Getting a PS2...

[scotth266]

- Good JRPGs, fun combat mechanics/good story/non-bitchy manchild protagonist

Hmmm. I would recommend Final Fantasy XII, and X as well based purely off the gameplay. X may throw you off a bit though, Tidus can be a bit of a *****.

I hear good things about Rogue Galaxy, the Persona series, and the .Hack games. Odin Sphere is apparently phenomenal.

- Really good platformers! I realize that there are plenty of good platformers for the PS2, but I have enough 1st party Nintendo games. If you suggest a platformer it had better be fucking phenomenal

Rachet and Clank, Jak and Daxter - both 3rd-person shooters/platformers. 1st Rachet game is kind of clunky, just an FYI, but it gets a HELL of a lot better.

- Fighting games, this is a weird one I'll admit. If there are any classic fighting games a fan of the genre must have lay it on me

Soul Calibur and Tekken - the former if you're into more "techy" fighters. You may also want to check out the Bloody Roar franchise, I forget if Primal Fury was released on PS2 but if it was, check it out.

- Action/Adventure, there are plenty of these so feel free

Resident Evil 4 (PS2 edition best edition ), Okami and Shadow of the Colossus you're already getting, Viewtiful Joe, Katamari Damacy, Kingdom Hearts. Just be prepared to be disappointed by KH2 a bit, combat-wise. Silent Hill is also supposed to be a great series, with 2 being the masterstroke.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

This. Game. Ruled.
This game was so damn addictive and seriously fun. I miss this game... I wish the PS3 would put it on their store.

 

[scotth266]

Another question for all of you PS2 owners: How's the memory card capacity?

The 8 MB cards (the default ones I think) will likely be enough to last you a while.

Oh, and I forgot: check out Dance Dance Revolution and Revolution 2 - great party games with a decent mix of music, though I prefer 2 as it has a more diverse selection. Daikenkai [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iej6lw2Wgmk] is one of my favorite songs (the video is Stepmania I think, but it's the same song).

 

[scotth266]

Ah crap: forgot another potential fighter! Check out Dragonball Z Budokai 3, if you're into DBZ. It's the best in the series. Just don't get Budokai Tenkaichi 3, that's a whole 'nother game.

 

[cerebus23]

pcsx2 works great but u do need a legit bios to run on the thing which they insist you have to dig out of your ps2 yourself. so even if you have pcsx2 you need the bios files off the ps2 lest "officially."

best thing about pcsx2 is upscaling games, can even try to force AA and things the ps2 never did, yea there are still bugs, some games still dont run great, AA can cause more glitches than not etc, but seeing games in 2x 3x + resolution is worth it.

 

[Platypus540]

I-ninja was a fun game, it's not 'great' or classic but I enjoyed playing it.

Okami is a pretty great game.

Shadow of the Colossus is excellent and you absolutely must play it.

I also very strongly recommend any of the 3 PS2 Ace Combat games (4, 5, and Zero). While the writing is often kinda corny, the gameplay/action is a lot of fun and the stories are really engaging (at least they were to me).

Edit: For a good fighting game, try almost any of the Dragonball Z games, especially the Budokai Tenkaicihi ones (I probably spelled that wrong).

 

[Ljs1121]

You should get the Sly Cooper series because it is absolutely oodles of fun.

 

[Rad Party God]

I'm considering on buying a PS2 myself, I had one in late 2001 and I sold it in late 2003, right before all the good games even came out and I still regret that decision to this day (I don't regret buying the GameCube with that money, I just regret I had to ditch out the PS2 to do so).

But yeah, there's a lot of catching up to do: Shadow of The Colossus, the Jak & Daxter series, Metal Gear 3 (I played it at my cousins house, but I want it for myself), Katamari Damacy, Sly Cooper series, God of War 1 & 2, Devil May Cry 1 & 3 (2 never happened...).

I could go on and on, but I'm a bit lazy busy at the moment. So yeah, the PS3 library looks great and all, but I'm still seriously considering on getting another PS2.

 

[Seabear]

Jak & Daxter,

Zone of the Enders: the Second Runner,

Kingdom Hearts - cannot suggest this ENOUGH.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

I'll be starting off playing Persona 4,

And that's all you need!

But really though, Kingdom Hearts is a great series.

Some great real-time combat an excellent story. It gets my recommendation.

And if you're looking for platformers, look no further than the classic PS2 trio: Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper.

 

[Souleks]

I just picked up Persona 4 today!
If it is as good as everyone says then I am in for a treat.

but yeah apparently the big ones are the Persona games as far as JRPGs go.

 

[Savo]

I'll be starting off playing Persona 4

Have you played Persona 3 yet? Because if not, I'd strongly recommend starting with it, because you can transition from P3 to P4 easily, but not vice versa. Also, P3 in some ways is actually the superior game imo.

For other games, I would recommend Digital Devil Saga 1-2, Xenosaga Episode 1, and Devil May Cry 1 and 3, and Resident Evil 4 to satisfy your action needs.

