action | Sega-AM2/Tose | ARPG with a main character so lame, he has to capture the souls of the Virtua Fighter characters to become cool |
| PS2 | Wild Arms Alter Code: F | 2005 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | 3D remake of Wild Arms, adding 5 playable characters and some QoL improvements |
| PS2 | Castlevania: Curse of Darkness | 2005 | Action | Konami | Hacky-slashy-spooky, uses items to increase stats |
| PS2 | Digimon World 4 | 2005 | Action | BEC | Digimon-themed ARPG with a clunky camera and a lack of balance |
| GameCube | Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness | 2005 | Monster Collecting | Genius Sonority | You're a trainer, go purify more Shadow Pokemon! |
| JP GBA | Super Robot Taisen J | 2005 | Strategy | Banpresto | Contains licensed mechs, which is why localization didn't otherwise occur |
| GBA | Final Fantasy IV Advance | 2005 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Revised translation and plot polish of the original, as well as graphical improvements |
| GBA | Shaman King: Master of Spirits II | 2005 | Action-Platform | KCEJ | Another Metroidvania based on the anime but with more attacks and abilities |
| DS | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team | 2005 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | Companion to the GBA's Red Rescue Team, with Pokemon exploring randomized labyrinths in classic Mystery Dungeon style |
| GBA | Riviera: The Promised Land | 2005 | Turn-Based | Sting | First in the Dept. Heaven series, with nonconventional dungeon exploration and item-based battles |
| DS | Lost in Blue | 2005 | Survival | Konami | Successor to the Survival Kids series with more RPG elements; tools can be upgraded to make your experience easier |
| GameCube | Digimon World 4 | 2005 | Action | BEC | Much maligned for adopting an ARPG format - why would you give Agumon a sword? |
| DS | Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow | 2005 | Action-Platform | Konami | Metroidvania direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow with a more anime design aesthetic, requires the stylus to draw symbols |
| GameCube | Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance | 2005 | Action | Intelligent Systems | The SRPG you know and love, with racial tensions! And Ike! |
| JP DS | Zoids Saga DS: Legend of Arcadia | 2005 | Turn-Based | Tomy | Retells the story of the first Zoids Saga game, with updates to gameplay from throughout the series and incorporation of the 2nd/3rd games' protagonists |
| GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel/Team Protoman | 2005 | Strategy | Capcom | You've seen it before, but now there are powerful Dark Chips! |
| GBA | Pokemon Emerald | 2005 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | Superior third version of Pokemon Gen 3 |
| JP PS2 | Front Mission 5: Scars of the War | 2005 | Strategy | Square Enix | More tactical Wanzer combat, largely similar to Front Mission 2, with the addition of friendly fire |
| GBA | Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town | 2005 | Simulation | Marvelous | Female protagonist version of Friends of Mineral town with a few added QoL changes |
| DS | Lunar: Dragon Song | 2005 | Turn-Based | Japan Art Media | Nice sprite work and music is the only thing this game has going for it. Garbage story, garbage characters, garbage game design. |
| DS | Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story | 2005 | Timed Turn-Based | AlphaDream | More fun with the Mario Bros., as well as exploration of Bowser's innards! |
| GBA | Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones | 2005 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Actually FE8, set in a separate continuity to the previous games |
| JP PS2 | Marie to Elie no Atelier: Salburg no Renkinjutsushi 1-2 | 2005 | Turn-Based | Gust | Remakes of the first games in the Atelier series, with all the expected alchemy present |
| DS | Advance Wars: Dual Strike | 2005 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Incorporates leveling of commanding officers to the army tactics game |
| JP PS2 | Tear Ring Saga Series: Berwick Saga - Lazberia Chronicle Chapter 174 | 2005 | Strategy | Enterbrain | SRPG with a heavy Fire Emblem influence (made by the same creator) with a hexagonal-based battle grid |
| GBA | Mario Tennis: Power Tour | 2005 | Sports | Camelot | Another jaunt through tennis school with Mario and friends, with EXP to gain and stats to improve! |
| DS | Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS | 2005 | Strategy | Capcom | Has content from both versions of MMBN 5 as well as additional content |
| JP PS2 | Namco x Capcom | 2005 | Strategy | Monolith Soft | Predecessor to Project X Zone, SRPG with combo-based gameplay |
| GameCube | Baten Kaitos Origins | 2006 | Card-Based | Tri-Crescendo/Monolith Soft | Similar card combat, but now all characters draw from the same deck |
| PSP | Tales of Eternia (PAL/AU/JP only) | 2006 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | A port of what NA territories knew as Tales of Destiny II, with vastly improved load times |
| PSP | The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch | 2006 | Turn-Based | Microvision/Falcom | First game in the Gagharv trilogy, despite western release order; gameplay is still very traditional, arguably bland, continues the pet system from the previous game |
| DS | Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal | 2006 | Turn-Based | Konami | Sequel to Azure Dreams (PSX/GBC), with similar tower climbing/dungeon crawling mchanics, with the addition of touchscreen runes |
| PS3 | Genji: Days of the Blade | 2006 | Action | Game Republic | Origin of the "giant enemy crab" meme, stat progress depnds on weapon leveling |
| PS2 | Grandia III | 2006 | Turn-Based | Game Arts | Same time and distance-based combat as the first two, disproportionate story pacing but solid nonetheless |
| PS2 | Steambot Chronicles | 2006 | Action | Irem | Mech-based ARPG, characters are named after food, eschews leveling system for highly customizable mech parts |
| PSP | Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth | 2006 | Turn-Based | Tose/Tri-Ace | An English port of the Japanese PSX version, not too different overall but does spiff up the localization a bit and adds a few cutscenes |
| PSP | Ys: The Ark of Napishtim | 2006 | Action | Falcom | Closer to the original PC Japanese version than the PS2 version was; also adds some extra quests; very long and frequent loading |
| PS2 | Kingdom Hearts II | 2006 | Action | Square Enix | Do you like pressing the triangle button? |
| Wii | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 | 2006 | Fighting | Spike | See PS2, but with motion controls optional |
| PSP | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force | 2006 | Card-Based | Konami | Something something children's card game, beating rivals levels you up and makes you eligible to buy better booster packs |
| DS | Magical Starsign | 2006 | Turn-Based | Brownie Brown | Cute turn-based JRPG with food-named characters and a focus on elemental and planetary alignment in combat |
| PS2 | Metal Saga | 2006 | Turn-Based | Success | First Metal Max series game to be localized, post-apocalyptic setting with some vehicle combat |
| PS2 | Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria | 2006 | Action | Tri-Ace | Similar combat and dungeon exploration as the first game, but with no time limits or pressure to release Einherjar |
| PS2 | Suikoden V | 2006 | Turn-Based | Konami/Hudson Soft | Last game in the series before being abandoned by Konami, a return to 6-person parties, lots of story connections to I-III |
