Recommend Me Some PS2 Games

[TPA5]

Got a free PS2 from one of my co-workers today, but it has no games. I must admit I have always been more of a PC/Nintendo gamer, so the world of Playstation is mostly foreign to me. Beyond some of the obvious greats like God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Gran Turismo, Katamari Damacy, etc, I am unaware of a lot of the great PS2 games out there. So, I'm wondering what are some of your favourites and recommendations? Where is a good place to start for a newcomer to this strange new land?

[dj_convoy]

PS2 collecting is interesting because it was so long lived/successful, that there's pretty literally something for everyone... and it's really gonna come down on what you like.

 

 

 

PS2 is fantastic for retro compilations of arcade games. Here are some from my collection:

 

Activision Anthology

Capcom Classics Collection

Intellivision Lives!

Mega Man Anniversary Collection

Mega Man X Collection

Midway Arcade Treasures 2

Midway Arcade Treasures 3

Sega Classics Collection

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

Taito Legends

Taito Legends 2

 

and even more, if you get into Japanese PS2 collecting. Tons more Taito collections, Sega collections (especially the later ones in the SEGA Ages series), etc. Lots of Neo Geo collections, Street Fighter collections and probably a dozen more I'm not thinking of offhand. Stuff that compiles arcade games are amongst my favorite things to collect, and if you like that sort of thing as well, the PS2 is for you.

 

Outrun Coast to Coast is a must if you love SEGA, Outrun or arcade-y racing in general. King of Route 66 is out there if you're an AM2 dork, like me. It's not as vital to own as Outrun (I'd recommend that game to anyone and everyone), but it's good to have another weird early 200s SEGA arcade game in your collection. There are also definitive versions of Virtua Fighter and Virtual On, too.

R-Type Final (a wonderful capstone to the series)

Gradius V (Treasure's take on the ur shump)

SSX Tricky (wacky snowboarding fun)

Snoopy vs the Red Baron is a sort of left field one that's real fun.

Simpsons: Road Rage is a blast if you dig Crazy Taxi and, well, the Simpsons. I've spent stupid amounts of time with this game.

Guilty Gear X if you like wacky, Anime styled Japanese fighting games.

There are way too many 1st person shooters to list... and I'm not a big fan of the genre, but Timesplitters 2 is a blast if you like that kind of thing. Red Faction is a good one if you prefer the over the shoulder style.

The Burnout series is great (go for maybe Burnout 3 if you've never played... really, get Burnout Paradise on the PS3 or something, but this is a fine place to start).

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is the single greatest wrestling game of all time... if you like wrestling.

Bully, if you have the time to sink into something like that and want an alternative to GTA. I love the GTA games, but kind of prefer the original ones on PS1 because I'm a weirdo.

On the puzzle game tip, Fantavision, for kind of a cool tech demo/game. Aqua Aqua, if you liked Wetrix on the 64 or Dreamcast. Bombastic. Probably dozens of other puzzle games I don't know much about (which I should as puzzle games are like one of two genres I'm actually decent at).

You mentioned it, but Katamari Damacy really is fun. Be careful; it makes people I know motion sick.

Way too many RPGs to name, but Star Ocean, Rogue Galaxy, Suikoden V and Dragon Quest VIII are all good ones. Again, depends on if you have the time to play stuff like that (I don't, really, but I still love JRPGS). Lots of tactical, turn based games available, too.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 if you love DBZ.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition is fantastic. You mentioned Gran Turismo... my favorite is actually 2 on the PS1 (which you could get for the PS2, of course), but you may want 3 instead of 4. 3 just edges out 4 as the best one on PS2, IMO.

Lotsa people love Psychonauts... get it if you're into 3D platforming (I'm not particularly, but I appreciate how well this game is made).

Any number of Dynasty Warriors (and it's various spin off and sister title) games... worth picking one up cheap to see if you like the style of gameplay. If so, man, that opens up a lot of possibilities for you; in addition to the many in the series proper, they have Gundam based ones and ones based on Fist of the North Star and who knows what else.

Many of the Lego games that are popular today get their start here and are probably cheap. If you like that kind of thing, try Batman or Star Wars II.

