Recommend me some PS2 titles

CaptainBeyond

So I have acquired a slim PS2 and a telly 4CHEEPZ, and now I'm hoping to explore the best the system had to offer. I didn't have a PS2 when they were 'relevant', but I know some stuff I'm gonna hunt down (Burnout 3, GrimGrimoire)

Hit me with your favourites, any genre!

Elin

FF X, Digaea, Persona, Shin Megam Tensei: Nocturne, Dragon Quest 8 ... this is off the top of my head, can you guess what type of game I enjoy?

ceraninja

+1 to FFX

Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean: Til the End of Time, .hack, Champions of Norrath and Baldur's Gate are a few I can think of...

Hamju

God of War(s), Shadow of the Colossus, DMC3

LorctheOrc

SRW games are aweesome except for SRW impact

id say bully but i guess it didn't age well

GTA Vice city is still the best GTA to me

+infinity to DQ VIII

Namrok

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus - These are beautiful adventure games. Might be a little on the short side though
God of War 1 & 2 - I honestly think these are the series at its best.
Katamari Damacy and We Katamari - The first two are still the best. The second one especially refined the formula to perfection.
Okami - Just a stunningly beautiful Zelda type game where you control a sun god in the form of a wolf.
Final Fantasy XII - The best of the final fantasies in terms of gameplay if you ask me. Really tried to boil the series down and get rid of the annoying crap that had built up over the years. Succeeded in my opinion. Millage may vary.

Essee

I'm impressed nobody mentioned Dark Cloud yet. Dark Cloud 2 is also pretty good, but I haven't played much of it yet. Bonus: both games, especially the first, are SUPER-cheap. Same with the original Ratchet & Clank trilogy (Ratchet & Clank, R&C: Going Commando, R&C: Up Your Arsenal), and at least the original Jak & Daxter-- very solid platformers from great developers. I also like Jak 2, but it's different and it can be kind of frustratingly difficult sometimes. Oh yeah, Katamari Damacy and We Katamari are both well-loved games, especially if you've never played a Katamari game before. Uhh, let's see... I was actually also really impressed with Destroy All Humans! 2. The first one isn't very good, skip that, but the second one is both hilarious and awesome (to put this into perspective, even my mom found the game to be hilarious, which neither of us expected), plus it has co-op multiplayer.

The greatest thing about having a PS2 is that you instantly have access to a gigantic library of games, many of which are fantastic. I'm just listing games I can pretty much guarantee would be a hit, here. I agree with most of the other recommendations here, though (particularly FFX and Kingdom Hearts, since basically everybody loved both of those, and I do like FFXII as well).

Edit: Well okay, somebody beat me to the Katamari games while I was typing (okay, it took me a while to type, so what)... not surprised! I should add that We Katamari also has co-op, I seem to recall. The original doesn't.

amateurhour

+1 to Ico and SotC (although Ico can be a pain in the ass at times)
+1 to God of War 1 & 2
+1 to Katamari, FF X & XII
+1 to Kingdom Hearts (at least the first one)

some other good indie-ish RPGs include, but are not limited to, the Shadow Hearts series (hard to find these days, but some GameStops can still get them pre-owned for ~$20) and Shadow of Destiny (which is more an adventure game, but a lot of fun)

For survival horror, you've got Silent Hill 2, anything in the Resident Evil series (RE4!), and Fatal Frame

Now for something completely different...

If you can get the microphone, there's a game called Lifeline that people either loved or hated with a fiery passion. It takes place on a space hotel during a Christmas party and some kind of alien thing starts killing everyone. You direct the player with your voice and only your voice (assuming the role of someone in the camera control room) and you've got to direct the main character this way, telling her to fire at things, reload, inspect items, and walk.

Personally I loved it, but it might frustrate you incredibly.

LorctheOrc

I'd also recommend Suikoden V and if it's your cup of tea Romance of the Three Kingdoms X

Satanic Jesus

Alien Hominid
Canis Canem Edit
Crazy Taxi
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! 2
Devil May Cry 1 & 3
Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy XII
God Hand
God of War
God of War 2
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II: Renegade
Jak 3
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
The Mark of Kri
Maximo
Maximo vs. Army of Zhin
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance
Odin Sphere
Okami
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: Warriors Within
Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly
Psychonauts
Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank 2
Ratchet & Clank 3
Rogue Galaxy
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From The New World
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (unless you have a PSP, then get Persona 3 Portable)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Sly Cooper
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves
Soul Nomad & The World Eaters
Suikoden III
Suikoden V
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
The Warriors
Wild Arms 3
Wild Arms 4
Wild Arms 5
Yakuza
Yakuza 2

Steev

Essee wrote:

I'm impressed nobody mentioned Dark Cloud yet. Dark Cloud 2 is also pretty good, but I haven't played much of it yet. Bonus: both games, especially the first, are SUPER-cheap.

I'll just say that Dark Cloud seemed great for its time, but Dark Cloud 2 basically took everything good from DC1 and threw out all the bad. I don't think it's worth going back to the first game.