| DS | Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime | 2006 | Action | Tose | Part Zelda-like adventure starring a slime (with increasable health), part tank warfare as only Dragon Quest can provide (the stats of the tank itself can also be upgraded) |
| PS2 | Tales of Legendia | 2006 | Action | Namco | Reverts back to the linear combat of earlier entries, about half of the game takes place after the final boss is defeated |
| PS2 | Tales of the Abyss | 2006 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | Back to the 3D combat that Symphonia popularized, a shining example of protagonist character development |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army | 2006 | Action | Atlus | Deviates from series norms by being more of an ARPG and taking place in the past, demon assistance is always present |
| DS | LostMagic | 2006 | Strategy | Taito | RTSRPG that revolves around drawing various runes to use powerful magic and monster capturing |
| PS2 | The Sword of Etheria (PAL/JP only) | 2006 | Action | KCET | 3D beat-em-up with a Wizard of Oz theme, heavy emphasis on combo/team-up attacks |
| DS | Digimon World DS | 2006 | Monster Collecting | BEC | Technically the first game in the Digimon Story series rather than a Digimon World game, very Pokemon-esque in gameplay |
| PS2 | Shadow Hearts: From the New World | 2006 | Turn-Based/Horror | Nautilus | Simliar gameplay to the previous entries, but more of a comedic tone and weaker dungeon design |
| DS | Final Fantasy III | 2006 | Turn-Based | Matrix Software/Square Enix | First appearance of the job-heavy game in the west |
| DS | Pokemon Ranger | 2006 | Action | HAL Laboratory | More of an ARPG than regular Pokemon games that uses the stylus to help temporarily capture Pokemon, who assist in completing missions |
| PS2 | Wild Arms 4 | 2006 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | Abandons the Wild West theme of the previous games; actions in combat affect targeted areas rather than allies/enemies |
| PS2 | River King: A Wonderful Journey | 2006 | Fishing | Marvelous | The truest form of JRPG- loads of fishing |
| DS | Deep Labyrinth | 2006 | Action | Interactive Brains | A first-person dungeon crawler ARPG with heavy use of the stylus for attacking and drawing runes for spellcasting |
| DS | Contact | 2006 | Action | Grasshopper Manufacture | A fourth-wall breaking ARPG with a costume-based skill system and stats gained in real-time by taking specific actions |
| PS2 | Phantasy Star Universe | 2006 | Action | Sonic Team | ARPG with a PSO-like combat style, had both online and offline modes (only offline persists to this day) |
| PS2 | Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra | 2006 | Turn-Based | Monolith Soft | Xenosaga was intended to be a 6-part series- this entry makes it extremely evident |
| DS | Children of Mana | 2006 | Action | Nex Entertainment | Beautiful graphics, but otherwise a repetitive randomized dungeon-crawling ARPG |
| PS2 | MS Saga: A New Dawn | 2006 | Turn-Based | BEC | Gundam-themed, but accessible to those unfamiliar with the universe, includes mobile suit part mixing and matching |
| PS2 | Monster Rancher EVO | 2006 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo | Leans more into traditional RPG mechanics than the rest of the series, dumbs some regular Monster Rancher ones down in the process |
| DS | Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin | 2006 | Action-Platform | Konami | Metroidvania with highly varied level design and two switchable playable protagonists - CHARLOTTEJONATHANCHARLOTTE |
| PS2 | Yakuza | 2006 | Action | Amusement Vision | Tons of minigames, ARPG combat, and a badass protagonist; lots of major Hollywood actors in the English voice cast |
| PS2 | Final Fantasy XII | 2006 | Turn-Based | Square Enix | Heavy utilization of programming AI tactics in battle, takes place in the same Ivalice as FFT and Vagrant Story |
| GBA | Final Fantasy V Advance | 2006 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Updated graphics, new jobs, and a new boss battle compared to the original |
| PSP | Monster Hunter: Freedom 2 | 2006 | Action | Capcom | An enhanced/expanded handheld port of the second Monster Hunter game (which was previously Japan-only) |
| GBA | Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation | 2006 | Strategy | Banpresto | Contains only original characters (no licensed mechs), gameplay is otherwise SRPG as always |
| GBA | Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 | 2006 | Strategy | Banpresto | Differs from the first game by featuring a branching storyline |
| GBA | Tales of Phantasia | 2006 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | First time released in English, with lots of slowdown and heavily compressed voice clips |
| GBA | Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone | 2006 | Strategy | Sting | Second Dept. Heaven game, an SRPG with card-based movement and skills as well as some real-time elements |
| Xbox 360 | Dead Rising | 2006 | Action | Capcom | Smashing hordes of zombies in a chaotic mall with a leveling system, unforgiving game timer, survivors to rescue, and pictures to take |
| PS2 | Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny | 2006 | Turn-Based | Gust | More item synthesis, two switchable protagonists |
| Xbox 360 | Enchanted Arms | 2006 | Turn-Based | FromSoftware | Fairly mediocre turn-based JRPG with some grid-based tactical elements to combat |
| PS2 | .hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth | 2006 | Action | CyberConnect2 | The ARPG/false MMO series continues, with a bit of shmup involved |
| GBA | Summon Night: Swordcraft Story | 2006 | Action | Flight-Plan | Combat reminiscent of earlier Tales games, but with weapon swapping available |
| PSP | Metal Gear Acid 2 | 2006 | Strategy | Kojima Productions | Much like the first, with a massive change in graphical style and some improvements to card management and acquisition |
| Xbox 360 | Ninety-Nine Nights | 2006 | Action | Q Entertainment/Phantagram | A musou-type game with RPG elements and a fantasy theme, increasing character levels makes better combos available |
| JP DS | Tales of the Tempest | 2006 | Action | Dimps/Namco Tales Studio | A short spinoff title from the mainline series, but plays as you've come to expect; a very polarizing game |
| JP GBA | Mother 3 | 2006 | Turn-Based | Brownie Brown/HAL Laboratory | (LOCALIZE IT NINTENDO) Musical combo system in combat, still as offbeat as ever |
| Xbox 360 | Phantasy Star Universe | 2006 | Action | Sonic Team | Mostly the same as PS2, but Ambition of the Illuminus is a free DLC instead |
| DS | Harvest Moon DS | 2006 | Simulation | Tose | Classic farming gameplay, lots of harvest spirtes to rescue- and crops themselves level up! |
| PSP | Generation of Chaos | 2006 | Strategy | Idea Factory | Kingdom sim of sorts, with battles decided in army clashes with many soldiers/one commander |
| GBA | Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 | 2006 | Action | Flight-Plan | Like the first, but with more crafting |
| PSP | Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light | 2006 | Turn-Based | Hit Maker | Run-of-the-mill turn-based JRPG, equipment management is important, you use the moon's energy to allow you to use powerful combat abilities |
| PSP | Spectral Souls: Resurrection of the Ethereal Empires | 2006 | Strategy | Idea Factory | An enhanced port of the previously Japan-only Spectral Souls II, an SRPG with multiple storylines to choose, an AP-based combat system |