Okami is a beautiful game that probably needs to be experienced at least once.

There's a very decent over the shoulder Punisher game co written by Garth Ennis, if Punisher comics are your thing.

Ico if you dig Shadow of the Colossus.

I don't really like Star Wars all that much, or the current Battlefront, but Battlefront 2 on the PS2 was a game I spent a lot of time on, even with my general antipathy against Star Wars. not a lot of games where you can go kill a Wookie village for fun, but BFII lets you do it with gusto.

 

There is so much fun stuff out there... there is also a lot of licensed trash, so go carefully. OTOH, just 'cause it's licensed doesn't automatically mean it's bad. Part of the fun of PS2 collecting is the sheer scope of stuff that's out there; I would consider myself to be fairly educated about it, and I'm still finding games I didn't know were brought out on PS2. I'm into it enough that I bought a Japanese one as well for more shmups, more arcade ports, more wrestling games, more compilations and more weirdness.

 

Don't forget, that also means you can start getting into PS1 games, which is excellent if you're into RPGs and SHMUPS and the like. Stay away from all of the polygonal 3D whatnot if you can help it. A lot of it didn't age well and wasn't as good as people thought it was when they first appeared on the scene.

[leods]

Steel Dragon EX, Neo Geo anthology, The bunch of SNK fighter collections, freaky flyers, Sky Odyssey.

 

edit: The list is just massive. It goes on and on.

Edited July 5, 2016 by leods

[Newsdee]

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne

Way of the Samurai

[Mulletino]

Not forgetting you can also play PSone classics on it.

 

Sentinel Returns

Worms

Micro Machines V3

Parappa the Rapper

 

are but a few of the ones worth getting.

[KeeperofLindblum]

Going to keep the list small since like most said, there's a lot to choose from here~

I'd say the following rank on top of what I love and still have.

 

Grandia 2 (Grandia 3 is okay and Extreme costs more, go 2)

Robot Alchemic Drive (get past terrible voice acting and you got a giant awesome robot fighting game)

any Ratchet & Clank title (Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal are probably the best IMO)

Shadow Hearts series (only played the second one but it stands on its own)

Resident Evil 4 (just go and own it on every console because you should)

Persona 3 or 4 (only played 3 on the PS2, but 4 remake was great on vita)

 

The number of RPGs are endless here really. Afraid my PS2 collection was never grand, so I dunno where else to go from here really...

[xenomorpher]

Metal Gear Solid 3 if you don't mind heavy storytelling or getting your mind blown at twist endings. It's one of the games that made me cry/tear.

 

There's the Ape Escape games that are fun.

 

I'll agree with the Timesplitters games too. I stayed up many nights making maps with my friend on the first one. The third game has a lot of content and wackiness. You can drive a cat and the "engine" sound is of a cat. I think that's worth getting.

 

There's the Devil May Cry series. The first one is short but fun.

 

Ghost Hunter is supposed to be underrated and one of those games I always wanted to play "back in the day" but never did.

 

There's quite a few Resident Evil games on the system too. Dead Aim would be worth getting if you have a light gun. It's OK with a controller but not a must play.

 

Silent Hill 2 and 3 are must plays. I could never finish 4 and didn't feel like it belongs in the series. By its own it's not bad but not for me.

 

Kill Switch had the Gears of War style cover before it was "cool". I haven't played it in years but thought it was fun.

 

There's the Legacy of Kain games too if you don't have them for PC through GOG.

 

Tekken Tag is probably my favorite of the series.

 

Extermination is an older game that's a horror 3rd person shooter worth getting if cheap.

 

Zone of the Enders 1 and 2 are fun mech games by Hideo Kojima.

 

There are hundreds more and there's some unique games that came out for it early in it's life that don't get a lot of mention.

[Atariboy]

It's got some slight issues, but Activision Anthology for the PS2 is perhaps the closest we've ever gotten to perfection for classic gaming compilations.

