#5 - Final Fantasy X (PS2)

This is the game that got the JRPG party started. Final Fantasy X, in retrospect, is not the best game of its generation, nor is it the most memorable game in its series. However, Final Fantasy X defined what the PlayStation 2 RPG should be, both in style and in substance. One of the first titles to popularize in-engine cutscenes, it provided this style and substance through memorable characters and sometimes-questionable dialogue. It looked great well after the majority of the PS2's power had been tapped, and it sounded absolutely fantastic. The Sphere Grid provided gamers with the ability to customize, although the US version of the game had characters well set in their ways. With the customization, the aesthetics, and the overall mood of the game, Final Fantasy X is quite easily the most influential RPG of this decade, as it changed the way that the JRPG was made.

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