| PS2 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 | 2006 | Fighting | Spike | Uses a different game engine and camera style than the Budokai series, but has a similar story mode with additional "what-if" scenarios |
| PS2 | Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories | 2006 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | More SRPG demon shenanigans! |
| PSP | Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory | 2006 | Action | Neverland | A sci-fi ARPG with cumbersome gameplay mechanics and an almost nonexistent story, encourages weapon scavenging from enemies |
| PS2 | Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII | 2006 | Action | Square Enix | An ARPG starring Midgar's favorite brooding gun-toting mutant |
| PS2 | Drakengard 2 | 2006 | Action | Cavia | Still guarding and using dragons to fight masses of enemies |
| GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar/Cybeast Gregar | 2006 | Strategy | Capcom | Final game in the series, a bit more limitations on chip arrangement, stronger fusions |
| GBA | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team | 2006 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | Third-person randomized dungeon crawler with Pokemon, sister Blue version was a DS game |
| PSP | Monster Hunter: Freedom | 2007 | Action | Capcom | An enhanced/expanded handheld port of the first Monster Hunter game |
| PSP | Riviera: The Promised Land | 2007 | Turn-Based | Sting | Adds full voice acting, more CG images, and more events to the GBA version of the game |
| PSP | Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology | 2007 | Action | Alfa System | A crossover Tales game with a customizable main character, the ability to recruit other major characters from the series, and a quest-based format |
| DS | Lost in Blue 2 | 2007 | Survival | Matrix Software | Survive on a deserted island with your partner (and be sure to improve your living conditions as well)! |
| PSP | Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground | 2007 | Dungeon Crawler | Global A Entertainment | Spend the days digging a dungeon to protect your town, then eliminating the monsters you trapped! Stat growth comes in the form of meals made from defeated foes |
| PSP | Final Fantasy | 2007 | Turn-Based | Tose/Square Enix | Uses bonus dungeon and translation from Dawn of Souls (GBA), has updated 2D graphics, FMVs and soundtrack, arguably the definitive version of the game |
| PS3 | Dynasty Warriors: Gundam | 2007 | Action | Koei | Hacky-slashy-mechy ARPG musou fun with the ability to change the outcomes of certain pilots' predetermined fates |
| PSP | Final Fantasy II | 2007 | Turn-Based | Tose/Square Enix | See above |
| PSP | Dragoneer's Aria | 2007 | Turn-Based | Hit Maker | Turn-based battle system, magic is improved through repeated use, each party member has a unique field skill, elemental combos are encouraged in combat |
| DS | Luminous Arc | 2007 | Strategy | Imageepoch | SRPG; relationship-building between characters takes place between battles |
| DS | Front Mission | 2007 | Strategy | Square Enix | First appearance of the game on western shores, with all the walking tanks you can handle |
| PSP | Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions | 2007 | Strategy | Tose/Square Enix | Enhanced port of the original, changes some character/spell names, a LOT of Shakespearean-type English, MAJOR slowdown with spells, lots of QoL changes |
| DS | Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness | 2007 | Simulation | Tose | Same farming, but now on a deserted island! Limited to touchscreen controls |
| DS | Etrian Odyssey | 2007 | Turn-Based | Atlus/Lancarse | Classic-styled first-person dungeon crawler with punishing difficulty, requires dungeon mapping via the stylus |
| DS | Lunar Knights | 2007 | Action | Kojima Productions | ARPG; part of the Boktai series, and can even use the previous game's cartriges as solar sensors to confer extra bonuses |
| PSP | Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure | 2007 | Action | Falcom | A cutesy ARPG, fun hats confer stat upgrades and can be leveled in and of themselves |
| PSP | Jeanne d'Arc | 2007 | Strategy | Level-5 | An SRPG loosely based on the story of the famed French heroine; unit facing is important, as is a rock-paper-scissors-type affinity system |
| PSP | Dungeon Explorer (DL only) | 2007 | Dungeon Crawler | Atlus | See TG16 |
| PSP | The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean | 2007 | Turn-Based | Microvision/Falcom | Last in the Gagharv trilogy, but chronologically between the other two; still linear but allows for importing of data from the previous two games |
| PS2 | Wild Arms 5 | 2007 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | Back to Filgaia's Wild West theme, but maintains the hex system from WA4 |
| PSP | Beta Bloc (PAL/JP only) | 2007 | Arcade | Tamsoft | See PS2 |
| PSP | Warriors of the Lost Empire | 2007 | Action | Platinum Egg | A fairly mindless hack-and-slash ARPG with some very questionable enemy AI |
| PS3 | Enchanted Arms | 2007 | Turn-Based | FromSoftware | Mediocre, sci-fi-themed, turn-based, adds Sixaxis controls to enhance attacks in this version |
| PS3 | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSone Classics) | 2007 | Action-Platform | Konami | See PSX |
| PS3 | Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War | 2007 | Strategy | Omega Force | A RTS/musou with a rock-paper-scissors-like element to squad types (which can each be leveled), takes place in an alt-historical version of France/England |
| PSP | Valhalla Knights | 2007 | Action | K2 | Combat takes place in real-time with instant character switching but is a tad clunky, job system/subclassing confers abilities onto party members |
| DS | Heroes of Mana | 2007 | Strategy | Brownie Brown | RTS where better equipment is the key to raising stats; pretty but lacking in substance |
| PSP | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2 | 2007 | Card-Based | Konami | If you played the first one, you've played this one; playing the previous game can unlock extra cards |
| DS | Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Remix | 2007 | Strategy | Barnhouse Effect | Remake of the PSX SRPG with a new localization and endings |
| DS | Fossil League: Dino Tournament Championship | 2007 | Monster Collecting | MTO | Another dinosaur-themed Pokemon clone, but uses actual dinosaurs rather than made-up creatures |
| DS | Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings | 2007 | Strategy | Think & Feel/Square Enix | Sequel to FFXII, in RTSRPG form! Strong focus on Esper summoning, US version is more difficult than JP |
| PSP | Wild Arms (PSone Classics) | 2007 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | See PSX |
| PS3 | Folklore | 2007 | Action | Game Republic | Capture and control fantasy creatures with ARPG gameplay that also utilizes the Sixaxis motion controller (for good or ill) |
| PS3 | Wild Arms (PSone Classics) | 2007 | Turn-Based | Media Vision | See PSX |
| PSP | Brave Story: New Traveler | 2007 | Turn-Based | Game Republic | Based on a novel/manga, standard turn-based gameplay, semi-obnoxious onomatopoeia effects during combat |
| PSP | Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos | 2007 | Strategy | Idea Factory | Sequel to Generation of Chaos, similar SRPG-adjacent gameplay; movement is done in a board game-like fashion and combat plays out automatically |
| PSP | Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles | 2007 | Action-Platform | Konami | Contains a remade version of Rondo of Blood and an unlockable version of Symphony of the Night with dialogue translation closer to the original Japanese |
