Final Fantasy IV

The most refreshing thing about Final Fantasy IV is that it makes no bones about being a traditional Japanese role-playing game. Most modern games in the genre try to differentiate themselves by offering new-fangled (and often needlessly complex) means of growing characters and managing combat, but this classic RPG harkens back to a simpler time, when all players had to do in battle was choose an attack or an item, and character administration involved little more than watching stats increase with experience. To be sure, the remake does have a few modern contrivances -- such as "augments" which can bestow powerful attacks and the ability to automatically use healing potions -- but the majority of the game is devoutly old-school, and proud of it.

Despite its simplicity, Final Fantasy IV is far from easy. Enemies are challenging enough that even seasoned players will find themselves replaying many boss battles. And, thanks to the wide variety of magic spells, physical strikes, and summoned creatures, there is enough strategy here to keep us from mindlessly tapping the attack from one battle to the next. However, players aren't likely to remember the game's battles so much as they will its tragic and often heart wrenching story, which sees a knight unwittingly commit terrible atrocities, then spend the rest of the game trying to atone for his crimes. Final Fantasy IV represented the pinnacle of video game storytelling when it was originally released, and its narrative has stood the test of time.