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  • PS2 is still my favourite console. Games might look even prettier now, but I feel like they don't have a fraction of the creativity to their stories and gameplay. There's very little I've played since that quite scratches the itch these all did, unless they were a continuation of the same series:

    • Jak and Daxter, Jak II, & Jak III
    • First four Ratchet and Clank games
    • Psychonauts
    • Dark Cloud & Dark Chronicle
    • Dragon Quest VII
    • Rogue Galaxy
    • Katamari Damacy
    • Okami
    • Shadow of the Collosus & Ico
    • Soul Nomad and the World Eaters
    • Beyond Good and Evil
    • Canis Canem Edit (Bully in the US)
    • God Hand
    • Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Warrior Within, & Two Thrones
  • There's literally hundreds of great PS2 games you could play, but I'm going to recommend stuff I played last year

    Onimusha: Warlords (You can tell the first game was built on the template of the first Resident Evil and it's fun to spot the similarities despite the shift in genre. I also got a kick out of playing a PS2 game with pre-rendered backgrounds. Warning: it's a melee combat game with fixed camera angles and tank controls.)

    Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny (Still uses the first game's formula. The first game was pretty short and confined to a single castle, the sequel is a more sprawling adventure)

    Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (The series moves to full 3D and slightly towards character action, also Jean Reno is in it)

    Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (A soft reboot for the series which brings a shift in tone and art style as well as gameplay, playing like an action RPG)

    You should also take the opportunity to play the rare survival horror game holy trinity as a middle finger to the ridiculous prices these games go for on the second hand market

    Haunting Ground (Easily the easiest game of the three to recommend. One of the prettiest games on the PS2 and the gameplay is nice and polished. Has one of the greatest dog companions in gaming)

    Kuon (From Software's PS2 horror game set in the Heian period. You can definitely see they weren't working with a AAA budget- there's no facial animation during cutscenes, for example, but the various spells you can use make for interesting survival horror combat system and the atmosphere and story are great)

    Rule of Rose (A unique female-focused video game narrative dealing with topics you don't usually see, like bullying. Genuinely emotionally affecting story, atmosphere and soundtrack. Sadly, the gameplay is not that great but hey, there's a dog companion in this game too)

  • Battle Construction Vehicles

    Odin Sphere

    Marvel vs Capcom 2

    Shinobi

    Devil May Cry 3

    Gauntlet 7 Sorrows

    Burnout Legends

    Castle of Shikigami 2

    R Type Final

    Cyber Troopers Virtual On Marz

    Zone of the Enders

    Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2

    Extreme G

    Wipeout Fusion

    God Hand

    The Bouncer

    Gungrave

    Legacy of Kain - Soul Reaver 2

    The Lord of the Rings games are actually super sick

    No One Lives Forever

    TIMESPLITTERS 2 IS THE BEST FPS EVER

    Oni

    Red Dead Revolver is great

    SSX 3

    Samurai Western is fun as hell

    The Transformers game is dope

    DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3

    Baroque

    Chaos Legion

    I like the Castlevania games on ps2

    Enter The Matrix

    Tony Hawk 4

  • Check out Shadow of Memories. No one I know has ever even heard of this game and part of me feels like this was just a half-imagined fever dream from my child hood. I don't remember how I played this game - if I rented it, or just came upon it, but it was such a surreal mindfuck for my 12 year old brain.

    It's got time traveling, exploring, mystery, bizarre voice acting, it's really a game that's before its time and to this day I still don't remember much about it other than vibes and HOMONCULUS. Basically, everyday you are killed and you have to solve your own murder and everyday you are revived. If I am remembering correctly? You can't attack or anything, just explore and uncover mysteries

    There's a half-dozen or so different endings depending on the choices and it's just such a weird fucking game. I could also be remembering a lot of this through rose-tinted glasses so idk, but definitely put a few hours into it if you like weird games.

46 comments