Essee

SteevL wrote:

Essee wrote:

I'm impressed nobody mentioned Dark Cloud yet. Dark Cloud 2 is also pretty good, but I haven't played much of it yet. Bonus: both games, especially the first, are SUPER-cheap.

I'll just say that Dark Cloud seemed great for its time, but Dark Cloud 2 basically took everything good from DC1 and threw out all the bad. I don't think it's worth going back to the first game.

Totally fair, and good news for me once I start playing the sequel more, then! I kinda like the atmosphere of the first one, though... I'm sure the second is a better game, but the first one can be kind of... soothing, also? I dunno.

I was gonna mention Shadow of Destiny myself, but I didn't know whether it would have universal appeal or not. Heheh, there are a few games in here I shamefully haven't played yet even though I know how awesome they are, need to remedy that (Okami in particular-- just haven't picked it up this whole time because it was sold out when used to check).

CaptainBeyond

JRPGs abound! I'll be lucky to find alot of the better examples listed here, since I intend to my searching at car-boot sales and the like, but thanks for giving me a good list of stuff to look for!

Essee wrote:

The greatest thing about having a PS2 is that you instantly have access to a gigantic library of games, many of which are fantastic.

This was pretty much the appeal to getting one, hoping to discover some gems

amateurhour wrote:

If you can get the microphone, there's a game called Lifeline that people either loved or hated with a fiery passion. It takes place on a space hotel during a Christmas party and some kind of alien thing starts killing everyone. You direct the player with your voice and only your voice (assuming the role of someone in the camera control room) and you've got to direct the main character this way, telling her to fire at things, reload, inspect items, and walk.

Personally I loved it, but it might frustrate you incredibly.

I'll look out for this, I love quirky control methods, hopefully it won't struggle with my thick Geordie accent!

Melinoe

since someone mentioned Wild Arms 3 4 and 5 I will also throw in a recommendation for the first two, I believe the first one has a PS2 remake but the second one is a PS1 game which is fine as long as you can track down a memory card. I've never played any games in the series beyond the first two on the original PS1 but I love them to bits, and most traditional JRPGs (mostly looking at Final Fantasy) drive me insane with the grinding. in Wild Arms I found that as long as I fought most of the enemies that I encountered just going about the normal quest I never had to go out of my way to grind to beat a boss.

all of the GTA games are fun if that's your cup of tea.

Tony Hawk 3, 4, the first Underground, and American Wasteland were some of my favorites back in the day. the latter two are only good if you don't mind a kind of hokey story being attached to your mindless skating game.

if you're a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog the Sonic Mega Collection+ is available for PS2 which collects most if not all of the older Sonic games.

Essee

Melinoe wrote:

since someone mentioned Wild Arms 3 4 and 5 I will also throw in a recommendation for the first two, I believe the first one has a PS2 remake but the second one is a PS1 game which is fine as long as you can track down a memory card.

I believe the remake of the original you're referring to is Wild Arms: Alter Code F. I actually owned it once, but only for like a week because my fiance's sister bought it off me right away, haha. She's a big Wild Arms fan. From looking it up, it seems like there's more content in Alter Code F, as well, so it isn't just updated for the PS2.

Kiss Me GoodBye

I'm going to leave the most random game I ever enjoyed on PS2

Disney's the Haunted Mansion

It's a puzzle game and it's awesome and it follows the ride not that craptastic movie lol

amateurhour

Also to break from the RPG mold briefly. One of the best games ever made in terms of combat mechanics, gameplay, and story was the Buffy the Vampire Slayer game, which I believe was an xbox exclusive. Hell PA even did a comic about it at the time.

They made a sequel, which I think was called Chaos Bleeds. It's not quite as nice as the original, but it's a good fun story and most of the cast from the show does the voice acting, and you can probably find it used well under $10 bucks, if not $5.

Steev

Essee wrote:

SteevL wrote:

Essee wrote:

I'm impressed nobody mentioned Dark Cloud yet. Dark Cloud 2 is also pretty good, but I haven't played much of it yet. Bonus: both games, especially the first, are SUPER-cheap.

I'll just say that Dark Cloud seemed great for its time, but Dark Cloud 2 basically took everything good from DC1 and threw out all the bad. I don't think it's worth going back to the first game.

Totally fair, and good news for me once I start playing the sequel more, then! I kinda like the atmosphere of the first one, though... I'm sure the second is a better game, but the first one can be kind of... soothing, also? I dunno.

I can see that. I actually quit playing Dark Cloud around the....5th area? I think I was on the moon or something. I just couldn't bear to do the grind to bring up all 6 characters to a certain level just in case I got stuck with a floor that limited me to using one of the less-developed ones. I had liked the game a lot up until that point, but that was the moment where I decided I couldn't deal with it anymore. To be honest, it had even turned me off to the idea of a sequel, and I was very skeptical when DC2 was announced. But they pulled it off!