| PSP | Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner | 2007 | Monster Collecting | Gaia | A monster collector/battler game made by the co-creator of the SMT series, item fusion can influence the monsters' stats |
| DS | Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel | 2007 | Turn-Based | Art Co./Frontier Groove | Run-of-the-mill turn-based JRPG with an original story featuring the characters and setting of the anime/manga |
| PSP | Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness | 2007 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Cuts out a few songs from the original, but adds a mode focusing on Etna, some bosses from Disgaea 2, and dual language support |
| DS | Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja | 2007 | Dungeon Crawler | Ninja Studio | Roguelike dungeon crawler with a quirky protagonist, decent difficulty curve |
| PSP | Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl | 2007 | Simulation | Marvelous Entertainment | Combines the original version of Back to Nature with the previously JP-only female protagonist version |
| PS2 | Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus | 2007 | Action | Sonic Team | Standalone expansion to Phantasy Star Universe |
| PS2 | .hack//G.U. Vol. 3//Redemption | 2007 | Action | CyberConnect2 | The ARPG/false MMO series continues, with a bit of shmup involved |
| DS | Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | 2007 | Simulation | Neverland | Now you get to raise crops and slay monsters! |
| PS2 | Odin Sphere | 2007 | Action | Vanillaware | Side-scrolling beat-em-up ARPG with a gorgeous art style |
| Xbox 360 | Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War | 2007 | Strategy | Omega Force | See PS3 |
| PS2 | .hack//G.U. Vol. 2//Reminisce | 2007 | Action | CyberConnect2 | The ARPG/false MMO series continues, with a bit of shmup involved |
| PS2 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 | 2007 | Fighting | Spike | An absolute ton of playable characters, but a bit of meat taken out of the story mode, as well as diminishing the RPG elements |
| Vita | Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (DL only) | 2007 | Strategy | Tose/Square Enix | See PSP |
| Xbox 360 | Blue Dragon | 2007 | Turn-Based | Mistwalker/Artoon | Elementary JRPG with a killer boss theme and a job system |
| PS2 | Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia | 2007 | Turn-Based | Gust | Turn-based battles, platforming dungeons, some VN elements- protect the singers! |
| Wii | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 | 2007 | Fighting | Spike | See PS2, but with motion controls optional |
| Wii | Sonic and the Secret Rings | 2007 | Action-Platform | Sonic Team | Sonic meets Arabian Nights with results of dubious quality, but experience to be gained and applied to skills based on stage performance |
| Xbox 360 | Eternal Sonata | 2007 | Action | Tri-Crescendo | Visually charming, a story loosely based on music/the composer Chopin, and combat limited by time |
| PS2 | Atelier iris 3: Grand Phantasm | 2007 | Turn-Based | Gust | Fewer party members, but more customizable as a result |
| Xbox 360 | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (DL only) | 2007 | Action-Platform | Konami | Mostly the same as the PSX version, but removes FMV cutscenes |
| DS | Spectral Force Genesis | 2007 | Strategy | Idea Factory | An extremely detailed war sim RTSRPG, with multiple nations to play as and features like taxation and diplomacy |
| DS | Spectrobes | 2007 | Action | Jupiter | An original Disney Interactive Studios IP with slippery-looking controls; a Pokemon clone with ARPG combat |
| PS2 | GrimGrimoire | 2007 | Strategy | Vanillaware | RTSRPG, units level up based on progress in the story |
| Wii | Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn | 2007 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Direct sequel to Path of Radiance, multiple factions to control over the course of the game, also hard |
| PS2 | Growlanser: Heritage of War | 2007 | Strategy | Career Soft | Actually Growlanser V, more of an RTS than previous entries in the series |
| DS | Pokemon Diamond/Pearl | 2007 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | Less water than Gen 3 Pokemon games, but with an obnoxious mountain to frequently travel through |
| PSP | Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon | 2007 | Simulation | ArtePiazza | Has more of a centralized storyline than other Harvest Moons, no marriage system, more adventuring elements (though farming is still a thing to do) |
| Xbox 360 | Dynasty Warriors: Gundam | 2007 | Action | Koei | Epic large-scale musou battles with a Gundam twist |
| Wii | Super Paper Mario | 2007 | Action-Platform | Intelligent Systems | Multiple playable characters and the ability to switch between 2D/3D for platforming; the last decent Paper Mario game, according to many |
| PS2 | Digimon World Data Squad | 2007 | Turn-Based | BEC | Turn-based battles and an emphasis on raising your Digimon appropriately |
| DS | Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker | 2007 | Monster Collecting | Tose | More Dragon Quest-themed monster collection and synthesis! Also features a DQ VIII- like skill system |
| PS2 | Shining Force EXA | 2007 | Action | Neverland | Isometric ARPG with two protagonists and some town-building, recycles many assets from Shining Force Neo |
| GBA | Final Fantasy VI Advance | 2007 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Added bonus dungeons, Espers, and some graphical polish |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 | 2007 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Where the Persona series really began to pick up steam in mainstream consciousness; introduced the Social Link element used by future entries |
| DS | Master of the Monster Lair | 2007 | Dungeon Crawler | Global A Entertainment | Want to slay monsters? Just dig a whole dungeon for them so you have them all corralled in one place! |
| DS | Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu | 2007 | Card-Based | BEC | Taking it all the way back to card-based combat, encounters take a long time but you gain experience between them |
| PS2 | Dawn of Mana | 2007 | Action | Square Enix | Does away with many conventions of the series, large focus on item throwing, level gains are reset between areas |
| JP DS | Super Robot Wars W | 2007 | Turn-Based | Banpresto | Generally speaking same gameplay as always, splits the story into 2 timelines (not all storylines are present in both) |
| JP PS2 | Super Robot Taisen OG: Original Generations | 2007 | Strategy | Banpresto | Combined retcon/remake of the two GBA SRT games; additionally incorporates battle systems/bots from other games in the series |
| DS | Mega Man Star Force: Dragon/Leo/Pegasus | 2007 | Strategy | Capcom | Separate from but plays in a similar manner to the MMBN series, except with a vertical grid and more limited dodging |
| DS | Digimon World Dawn/Dusk | 2007 | Turn-Based | BEC | Sequels to Digimon World DS, play similarly, exclusive Digimon to each version (as is tradition) |
| JP PS2 | Rogue Hearts Dungeon | 2007 | Dungeon Crawler | Compile Heart | Roguelike dungeon crawl with randomized dungeons, not part of the Mystery Dungeon series though |
| JP DS | Tales of Innocence | 2007 | Action | Alfa System | You know what to expect here at this point - in addition, doing sidequests for guilds levels them up |
| DS | Naruto: Path of the Ninja | 2007 | Turn-Based | Tose | Follows the manga/anime through the Chunin Exams arc, with some touch controls integrated |
