PlayStation 2 Reccomendations

90X Double Side

This is our list of recommended games for the PlayStation 2, for those with too much money to spend, looking at which console to buy next, or otherwise unable to make their own decisions. Please comment on games to be added; I will add new recommendations to the "Please comment on" list so that everyone can give their opinion of whether it should be a recommended purchase, rental, or not a recommendation at all. Since these threads are still new, comments as to moving games off the existing lists (down to rentals or removed altogether) are also welcome until things get more settled.

Recommended exclusive games:

Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Amplitude
Devil May Cry
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Final Fantasy X-2
Frequency
Gradius V
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
Guilty Gear Isuka
Ico
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II
Jak 3
Katamari Damacy
Kingdom Hearts
King of Fighters 2000/2001
Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil
La Pucelle: Tactics
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Phantom Brave
Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Suikoden III
Tekken Tag Tournament
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Wild Arms 3
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

Recommended exclusive rentals:

Final Fantasy X

Recommended multi-platform games:

Beyond Good & Evil
Burnout 3: Takedown
Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly—Director’s Cut
Full Spectrum Warrior
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Guilty Gear X2
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Metal Slug 3
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Rez
Sonic Mega Collection Plus
Soul Calibur 2
SSX 3
TimeSplitters 2
Tom Clancey’s Rainbow Six 3
Tom Clancey’s Splinter Cell
Tom Clancey’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Recommended multi-platform rentals:

Please comment on:

Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Culdcept
Dark Cloud 2
Mark of Kri
Maximo
Onimusha 1-3
Primal
R-Type Final
Sky Odyssey
Xenosaga

Backlash

Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Culdcept
Dark Cloud 2
Mark of Kri
Maximo
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Onimusha 1-3
Primal
R-Type Final
Rez
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Sky Odyssey
Xenosaga

Svevin

Onimusha 1-3 is a great series. You should really put it in the buy list. Some great games that were not mentioned are Skygunner and Victorious Boxers. Please check them out because I highly recommend both of them.

yakul

Breath of Fire: DQ should definitely be added to the buy list. I'd move Jak 1 down to rental and add Castlevania to the rental list as well.

Rpeg

Dark Cloud 2 is an incredible game that should belong on the "must buy" list.

I had issues with Xenosaga and didn't enjoy it much. I don't think it would appeal to your typical gamer. (I consider myself a diehard RPG fan and didn't enjoy it either.) I would not recommend it for purchase.

Rez belongs on the "must buy but impossible to find" list.

Black_Heart

I'm surprised Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter made it onto the comment list even. I'm not saying its a bad game, quite the contrary. It just wasn't recieved well by BoF fans and is a very different kind of RPG. When I first started playing it, I hated it. The more I played however, the better it became. I was loving it by the end of my first play through.

Dragon Quarter is what you could call an experimental type of RPG. Its main focus is replay value and secrets/sub quests with gameplay that gets more diverse and intricate everytime you play through the game.

The basic goal of the game isn't just to play through it once getting everything you can and exploring as much of it as you can, but to play the game as effeciently and effectively as possible to get a higher ranking everytime you complete it. As you do so, you get additional plot sequences, dialouge, weapons, and game content.

Its an interesting idea that isn't going to appeal to your average console RPG player. The ending cinematics and certain plot scenes make it well worth it in my opinion.

slash000

Backlash wrote:

Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Culdcept
Dark Cloud 2
Mark of Kri
Maximo
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Onimusha 1-3
Primal
R-Type Final
Rez
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Sky Odyssey
Xenosaga

Add these, too:

Armored Core 3
castlevania: LoI
Hot Shots Golf: Fore!
Gitaroo Man
Socom 1, 2

Deusfaux

not understanding why FF X2 is up there but FFX is only listed as a rental.

its just as good if not better, and easily one of the best games on the PS2

Rpeg

Deusfaux wrote:

not understanding why FF X2 is up there but FFX is only listed as a rental.

its just as good if not better, and easily one of the best games on the PS2

I'm not sure how we're supposed to come up with a list that everyone magically agrees with -- I didn't like FFX and would not recommend it. It's one of those games I felt got higher praise than it deserved. If I'm in the minority, it might just be best to ignore my opinion.

