The J-RPG Showdown

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Microsoft's failure to capture the Japanese market with Xbox began and ended with its lack of RPGs, or so the story goes.

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That problem was addressed with Xbox 360 as Square Enix, Triace, Sega and others all chipped in with their respective efforts. Xbox 360 isn't short of a decent RPG now but which one is the best?

Just so you know, the games being considered are Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Phantasy Star Universe, Eternal Sonata, Infinite Undiscovery and Enchanted Arms. Final Fantasy XI wasn't considered because it's a MMORPG (Phantasy Star has a single player mode) while 'Western RPGs' such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Mass Effect aren't considered either. And Tales of Vesperia isn't out over here yet. Obviously. So without further ado...

Best Story

1. Lost Odyssey
2. Blue Dragon
3. Infinite Undiscovery
4. Eternal Sonata
5. Enchanted Arms
6. Phantasy Star Universe

When considering the storyline in a J-RPG, there's a lot to look at - the pacing, the characters, the progression and most importantly, avoiding cliché.

The best is definitely Lost Odyssey. The amnesia angle has been done before but the way the storyline is delivered has been executed flawlessly, with well written text to absorb and take in, really helping it feel like an adventure. It even features a kid who isn't annoying.

The other games are good but flawed to a certain extent. Blue Dragon has a nostalgic RPG feel to it and its story harks back to old school Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy characters but it's undermined by cliché. Infinite Undiscovery is too short and finds itself rushing towards the end. Eternal Sonata has a clever premise but is harpooned by dreary dialogue. As for the others... oh dear.

Graphics

1. Eternal Sonata
2. Blue Dragon
3. Lost Odyssey
4. Infinite Undiscovery
5. Phantasy Star Universe
6. Enchanted Arms

No contest. Eternal Sonata remains one of the most gorgeous looking Xbox 360 games to date, brimming with vibrancy, character and life. Playing through it is a real visual treat similar to the first time you played through Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation or Final Fantasy X on PlayStation2 - a realisation of what the new hardware can do when pushed hard enough.

After that it's the anime stylings of Blue Dragon and the earthy grittiness of Lost Odyssey, both games featuring some stunning design and jaw-dropping moments throughout their running time.

There's something of a gap between those three and the other J-RPGs on Xbox 360, as they look functional rather than beautiful.

Sound

1. Eternal Sonata
2. Infinite Undiscovery
3. Lost Odyssey
4. Blue Dragon
5. Phantasy Star Universe
6. Enchanted Arms

An easy win for Eternal Sonata, with its classical soundtrack standing head and shoulders above everything else on the list. The battle music does grow tiresome after a while but everything new tune lends this RPG a classier air. It's consistently good.

Infinite Undiscovery opens with voice acting on par with Shenmue but recovers with a neat mix of memorable tunes and much improved voice acting, although it still dips from time to time ("dinner, dinner, dinner..."). Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon also weigh in with some great tunes and really, it's tight between all three of those games.

Phantasy Star Universe has some memorable tunes but not nearly enough of them, and succumbs to repetition.

Gameplay

1. Lost Odyssey
2. Infinite Undiscovery
3. Eternal Sonata
4. Blue Dragon
5. Enchanted Arms
6. Phantasy Star Universe

The tricky one. The easiest decision, in fact, is picking Lost Odyssey as the RPG with the best gameplay. It offers turn-based combat but throws in enough gimmicks and tricks to make it feel fresh and interesting. To hold its ground and offer a new spin on turn-based combat when the genre is pushing down the real-time combat route also shows real balls.

After that, Infinite Undiscovery gets second place, on account of its gameplay offering something new. It's a short game with situation bonuses, an impossibly hard Infinity mode and tough achievements, which gives it replay value. It's the closest to MMORPG gaming that offline has ever reached.

The light versus dark mechanic of Eternal Sonata nudges it slightly above Blue Dragon's classic RPG feel. Finally, Enchanted Arms beats Phantasy Star Universe because it offers a true, old school turn-based RPG while Phantasy Star's MMORPG-while-offline style gameplay is effortlessly trumped by Infinite Undiscovery.

Overall

1. Lost Odyssey
2. Eternal Sonata
3. Blue Dragon
4. Infinite Undiscovery
5. Enchanted Arms
6. Phantasy Star Universe

The best J-RPG on Xbox 360 is undoubtedly Lost Odyssey. It has the scope, the maturity, the restrained grittiness (opposed to the usual excess of the genre) and the Square Enix vibe. It's a fantastic game, from start to finish.

On the other end of the scale is Eternal Sonata, a bright, sunny game that radiates with warmth and feels sufficiently different to

Then there's the uplifting message of Blue Dragon, with its old school gameplay proving reassuringly nostalgic for those who grew up alongside the RPG classics of the Nineties. Infinite Undiscovery loses out simply because of the class of those games. It never really shows the fight to compete with those three as far as looks or length go but it's a pleasing, bitesize adventure in and of itself.

Enchanted Arms has the stronger single player over Phantasy Star Universe, which is a real slog-fest without a broadband cable plugged into your 360. Even so, the first four J-RPGs on this list should keep you happy... but is it enough to keep the Japanese happy?

Ryan King