| PS2 | Rogue Galaxy | 2007 | Action | Level-5 | Space pirate ARPG with AI party members and a nontradional stat increasing system |
| DS | Custom Robo Arena | 2007 | Action | Noise Inc. | Go to school, build your robot, and battle using it in arena-styled ARPG combat! |
| PS2 | Soul Nomad & The World Eaters | 2007 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Yet another Disgaea-adjacent SRPG, this one has more NPC interaction and a branching storyline |
| DS | Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Hudson Soft | Isometric ARPG dungeon crawler, has a materia-like system of weapon/armor augmentation |
| DS | From the Abyss | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Sonic Powered | Randomized dungeon crawler ARPG |
| PSP | R-Type Command | 2008 | Strategy | Irem | An SRPG spinoff of the space shmup; two separate campaigns available; pilots can gain experience during missions, making their ships better in combat |
| Xbox 360 | Infinite Undiscovery | 2008 | Action | Tri-Ace | ARPG combat with combo attacks; opening menus doesn't pause the game, too many characters drag the otherwise compelling story down |
| Xbox 360 | Lost Odyssey | 2008 | Turn-Based | Mistwalker/Feelplus | A traditional JRPG with incredible writing in side dream sequences; lots of rumination on immortality |
| Xbox 360 | Operation Darkness | 2008 | Strategy | Success | An SRPG featuring permadeath and a heavily alternate history WWII - think Nazi zombies and dragons |
| Xbox 360 | Record of Agarest War | 2008 | Strategy | Compile Heart | An extremely long SRPG that encourages careful marriage selection via dating sim elements and takes place over 5 generations |
| Xbox 360 | Sonic Unleashed | 2008 | Action-Platform | Sonic Team | Featuring XP for both the hedgehog and werehog, a hub world that can be explored, and more/different levels than the PS2/Wii versions |
| Xbox 360 | Spectral Force 3 | 2008 | Strategy | Idea Factory/XPEC Entertainment | SRPG with a large amount of recruitable characters, faction-based story |
| Xbox 360 | Tales of Vesperia | 2008 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | It's more Tales, featuring a badass doggo! Lots of missables and a strong overall cast |
| DS | Advance Wars: Days of Ruin | 2008 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | A more post-apocalyptic setting than pervious entries, individual units can level up in combat (though the effect only lasts for one map) |
| PSP | Valhalla Knights 2 | 2008 | Action | K2 | Not much different from the first at all, cumbersome spell systems and mission structure with bland environments |
| Wii | Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World | 2008 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | Lots of elemental affinity manipulation and some monster recruitment mechanics in addition to normal Tales gameplay |
| DS | Away: Shuffle Dungeon | 2008 | Action | Artoon/Mistwalker | Unique spin on the mystery dungeon rogue-like format: each of the two screens is randomized and will shuffle after a time |
| DS | Drone Tactics | 2008 | Strategy | Success | A robo-bug-based SRPG, skews in a simplistic/childlike direction, especially story-wise |
| DS | Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen | 2008 | Turn-Based | ArtePiazza | Classic JRPG gameplay broken up into chapters following specific protagonists, has one more chapter than the NES version |
| DS | Disgaea DS | 2008 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Port of the PSP version of the classic SRPG with a few additional characters |
| DS | Dinosaur King | 2008 | Monster Collecting | Climax Entertainment | It's Pokemon, but with dinosaurs instead! Combat is literally in a rock-paper-scissors format |
| DS | Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard | 2008 | Turn-Based | Atlus/Lancarse | Very similar to the first game, just as blisteringly hard, more mapping symbols available for use |
| DS | Digimon World Championship | 2008 | Monster Collecting | Epics | All the perils of raising monsters without any of the storyline or ability to control them in combat (which happens via AI)! |
| DS | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time | 2008 | Action | Square Enix | Isometric ARPG dungeon crawl with character creation, can link to other DS or Wii copies of the game for multiplayer |
| DS | Final Fantasy IV | 2008 | Turn-Based | Matrix Software | A drastic change in graphics from 2D to 3D, added FMV cutscenes, significantly expanded plot from previous versions |
| DS | Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift | 2008 | Strategy | Square Enix | Class- and clan-based SRPG, similar to its predecessor in lighthearted tone, but far less strict laws in play |
| DS | Chrono Trigger | 2008 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | If you must play a version of this game (and you must), this one is a good choice- it has extra cut content! |
| DS | Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia | 2008 | Action-Platform | Konami | Last of the DS Metroidvanias, featuring a glyph combination system to customize movement and combat abilities |
| Wii | Baroque | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Sting | Third-person randomized dungeon crawler, eating flesh and hearts restores health and vitality! |
| PSP | Star Ocean: First Departure | 2008 | Action | Tose/Tri-Ace | Adds new playable characters and animated cutscenes, gives the game a different engine, expands on some NPCs storyline-wise, first western localization of the game |
| Wii | Dokapon Kingdom | 2008 | Board Game | Sting | No gameplay changes as compared to PS2, but better graphics and easier multiplayer |
| Wii | Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors | 2008 | Action | Genius Sonority/Eighting | An on-rails hack-and-slash RPG utilizing the Wii's motion controls |
| PSP | Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone | 2008 | Strategy | Sting | Adds new characters, redrawn sprites, increased unit capacity, more story sequences, and tweaks skills found in the original |
| PSP | Wild Arms XF | 2008 | Strategy | Media.Vision | Takes the hex grid system seen in later series entries and makes an SRPG out of them, a vitality points system adds an additional time limit to regular battles |
| Wii | Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | h.a.n.d. Inc. | Another Mystery Dungeon game starring Chocobo, this time with the addition of jobs (and subsequently adorable outfits) |
| Wii | Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility | 2008 | Simulation | Marvelous Entertainment | Level your tools, grow your crops, and restore a nature deity- all in a day's work! |
| Wii | Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked | 2008 | Survival | Hudson Soft | Whoops, you're trapped on an island and have to do minigames in order to craft tools/hunt to survive |
| Wii | One Piece: Unlimited Adventure | 2008 | Fighting | Ganbarion | ARPG in which the Straw Hat Pirates are stuck on an island and need to forage for survival; crafted food increases statistics |
| Wii | Opoona | 2008 | Action | ArtePiazza | Cutesy semi-sci-fi game where combat is done by throwing a sphere at enemies |
| Wii | Sonic Unleashed | 2008 | Action-Platform | Sonic Team/Dimps | Hope you like werehogs! More night levels than 360/PS3, a non-explorable hub world by comparison, and only the werehog can be leveled |
| PSP | Suikoden (PSone Classics) | 2008 | Turn-Based | Konami | See PSX |
