Unmissable PS2 Games?

The last console I had was an N64. I completely missed out on the most popular console of all time.



I think its about time I see what all the fuss is about. My cousin says I can get a lend of one but I don't know where to start with games. So what would be your top 5 ps2 games in no particular order?

K.O.Kiki

I feel like for a console as long-lasting & developed as the PS2, a Top 10 is more appropriate.

* Ico
* Shadow of the Colossus
* Persona 3 FES
* Persona 4
* Final Fantasy XII
* Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition
* Okami
* Metal Gear Solid 3
* Metal Gear Solid 2
* Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

Sephiroth_dude

Rogue galaxy

Retr0gamer

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne/Lucifer's Call
Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2
Katamari Damacy and We love Katamari
Dragon Quest VIII
Earth Defence Force
Shadow Hearts Covenant and From the New World
Gitaroo Man
God Hand
Silent Hill 2 and 3
Project Zero 1-3
Steambot Chronicles
Psychonauts
Prince of Persia 1-3
Beyond Good and Evil
Trapt
Klonoa 2

That's all I can think of that haven't been mentioned.

Of the ones mentioned above skip Devil May Cry 2 and Rogue Galaxy, they're not great.

penev10

Rez was considered "essential" and "ground-breaking" at one stage, not sure now, I never liked it.

For a very unique experience I'd recommend Dynasty Tactics. Blends a strategy RPG with a puzzle game. Would love an update for Vita!

Retr0gamer

penev10 wrote: »

Rez was considered "essential" and "ground-breaking" at one stage, not sure now, I never liked it.

It still is an amazing game although the HD version is even better.

penev10

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It still is an amazing game although the HD version is even better.

Bet you got the Jap-exclusive vibration "controller":pac:

Retr0gamer

penev10 wrote: »

Bet you got the Jap-exclusive vibration "controller":pac:

Pro tip: Be careful when buying one of these second hand!

CiDeRmAn

Get the Taito Legends, Capcom and Midway/Williams collections, a fantastic overview of all that is great about the last 30 years of videogames.

Cold Winter, I mention it a lot but only because its so good.

Fantavision, a launch game, a tech demo maybe , but I love it.

Rule of Rose and Silent Hill 2 present original concepts of what a horror game should be, the former hard to come by and latter less so and a stone cold essential.

I'd look at modding the console to be region free as well, there's a massive selection of great Jap only titles out there.

noodler

Alot of the games I'd recommend have been given HD make overs.

Definitely DQVIII.

I have Rogue Galaxy but never got around to playing it.

Thouroughly enjoyed FF12.

Sephiroth_dude

I loved rogue galaxy personally so I would still recommend it, had a lot of fun with it, also I would recommend grandia 2 .

YouSavedMyLife

Can't think of any game that stand out, get a PS1 instead

Retr0gamer

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

I loved rogue galaxy personally so I would still recommend it

I tried to play it and thought I'd love it after Dragon Quest VIII but I just found the whole thing an absolute slog with dungeons that were far too long and a storyline that was basically just a rip off of Star Wars. The crappy story and combat just wore me down and I gave up. It reminds me of Ni No Kuni in a lot of ways except that game is far worse.

Sephiroth_dude

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I tried to play it and thought I'd love it after Dragon Quest VIII but I just found the whole thing an absolute slog with dungeons that were far too long and a storyline that was basically just a rip off of Star Wars. The crappy story and combat just wore me down and I gave up. It reminds me of Ni No Kuni in a lot of ways except that game is far worse.

I will agree with you that the dungeons in the second part of the game were a slog but I still enjoyed the story, had a kind of cyber punk feel too it, which I love

megaten

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Rogue galaxy

Thought Rogue Galaxy was woefully mediocre to be honest.

That said Dark Chronicle from the same developer would be a must play PS2 game for me.

Penn

Devil May Cry 1 & 3 (skip 2. Horrible, horrible game. And 3 is a prequel to 1 so you won't miss anything story-wise either)
Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 (and obviously 1 if you haven't played it, as the PS2 was backwards compatible)
Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City & San Andreas
Bully
God of War 1 & 2
Prince of Persia games
SSX Tricky
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Spider-Man 2
Mortal Kombat: Deception (both the other MK games are great too, but I really enjoyed the single-player side game in Deception)

noodler

megaten wrote: »

Thought Rogue Galaxy was woefully mediocre to be honest.

That said Dark Chronicle from the same developer would be a must play PS2 game for me.

Couldn't get into Dark Chronicle for the life of me.

Adamantium

I'll pick something off beat:
Star Ocean: Till The End of Time

A Final Fantasy real time cyberpunk/sci fi JRPG. Amazing universe and great atmosphere, long 80 hour game too (story) It starts off a great pace and slows down early and having no internet as a teenager, I had no idea where the stories or locations would put me next, like a long long season of anime Star Trek. But I have to warn you the story goes bat**** insane later on, whether you like it or not will be down to personal tastes. Its one of the most infamous twists in gaming.

I didn't play the previous two in the series as they're not connected in any relevant way and you don' t need to.
Its very engaging gameplay wise and similar to Final Fantasy XII, but more frantic

It was one of those games that kept on giving, in the vein of whether Frodo and co would ever get the fcuk to Mt.Doom, but at the same time not wanting them to get there because the journey was very satisfying

Jak 1-3 should be mentioned here, if they haven't already.

Retr0gamer

Have to recommend against Star Ocean: Til the End of Time. The battle system is fun but like all the Star Oceans it turns into a medieval RPG after the opening because of some prime directive nonsense. Also for fans of the original 2 games the games big twist is a total kick in the balls to series fans.

