This was a great year for RPGs. It might not have been the best ever, but there was still a ton of fantastic RPGs released. RPGamer staff came together, each person scored all of the RPGs that they had played, and then the votes were tallied. It was close, tight race for RPG of the Year, but the scores left no doubt of a clear winner. Without further ado...

RPG of the Year 2007 Eternal Sonata

Eternal Sonata has been described as beautiful, artistic, breathtaking, and most of all enjoyable. The game, known as Trusty Bell in Japan, set out to tell a story within a story. Focusing on the life and death of actual Polish pianist, Frédéric Chopin, Eternal Sonata shapes Chopin's deathbed dream world into a world of adventure, discovery, and tragedy. The game features some of the most outstanding artistic design, a beautiful soundtrack, fast-paced combat, and a wonderful cast of characters sharing a wonderful story.

This game is the whole package. It is a classic RPG for this new generation. Eternal Sonata sets a new benchmark for graphics while at the same time continues to be extremely fun. The game itself indirectly plants the flag that video games can be art and does everything within its power to prove that to be true. Thankfully, the game isn't just a piece of eye candy, it's a solid RPG with a story that has the ability to touch gamers and characters that are extremely likeable. Congratulation Eternal Sonata, you are the RPG of the year.

Many wondered if North America would ever get Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. After all, the game features high school students shooting themselves in the head. North America did receive the game and the response has been amazing. It has received praise for its unique soundtrack, creative art style, addictive gameplay. It was much more than just an RPG though, one of the most impressive features of the game was the way it blended the social aspects of high school life with dungeon crawling combat. How players lived during the day had a major impact on how they fought at night. Easily, one of the most impressive games of 2007. It just leaves fans with one question for Atlus: where is FES?

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions for the PlayStation Portable fought off a ton of newer RPGs to secure its place as the third best RPG of the year. No small feat considering this game has changed little outside of its retranslation. This game was fantastic when it was initially released and, aside from a little slowdown, is even better today. A deep amazing story, a massive job class system, and a masterful soundtrack all on a portable format. Who could ask for more?

by Michael Cunningham