Games for the PS2

Cerno · Sat 13/04/2013 01:27:31

I have only few things to add to the already respectable collection people have posted.

- Killer7 (certainly not everyone's cup of tea. I mentioned it because it tells a story in a very unconventional mindfuck-y way and you don't often get that in gaming. It certainly stands out.)
- Psychonauts (legendary for its bad sales and great reviews, it's Tim Schafer storytelling at its best. The game is a 3D platformer)
- Devil May Cry 3 (after a disappointing 2nd part, the third impresses with good action and some of the most ridiculously over the top cutscenes in gaming history)

No JRPG love?
- Kingdom Hearts (beautiful Disney / Squaresoft mashup with a host of well-known characters. Ah, childhood memories)
- Final Fantasy X (the last decent entry in the series IMO)
- Odin Sphere (beautiful 2D art, beautiful game overall)

Other than that, I would like to second some of the aforementioned entries:
- Shadow of the Colossus (not much to say, it's one of the greatest games of all time on any system)
- Metal Gear Solid 3 (holds a special place in my heart because of the gut-wrenching final boss battle and end sequence. The less you know about the game the stonger it hits home. Playing the sequels is recommended)
- Silent Hill 2 (IMO one of the strongest entries in the series, right next to part 1 on PS1. Has one of the most iconic horror characters in gaming. The game stands well alone, no prior knowledge of the series necessary)
- Gitaroo Man (for its unique way of telling a story through musical episodes. If you can stand the setting and music/reaction games in general, it's very fun to play)
- Katamari Damacy (If you want unique and pushing the envelope of gaming, this will probably be for you. It's very wacky, but so lovably done, it's impossible to not like it)

The sequel is better than the original IMO.

Ilych: I just got my PS2 down from the attic and I wanted to play Persona 4 so much, but it goes for about 30 pounds on Amazon.co.uk and I'm not ready to pay that (yet). But maybe I should, I read it's pretty awesome.

Edit: Just remembered, since the PS2 plays PS1 games, I'll name some 2D classics that stand out for me (2D graphics tend to stand the test of time better than the first baby steps of 3D do and are still playable outside of nostalgic reasons).

- Final Fantasy Tactics (turn based strategy with a well-deveoloped politics-rich story, more serious than the other Final Fantasy games)
- Castlevania Symphony of the Night (revived the Castlevania series with a bang. Awesome pixel art, great music, very fun to play. Highly recommended)
- Vakyrie Profile (2D/3D RPG with an awesome setting and perfect little short stories connected by the overarching quest of gathering souls for Ragnarok, unique action-oriented battle system)

Tuomas · Sat 13/04/2013 17:17:44

Obviously Max Payne 1 & 2 nuff said

Babar · Sun 14/04/2013 06:22:11

I went to a GameStop today (one of the few in the city still stocking PS2 games:(), and was able to find these, which I then bought:
Sly 3
Silent Hill 2
God of War 1 & 2
Okami
Ico
Shadow of Destiny
Tekken Tag Tournament
Ratchet & Clank
Jak & Daxter
and GTA: Vice City Stories

Now I have to look around for somewhere else that sells them, or find somewhere to mod my PS2 cheaply (probably not here...). I googled around for the disk mentioned, but could only find some memory card thing you insert that region unlocks it, but you have to do it every time the PS2 boots, and I'm not sure it is removable/replaceable once the game starts.

And Tuomas, I have played both Max Payne 1 and 2 on the PC already

.

Cerno · Sun 14/04/2013 11:44:17

Dude, Shadow of the Colossus! Didn't they have that?

Armageddon · Sun 14/04/2013 12:12:22

Sly 3 is awful, and yes get Ico and SotC.

LimpingFish · Sun 14/04/2013 20:15:33

Quote from: Armageddon on Sun 14/04/2013 12:12:22
Sly 3 is awful...

Sly 3 is fine, it's that just most people prefer Sly 2. If anything, the first Sly Cooper game is the weakest.

Quote from: Babar on Sun 14/04/2013 06:22:11
I went to a GameStop today (one of the few in the city still stocking PS2 games:(), and was able to find these, which I then bought:

Good haul!

Five classics, and some damn fine games among the rest. Silent Hill 2 is one of my all time favourites.

bush_monkey · Sun 14/04/2013 20:59:10

I will have to add to the Persona love! Persona 4 especially is amazing. Other games worth mentioning not in this thread yet:

3 great RPGs by Level5:
Dragon Quest 8
Dark Chronicles
Rogue galaxy

If you want games that will eat away at your life:
Disgaea and Disgaea 2
Makai Kingdom

Other good RPGs / tactical games
Ring of Red
Steambot Chronicles

More japanese madness:
Mad Maestro
Freak Out / Stretch Panic
Chaos Legion

Other

Great rhythm action games (get Gitaroo man first though!):
Frequency
Rez
Space Channel 5 2

And my favourite "unexpected pleasure": Mark of Kri. Great atmosphere and the setting was a breath of fresh air at the time. The graphics and animation as well were right out of a disney movie.

Edit: I forgot my favourite Final Fantasy of all time as well!: Final Fantasy XII.

Edit 2: Too many good games on PS2. I forgot the below classics as well:
God Hand (same guys who gave you viewtiful Joe)
Maximo (3D remake of ghouls and ghosts. Hard as nails and very fun)
Zone of the Enders 2 (The first one only sold because of the attached MGS2 demo. The second was a classic mecha game)

R4L · Tue 16/04/2013 02:44:55

Everyone has already recommended some great games, so I figured I'd recommend some others.

