Why It Rocked: It takes a lot of crystals to reinvent a franchise that has been your nest egg for almost 20 years, but that's exactly what Square Enix did with the year's best RPG, Final Fantasy XII. Its combat system, camera placement, character modification, artistic style, and all around presentation were completely revamped; providing a dramatic departure from the formula that made the series so successful in the first place. But, do you know the best news of all? It worked!

Risky as it might have been, the changes in Final Fantasy XII make it incredibly appealing. Whether it's the fluid, almost real-time battles and addictive upgrades, or its always-interesting storyline and completely different characters, Ivalice always has a "hook" to grab you. No matter how far or near adventurers may be to its conclusion, FF12 keeps you working, guessing, and playing like few other games on Sony's console. In short, it's the best PS2 game we played in 2006 and one of the strongest titles ever released for the system.

Why It Rocked: What makes a role-playing game what it is? Some say that it's a combination of character development and an extensive plot. Others claim that it's all about item collection and conversations with NPCs. Regardless of which school of thought you subscribe to, one thing is for sure -- Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII is in possession of all those descriptors and more.

Set in the war-torn world of Ivalice, Final Fantasy XII was definitely the year's ultimate RPG experience. Bigger and more extensive than its competition, it took six extremely different personalities and challenged them with one important task: to stop the unstoppable. Pitting our heroes against the powerful Archadian Empire, Final Fantasy XII gives players a little bit of everything... fulfilling combat, a cool upgrade system, a powerful narrative, and true artistic panache. Best of all, it plays differently from every other game in the series before it -- truly making it the most unique Final Fantasy adventure since FF Tactics on the original PlayStation. It's a must own.

Best RPG

As much as we go out of our way to praise novel game concepts and lament the lack of original ideas in video games, we can still recognize outstanding quality when a game like Final Fantasy XII smacks us in the face with it. This is an immaculate game that follows the franchise's classic formula, while taking a number of interesting creative risks that subvert fans' expectations with some satisfying new surprises. Right from the start, the game's fantastic presentation and polished gameplay draw you into the journey of a reluctant boy-hero who falls into a ragtag group of heroes destined to save the world. It's pure Final Fantasy, and the formula is as potent as ever with this latest installment.

Game of the Year

Final Fantasy XII stunned us this year not just because of its quality, not just because of the caliber of game that it is, but also because of what it is not. Rather than release a safe, utilitarian epic, Square Enix took huge risks with their -- at least in the US -- flagship franchise. The gaming industry is stagnating, and Final Fantasy XII is a huge step in showing that a massive blockbuster, a huge financial investment, can take big risks and succeed artistically and financially.

The most obvious gamble is that there are no random battles in XII, the format of the game's maps neatly mimicking the MMO Final Fantasy XI. If you see an enemy as you guide your party through an area, then that's an enemy you can engage. The second most obvious is the introduction of a gambit system, making it possible to essentially create small blocks of code to control your party members. Despite fears that these two huge departures from a typical Final Fantasy would leave the game little more than a single-player MMO-style game where you didn't even control your characters, the system sings. Tedium like healing after a fight, engaging the enemies of a beginner zone, or smashing through a dungeon is handled automatically (if you want!), leaving you free to appreciate the beauty of the engine and the challenges that arise.

It's important to note that FFXII is yet another game that shows that the PS2 hardware has plenty of life left in it. Visually, this is a stunning title, with characters that evoke the best of Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy and a world that just continues to open up as you explore it. Every environment shines visually, and the cutscenes -- both cinematics and in-engine -- are not just prettier, but better directed and voice acted than any we've seen from the developer previously. The look of the game, the presentation of it, is so tied into the new combat system that the whole package feels more complete than previous entries in the series, its parts more organically whole. Some fans find the changes too gross to be acceptable, but at the same time many new fans have come into the fold, creating an audience for the series on the PS3.

Final Fantasy XII amazed us by taking a franchise that had helped define the PlayStation brand, retaining the core elements that have made the series great, and then making real changes. Competition for our top PS2 spot was ferocious because Sony's old warhorse has had a phenomenal year, but FFXII ended the fight with our top spot firmly in hand. Part of what marks truly great design is that it provokes responses, and it becomes impossible to ignore what has been done. FFXII is truly one of the great pieces of game design of this generation, and an amazing swan song for the Final Fantasy series on the PS2.

Patrick: After all of the controversy with staff changes, the disastrous demo, and my own deep distaste for the changes to the combat system, I was a full-fledged hater by the time I sat down to review Final Fantasy XII. But after the first ten hours, when the new systems and the setting really began to open up, I had to eat crow and admit that the changes were pretty solid and that this was a heck of a Final Fantasy. But after 40 hours, proceeding at a reasonable pace through the title, it was apparent that this was the best RPG I'd ever played on a Sony platform.

From the opening moments, the visuals of the game make clear that this is a masterwork, but a challenging one for its creators. Square Enix has created a unique and stunning beauty for the world of Ivalice. Not just for creating a level of visual quality that seems impossible on the PS2, but for its daring and nearly perfect visual design, FFXII towers above other titles. The world of Ivalice is vast, and realized from toe to tip perfectly. It's not often applied to such clearly commercially successful titles, but FFXII is a work of art.

From there, the gameplay changes serve not to dumb down the system, or to make it an aping of an MMO, but to reduce monotony to nearly zero as you're free to simply play. Explore, lead your characters into strange lands and encounters, unravel the secrets not just of an Empire but of the very real characters who join your party permanently or in passing -- do what you like. But even if you're a hater now, give FFXII the chance it deserves.

Gerald: Final Fantasy VI remains my favorite entry in the series to this day, but Final Fantasy XII makes it really hard for me to keep believing that. For the last few years, I've been primarily playing massively multiplayer online games in my downtime away from work, and for the first time, I've been able to experience a game that perfectly captures what I enjoy about online gaming, seamlessly merged with the greatest aspects of a traditional console RPG. With FFXII I can set up custom AI routines for my party to follow, feel accomplished whenever they grow in power, and explore a massive fantasy world for countless hours while never losing interest. FFXII takes great strides in terms of game design, and role-playing-game developers will look back on this game as a benchmark for years to come.

It must be stated that Final Fantasy XII's graphics are just incredible. The quality of the CG is feature-film quality, but the in-game graphics are also beautiful. This will likely be the best-looking game of the last generation, as it stands toe to toe with the greatest games on next-gen systems, both technically and artistically. If you were thinking that your PS2 was already outdated, FFXII will gladly show you otherwise.