The dominant next-generation platform is also far and away the current choice for RPG fans. As with the SNES and the NES, RPG powerhouses Square and Enix both support the PS. Additionally, Konami has proven to be a major RPG force, Atlus has upped its throughput significantly, and even former Sega stalwarts like Working Designs and GameArts have started producing PlayStation games. Nontraditional RPG companies (Namco, Capcom, Tecmo, and more) have also released a title or two. Not all of these RPGs are worth playing, of course... but the cream usually rises to the top.

In many ways, the PlayStation represents the dawning of a new era for RPGs. The games themselves are mostly the same, but the genre can no longer claim the "niche" status it once held. It took a few tens of millions of dollars and an unprecedented (some would say misleading) advertising campaign for Final Fantasy VII to knock open the RPG floodgates. And après ça, as they say, comes la déluge. RPG fans are faced with a cruel new world in which two, three, perhaps even four or more RPGs are released in the same month. No longer can they love all RPGs equally - they must pick and choose which titles receive their affections. Even so, this daunting task is certainly preferable to the old days, when RPG fans endured six-month intervals between "fixes."

Why is the PlayStation such an RPG haven? Let's take a look at some of the titles that make up its formidable library....

Now show me Revelations: Persona