What are the bestest best PS2 games?
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Star Wars: Battlefront II.
Fan-frickin'-tastic SW based 3rd person shooter which allows you to play as the droids, empire, rebels, and/or clones. It has surprisingly fun Space Battles, and the ability to play as numerous different heroes and villains.
And Darth Maul is overpowered as fuck in that game.
Fan-frickin'-tastic SW based 3rd person shooter which allows you to play as the droids, empire, rebels, and/or clones. It has surprisingly fun Space Battles, and the ability to play as numerous different heroes and villains.
And Darth Maul is overpowered as fuck in that game.
Well I can never narrow down a single game as being the "best" PS2 game for me, but I guess I can go based on the genres I play on my PS2.
Straight Platformer- Ape Escape 3
By straight platformer I mean it's just a simple platformer and that's about it. I also consider collectathons to be a part of this category. For me though, I choose Ape Escape 3. While Ape Escape 2 was good, the new gadgets in the game weren't much fun and didn't really add anything. Not to mention that the music was entirely forgettable save for 2 tracks total in the game, which is why it's the weakest music-wise in the series. Ape Escape 3 added some interesting new things such as forms, although some were broken, the bosses were quite fun, the levels were memorable, and it saw the return of Soichi Terada as the music composer for the series, in which he has many memorable songs in Ape Escape 3. The game is a lot longer than the second one, but I still enjoy it the most out of the numbered series.
Platformer mix- Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Yout Arsenal
The Platformer-Mix genre is something I made just so I could put this game in, basically these games have platforming elements, but aren't strictly pure-platformers. The 6th generation of consoles start seeing a lot more of these hybrid types of genre. As for my choice, Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal was just one of the games that I loved to death. The gameplay was zany and vibrant, the characters and their interations were great, and to this day when it comes to Ratchet and Clank fans many label this game as being the best in the series. Does it hold up nowadays, yes it does actually. The graphics are cartoony enough to not look too dated, it supported 16:9 as well so no stretching needed, the gameplay was fair and tests your reflexes, and if you die it's more or less your fault. The reason why this is also in the mixed genre category is because a lot of the gameplay revolves around impractical guns that level up and change over time as you use them. Coincidentally, before Fallout New Vegas came into existances, this was my most played game of all time clocking in at over 24 playthroughs as the little number next to my save file indicates.
Plus, it had this man as a villain, and how could you not love this villain!
JRPG- Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job Edition
Now this is somewhat cheating, as my PS2 is region free so I import a lot of games, and this is one of them. Anyway, Final Fantasy XII was the first non-Pokemon game I ever played over 400 hours of on a single file. I loved XII's atmosphere and abundant amounts of sidequests that reward you handsomely if you are able to beat them early enough. While not everyone's cup of tea, the game is a lot of fun and I'm glad I played it. Now the International version is different from the base Vanilla game on this end. In the International version, many of the bad parts about FF XII were changed up. For one, there is now a class system, so you have more customization for party memebers. You can also control and turn off the gambits for Guests and Esper characters. Most importantly you can break the damage limit of 9999 naturally without needing a special item to do so, something you still needed in FF X. Plus, the "don't open these chests" requirement for the Zodiac Spear was entirely removed, so you can open any chest you want without any worry. Although the Zodiac Spear is no longer the strongest weapon in the game. The spear didn't have any of it's stats altered, it's just that Square Enix made a more powerful weapon and hid it in the game, and might I add that it's BS on how to get it.
Shooter- Armored Core 3
Yeah, apparently the Armored Core games are considered just plain shooters, not what I'd of classified them as, but oh well. Anyway, Armored Core 3 is a great game, probably the best if not one of the best entries in the Armored Core series. Four Answer comes close, but I still think Armored Core 3 is better. Anyway it's basically a mech shooter: build the mech to complete missions and then upgrade it however you want. However, you have to keep things such as ammo, speed, weapon weight, and weapon type in mind to build some of the best creations. It's a lot of fun to do the challenges and face other mechs from the dev team. The game used to have online play, but that's long gone unfortunately.
Racing-Jak X Combat Racing
Had to just put this on here, anyway Jak X was the last Naughty Dog Jak and Daxter game that was made, after that the rights were sold. The game, much like Armored Core 3, let's you design your vehicle based on weapons, body type, engine, and speed. Unlike Armored Core 3 though, the plot can actually be followed and actually exists. While I'm not the biggest fan of racing games really, this game was still a lot of fun to play against friends.
Those games I listed are all exclusive to Sony's systems with Armored Core 3 also being released on the PSP, it's bad, and Up Your Arsenal being on the HD remake for the PS3.