 

Unlike most collections that are full of holes in their coverage, this one covers 95% of Activision's 2600 library and the vast majority of them are winners (Although the Imagic component that they later acquired is sadly poorly represented). The emulation is top notch with only two issues that I've ever noticed that each only affect a single title. And the library of games included makes the transition to the PS2 well thanks to mostly not requiring a second person to be present in order to be enjoyed and with only one paddle game included in the bunch.

 

Outside of the emulation and game lineup itself, they really outdid themselves. There's a licensed early 80's soundtrack to get you in the mood. The bonus section is well done and even includes the old commercials for one of the nicest touches (Although Enduro's commercial is sadly absent for some reason, leaving the lineup incomplete). It also includes all the old Activision patches to unlock in their respective games, although I remember one or two being a bit buggy and unlocking when they weren't supposed to, Heck, even the randomized 3D introductions are excellent.

 

About the only area where they really erred in is by not tracking high scores, despite clearly having isolated the scoring registers in order to get their patch system working. Would've been nice to be able to see the top 10 scores in River Raid for instance, with the ability to enter your initials each time you get a high score. You'll still need a paper and a pencil to do that...

Edited July 6, 2016 by Atariboy

[cimerians]

Check out Metal Jesus' video's for console gems. Lots of good stuff. It plays PS1 games so don't forget about those. Lots of gems there too. Blood Omen, Tomba etc.

 

If you mod the PS2 you can also save time by loading stuff off a drive. Also. if you like cheating check out the Pelican CD's. Some games have HD tv support, list here

 

 

Must try's:

God of War I and II

Rockstar Games (GTA, Manhunt, Warriors)

 

Arcade:

Atari/Activision collection/anthology

Taito Collections

Gradius III,IV,V

Capcom Classic collections

Megaman collection

Midway Treasures

 

Puzzle:

Rez

Gitaroo-Man

 

RPG:

FF 7

Disgaea

Persona 3,4

Shadow Hearts 1,2

Champions of Norrath 1,2

Baldurs Gate 1,2

Dark Cloud 2

 

Platform:

Sly Cooper

Ratchet & Clank series

Jak & Dexter

Ape Escape 2,3

Maximo 1,2

 

Action/Adventure:

Onimusha 3 (all of them actually)

God Hand

Devil May Cry 3

Killer 7

Yakuza 1,2

 

 

There's a lot more I'm forgetting.....Fire Pro Wrestling, War of the Monsters, Mortal Kombat Deception, Okami etc.

[toiletunes]

Twisted Metal

Silent Hill

[TPA5]

Wow, awesome suggestions everybody thanks! Looks like I have a lot of games to research and start hunting down. I really appreciate the great information here it's giving me lots to think about.

[Mulletino]

You don't even need to mod it to get games working off a HDD, if it's a phatty you can get a network adaptor, plug a 3.5" HDD into it and get HDadvance and away you go!

[RARusk]

You don't even need to mod it to get games working off a HDD, if it's a phatty you can get a network adaptor, plug a 3.5" HDD into it and get HDadvance and away you go!

Open PS2 Loader is way better than HDAdvance. In addition to that you will also need to get Free McBoot and WinHiip (for much easier installation). Compatibility rate is about 85% but so far nobody has made a USB or SD Card replacement for the DVD-ROM laser (similar to what the DreamCast has received lately) to make up the difference. I would also love for somebody to make a device that will allow you to use the PS3 and PS4 controllers on the PS2. And an internal HDMI mod too (just to complete the wish list).

[TPA5]

Thanks again for the suggestions, after researching, reading, and watching I've put together a preliminary wanted list for my PS2:

 

Burnout 3

Dynasty Warriors

Ghost Hunters

God of War 1 + 2

Gran Turismo 3 + 4

Guitar Hero

Ico

Jak and Dexter

Katamari Damacy

King of Route 66

Megaman Collection

Micro Machines V3 (PS1) or V4

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition

Okami

Outrun Coast to Coast

Persona 3

Ratchet and Clank

Rogue Galaxy

SSX Tricky

Shadow of the Colossus

Simpsons: Road Rage

Sky Odyssey

Sly Cooper

Snoopy vs. The Red Baron

Timesplitters 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Twisted Metal

Way of the Samurai

Worms (PS1)

Zone of the Enders 1 + 2

 

 

Unfortunately our car got a punctured tire last night because some assholes scattered nails all around town as a 'prank' a few weeks ago and not all of them got cleaned up. So I had to replace that which means there's not much moolah left this month for gaming.