PS1:

Medieval - Fun action-adventure game with some great dialog, cartoony graphics, decent voice acting and an awesome player character Dan Fortesque!
Resident Evil Trilogy - I call it a trilogy because they were on PS1 and were much different compared to the newer ones. All pretty classic and fun to play.
Silent Hill - The grand daddy of survival horror games. Very atmospheric and also pretty damn scary.
Thrasher - Skate and Destroy - Picture Skate from this generation. Thrasher is essentially that. Pretty ahead of it's time and it has an awesome soundtrack.
Einhander - A shmup from Square and a damn good one. Great soundtrack as well.
Final Fantasy Origins Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II with updated graphics, bug fixes, and better translations. Great RPGs get better.
Twisted Metal 2 - Car combat done great.

Those are my favorites on PS1.

PS2:

Kingdom Hearts - I personally would avoid the 2nd one. It's nothing but a button masher. This one started it all and it did it just right.
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege - My favorite from the series that features John Reno. Hard, but fun game.
Dragonball Z Budokai 3 - Pretty great fighting game if you like Dragonball Z.

That's it for me. Never had a PS2 so didn't really spend much time with one.

Babar · Tue 16/04/2013 03:05:47

This is the perfect time to get one, R4L!

I found We Love Katamari at another GameStop today. As well as Metal Gear Solid 2, for just 2 cents. Even though that is an awesome deal, I got annoyed, because just as I came back with my purchase and checked my mail, it turns out I got a coupon to get any game free if I buy two games...

stu · Thu 18/04/2013 13:29:07

I don't think anybody's mentioned Red Dead Revolver yet. I played that game to death, loved it!

Babar · Thu 18/04/2013 17:46:45

I actually saw that in a shop, but didn't pick it up. It was the first part in the series that included the more acclaimed Red Dead Redemption (for the PS3), no?
As of now, I have:
God of War I & II
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Ico
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Okami
Ratchet & Clank
Shadow of Destiny
Silent Hill 2
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
Tekken: TAG Tournament
and We Love Katamari
And I have ordered Shadow of the Colossus online.

Unless I can find Gitaroo Man or Rez or SSX Tricky (to fill in good ones from the missing rhythm games and sports-type games), I think that is it for me now. Or am I still missing something vital, and not having that on the PS2 is blasphemy?

waheela · Thu 18/04/2013 18:17:15

Wow, you have a ton of games to play there. Super happy you got We Love Katamari. I do think it's the stronger game, but I would play the first game first, since the second game may not make a lot of sense otherwise.

selmiak · Thu 18/04/2013 19:31:35

yeah, listen to the king of all kosmos and sing along to the happy tune

if you know gta III, vice city and san andreas already there is not much missing (beside new games you will sure want in 2 years from now once you completed them all). I guess after completing MGS2 you want to play MGS3 anyways

maybe a Final Fantasy (X or XII) is missing if you like rpgs even a little bit.

Ghost · Fri 19/04/2013 00:00:05

Odin's Sphere is a must-have, and pretty cheap if you can find it (GameStop is your best bet)...

Fred7162 · Sat 20/04/2013 08:46:09

The PS2 is awesome if you like horror games like me(even though I'm a coward so it takes me a LONG time to finish them). Here's a link that has some of the best horror games for the PS2: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sony/ps2/the-playstation-2-ps2-survival-horror-library

R4L · Thu 25/04/2013 03:27:02

Quote from: Babar on Tue 16/04/2013 03:05:47
This is the perfect time to get one, R4L!

I've been thinking of buying one for $20 at my local pawn shop. Would love to romp through Kingdom Hearts again.

And I can't believe I forgot about Red Dead Revolver. One of the most funnest games EVER.

Armageddon · Thu 25/04/2013 03:58:25

How did I not mention Ratchet and Clank, the first three games are the most amazing things I played as a kid.

stu · Thu 25/04/2013 09:42:11

Quote from: Babar on Thu 18/04/2013 17:46:45
I actually saw that in a shop, but didn't pick it up. It was the first part in the series that included the more acclaimed Red Dead Redemption (for the PS3), no?

Correct! I remember buying Red Dead Revolver for my PS2 when it was released, and absolutely loved it. It's one of the very very few games I was actually bothered enough with to 100% it.

It was originally developed by Capcom and I believe it was intended to be released as an arcade game (where you hold a plastic pistol up to the arcade screen). They ended up dropping it and Rockstar took it on, adding awesomeness along the way.

Cerno · Thu 25/04/2013 18:53:39

Never heard of Red Dead Revolver, possibly because it's not my main genre.

So if I had to play one, would you recommend RDR for PS2 or rather Red Dead Redemption for PS3?

stu · Thu 25/04/2013 19:54:32

Well, between the two, it's Redemption without a doubt.

Revolver has great characters and soundtrack although when you play it nowadays, it does somewhat show its age. The storyline is very linear (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course) and there isn't a tremendous amount of things to do outside of progressing the storyline.

As far as I'm concerned, Redemption is an absolute gem. I have never been so completely immersed in a game world as much as I was with Red Dead Redemption. It is visually gorgeous and being able to free-roam in a detail packed spaghetti western world with lots of things to do, not to mention random encounters, makes you feel like the place actually could have existed at some point in history.

Sorry, I'm babbling, this isn't a "Kiss Red Dead's Ass" thread.