Now to wait for the inevitable GameCube one of these threads to then list the excellent
GameCube games...soon, soon. *hugs Paper Mario TTYD, Twilight Princess, F-Zero GX, Metroid Prime, Sunshine, and Melee*
Straight Platformer- Ape Escape 3
By straight platformer I mean it's just a simple platformer and that's about it. I also consider collectathons to be a part of this category. For me though, I choose Ape Escape 3. While Ape Escape 2 was good, the new gadgets in the game weren't much fun and didn't really add anything. Not to mention that the music was entirely forgettable save for 2 tracks total in the game, which is why it's the weakest music-wise in the series. Ape Escape 3 added some interesting new things such as forms, although some were broken, the bosses were quite fun, the levels were memorable, and it saw the return of Soichi Terada as the music composer for the series, in which he has many memorable songs in Ape Escape 3. The game is a lot longer than the second one, but I still enjoy it the most out of the numbered series.
Platformer mix- Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Yout Arsenal
The Platformer-Mix genre is something I made just so I could put this game in, basically these games have platforming elements, but aren't strictly pure-platformers. The 6th generation of consoles start seeing a lot more of these hybrid types of genre. As for my choice, Ratchet and Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal was just one of the games that I loved to death. The gameplay was zany and vibrant, the characters and their interations were great, and to this day when it comes to Ratchet and Clank fans many label this game as being the best in the series. Does it hold up nowadays, yes it does actually. The graphics are cartoony enough to not look too dated, it supported 16:9 as well so no stretching needed, the gameplay was fair and tests your reflexes, and if you die it's more or less your fault. The reason why this is also in the mixed genre category is because a lot of the gameplay revolves around impractical guns that level up and change over time as you use them. Coincidentally, before Fallout New Vegas came into existances, this was my most played game of all time clocking in at over 24 playthroughs as the little number next to my save file indicates.
Plus, it had this man as a villain, and how could you not love this villain!
JRPG- Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job Edition
Now this is somewhat cheating, as my PS2 is region free so I import a lot of games, and this is one of them. Anyway, Final Fantasy XII was the first non-Pokemon game I ever played over 400 hours of on a single file. I loved XII's atmosphere and abundant amounts of sidequests that reward you handsomely if you are able to beat them early enough. While not everyone's cup of tea, the game is a lot of fun and I'm glad I played it. Now the International version is different from the base Vanilla game on this end. In the International version, many of the bad parts about FF XII were changed up. For one, there is now a class system, so you have more customization for party memebers. You can also control and turn off the gambits for Guests and Esper characters. Most importantly you can break the damage limit of 9999 naturally without needing a special item to do so, something you still needed in FF X. Plus, the "don't open these chests" requirement for the Zodiac Spear was entirely removed, so you can open any chest you want without any worry. Although the Zodiac Spear is no longer the strongest weapon in the game. The spear didn't have any of it's stats altered, it's just that Square Enix made a more powerful weapon and hid it in the game, and might I add that it's BS on how to get it.
Shooter- Armored Core 3
Yeah, apparently the Armored Core games are considered just plain shooters, not what I'd of classified them as, but oh well. Anyway, Armored Core 3 is a great game, probably the best if not one of the best entries in the Armored Core series. Four Answer comes close, but I still think Armored Core 3 is better. Anyway it's basically a mech shooter: build the mech to complete missions and then upgrade it however you want. However, you have to keep things such as ammo, speed, weapon weight, and weapon type in mind to build some of the best creations. It's a lot of fun to do the challenges and face other mechs from the dev team. The game used to have online play, but that's long gone unfortunately.
Racing-Jak X Combat Racing
Had to just put this on here, anyway Jak X was the last Naughty Dog Jak and Daxter game that was made, after that the rights were sold. The game, much like Armored Core 3, let's you design your vehicle based on weapons, body type, engine, and speed. Unlike Armored Core 3 though, the plot can actually be followed and actually exists. While I'm not the biggest fan of racing games really, this game was still a lot of fun to play against friends.
Those games I listed are all exclusive to Sony's systems with Armored Core 3 also being released on the PSP, it's bad, and Up Your Arsenal being on the HD remake for the PS3.
Now to wait for the inevitable GameCube one of these threads to then list the excellent
GameCube games...soon, soon. *hugs Paper Mario TTYD, Twilight Princess, F-Zero GX, Metroid Prime, Sunshine, and Melee*
Soul Calibur 3 is still my go-to game for fun with friends. Maybe not the most well balanced fighting game but in my opinion it's definitely right up there for being the most fun.
