With home game consoles I always lag behind a generation or two. I only bought a PS2 a few months ago, and haven't really played it much yet. What are some of the MUST PLAY games on the PS2? So far, the only ones I have played are Final Fantasy 10 and 12. Please list what you feel are the best PS2 games.
What the heck, I'll post these again... Action/Adventure Okami Okay, seriously... you need this game. If you have the gall to ask for PS2 recommendations and DON'T pick this up, I will find where you live and beat you. Maybe the prettiest game (artistically) ever made. The fighting is fun, the exploration is fun, the story is excellent, the characters are lovable, and it's even got good length. Everything about it oozes quality and screams innovation. Includes a new game+ mode, too. Shadow of the Colossus I say this is adventure, but really it kinda defies categorization. One of the very, very few truly unique game experiences in... err... a long time. If you're tired of more FPSs, RPGs, fighting games, blah blah blah... you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. The whole game is a series of SPECTACULAR boss fights... there are no lesser enemies. Don't think any other game has duplicated the scale of some of these boss fights. Oh... and it's ridiculously gorgeous, too. Dark Cloud 2 I love the cell shaded look, and this game is pretty much the king of random fun distractions. There's a novel invention system whereby you can take pictures of almost anything in the game which turn into "ideas," and you combine 3 ideas to make inventions. Plus you get to play a golf minigame after you clear a dungeon, and you get to catch and race fish. Seriously. I'm not making this up. It's like Zelda on LSD. Resident Evil 4 My brother bought this. Sat down. Played it for 11 straight hours. No bathroom breaks, no food. Just get it. Resident Evil Code: Veronica If you enjoy the more traditional (non-RE4) type Resident Evils, Code: Veronica is an excellent choice. Got everything you'd expect from a RE game. Just fun, plain and simple. Definitely played this through several times. GTA: Vice City Is San Andreas more technologically advanced? Yeah. Does San Andreas have more features? Yeah. But somehow, Vice City is just the most fun. Maybe it's the Miss Cleo cameo, or the fact that you can kill prostitutes to the sounds of Michael Jackson and Mr. Mister. What's not to love?
Fighting Def Jam: Fight for NY #1 all-time game for sheer brutality. The pain dished out in this game is simply unmatched... you'll never see these kinda beatdowns anywhere else, plus the interactivity with the crowds is fantastic. And surprisingly, the mixed-styles fighting system is incredibly deep. There are 5 styles: Martial Arts, Kickboxing, Streetfighting, Wrestling, and Submissions. When you create a fighter you can mix and match the types of fighting styles... you can go with a pure kickboxer, but you could also add wrestling and martial arts as secondary styles, and his moveset will change. And the order you add the styles in DOES matter. You pull this off in a story mode that is actually amazingly compelling... best story I've ever seen in a fighting game, bar none. Never gets old. Pick this up even if you don't like fighting games. Trust me. Capcom vs. SNK 2 Like Street Fighter and/or King of Fighters? This is bar-none the best collection of fighters from both camps, and to top it off the fighting system is totally customizable: want air blocking? Add it in! Don't like the dodge mechanic? Take it out! Absolutely my definitive 2D fighting game. Guilty Gear X2 Easily the best 2D fighting game that's not made by Capcom or SNK. Very, very pretty, startlingly deep, very kooky, and lots and lots of extras. And a one-attempt-per-bout instant-death move for every character means the fight is rarely in hand. Tekken 5 My favorite 3D fighter, easily. Tekken 4 sucked, Tekken 5 makes amends. It's accessible and fun to new players, while being deep enough to keep you occupied for a very long time.
