Ah, ’tis the year of RPG reprints. One of the last high-valued RPGs on the PS2, Ar Tonelico, is getting a reprint later this month — a preorder page is now available on Rosenqueen, NIS America’s online shop.

Just a few months ago, Atlus reissued the obscenely rare Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga 1. Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is available from both Play-Asia and Amazon (where it goes in and out of stock).

Until today, original prints of Ar Tonelico had been pushing around $70 on eBay without the box and around $80 with.

If the past is any indication, even the reprints may turn out to be good investments. Atlus reprinted Persona 2 and Rhapsody in 2005 and sent out massive numbers of copies to Gamestops around the country, priced at $29.99 each. Rhapsody’s price has slid to around $20, but Persona 2 has shot back up to $50-$70 on the used market, most likely due to the ongoing popularity of the series.

In other news, Ar Tonelico’s reprint might point to an upcoming US release of Ar Tonelico 2. Thelonepig on Cheapass Gamer emailed NIS’s customer serivce to ask about Ar Tonelico 2 coming stateside, to which they responded, “that they couldn’t make any formal comments, but that ‘you won’t be disappointed.’”

Is Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 destined to follow in the footsteps of series predecessors Digital Devil Saga and Nocturne as among the hardest to find PS2 RPGs? Appears so, as new copies of the title are evaporating both online and in stores.

Amazon has been out of stock of Persona 3 since at least early November. Currently, a new copy will set you back at least $81 from a 3rd party seller. Meanwhile, the official Atlus site, which had copies available at the end of November, has now pulled it from their online store.

Alternatively, a new copy of Persona 3 on eBay will run you about $70. Considering DDS and Nocturne’s legacy, that may be a bargain in just a few months.

I ran into this problem myself last month, since Persona 3 is on my Christmas list. My family, apparently unable to find a decently priced copy at Amazon, asked me for a URL where they could pick one up at retail price. I gave them the Atlus store, since they were still in stock shortly after Thanksgiving.

If you’re hunting a new copy at retail price ($49.99), check your local Sears (if you have one). My local Sears still had 2 copies last I checked. Ah, thank God for forgotten game retailers.

Or perhaps you’ll be like some lucky forumers over at CheapAssGamer, who found Persona 3 inexplicably clearanced for $12.49 at K Mart (YMMV!).