 

[kyuzo3567]

There have been alot of great games recommended on here so i wont bother re-listing them... but one of my favourite series on the PS2 was the Onimusha series. 1 and 3 have the same protagonist, 2 has a different one and the first game I ever saw with a scene path map (you need to replay it multiple times and do different things in order to see every scene with your companions)

They were awesome to play

 

[laggyteabag]

Ive got to put another recommendation in for Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance 1+2 here, they were my favourite games on the PS2, and for good reason, they are really just Diablo style games, and they work really well on a controller

 

[Fappy]

Ive got to put another recommendation in for Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance 1+2 here, they were my favourite games on the PS2, and for good reason, they are really just Diablo style games, and they work really well on a controller

I have 2 for the original Xbox and have played the first one. They are great fun and it's really fun to piss off die-hard Baldur's Gate fans by referring to the Dark Alliance titles simply as Baldur's Gate games.

 

[Vkmies]

One question, why not emulate a PS2? Last week I saw an almost brand new PS2 for sale at around 50$ . I almost bought it but then I realized that these days you can emulate all but the most obscure PS2 games on a 3 yearold laptop .

Anyway :

Persona 3 / 4 ( if you happen to have a PSP there a more complete edition Persona 3 on it)
Ico
Shadow of The Colossus
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Okami
.hack ( the series as a whole is quite good)
Xenosaga ( I haven?t actually played any of the games, but I hear they are amazing)
Devil May Cry 3

I'm a bit of a collector and I like the authenticity of playing old games in their original format. Playing emulators isn't the same experience in my eyes.

I cans see that , back at school i exchanged my headphones for an SNES even though SNES games can probably be emulated on a microwave .

SNES actually has one of the best emulators I have ever seen, but it doesn't compare to playing the real thing. I wonder if they ever managed to accurately emulate that special chip that "unlocked" improved graphics on the SNES (Mario RPG, Star Fox and Donkey Kong Country utilized it). I remember trying Mario RPG on an emulator to see how well it translated and the game looked awful.

Never heard any problems in emulating the effects of the Super FX Chip. Due to the high demand and price of a CIB Yoshis Island, I have replayed that one using an emulator and the SUper FX and Mode 7 effects looked just fine. Might've been a problem in the early days of emulation, I don't know.
But you have to note that everything looks a tad wrong on a PC screen. Hell even if you hook your normal SNES into a flat screen/plasma/LCD TV, it will look wrong, so I guess I am trying to say that the FX on emulators works as well as they can, considering that they aren't authentic.

As for PS2 games, in the misc. section I would have to mention that the PS2 was graced with the best Silent Hill games in history. Hell, the best survival horror games in history! DOUBLE HELL, THE BEST GAMES IN HISTORY! As in Silent HIll 2 and 3. You don't need experience with the first one. Don't get the HD collection, as it sucks.

As for platformers, Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter are a must. I don't know about the quality of those HD collections, though. might want to look into that, depending on if you are a collector or not.

 

[Fappy]

-Snip-

Now that you mention it, yes, I believe it was from the early days of emulators. Probably about 7 or 8 years ago at this point.

 

[lord.jeff]

Another question for all of you PS2 owners: How's the memory card capacity? The store near my house has a deal going where you can get a PS2-slim + cords + 1 controller for $40 and all peripherals are 50% off with the purchase (this includes extra controllers, memory cards, etc.). I imagine the memory cards will be pretty cheap so do you think I should get two or is one enough?

The 8mb could easily hold saves for a dozen games and that's with multiple saves.

As for games:
Sly Cooper
Ratchet and Clank
Viewitful Joe(For shame this not getting mentioned till now)
Kingdom Hearts
Okami
Prince of Persia
Shadow Hearts
Persona(like you needed another recommendation)
Metal Gear Solid 3

Congrats on getting a PS2 it's still the best system there is.

 

[kabooz18]

If you like undubs (playing an american version of japanese game with the original voices)
head over here [http://kotoba.forums.free.fr/index.php?]

since some games were regionlocked etc it wouldn't hurt to set up an emulator for your ps2 (if you're not entirely against it I mean^^)
PCSX2 is the only one you would need for that.

as for games:

I thoroughly enjoyed,
Tales of the Abyss (played with a friend in coop the only JRPGs I know which are good playable in coop)

Persona 3 and 4 (though 4 is definetly the better one)

Final Fantasy X

Grandia 3 (not as good as 1 but better than 2 IMHO)

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

Dragon Quest VIII (character designed by Akira Toriyama, it also is pretty nice and somewhat oldschool)

Mana Khemia, Disgaea, Makai Kingdom, in principle every game by nippon ichi XD

Capcom vs SNK2 and Marvel vs Capcom and Dead or Alive 2

Silent Hill 2 (the best silent hill game/ though the story of the first was better this one is better overall)

Killer 7

Xenosaga Episode I - III


the english dubs are acceptable for most games but the "Persona" and the "Tales of" games (except for Tales of Symphonia which is not for PS2(in english))
the voice actors are great but sadly they voice the characters not like they are portrayed, or they chose to portray them differently and forgot to change the text Idk.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

Nobody should own a PS2 and not play the Timesplitters series, just saiyan.