Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Who could have imagined that a game as specialized as Persona 3 would be the year's best RPG, especially in a year when such high-profile games as Blue Dragon and Mass Effect were released? Yet in the final days of the PlayStation 2, Persona 3 stands tall against the competition. The game features two halves to form a terrific whole. The first half is reminiscent of Japanese dating sims: You wander about your dormitory, taking part in class activities, as well as developing relationships with your classmates and teachers. Then at nighttime, you join your fellow adventurers in the realm of Tartarus, where you summon pieces of your soul, known as "personas," to do your bidding against the evil creatures of the dark hour. Of course, much has been made of how you summon a persona: You hold an instrument that looks like a gun to your head and pull the trigger. Shocking, yes, but justified in context of the game's mature and thoughtful story.

Where Persona 3 truly succeeds is how well these elements are tied together. How personas develop is based on how you interact with others during the day, which makes the interpersonal webs you weave an important aspect of battles. It's a completely involving system that will have you engaged from the earthshaking opening to the intense final moments. In other words, if you play Persona 3, you aren't likely to forget it.