Chaos Rings
From my favourite game developer (Square-Enix) comes Chaos Rings. If you already know this game, then you know it's been out for a while but I am just getting to it, so there!
It was games like Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, and X, that made me want to study Computer Science. I will forgive them for X-II. (I am yet to play any other since my PS 3 broke about a month before XIII came out and I haven't repaired it since) If you are familiar with any of these games, then Chaos Rings is just like them.
In Chaos Rings you control 2 people. Which pair you choose determines the plot and the order of the levels you face. Of pairs you have 2 choices to begin with. I do not know if the others are unlockable or not. Regardless of which pair you choose though, you will always have one person who is good at physical attacks and another who is good at magic. All the RPG (Role Playing Game) basics are present - Items, encounters, learning skills, levelling up, it's all there. Learning skills is slightly different in that you mostly learn the skills of the defeated monsters. As opposed to skills for your character - There are those too, but to a lesser degree.
The fight system is pretty intriguing though, you can opt to execute one attack as a pair, or one attack each individually. As a pair you do more damage but also risk both characters getting damaged during the enemies turn. This adds an extra element of strategy to the game play. Moreover, because you learn skills better from stronger enemies, if your characters are right on the level border, you probably want to win the battle with a solo attack. That is just my opinion, and is unconfirmed.
In any case, Chaos Rings gave me about a weeks worth of play, and that is mostly because I was on break and not doing anything else. Plus, like most RPG's, you can go on playing even after you finish the game in a mode where you keep your stats from the previous game completion. At a price tag of about $16, it is definitely wayyyy over-priced and if you find a cheaper equivalent, I would love to hear about it.