Deusfaux

fiberglass wrote:

Deusfaux wrote:

not understanding why FF X2 is up there but FFX is only listed as a rental.

its just as good if not better, and easily one of the best games on the PS2

I'm not sure how we're supposed to come up with a list that everyone magically agrees with -- I didn't like FFX and would not recommend it. It's one of those games I felt got higher praise than it deserved. If I'm in the minority, it might just be best to ignore my opinion.

but you already know you're in the minority. it would be pretty amazing for the forum as a group to not like a game the rest of the gaming community did.

Pheezer

Deusfaux wrote:

it would be pretty amazing for the forum as a group to not like a game the rest of the gaming community did.

You mean like Madden '04? Or NHL 2k5? Because I'm pretty sure those are pretty fucking unpopular here whereas in the gaming community at large they are very popular.

Unless you come up with some elitist bullshit definition of "the gaming community" that excludes the majority of people who play video games on the basis that they don't agree with your tastes.

cjeris

I own and like both R-Type Final and Xenosaga, but I'm not sure I'd recommend either one to someone unless that person already liked their respective genre.

R-Type Final is very pretty but somehow not as much fun as its predecessor R-Type Delta, and like all R-Type games, it relies heavily on memorization. It's not punishingly difficult like Treasure games, but a better first game in this genre is Einhander. (If someone is so hung up on the graphics that they can't appreciate Einhander, then you can get them Gradius V and watch them explode over and over.)

Xenosaga has a fun battle system but demands a lot of tolerance for dubiously acted cutscenes. (I wish they'd given the option of Japanese voices with English subtitles. Are the Japanese voices any better?) I haven't finished the game myself, and I don't know if I have the patience to any more. It's not a bad game, but the fun per time ratio feels too low.

Black_Heart

Xenosaga: Episode 1 is a very niche game. Its going to be appreciated by people who play RPGs for plot primarily and foremost. If you aren't a person who can get deeply involved in a plot and are picky about voice acting in games, then Xenosaga probably isn't for you.

As I have made apparent many times on the forums however. I love it and reccomend it to anyone who is an avid RPG enthusiast. The plot is one of the most complex and intricate I have ever seen in a video game with so many characters and aspects that Monolith felt it needed a dictionary of terms and characters.

Don't expect the plot to be resolved by the end of the game though, heck don't expect 1/3 of your questions about the plot to be resolved. Its the first part of a Trilogy, supposedly a 6 game series.

The cinematics are breathtaking at many junctures the characters are pretty original, the battle system is interesting if a bit plain in comparison to other RPGs. Tons of mini-games, secrets, sidequests. There are many good things about this game, despite its status as somewhat of an underdog. I reccomend buying it, or at least renting it.

Jonman

I'd like to recommend Fantavision, and IQ+. Both launch titles, both still well playable.

And a comment on Maximo. My personal opinion is that it's a boring 3rd person game that can't make it's mind up whether to be a slash'em'up or a platformer, and does neither particularly well.

Renzo

Mark of Kri and Sky Oddysey should be on the buy list, with the warning that Sky Oddysey does not output using the optical sound cable. Not sure the best way to put that, but yeah.

I thought Mark of Kri would get a recommendation before I found this thread, but it's one of the best stealth/action games I've had the pleasure of playing. Very Conan, but with a stealthy aspect too.

Sky Oddysey, while aging, is a lot of fun. It has shades of Pilotwings, but it's more situational. It rarely follows the formula of, "Okay, fly through this course with each vehicle, and each course will just be rings set in a different layout." Here, you have to fly though a collapsing cave and through a ravine. There was also a mission or two involving a train, but I can't remember the particulars. It really seemed like you were a stunt flyer for an action movie. (NOT similar to Stuntman) And the kicker, the mission that stumped me, was flying over a mountain in a barely-powerful enough plane. Great sense of speed, and the world actually felt coherent.

Also, Final Fantasy X needs to be on the buy list, especially if FFX-2 made it up there. Not to start some flamebait, but that's just my opinion.

One Thousand Dicks

Maximo should be a rental, due to extreme shortness. Otherwise, an excellent remake of Ghouls and Ghosts.

Also, Onimusha 3 should be a buy. Great hack 'n slash action (with Jean Reno!)