| JP PSP | Super Robot Taisen A Portable | 2008 | Strategy | Banpresto | It's more SRW, with branching storylines and super evasive enemies! Remake of the GBA game Super Robot Wars A |
| Xbox 360 | Zoids Assault | 2008 | Strategy | SE Mobile & Online | SRPG featuring the long-running Zoids franchise and a lot of washed-out color palettes |
| DS | Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Ninja Studio | Plays like the first with similar tone, but adds a tag system for exploring dungeons; lots of grinding is necessary to complete |
| PS2 | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: The Beginning of Destiny | 2008 | Card-Based | KCEJ | Adds more duels to the the PSP Tag Force game, also allows for connectivity with Tag Force 2 to obtain more cards |
| DS | Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker X Ninja/Zerker X Saurian | 2008 | Strategy | Capcom | See above, but with a few more transformations |
| DS | Summon Night: Twin Age | 2008 | Action | Flight-Plan | Touch control-only ARPG with 2 AI party members and the ability to summon monsters |
| PS2 | Baroque | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Sting | Morbid, dark rogue-like, with a 3rd-person 3D perspective as opposed to the original |
| PS3 | Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice | 2008 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | SRPG shenanigans in the netherworld, with weapon proficiencies, monsters changing into weapons, and stacks of Geo blocks |
| DS | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness/Time | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | More mystery dungeon delving with the famous pocket monsters, with the addition of Gen 4 Pokemon |
| PS2 | Beta Bloc (PAL/JP only) | 2008 | Arcade | Tamsoft | Arkanoid/RPG hybrid, if that can be believed |
| PS2 | Chaos Wars | 2008 | Strategy | Idea Factory | SRPG with the best English voice acting known to man |
| PS2 | Dokapon Kingdom | 2008 | Board Game | Sting | Board game/JRPG hybrid, extremely cute |
| DS | Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 | 2008 | Turn-Based | Tose | Plays like the first game, but is more of an original filler story than directly following the source material |
| DS | Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure | 2008 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Changes the SRPG combat to 2D turn-based fighting, no English song vocals |
| DS | Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | Roguelike dungeon crawl where food management is critical and death is expected |
| PS2 | Yakuza 2 | 2008 | Action | Amusement Vision | Kazuma Kiryu's Kamurocho shenanigans continue with a JP-only voice cast |
| PS2 | Shepherd's Crossing | 2008 | Simulation | Success | A game much like Harvest Moon in terms of farming, RPG elements are present in the raising and skill-learning of hunting dogs |
| PS2 | Eternal Poison | 2008 | Strategy | Flight-Plan | Gothic-themed SRPG with demon capturing mechanics |
| DS | Lost in Blue 3 | 2008 | Survival | Matrix Software | More castaways to assist with touchscreen mechanics |
| DS | Luminous Arc 2 | 2008 | Strategy | Imageepoch | Not terribly different from the first, can be quite difficult, endings are determined by pre-battle dialouge choices |
| PS2 | Sonic Unleashed | 2008 | Action-Platform | Sonic Team/Dimps | See Wii |
| DS | The World Ends With You | 2008 | Action | Jupiter/Square Enix | A fashionable, frantic ARPG that utilizes badges of sorts to determine attack abilities |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 | 2008 | Simulation | Atlus | The RPG/life sim (of sorts) series continues, this time with a murder mystery theme and an obsession with the color yellow |
| DS | Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia | 2008 | Action | Creatures Inc. | Still no Pokemon battling here and still touchscreen-heavy, but with more possible partner Pokemon and tools for capturing |
| PS3 | Eternal Sonata | 2008 | Action | Tri-Crescendo | Adds a lot to the 360 version - more story, more playable characters, more dungeons; combat is fun but tactical |
| PS3 | Sonic Unleashed | 2008 | Action-Platform | Sonic Team | See 360 |
| PS2 | Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon Special Edition | 2008 | Simulation | ArtePiazza | Harvest Moon gameplay with more of a focused quest |
| PS2 | Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories | 2008 | Action | Square Enix | Still card-based, but with voice acting, new cutscenes, and 3D combat |
| DS | Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon | 2008 | Simulation | Neverland | Grow your farm and level up, and befriend monsters to hire them as farmhands! |
| PSP | Dungeon Maker II: The Hidden War | 2008 | Sandbox/Dungeon Crawler | Global A Entertainment | Plays similarly to the first, with an additional monster-raising system and more fine-tuning of dungeon-building elements |
| DS | Rondo of Swords | 2008 | Strategy | Success | An SRPG where you have to run a route through enemies to engage them in combat |
| PSP | Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts | 2008 | Dungeon Crawler | Hudson Soft | Isometric ARPG dungeon-crawler with a job system, some levels of the dungeons have strict requirements on the party |
| DS | River King: Mystic Valley | 2008 | Fishing | Marvelous | It's a River King game, yes, but the fishing lacks the charm it once had in earlier games |
| DS | Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals | 2008 | Action | Jupiter | Many more Spectrobes to collect and a general improvement overall from the first game |
| PS3 | Suikoden (PSone Classics) | 2008 | Turn-Based | Konami | See PSX |
| PSP | Ape Quest | 2008 | Turn-Based | Shift | It's a JRPG with the monkeys from Ape Escape- enough said |
| PSP | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII | 2008 | Action | Square Enix | ARPG featuring not-Cloud in a prequel to FFVII, slot machines can affect the tide of battle, mission-based structure |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES | 2008 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Adds an additional epilogue scenario to the original game, debatably the definitive edition |
| PS2 | Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis | 2008 | Turn-Based | Gust | Go to school, learn some alchemy, and use action points instead of XP to grow your characters! |
| DS | Harvest Moon DS: Cute | 2008 | Simulation | Marvelous | An alternative version of Harvest Moon DS that makes some QoL changes and allows you to play as a female protagonist |
| PS3 | Valkyria Chronicles | 2008 | Strategy | Sega | Squad-focused SRPG with real-time troop movement limited by AP, tanks are also controllable (and destructable) |
| DS | Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands | 2008 | Simulation | Marvelous | Resembles Island of Happiness, but reliance on the touchsreen is removed |
| JP DS | Soma Bringer | 2008 | Action | Monolith Soft | Top-down ARPG, widely acclaimed; lots of text to read and lots of character customization to do |
| Wii | Little King's Story | 2009 | Simulation | Cing/Townfactory | Combination RTSRPG/town builder/management sim; explore and expand your rapidly growing reign as king |
| Wii | Sonic and the Black Knight | 2009 | Action-Platform | Sonic Team | Sonic meets King Arthur this time, with even worse controls and a looser form of experience in the form of followers, which raise your knight rank which lets you access more skills |
| DS | Suikoden Tierkreis | 2009 | Turn-Based | Konami | Not part of the main series storyline (no returning characters), but similar 108-star recuitment and turn-based gameplay |