Either way, I'd highly suggest to the OP that if you do want to play both games, play Dark Cloud 1 first. It'll probably be nearly impossible to play it once you get used to all the stuff they added/improved in Dark Cloud 2.

Essee

SteevL wrote:

Essee wrote:

SteevL wrote:

Essee wrote:

I'm impressed nobody mentioned Dark Cloud yet. Dark Cloud 2 is also pretty good, but I haven't played much of it yet. Bonus: both games, especially the first, are SUPER-cheap.

I'll just say that Dark Cloud seemed great for its time, but Dark Cloud 2 basically took everything good from DC1 and threw out all the bad. I don't think it's worth going back to the first game.

Totally fair, and good news for me once I start playing the sequel more, then! I kinda like the atmosphere of the first one, though... I'm sure the second is a better game, but the first one can be kind of... soothing, also? I dunno.

I can see that. I actually quit playing Dark Cloud around the....5th area? I think I was on the moon or something. I just couldn't bear to do the grind to bring up all 6 characters to a certain level just in case I got stuck with a floor that limited me to using one of the less-developed ones. I had liked the game a lot up until that point, but that was the moment where I decided I couldn't deal with it anymore. To be honest, it had even turned me off to the idea of a sequel, and I was very skeptical when DC2 was announced. But they pulled it off!

Either way, I'd highly suggest to the OP that if you do want to play both games, play Dark Cloud 1 first. It'll probably be nearly impossible to play it once you get used to all the stuff they added/improved in Dark Cloud 2.

Interesting... I don't recall ever grinding up my other characters for the most part (just used a ranged character and the main character most of the time) and I don't remember it being a problem. I would switch characters around every once in a while to save weapon durability, I guess. I mean, I hate grinding, and pretty much never do it, so I would probably remember if that became a big issue, I think. So maybe it seemed like it would be a problem that needed to be overcome, but in reality the game handled it decently enough? I dunno. I can also be kinda forgetful, so maybe this happened and I just forgot about it because it didn't stop me from playing.

Anyway, so as not to derail the thread-- I do agree that if you pick up both you should play the original first.

Rye

Essee wrote:

Interesting... I don't recall ever grinding up my other characters for the most part (just used a ranged character and the main character most of the time) and I don't remember it being a problem. I would switch characters around every once in a while to save weapon durability, I guess. I mean, I hate grinding, and pretty much never do it, so I would probably remember if that became a big issue, I think. So maybe it seemed like it would be a problem that needed to be overcome, but in reality the game handled it decently enough? I dunno. I can also be kinda forgetful, so maybe this happened and I just forgot about it because it didn't stop me from playing.

Anyway, so as not to derail the thread-- I do agree that if you pick up both you should play the original first.

To add to this, I just saw Dark Cloud 2 at Gamestop for $26... It's (unfortunately) retaining a lot of value. While not "expensive", i wouldn't categorize it as cheap.

Essee

Rye wrote:

Essee wrote:

Interesting... I don't recall ever grinding up my other characters for the most part (just used a ranged character and the main character most of the time) and I don't remember it being a problem. I would switch characters around every once in a while to save weapon durability, I guess. I mean, I hate grinding, and pretty much never do it, so I would probably remember if that became a big issue, I think. So maybe it seemed like it would be a problem that needed to be overcome, but in reality the game handled it decently enough? I dunno. I can also be kinda forgetful, so maybe this happened and I just forgot about it because it didn't stop me from playing.

Anyway, so as not to derail the thread-- I do agree that if you pick up both you should play the original first.

To add to this, I just saw Dark Cloud 2 at Gamestop for $26... It's (unfortunately) retaining a lot of value. While not "expensive", i wouldn't categorize it as cheap.

That's interesting, because I think if I look at the boxes for Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2 that I have (they're not here with me right now), I paid like $8 for the original and like $15 for the sequel, or something, for my fiance's family. Definitely under $26 for the sequel. Are prices going up on PS2 games now? Because that would suck. This was in California like three years ago if it makes any difference.

Melinoe

Essee wrote:

Melinoe wrote:

since someone mentioned Wild Arms 3 4 and 5 I will also throw in a recommendation for the first two, I believe the first one has a PS2 remake but the second one is a PS1 game which is fine as long as you can track down a memory card.

I believe the remake of the original you're referring to is Wild Arms: Alter Code F. I actually owned it once, but only for like a week because my fiance's sister bought it off me right away, haha. She's a big Wild Arms fan. From looking it up, it seems like there's more content in Alter Code F, as well, so it isn't just updated for the PS2.

yeah, it does have more content, I remember that from looking it up a while ago when I was interested in buying it. I vaguely remember they also changed a gameplay mechanic or two which stopped me from buying it at the time, but I don't remember if it's even that big of a thing.

CaptainBeyond

My trip to the local dealership was filled with foolish optimism; they just had piles of FIFA and WWE. Twas not fruitless though, found The Warriors for £2! This will be the humble start to a collection of impeccable taste.

CAN YOU DIG IT, SUCKAAASSSSS