It's really only recommended for people that like a meaty battle system and can ignore everything else.

Sephiroth_dude

noodler wrote: »

Couldn't get into Dark Chronicle for the life of me.

Neither could I.

Saipanne

IrishFeeney92 wrote: »

Need for speed underground 2

/thread

The thread didn't end. Strange.

Adamantium

Ace Combat Zero: Belkan War is great
Canis Canem Edit: Bully
Persona 4
Spider Man 2
007 Nightfire and the one before it (great for splitscreen mayhem)


007: Everything or Nothing would have been the best Bond movie for Brosnan.
Its one of the best third person action game I've ever played, very satisfying and didn't get the sales it deserved. You actually feel like Bond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YxSNa8mndE

The sensation of speed and handling in this one parts better than most full games. I played this so many times as a teenager.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8wOHUzHFbg

Digital Solitude

Ratchet and Clank Trilogy

sweetie

Adamantium wrote:

007: Everything or Nothing would have been the best Bond movie for Brosnan. Its one of the best third person action game I've ever played, very satisfying and didn't get the sales it deserved. You actually feel like Bond

really enjoyed that too. can I add psi ops, second sight and no one lives forever.

sweetie

sweetie wrote:

really enjoyed that too. can I add psi ops, second sight and no one lives forever.

and XIII and metal arms

Andrew76

Ico & Shadow of the Colossus, easily the best two games on the system.
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec for your car fix.
Dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU & Raiden DX for your shmup fix. DX was released on the PS1 technically but who cares.

Naydy

You will be spoilt for choice, the PS2 has an amazing selection of games, and a lot of them are dirt cheap now.

My top ten:

1. Persona 3
2. Final Fantasy X
3. Disgaea Hour of Darkness
4. Deus Ex
5. Fahrenheit
6. Metal Gear Solid 3
7. Dragon Quest VIII
8. Ico
9. Okami
10. Jak 3

CiDeRmAn

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2 is still one of my most favourite racing titles of all time.

I've decided to start with Dragon Quest VIII

noodler

Deleted User wrote: »

I've decided to start with Dragon Quest VIII

Clever move.

Such a good game. Wish I could start it again.

Retr0gamer

Deleted User wrote: »

I've decided to start with Dragon Quest VIII

Good choice it's really damn good. It want the absolute finest in PS2 RPGs then you should try Shin Megami Tensei Lucifer's call and Persona 3 and 4.

PropJoe10

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was a classic. One of my favourites from the series. Second one actually wasnt bad either, apart from the excess of cut-scenes.

martyos121

Might not be your cup of tea, but Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2 were brilliant. Not too expensive to get a sealed copy on eBay either.

DesperateDan

Any love for Dark Chronicle? Very similar in vein to DQVIII, always a love of mine though - and very beautiful even today. Level 5 are a very talented studio.

CiDeRmAn

martyos121 wrote: »

Might not be your cup of tea, but Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2 were brilliant. Not too expensive to get a sealed copy on eBay either.

Best played on the original GameCube....

Star Lord

Same with Resident Evil 4, the GameCube version was miles better than the PS2 version, though they did put more content in the PS2 version. (All later combined into the Wii version!)

DinoRex

Me cheering for the Dreamcast while looking at that bar chart:

TechnoFreek

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I've decided to start with Dragon Quest VIII

Plenty of grind in that game if I remember correctly.

the groutch

Final Fantasy X



(awaits Tidus laughing vid)

Retr0gamer

TechnoFreek wrote: »

Plenty of grind in that game if I remember correctly.

It's not that bad, the game is about making Dungeon runs and if you die in a dungeon you just lose half the money you've not banked but keep the experience. I only really had to grind to beat the infamous Dhoulmagus fight but if you get to there you should be going metal slime hunting and doing other sub quests to gain levels.

Retr0gamer

the groutch wrote: »

Final Fantasy X



(awaits Tidus laughing vid)

I played through it recently and while it's a good game it's waaaaay over rated. There's way better RPGs on the system including Dragon Quest VII, BoF Dragon Quarter and the Shin Megami Tensei games.

Thargor

Criminally underrated game.

Retr0gamer

Thargor wrote: »

Criminally underrated game.

I hope to god you are trolling that game is a shoe in for biggest load of pish on the system.

martyos121

Thargor wrote: »

Criminally underrated game.

Thargor

Not trolling, I loved that game, probably wouldn't have if Id been online at the time and seen all the bile directed at it but myself and another guy rented it from Xtravision as a punt one afternoon and finished it in a day, the on-rail shooting bits weren't great but they never are, the actual combat was great fun, perfect mix of guns and fists, and it was a proper Matrix story aswell, Ive finished that game about 5 times now I think.

akelly02

3 words..Canis Canem Edit.

CiDeRmAn

It's a truly terrible game, massive hype at launch and let lots of fans of the movies down.
Happily, most of the movies fans had no friends and seldom went out, so word of the disaster didn't reach far before lots had bought it.
SARCASM ALERT!

Star Lord

I can't say I enjoyed Enter The Matrix, but I ... got through it.
It had some decent bits, but they were few and far between.

Retr0gamer

I just remember how laughably bad it was. The fighting system was poo, the graphics were dreadful other than the two main characters models and the bugs were hilarious. There were some suspect physics and AI going on in the driving sections especially if the AI was driving, he would flip the car, run into walls and the car would magically right itself. Some sections were flat out broken lots bosses that would crash the game 80% of the time or doing very elaborate movements at some points to avoid crash triggers.