Just so it doesn't go unsaid, Kingdom Hearts is great. Also, the Jak and Daxter series is awesome, and you can't go wrong with the SMT games on the PS2, though, some are better than others. Besides that, the Sly Cooper games are fun, and I suppose you should try God of War.
Shadow of the Colossus and Silent Hill 2 are a great start.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and its two sequels are fantastic games. Love the parkour and the time-manipulation mechanic. The God of War games are fun too. A bit more prone towards button mashing and QTEs. But it was the beggining of times for QTEs, they were pretty well implemented and didn't disrupt combat. They mostly showed up as rare, optional finisher moves.
Beyond Good & Evil and Psychonauts - two awesome cult classics.
Okami Okami Okami Okami Okami get it.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, best JRPG or RPG on the PS2 for that matter.
Odin Sphere is a fun action RPG and looks gorgeous.
Resident Evil 4!
And so on. The PS2 has a great gaming library.
And horror games: all the Silent Hills from 2 to 4, Haunting Ground and the Fatal Frames.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and its two sequels are fantastic games. Love the parkour and the time-manipulation mechanic. The God of War games are fun too. A bit more prone towards button mashing and QTEs. But it was the beggining of times for QTEs, they were pretty well implemented and didn't disrupt combat. They mostly showed up as rare, optional finisher moves.
Beyond Good & Evil and Psychonauts - two awesome cult classics.
Okami Okami Okami Okami Okami get it.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, best JRPG or RPG on the PS2 for that matter.
Odin Sphere is a fun action RPG and looks gorgeous.
Resident Evil 4!
And so on. The PS2 has a great gaming library.
And horror games: all the Silent Hills from 2 to 4, Haunting Ground and the Fatal Frames.
Can't believe I forgot about those games actually...they still scare the ever living shit out of me to this day. Definitely more than Amnesia did that's for sure.Eve Charm said:
Then again it might also be because some of the ghosts and spirits in the games are based off actual Japanese mythos and stories. Since I'm a Japanese major, my Sensei made us read some of them in October...needless to say the games now scare me even more. >.<
*goes into fetal position*
The ones that are mentioned multiple times in the same topic.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.230891-Another-PS2-Recommendation-Thread
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.193333-Recommend-some-PS2-Titles?
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.192750-So-I-just-bought-myself-a-PS2?
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.302581-Recommend-Some-PS2-Titles?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.230843-So-i-just-bought-a-ps2?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.193333-Recommend-some-PS2-Titles?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.289949-PS2-games
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.265037-PS2-games
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.178833-PS2-must-haves?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.308133-Ps2-games-anyone?page=1
There haven't been any new games so you get the same answers.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.230891-Another-PS2-Recommendation-Thread
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.193333-Recommend-some-PS2-Titles?
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.192750-So-I-just-bought-myself-a-PS2?
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.302581-Recommend-Some-PS2-Titles?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.230843-So-i-just-bought-a-ps2?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.193333-Recommend-some-PS2-Titles?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.289949-PS2-games
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.265037-PS2-games
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.178833-PS2-must-haves?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.308133-Ps2-games-anyone?page=1
There haven't been any new games so you get the same answers.
Personally mine;
Metal Gear Solid 2&3
Kingdom Hearts 1, 2 & Chain of Memories
Every Resident Evil
every Silent Hill
Ratchet and Clank
Jak & Daxter
Persona 3 & persona 4
Metal Gear Solid 2&3
Kingdom Hearts 1, 2 & Chain of Memories
Every Resident Evil
every Silent Hill
Ratchet and Clank
Jak & Daxter
Persona 3 & persona 4
Well there actually was a new PS2 game that would come out every year until last year, and it was an official game too. It was EA's Fifa game, just touting a new roster and last September was officially when the PS2 received it's last official game, Fifa 2014.TehCookie said:
*ahem*, if you would all gather round for a sec...
[HEADING=1]PERSONA 4[/HEADING]
Yeah. Buy it, it's awesome. If you like JRPGs definitely buy it, if you don't like JRPGs buy it anyway because it avoids the usual pitfalls of the genre and Persona 4's quality pretty much transcends genre entirely. I would explain exactly why but that would devolve into gushing over every little thing in the game if I started. No seriously, I can and will. I've made an essay over how good Yukiko's Persona visuals are before and I can do it again over much more insignificant things. Also Yukiko's Persona is the best Persona hands down in Arena. Yukiko doesn't need to lift a finger, Konohana Sakuya carries her entirely if you're good enough.