Racing SSX 3 If I were stranded on a desert island with just one game, this might just be the one. And I don't even like snowboarding. You absolutely must buy this game. Please see "Okami" for what will happen to you if you don't. Awesome sense of speed, great presentation, the way they remove and add in elements of music depending on how you're doing is groundbreaking, it's pretty, endlessly replayable... Burnout 3: Takedown As a rule, I don't like racing games. But no racing game gives you a better sense of speed than Burnout, nor does any other racing game let you take out other cars in such a supremely satisfying way. The crash mode where you get to careen into busy intersections and try to cause maximum destruction doesn't hurt, either. Crazy Taxi Okay, so it's not really "racing." You're a cabbie, and you have to get people to their destinations as fast as possible. Get someone there fast, you get a time bonus, and you can keep on going. Simple? Yes. And that doesn't keep it from being absurdly fun. Not in the least. Role-Playing Final Fantasy X I'm sure I'll get knocked for saying this, but to me this is easily the best RPG on the PS2. Great graphics, great story, good battle system, TONS of extra stuff to do. Though I guarantee the main character will annoy you. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits It has the most fun battle system I've ever encountered. This is the only game I ever looked forward to leveling up for. Plus, you play two different parties throughout the game, and then when they meet at the end you get to choose a side and beat down the one you didn't choose. Sweet. Admittedly the story is a little ho-hum, but trust me, it's greater than the sum of its parts. Sports Tiger Woods 2004 Why 2004, you ask? Because these games passed the "irritatingly easy" line after 2004. This edition has plenty of courses, graphics are fine, blah blah blah. Much like snowboarding, I don't like golf at all, but I've been playing the Tiger Woods games since 2001 because they're just fun. This is the one to get, until the next-gens offer up a better one sans needless tweaks. Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit You'll have a hard time finding this one, but it's worth-it. Is Fight Night more intuitive and innovative and pretty? Sure. But Victorious Boxers has got STYLE. And you can't help but fall in love with the characters during the myriad of uber-cheesy cutscenes. Seriously... you'll love the story. This game is more fun than it has a right to be. Strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII You're gonna hate me for this recommendation if you wanna have a life. Many times I found myself at midnight saying "I just need to take over one more city" or "I just need to recruit one more good officer" or "I just need to butter up some political allies a bit more"... and then it was light outside, and I had played straight through 'til work in the morning once again. Stupid game. Car Combat Twisted Metal: Black Pick a car, and then go around blowing other cars up. And yes, it's definitely as fun as it sounds. For extra fun, the storylines for most of the characters are ludicrously dark and over-the-top.
I'll also say that many, many people love these games, but I haven't played any of them yet: Persona 3 & 4, Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, MGS3. Devil May Cry 3 is also a must-play, but only if you like punishing difficulty.
I'm in a similar boat to you in that I'm still making my way through the PS2 games I have lagged behind on. You can pretty easily find top-20 lists of the best PS2 games online. I would look at some of those and cherry pick the ones that look interesting to you. Here is one such list: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/772/772296p1.html Some glaring omissions from the list that Drex wrote: God of War 1 and 2 Devil May Cry 3 Metal Gear Solid 3 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas I will also say that Resident Evil 4 is a 100% must buy, as are God of War 1 and 2. Those 3 games are arguably the best action/adventure games on the PS2. I'll also say that I'm planning on playing through Silent Hill 1-3 sometime in the near future as I've heard good things about it (Silent Hill 1 is a PS1 game, but 2 and 3 are on the PS2), so those are games you may want to look into as well.
If this had been about five years ago, I would say Socom 2, but the online play is what made that game great. Metal Gear Solid 3 is very good. 2 is also good except the story line is weird.
Wow, PS2. Brings back the memories... That was pretty much my RPG console. Kingdom Hearts series Xenosaga series Persona series Suikoden Series(I like 5 personally) Shadow Hearts series Star Ocean 3 Tales series(not my cup of tea but pretty popular) Wow, I used to play a lot of RPGs......... Anyway, I'll leave the non-RPG recommendation to others.
Forgot to add Street Fighter Anniversary Collection: http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ8wIwAg#
I count Xenosaga collectively as one of my favorite RPGs ever, but with a few qualifiers: 1. Story is only great if you play all 3, and 2. The battle system in the 2nd game is so awful and annoying I think I have life-long trauma.
Agree with #1. As for #2, it's just really just more tedious for what you'd expect out of a modern RPG. But if you think of the system like old school "requires 1000 battles to grind through each dungeon" RPGs, it's not so bad in comparison. It's all in your mind.
I'd even rather grind through with a boring system than roll my eyes at the sheer stupidity of X2's battle system. I don't know why I hate it so much, I just do. And I like the battle system in #1 and #3 fine... And the crappy part about it for me is, #2 is my favorite "chapter" story-wise.
Thanks dudes. I already played the crap out of Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube, and I agree that it is awesome. Is Star Ocean 3 any good? I think SO2 was my favorite RPG ever, but I heard SO3 is a lot different.
For rpgs Tales of the Abyss Persona 3 FES Persona 4 Valkyrie Profile 2 Suikoden V Meh I don't Star Ocean 3.
I'm not a big fan of the anime look, so will probably pass on the Persona series. I actually have a copy of Star Ocean 3 lying around but have yet to play it. SO2 was probably my favorite RPG ever, though, but I understand that SO3 is a lot different.