I'd like to add Karaoke Revolution the multiplatform list (and KR2, as well, since it's technically available on the Xbox as DLC). Best singing games you'll ever buy, period.

Shadowbane

How about Silent Hill 2 [GH]. I certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone without question.

Sweet Nectar

I'd like to throw up recommendations for the following:

Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest
DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
Shinobi

They're all kind of particular as to a targeted audience, but they're also all quite good if you're in the proper mindset.

mooshoepork

Any ideas for an 8 year old ? other than the Jak and Ratchet games (i dont know much about ps2 games)

Master Computer

thank fuck you mentioned the SNK games.

but now i fear i love you.........

Captain_Brian

My god, switch FFX and FFX-2.

X-2 should only be a rental, while X... wait, no they should BOTH be rentals. But hell, either way you look at it, FFX was a lot better than X-2.

Dog

I agree that Onimusha 1-3 should be on the Exclusive Games list. They are excellently designed. Some of the best hack'n'slash I have played, and the interspersed puzzles don't break up the gameplay.

I'd like to say that it is possilbe to make a list that the forum community all agrees on. For example, I couldn't care less about the Sly Cooper games, but I will admit they are well designed, and should be on the list. I however crave RPGs and Final Fantasy in particular. Because a you don't like a game, or that it isn't the genre you like, doesn't mean they aren't great games. There's my 3 cents.

cytorak

What is this? No X-Men Legends? Sacreligious. Mmmm...sacrilicious.

FreddyD

Mark of Kri is definitely a must have, especially with it's cheap price/high value. It is one of the few beat-em ups where you don't have to constantly battle the camera. Plus, it will give you insight on the storyline so you can understand the upcoming sequel.

Bombastic should be on here. It is an insanely fun puzzle game, and it has the original Devil Dice as an unlockable.

Cheesechick

Alien Hominid should totally be on that list.

syrion

Dark Cloud 2 is an excellent game, but there's almost too much to do. Whenever I play I seem to spend hours doing a sidequest and then realize I haven't advanced the plot in 12 hours of playing time.

Xenosaga is definitely a matter of taste; I loved it, others hated it. It's a Japanese RPG with a ton of cutscenes. A ton. If you like anime, you'll probably like Xenosaga.

Oh, and Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4 need to be on the list. For rizzy. Some people can probably beat them in a rental, but I have to take my time with them because I am a pansy who gets frightened easily.

Cheesechick

syrion wrote:

Dark Cloud 2 is an excellent game, but there's almost too much to do. Whenever I play I seem to spend hours doing a sidequest and then realize I haven't advanced the plot in 12 hours of playing time.

I'd say Dark Cloud 2 should be on there. Xenosaga... maybe on the rentals? That's more a love-it-or-hate-it game.

Imran

By the way, don't get confused between Dark Cloud 1 and Dark Cloud 2. DC2 is a good game, DC1 is an exercise in mind-raping. Never, ever, ever play the game.

Jonis

the mark of kri is fucking excellent.

no. no, sexcellent

Ownage Jones

Onimusha 3 is really good. Not sure If I was this on the list, but 007: Everything or Nothing was by far the best James Bond game ever made, IMO, just a step below SP and MGS3. Also, it's time to add Mercenaries to the Rent list. :twisted:

Szechuanosaurus

I heartily recommend the recent Mercenaries and the older Dropship.

Mojo_Jojo

Imran wrote:

By the way, don't get confused between Dark Cloud 1 and Dark Cloud 2. DC2 is a good game, DC1 is an exercise in mind-raping. Never, ever, ever play the game.

I found DC2 to be just as monotonous

Take FFX-2 off the list and move FFX away from the rental phase, it's an RPG, you just don't rent that kind of game

cursor101

Cheesechick wrote:

Alien Hominid should totally be on that list.

I second this.

I would also like to know what other systems Rez was on.

EDIT: Or maybe I just don't understand the term "multi-platform".

redstormpopcorn

cursor101 wrote:

I would also like to know what other systems Rez was on.

Dreamcast. I don't believe it was released in the U.S., but it's supposedly easier to find the European and Japanese DC versions than the U.S. PS2 release.

MalevolentPirate

Shadow Of The Colossus

Dusda

This should be stickied.

AlphaTwo

This list isn't updated in any way. GT3 as recommended, but not GT4?