Persona 4 makes a friendship game over solving a mass murder spree mystery and the comedy never comes across as making light of the murders or the dark murders never muddy up the comedy one way or the other. Think about it, that takes some writing talent. Also personifications of another person's psyche are how the dungeons, and story behind the dungeons are designed. That's just badass.
Plus all the old PS2 games are dirt cheap now.
Also Persona 3 FES but I don't want to talk about that lest I awaken my dormant hatred of the main character.
[sub][sub]"I don't care lol" "2 cool 4 U XD"[/sub][/sub]
[HEADING=1]PERSONA 4[/HEADING]
Yeah. Buy it, it's awesome. If you like JRPGs definitely buy it, if you don't like JRPGs buy it anyway because it avoids the usual pitfalls of the genre and Persona 4's quality pretty much transcends genre entirely. I would explain exactly why but that would devolve into gushing over every little thing in the game if I started. No seriously, I can and will. I've made an essay over how good Yukiko's Persona visuals are before and I can do it again over much more insignificant things. Also Yukiko's Persona is the best Persona hands down in Arena. Yukiko doesn't need to lift a finger, Konohana Sakuya carries her entirely if you're good enough.
Persona 4 makes a friendship game over solving a mass murder spree mystery and the comedy never comes across as making light of the murders or the dark murders never muddy up the comedy one way or the other. Think about it, that takes some writing talent. Also personifications of another person's psyche are how the dungeons, and story behind the dungeons are designed. That's just badass.
Plus all the old PS2 games are dirt cheap now.
Also Persona 3 FES but I don't want to talk about that lest I awaken my dormant hatred of the main character.
[sub][sub]"I don't care lol" "2 cool 4 U XD"[/sub][/sub]
Well, not "bestest bests", but definetely worth to try:
Horror-themed:
1) Forbidden Siren 2. Seriously, try it! I guess reason it's not mentioned often here is that it was only released in Japan and Europe. Also, it's by authors of Silent Hill 1. I recommend not to bother with Siren 1, because Siren can be too frustrating. But FS2 is one of the most interesting horror games (not only on PS2), imho.
2) Echo Night Beyond. First person adventure - wandering on the moon station, talking to ghosts. Good when you're tired of action and need some loneliness.
3) You can also try Rule of Rose for nice plot, setting and music - but it's gameplay is far from satisfying.
Other honorable mentions are Fatal Frame series, Haunting Ground, Kuon.
Action:
1) God Hand - awesome beatemup with ton of humor.
2) Killer7 - if you dig surreal movies like David Lynch's Mulholland Dr., Guy Ritchie's Revolver or David Cronenberg's Videodrome - this one if for you. Gameplay-wise it's mix of rail shooter and action-adventure. This game is not for everybody, and don't compare it to later Grasshopper games like Lollipop Chainsaw or Killer is Dead.
3) Global Defense Force - again, no NTSC release. If you want crazy epic battle with hundreds of aliens - this would be fun.
4) Shinobi and Nightshade. If you like pre-DMC slashers (just killing, without crazy combos etc), these two are nice. Pretty challenging and with good music.
5) Transformers Armada. Came out before Transformers movies. Pretty impressive graphics sometimes.
Now, some honorable mentions: Contra: Shattered Soldier, Blood Will Tell: Dororo, Ghosthunter, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, GunGrave 1,2.
Adventure:
1) Chulip - game where you must kiss everybody.
2) Disaster Report and Raw Danger - surviving during catastrophe. Sometimes as thrilling as horror games.
3) Shadow of Memories. Heartful adventure with very good plot.
Honorable mentions: Drakan, Glass Rose, Okami, Psychonauts.
First Person Shooters:
Well, emm.. Definetely, Timesplitters series. Maybe also Darkwatch and Black.
Mecha:
1) Armored Core, as it was said before. I'd add that some people consider Silent Line being the best. Nexus is also good. DON'T start with Last Raven - it's hard as hell if u don't import saves from older ACs. And _avoid_ Formula Front and Ninebreaker - it was just A.I. testing games that later influenced AC5 etc.
2) Robot Alchemic Drive - epic Godzilla-like fight between distant controlled huge robots.
RPG and not so RPG:
1) Shadow Tower: Abyss. What an unique game! Kind of father of Demon's Souls. First-person dungeon crawler with interesting things like guns (!) and cutting limbs of enemies. Released only in Japan, there is translation patch somewhere. Also, very atmospheric.
2) Rogue Galaxy - one of the most beautiful ps2 titles, imho.
Honorable mentions: Eternal Posion, Odin Sphere, Stella Deus.
