Sony Japan Studio: 28 Best Games They Helped Create

28. Arc The Lad

Developed by: G-Craft

Back in 1995, Japan Studio entered the fray as a publisher and support studio for this solid JRPG. While the original trilogy would not release internationally until 2002 (as Arc the Lad Collection), this represents the beginning of PlayStation's first original, and most enduring franchise.

The first game played pretty standardly, as you're a lad, named Arc, and leave your small town to save the world and uncover the mystery behind your father's disappearance. Along the way you make allies and have strategic turn-based battles.

While the first game didn't reinvent the wheel, it did something significant: it proved that Sony didn't have to rely on third-parties for worthy content, it could enter the JRPG market on its own terms...and Japan Studio was right there to help back the notion.

The original title was a good (if unremarkable) starting point, yet the much more ambitious Arc the Lad 2, and PS2's Twilight of the Spirits are franchise highlights.