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GIA Staff Favorites 2000

Fritz's Picks:

  1. Final Fantasy IX
    • Forget the mediocrity of Skies of Arcadia and the neon-colored meanderings of Chrono Cross: Final Fantasy IX was far and away the best RPG of 2000. Perfectly paced, it flies through four discs of plot twists, colorful characters (art director Hideo Minaba deserves a gold medal), exciting mini-games, and diverse locales without ever slowing down or becoming repetitive. The numerous FF-series homages hidden throughout the game will knock you down, though Square EA should be beaten to death with a stale loaf of French bread for their shoddy translation of them. FF IX is not a return to the style of the earlier FFs; it's a collection of the best elements of every installment -- and it's easily my favorite RPG ever.
  2. Legend of Mana
    • Since I still haven't gotten around to play Vagrant Story yet, this gets my vote as the best action RPG of 2000. While it's actually rather light on the action -- the battle system essentially consists of mashing buttons -- it excels in many other areas: lovably whimsical characters, loads of replay value, and an outstanding soundtrack from the gaming world's finest composer, Yoko Shimomura. The Tomba-inspired quest system is a terrific way of balancing non-linear gameplay with several interweaving storylines.
  3. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
    • What's this - an RPG without a cheesy fantasy story? I'm a sucker for modern settings, especially ones as clever and intriguing as Persona 2's, and the characters. Yes, there's a lot of random battles -- but they're fun! An all-around great RPG, and especially recommended for those sick of the standard Prozac-drenched "Let's go on an adventure!" stories. Props also go out in no particular order to RPG Maker, Vanguard Bandits, Majora's Mask, Wild Arms 2, and Xenogears. (Okay, so Xenogears was released in 1998, but I replayed it this year and enjoyed it significantly more than I did the first time -- and it's better than most of the games released this year.)

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