[cimerians]

 

Unfortunately our car got a punctured tire last night because some assholes scattered nails all around town as a 'prank' a few weeks ago and not all of them got cleaned up. So I had to replace that which means there's not much moolah left this month for gaming.

 

Nice list.....same here, a few weeks back some little shits spread them around our block.

[dj_convoy]

That'll keep you rocking for quite awhile; enjoy!

[TPA5]

 

Nice list.....same here, a few weeks back some little shits spread them around our block.

 

Yeah, why some people are such shitbirds escapes me. Buggers.

 

That'll keep you rocking for quite awhile; enjoy!

 

Thanks again for the great write-up, your post helped me immensely in finding games for a system that hasn't really been my wheelhouse. I'm looking forward to digging into this system a lot!

[Atariboy]

My overly long Activision Anthology pitch must've failed. But I see Outrun 2006 on there, so I'll forgive you.

 

This really drew the ire of someone on here in the past with a similar thread, but if you think a PS3 is in your future in the next few years, it might not be a waste to let you know that some of your list have been remastered in high definition/60fps for the PS3. Often they've even been packaged in collections like the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus pack and can be found significantly cheaper new than the PS2 originals go for used.

 

Nothing wrong with getting the original effort though. A great game is a great game, but you never know if that might be helpful to point out.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Atariboy

[dj_convoy]

Happy to help; I largely collect video games with the idea that one day, when I'm a doddering old man, I'll finally be able to sit down and really play the hell out of my collection. Of course, by then, my eyes and reflexes will be shot, and I'll have legit thousands of games... but what can you do?

 

PS2 gaming is fun, cheap (for the most part) and as of now, a bit overlooked (it's not quite "retro" yet, but it will be soon enough). The only things that are real expensive are weird limited editions, maybe some of the RPGs and shumps and some random stuff here and there. It's good to get in on the ground floor now before the prices get stupid like they have on everything else. The list you've compiled really shouldn't set you back too much, to be honest.

 

I love collecting games in general, and PS2 maybe not in particular... but it's really convenient and fun for the sort of stuff me and mine like. Ask me about Sega Genesis or especially Master System collecting and I'll REALLY talk your ear off.

 

 

Agreed with Atariboy; down the run if you get into PS3 gaming, there are lots of PS2 collections and downloads from the store; great Kingdom Hearts comps, Zone of the Enders, Devil May Cry, Ico/SotC, probably Ratchet and Clank (I have like 200 PS2 games and I've never played one of those) etc.

 

One step at a time.

[madhatter667]

Oh man...

Soooo many good titles available. Counting in PSX, the PS2 constantly view for the spot as favorite system.

Silent Hill 1, 2, 3, 4, Origins, Shattered Memories

Resident Evil 1-4

Legacy of Kain (Blood Omen 1,2, Soul Reaver 1,2, LoK Defiance)

Siren

Clock Tower 1, 2, 3, Haunting Ground (if you mod it: translated Clock Tower -The First Fear rounds the set out).

Over Blood

Shadow Hearts

Koudelka

DMC
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

Death Trap Dungeon

 

Somewhere on here I have a "Recommend me" horror titles thread, which details many of the titles I own... I pretty much recommend any of them. Lol.

 

Hack it, mod it, crack it, region break the thing, and you open up a lot of possibilities for imports (Japanese and Euro). A number of PS2 titles run in PAL60 (which just seems to be NTSC output on the PS2). Some great ones there, but also some horrible low budget junk.

Edited July 17, 2016 by madhatter667

[leods]

Some great ones there, but also some horrible low budget junk.

 

WWI Aces of the sky, and Hidden Invasion are two completely sub par games I bought cause they were almost free. Aces of the sky is just a quickly done, poorly made on rails shooter. Not fun at all.

 

Hidden invasion is hilariously bad. It's so bad, I'd recommend buying it for one cent just to see how much you could screw up in making a PS2 game.