I had originally planned to accompany this list with a "State of the RPG Report", but time, work, and Persona 4 caught back up with me and I had to shorten my plans down accordingly. My original goal was to have this up on 2 January. 2 weeks ago. A compromise then. State of the RPG, the short version. More RPGs than ever!! Good RPGs with some noticeable flaws. Reviewers come down harshly on said flaws. Bias? Apathy? RPG-hating? Who cares, I'll play and enjoy them anyway. On to 2009!

Here you will find a list of a few games from each platform that I most look forward to this year. The ones I'll be most likely to purchase Day 1 in a year when I'm trying to keep my game costs down.

I apologize in advance for the 360 bias in "box art". I plan to keep my high ranking on the RPG leaderboard over at MyGamercard.net so achievements come before trophies and the images I had laying around for editing are all 360 covers.

Alpha Protocol
I'm not entirely sold on the concept yet, especially since it seems to be even more of a shooter than Mass Effect. The biggest reason this stays on my radar is because of developer Obsidian who has taken two Bioware properties and put out sequels that came close to, but not quite matching, the originals. They don't seem to be straying too far from that here, as Alpha Protocol has often been called modern-day Mass Effect with spies instead of space marines.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance II: Fusion
I've always been a big fan of the X-Men, though I stop collecting the comics years ago. Though I wouldn't mind a return to the all X-Men lineup in the X-Men Legends series, the recent Ultimate Alliance game did not disappoint.

Dragon Age: Origins
Bioware returns to it's fantasy roots with what is being called the spirtual successor to Baldur's Gate. Currently slated for a spring PC release with the console versions shipping in the fall. I'll likely wind up waiting for the 360 release later on. Especially considering my fine PC game clear ratio of 0%.

After the fall RPG lineup the 360 had, I expect 2009 to be much quieter. What remains to be seen is if sales justified further 360-exclusive JRPG development, a shift towards the PS3 or Wii, or more multi-platform development.

Mass Effect 2
I greatly enjoyed the first one, even if did seem more shooter than RPG at times. While little has come from Bioware about it, perhaps they are focusing on Dragon Age for now, I expect to see plenty around mid-year with a late '09 release, especially if they are still planning to get their entire trilogy out in the 360's lifetime

Star Ocean: The Last Hope
tri-Ace fires their big gun this spring with the 4th Star Ocean. A series I've long enjoyed, though I never played through SO2 fully.

I hope to use this more as a PS3 instead of a PS2 in 2009, but beyond these two titles the future looks a little dry. Heavy Rain looks interesting, but I'm not feeling a Day 1 purchase on it. I've a feeling my PS3 will see another year working on the PS2 collection.

White Knight Chronicles
Level 5 has been working on this one for awhile, which just saw a Japanese release. While combat seems to move a bit slow, that might be a nice change of pace from the fast-paced Rogue Galaxy.

Cross Edge
I honestly didn't expect anyone to pick this up, but with the Disgaea and Ar Tonelico characters present NIS America makes sense. While I'm not expecting much of anything out of the game and doubt Famitsu 23/40 was that far off the mark. As long as it is on par with last years Chaos Wars (hopefully with a better English dub), I'll be happy.

Ever since Sony introduced the Playstation back in '95, Nintendo has only had a few RPGs each generation. The Wii does not appear to be changing this. Perhaps Dragon Quest X will change this, but that is still a few years away. And I must admit there seem to be more in development than for the Gamecube and N64.

Fragile: Sayonara Tsukino Haikyo
tri-Crescendo newest game. Due out in January for Japan, Namco Bandai has not yet announced a US release. Considering that both Baten Kaitos games and both the 360 and PS3 port of Eternal Sonata were localized, I would not be surprised to see this towards the end of '09. While it seems to lean away from the traditional RPG elements, the use of the Wii remote as a flashlight seems well integrated into the game as opposed to the normal tacked on just because we have motion controls approach.

Throwing this out here as joke more than anything else and a serious lack of other standout Wii titles announced for this year. Appearing in a list of possible 2009 titles by Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastion, I seriously doubt 2009 will see a Zelda title. The more likely scenerio is the title is first announced this year followed by Nintendo SOP of at least a year of delays.

The system that refuses to go down without a fight. While its best days are certainly over, there are certainly a few titles of note in the coming year.

Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica
Gust's innuendo-laced RPG finally gets its US release. An RPG/Dating Sim hybrid, the first game felt a lot like Atelier Iris 3, a game I enjoyed greatly.

Mana Khemia 2
No official release date, but it should be out sometime this year. Should play a lot like the first Mana Khemia with some minor changes.

Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Abaddonou
No word from Atlus USA yet on a release date, but they've only announced the spring titles so far. Chances of getting a plus edition with SMT: Nocturne Maniax Chronicle Edition... 0%.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
The latest Fire Emblem game is a remake of the very first Fire Emblem. Like a lot of Nintendo franchises, the formula hasn't changed much over the years, but there is no need to fix something that isn't broken. Looking forward to seeing Marth in a game that doesn't have "Smash" in the title.

Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor
Recently released in Japan, I've a feeling this Atlus Japan developed game will be out in the states before the end of the year. Save Tokyo from annihilation by recruiting demons with a high-school aged protagonist. Sounds like Atlus all right.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
Honestly haven't looked too much at this one. Should be done this spring with a US release not too far behind. Though leading character Roxas tells me I'll probably want to give Kingdom Hearts II a playthough before I start this one.

While most of the RPGs have been ports and remakes, there has been some original games here and there. Here's hoping Monster Hunter Freedom 2's success in Japan sparks a new wave of PSP development.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy
A Final Fantasy fighting game? I had my doubts, but it looks like it fared far better than Castlevania: Judgement.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
The other portable Kingdom Hearts game with a brand new trio of characters.