Megaten titles:
Well, Persona 3 FES and 4, SMT III Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1,3 and DS: Raidou Kuzunoha 1,2. Quite a choice
Open-wolrd-alike games:
Besides Bully and GTA there are Yakuza 1,2 and Steambot Chronicles.
Racing:
There is Downhill Domination, Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, R: Racing Evolution for arcade style
(+ Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift ?). And Enthusia for "realistic".
Everything else:
Iron Triangle and Ring of Red are for strategy lovers. Katamary Damacy and Under the Skin are for fun.
Horror-themed:
1) Forbidden Siren 2. Seriously, try it! I guess reason it's not mentioned often here is that it was only released in Japan and Europe. Also, it's by authors of Silent Hill 1. I recommend not to bother with Siren 1, because Siren can be too frustrating. But FS2 is one of the most interesting horror games (not only on PS2), imho.
2) Echo Night Beyond. First person adventure - wandering on the moon station, talking to ghosts. Good when you're tired of action and need some loneliness.
3) You can also try Rule of Rose for nice plot, setting and music - but it's gameplay is far from satisfying.
Other honorable mentions are Fatal Frame series, Haunting Ground, Kuon.
Action:
1) God Hand - awesome beatemup with ton of humor.
2) Killer7 - if you dig surreal movies like David Lynch's Mulholland Dr., Guy Ritchie's Revolver or David Cronenberg's Videodrome - this one if for you. Gameplay-wise it's mix of rail shooter and action-adventure. This game is not for everybody, and don't compare it to later Grasshopper games like Lollipop Chainsaw or Killer is Dead.
3) Global Defense Force - again, no NTSC release. If you want crazy epic battle with hundreds of aliens - this would be fun.
4) Shinobi and Nightshade. If you like pre-DMC slashers (just killing, without crazy combos etc), these two are nice. Pretty challenging and with good music.
5) Transformers Armada. Came out before Transformers movies. Pretty impressive graphics sometimes.
Now, some honorable mentions: Contra: Shattered Soldier, Blood Will Tell: Dororo, Ghosthunter, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, GunGrave 1,2.
Adventure:
1) Chulip - game where you must kiss everybody.
2) Disaster Report and Raw Danger - surviving during catastrophe. Sometimes as thrilling as horror games.
3) Shadow of Memories. Heartful adventure with very good plot.
Honorable mentions: Drakan, Glass Rose, Okami, Psychonauts.
First Person Shooters:
Well, emm.. Definetely, Timesplitters series. Maybe also Darkwatch and Black.
Mecha:
1) Armored Core, as it was said before. I'd add that some people consider Silent Line being the best. Nexus is also good. DON'T start with Last Raven - it's hard as hell if u don't import saves from older ACs. And _avoid_ Formula Front and Ninebreaker - it was just A.I. testing games that later influenced AC5 etc.
2) Robot Alchemic Drive - epic Godzilla-like fight between distant controlled huge robots.
RPG and not so RPG:
1) Shadow Tower: Abyss. What an unique game! Kind of father of Demon's Souls. First-person dungeon crawler with interesting things like guns (!) and cutting limbs of enemies. Released only in Japan, there is translation patch somewhere. Also, very atmospheric.
2) Rogue Galaxy - one of the most beautiful ps2 titles, imho.
Honorable mentions: Eternal Posion, Odin Sphere, Stella Deus.
Megaten titles:
Well, Persona 3 FES and 4, SMT III Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1,3 and DS: Raidou Kuzunoha 1,2. Quite a choice
Open-wolrd-alike games:
Besides Bully and GTA there are Yakuza 1,2 and Steambot Chronicles.
Racing:
There is Downhill Domination, Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, R: Racing Evolution for arcade style
(+ Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift ?). And Enthusia for "realistic".
Everything else:
Iron Triangle and Ring of Red are for strategy lovers. Katamary Damacy and Under the Skin are for fun.
LotR: The Third Age. Damn it worked for me, ofc it wasn't perfect but most entertaining time of the genre i've ever had.
Resident Evil 4. Obvious answer, game is just awesome. Most fun i had with my PS2
Killzone. Well.. it just was great okay.
Black. IMO peak of the PS2 fps's, good gameplay, awesome graphics etcetc.
GTA SA. We all know why.
Theres my top 5, not in any particular order.
Resident Evil 4. Obvious answer, game is just awesome. Most fun i had with my PS2
Killzone. Well.. it just was great okay.
Black. IMO peak of the PS2 fps's, good gameplay, awesome graphics etcetc.
GTA SA. We all know why.
Theres my top 5, not in any particular order.