| Wii | Rygar: The Battle of Argus | 2009 | Action | Team Tachyon | See PS2, but with motion controls for the diskarmor and a massive change in Rygar's appearance |
| DS | Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier | 2009 | Turn-Based | Monolith Soft | Spinoff of the Original Generation series of Super Robot Wars, with turn-based combo combat rather than the regular SRPG format |
| Wii | Harvest Moon: Animal Parade | 2009 | Simulation | Marvelous Entertainment | All the farming you'd expect, but with a bigger variety of animals (many of them rideable)! |
| Wii | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers | 2009 | Action | Square Enix | ARPG; there is no party system, equipment and thorough exploration are the only ways to upgrade stats |
| Wii | Phantom Brave: We Meet Again | 2009 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Adds a new campaign and characters to the PS2 version of the SRPG |
| DS | The Dark Spire | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Success | A heavily stylized first-person dungeon crawler with an emphasis on an alignment system |
| Wii | Muramasa: The Demon Blade | 2009 | Action | Vanillaware | Gorgeous side-scrolling ARPG with a Japanese folklore twist |
| Wii | Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (WiiWare) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Matrix Software | An episodic sequel to Final Fantasy IV that many felt was unnecessary, adds new gameplay systems |
| Wii | Rune Factory: Frontier | 2009 | Simulation | Neverland | Harvest and dungeon delve, all while trying to prevent a whale island from crashing to the ground! |
| PSP | Half-Minute Hero | 2009 | Action | Opus | You have 30 seconds to save the world! What are you waiting for? A variety of fast-paced and humorous game modes and stories to complete |
| DS | The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road | 2009 | Turn-Based | Media Vision | Dorothy and friends go out to hunt some witches, with a cumbersome trackball guiding movement and a slot-based combat system |
| JP DS | Ore ga Omae o Mamoru | 2009 | Action-Platform | Vingt-et-un Systems/Idea Factory | A Metroidvania made to entice women to play, but quite difficult in practice; no XP to speak of but stats can be increased through equipment and story events |
| Xbox 360 | Way of the Samurai 3 | 2009 | Action | Acquire | See PS3 |
| Xbox 360 | The Last Remnant | 2009 | Turn-Based | Square Enix | Battles are done in large-scale- each character leads a squad of units, too much grinding can notoriously make the game too difficult |
| JP PSP | La Pucelle Ragnarok | 2009 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Adds characters from the Disgaea series, QoL improvements, and extra bonus episodes |
| JP Wii | Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon - Ikuzo! Arashi no Boukendan | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | Stack water Pokemon in a WiiWare-exclusive Mystery Dungeon adventure! |
| JP Wii | Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon - Mezase! Hikari no Boukendan | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | See above, but electric Pokemon |
| JP Wii | Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon - Susume! Honou no Boukendan | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | See above, but fire Pokemon |
| JP Wii | Takt of Magic | 2009 | Strategy | Taito | Successor to LostMagic (DS); a ARPGRTS focused on using motion controls to cast spells |
| Xbox 360 | Phantasy Star II (DL only) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Sega | See GEN |
| JP DS | SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny | 2009 | Turn-Based | Racjin/Square Enix | A ground-up remake of Final Fantasy Legend II, with more sidequests and the removal of random battles |
| JP DS | Rockman.EXE: Operate Shooting Star | 2009 | Action | Capcom | A port of Mega Man Battle Network with some additional Star Force content thrown in |
| PS2 | Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica | 2009 | Timed Turn-Based | Gust | Battle system different from the first, but the premise remains the same |
| JP DS | Luminous Arc 3: Eyes | 2009 | Strategy | Imageepoch | Shenanigans at a magic school with both SRPG gameplay and dating sim elements |
| Wii | Spectrobes: Origins | 2009 | Monster Collecting | Genki | ARPG/monster collector with utilization of motion controls to switch between Spectrobes in combat |
| Xbox 360 | Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 | 2009 | Action | Koei | More gigantic mobile suits to face off against in ARPG combat |
| JP DS | Blood of Bahamut | 2009 | Action | Think & Feel | Giant monster-slaying ARPG with mission-based structure |
| Xbox 360 | Crystal Defenders | 2009 | Strategy | Square Enix | A Final Fantasy-themed tower defense game where leveling units is crucial to survival |
| JP DS | 7th Dragon | 2009 | Turn-Based | Imageepoch | Slay some dragons in a traditional turn-based style! |
| DS | A Witch's Tale | 2009 | Turn-Based | Hit Maker/Nippon Ichi | Bland gameplay with a twisted Halloween aesthetic and public domain characters |
| PS2 | Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 | 2009 | Action | Omega Force | Mobile suit musou madness |
| DS | Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island | 2009 | Strategy | Gust | The first traditional Atelier game to come to the States - lots of crafting and time management as expected |
| Wii | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (WiiWare) | 2009 | Strategy | Square Enix | A cute tower defense/light RPG, clearing stages gives you experience used to power up minions |
| DS | Avalon Code | 2009 | Action | Matrix Software | Offbeat ARPG focusing on changing the properties of items to solve puzzles |
| Wii | Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga | 2009 | Action | K2 | ARPG with a lot of similarities to Monster Hunter and a job system |
| DS | Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume | 2009 | Strategy | Tri-Ace | Prequel to the first Valkyrie Profile; an SRPG where permakilling party members voluntarily can greatly aid in battle |
| Wii | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare) | 2009 | Simulation | Square Enix | A cute town-building simulator/RPG with the Final Fantasy trappings |
| DS | Pokemon Platinum | 2009 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | Last of the "combined third versions" of Pokemon games, this one the arguably ultimate version of Gen 4 |
| Wii | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time | 2009 | Action | Square Enix | ARPG with a customizable avatar character and the ability to cross-play with the DS version |
| PS3 | Way of the Samurai 3 | 2009 | Action | Acquire | A Sengoku-era ARPG with 22 different endings; weapons gain XP and lead to learning skills, many butterfly effect-type decisions to make |
| PS3 | Cross Edge | 2009 | Strategy | Compile Heart | Crossover RPG with characters from Darkstalkers and Disgaea among others, combo-based gameplay, loads of technical issues |
| PS3 | Crystal Defenders | 2009 | Strategy | Square Enix | Final Fantasy-themed tower defense, cute spritework, unit management and leveling is important |
| PS3 | Demon's Souls | 2009 | Action | FromSoftware | Punishing ARPG gameplay, loads of dying, learning, and dying again - collective actions online shift the difficulty of the game as a whole |
| PSP | Wild Arms 2 (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Media.Vision | See PSX |
| PSP | What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? (DL only) | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Acquire/Rideon | You're the bad guy who has to build the dungeons and buff up your monsters to kill off the good guys! |
