RPGs Incoming for 2009

The release of role-playing games hasn’t been as gracious to us this generation as it was during the past two generations, so far. The PS2 age was full of great and memorable titles such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, Shadow Hearts, Persona 4 and Rogue Galaxy. This generation, we’re on a slow track but 2009 seems to be picking that up a bit. There are quite a few mentionable RPGs incoming this year, and we’re taking a look.

Let’s take a gander at what’s been released already this generation.

PlayStation 3 • Disgaea 3 (NIS) • Folklore (SCE) • Valkyria Chronicles (Sega)

Multiplatform • Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The (Bethesda) • Enchanted Arms (Ubisoft) • Eternal Sonata (Namco Bandai) • Fallout 3 (Bethesda)

Xbox 360 • Blue Dragon (Mistwalker/Microsoft) • Fable II (Microsoft) • Infinite Undiscovery (tri-Ace/Square Enix) • Last Remnant, The (Square Enix) • Lost Odyssey (Mistwalker/Microsoft) • Mass Effect (EA/BioWare) • Star Ocean: The Last Hope (tri-Ace/Square Enix) • Tales of Vesperia (Namco Bandai)

So, the current generation has seen a lot of RPGs already, with the most notable being probably Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Lost Odyssey, Valkyira Chronicles and Fallout 3. However, the RPG releases over the first three years of this generation are no match to that of the past generations, where gaming was all about the RPG. This gen, it seems to be all about the FPS.

Now let’s take a look at those incoming RPGs for 2009.

PlayStation 3 • Atelier Rorona (Gust) • Cross Edge (NIS/Compile Heart) • Demon’s Souls (FromSoftware) • Tales of Vesperia (Namco Bandai) • White Knight Chronicles (Level 5)

Multiplatform • Alpha Protocol (Obsidian/Sega) • Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix) • Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (CDV) • End of Eternity (tri-Ace/Sega) • Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf, The (Atari)

Xbox 360 • Divinity 2: Ego Draconis (CDV) • Magna Carta: Crimson Stigma (Banpresto/Softmax) • Mass Effect 2 (EA/BioWare) • Two Worlds: The Temptation (SouthPeak) • The Secret World (Funcom)

RPG games on the PlayStation 3 have flourished for this year in comparison to other years. Just about all the RPGs listed exclusively for the PlayStation 3 are Japanese RPGs. The Xbox 360 has a nice selection of titles coming out exclusively for the system as well, with most of the games being Western RPGs. As of now, we’re still early in the year, and who knows if Final Fantasy Versus XIII will arrive this year (I doubt 2009 though, but you can never be too sure) or what games will be announced at E3 2009.

So as for RPGs coming to our homes this year, these are just what we know of now. There may be more on the horizon.