| PS3 | Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 | 2009 | Action | Koei | Removes Japanese voices but adds some aerial combat, combos, and quick time events |
| JP PSP | R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate | 2009 | Strategy | Irem | Continues the same style of gameplay as the first game; three campaigns to choose from; stats can be improved with leveling |
| PS3 | Final Fantasy VII (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Square | See PSX |
| PS3 | Final Fantasy VIII (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Square | See PSX |
| PS3 | Wild Arms 2 (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Media Vision | See PSX |
| DS | Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics | 2009 | Strategy | GungHo | SRPG; combat between individual map units takes place over 3 rounds with a full squad of troops |
| PSP | Star Ocean: Second Evolution | 2009 | Action | Tose/Tri-Ace | Adds new playable characters, reworked skills, new cutscenes, and even more endings to The Second Story |
| PSP | Shin Megami Tensei: Persona | 2009 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Adds the previously excluded Snow Queen Quest, readjusts difficulty levels and encounter rates, and reworks the dialogue to be more modern |
| PSP | Adventures to Go! | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Global A Entertainment | Isometric turn-based dungeon crawler of sorts where you set the parameters for the adventures you go on; gameplay is not very inventive |
| PSP | Class of Heroes | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Zerodiv | First-person dungeon-crawler with highly customizable party members, and balancing compatibility between members is important |
| PSP | Phantasy Star Portable | 2009 | Action | Alfa System/Sonic Team | Sequel to Phantasy Star Universe, plays in a similar ARPG style, customizable player character, mission-based structure |
| PSP | Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days | 2009 | Strategy | Nippon Ichi | Adds characters from Disgaea 3, a story mode focusing on Axel, and other QoL changes brought over from Disgaea 3 |
| PSP | Dissidia Final Fantasy | 2009 | Fighting | Square Enix | A 3D Final Fantasy fighting game with unconventional mechanics, representatives from most main games in the series, and a story mode with character leveling |
| PSP | Monster Hunter Freedom Unite | 2009 | Action | Capcom | A further enhanced verion of Freedom 2, with more monsters, missions, pieces of equipment, and the addition of Felyne fighters to provide assistance |
| PSP | Final Fantasy Tactics (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Strategy | Square | See PSX |
| PSP | Mana Khemia: Student Alliance | 2009 | Turn-Based | Gust | Mostly the same as the PS2 version, but with added multiplayer battles and more items to synthesize in exchange for longer load times |
| PSP | Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4 | 2009 | Card-Based | Konami | See above, with some differenct characters |
| DS | Fossil Fighters | 2009 | Monster Collecting | RED Entertainment/M2/Artdink/Nintendo | Dig up fossils, combine them, revive them, and pit them against each other in Pokemon-like combat! |
| DS | Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor | 2009 | Strategy | Atlus | SRPG with branching narrative choices and squads of units rather than individuals, plus demons of course |
| DS | My World, My Way | 2009 | Turn-Based | Global A Entertainment | The main character is a spoiled princess who can literally pout her way into changing the difficulty of battles and the terrain itself |
| Wii | Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop | 2009 | Action | Tose/Capcom | Replaces the game-spanning countdown clock with timed missions, no free-roaming the mall between missions, and over-the-shoulder gunplay |
| Vita | Final Fantasy VIII (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Square | See PSX |
| PS2 | Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy | 2009 | Turn-Based | Gust | Direct sequel to Mana Khemia, with a similar character growth system- lots of pre-planning in synthesis encouraged |
| Vita | Final Fantasy Tactics (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Strategy | Square | See PSX |
| DS | Bleach: The 3rd Phantom | 2009 | Strategy | Tom Create | An SRPG with relationship-building elements, spinoff story written by Tite Kubo himself |
| DS | Blue Dragon Plus | 2009 | Strategy | Brownie Brown/feelplus | RTSRPG sequel to Blue Dragon, adorable spritework |
| PSP | Final Fantasy VIII (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Turn-Based | Square | See PSX |
| DS | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky | 2009 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | The "third version" of Explorers of Darkness/Time, adds more storyline elements |
| DS | Phantasy Star 0 | 2009 | Action | Sonic Team | Think Phantasy Star Online, but with crunchier graphics and a full-fledged story mode |
| DS | Nostalgia | 2009 | Turn-Based | Matrix Software/RED Entertainment | Turn-based combat, airship battles, real-world locations, and a magical steampunk aesthetic |
| DS | Mega Man Star Force 3: Black Ace/Red Joker | 2009 | Strategy | Capcom | See above, with version-specific transformations, more customizable commands, and the ability to become Mega Man at any time |
| DS | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon | 2009 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Remake of the first Fire Emblem game (and the first time Marth's story was told in the west) adding a lot of QoL features |
| PS2 | Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon | 2009 | Action | Atlus | Very similar to its predecessor, but uses demon negotiation rather than capture elements |
| DS | Dokapon Journey | 2009 | Board Game | Suzak | Hybrid JRPG/board game, super duper cute! |
| DS | Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans | 2009 | Turn-Based | Monolith Soft | An actual traditional turn-based Dragon Ball Z JRPG? I never thought I would see the day! |
| DS | Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time | 2009 | Timed Turn-Based | AlphaDream | Related to Superstar Saga by time travel, still turn-based with timing elements; introduces baby Mario and Luigi as playable |
| DS | Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride | 2009 | Turn-Based | ArtePiazza | First release of DQV in North America, featuring monster taming and a multi-generational story |
| DS | Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times | 2009 | Simulation | Aquria | If Animal Crossing went to Hogwarts, this would be the adorable result |
| DS | Legacy of Ys: Books I & II | 2009 | Action | Dreams/Falcom | Combined enhanced remake of Ys I and II with 3D and potential multiplayer |
| DS | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates | 2009 | Action | Square Enix | The multiplayer ARPG returns with changes to the playable classes and visible equipment |
| DS | Knights in the Nightmare | 2009 | Strategy | Sting | Fourth episode of the Dept. Heaven game series; SRPG/bullet hell hybrid that should be played to be believed |
| DS | Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days | 2009 | Action | h.a.n.d. Inc./Square Enix | Stars Organization XIII, takes place parallel to Chain of Memories; mission-like structure with the same ARPG gameplay |
| PS3 | Final Fantasy Tactics (PSone Classics) | 2009 | Strategy | Square | See PSX |
