Once again, looking for PS2 game suggestions!
I got through phases of games, and right now I'm in the one I like to think of everything-modern-is-making-me-angry-so-I'll-turn-back-to-vintage-games - and that's in the form of PCSX2 on my Steam Deck.
Playing the PS2 generation on the Steam Deck is kinda the 'perfect' generation: I can upscale the resolution without a performance hit, I can apply HD texture packs, Retro Achievements and I can drop the TDP to extend the battery life.
Anyway, I never had a PS2 (it was just a touch before my time), so there's so many games I'm yet to discover there. I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have for what I can play on there:
Just a couple notes:
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No GTA games because they're better with the PC versions. While I've bought the games, the account that Rockstar demands people have to play their games makes me angry on principle (a single-player game forcing an online check each week to be able to play it? No thanks), so I've got cracked versions to play.
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No Final Fantasy because I'm not even sure where to start!
So if anyone was around back in the PS2 era, and has some recommendations for games they've loved, I'm all ears. I've been having such a fun time playing these.
Some big thanks to my friends who made and run RetroDECK (my choice for emulating on the Steam Deck), and to the PCSX2 team (who I'm chatting to right now actually, so keep an eye out and in a week or so I'll share that chat with them all about creating and maintaining the PS2 emulator!)
Also, if you do have a Steam Deck, and want to play with the HD texture packs I do, then it's really simple. Just download the pack, and name then according to their game's I.D. code - SLUS-20743 for example, then place it in the texture_packs folder:
From there, go into PCSX2, then right-click the game, select properties, graphics, texture replacement and tick the two boxes I have:
Then you've got the games looking the best they can be!
Here's a link to a stack of pre-done HD textures for a lot of PS2 games, to help you on your way!
You have one of, if not the best starting points for Final Fantasy in the whole series on this system with X. Just play it. There's no mainline numbered Final Fantasy game that ties together. They're all separate stories. A few share a common setting with Ivalice, but that's about it. Hop on X now. I know there's a PC version, and that's probably the recommended way to experience that game at this point, but I don't really care how you start it. If you ever wanna experience Final Fantasy, FFX is the one a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot of people will say start with.
Radiata Stories - a looker even for a PS2 game.
NFL 2K5 - the greatest NFL game ever made.
Jak and Daxter - This console's Crash Bandicoot.
Rachet and Clank - I actually have the same problem you have with Final Fantasy with this series. Just pick one.
Need For Speed Underground 2 - One of the best arcade racing games ever made.
Burnout 3 Takedown - Same as above except you crash the cars instead of pimp them out.
SSX3 - Some say Tricky is better, I like them both but usually give 3 the edge.
Soul Calibur II - Best Soul Calibur game IMO
Dragonball Z Budokai 3 - Played the shit out of both this and Budokai Tenkaichi 3
I'm not even scratching the surface.
Jak and Daxter are better played via OpenGoal - a modern open source engine implementation that runs natively on Steam Deck and includes fixes, graphics improvements, proper widescreen, etc.
Nice! I'll have to check that out.
That's the thing. PS2 at one time was the best selling system of all time. I forget if that record still holds up. I know the DS oversold it, but thats not a tv console.
Point is, with any console that had that big of an impact on gaming, it's going to have a ton of bangers that still hold up 20+ years later.
And boy howdy if that ain't true!
I'm honestly surprised there aren't independant projects releasing new PS2 games today, in the same way you see occasional new releases for NES and Game Boy Color.
+1 for Burnout 3. That's a series that desparately needs a new entry.
Re: Final Fantasy games not tying together or having continuities.
Yes. Except, ironically, specifically Final Fantasy X, which had a direct sequel in X-2. Final Fantasy XIII also managed to have a direct sequel in Lightning Returns. Thankfully, if you care to think of it that way, it was crap and can be safely ignored.
Anyway, have an upvote for not blithely suggesting that everyone start with VII.
XIII had two sequels, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns.
Yes and they're all neatly contained in their numbered entry which is why I say no mainline numbered games tie together. And all the 2s are optional IMO. Especially X-2, which always seemed like a cash grab to capitalize off of X's success to me. As much as I love, love, love X, I've never touched X-2 and probably never will.
Probably the best list imo. I remember picking Radiata Stories up, at random, for my birthday. It blew me away. The story, combat and recruitment mechanic are different from everything else I experienced at the time.
And a few suggestions also:
Def Jam: Fight for NY. Lowkey my favorite fighting game, with 4-players simultaneously beating the crap of each other.
Battle Stadium D.O.N.. Fighting/smash bros style game with the biggest jump stars at the time (Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto).
Dokapon Kingdom. Board/rpg game with a lot of fun mechanics.
Fuck yes, Fight for NY was amazing. I love the idea of a fighting game where you have to end the fight, not just knock the other guy's health bar down to zero so he falls over. So satisfying to put your opponent down with a haymaker or chucking him in front of a subway train
NFS Underground 1 is better than the sequel IMO. The open world is empty and tedious filler vs just loading directly into the tracks.
Best NFS on the PS2 is Hot Pursuit 2 however. Made by Black Box, it's vastly superior in every way to the other console versions and the PC version made by a different company despite sharing assets.
Loved the pc version. With force feedback wheel
Can't believe I left Soul Calibur II off of my own recommendations, perhaps because most of us thought of that as a Gamecube game.
Link special character was best special character... because... it was a great meming time when people realized there were what appeared to be the silhouette of his tower and bases visible during certain moves.
XBOX version was the best to me but I loved that game so much I owned all three copies at once.
Great list! I totally agree with FFX being a fantastic starting point for the Final Fantasy series. It’s such a solid entry that so many people love. Also, Jak and Daxter and NFS Underground 2 are classics!
I also wanted to throw in a game I recently came across called Naruto Senki. It’s a fun Naruto-themed mobile game where you can engage in 3v3 battles with characters from the anime. It’s not as big as the others on your list, but it’s definitely a great choice if you're a fan of Naruto and want something casual and action-packed. Thought it’d be worth mentioning if you’re looking for something new to try from here !
I love the ps2 era of games! Here are some suggestions:
For some more obscure games:
Btw if you're playing mgs3 on the ps2 make sure it's the Subsistence edition! It has a 3D camera that works way better than the top-down the og game shipped with.
Every time I'm walking with someone and come across a sofa out on the street I force them to . . .
::: spoiler spoiler sit down on it for a moment with me. Just in case they played ICO. :::
Also F for agro ::: spoiler spoiler probably the most tragic death scene i ever played :::
Regarding your second spoiler: that colossus kill definitely felt personal after that. I mean... It's not even their fault, but I was determined afterwards.
That fight is so incredible, I could gush about it all day. The ambience, the visuals, the environmental storytelling, just amazing.
::: spoiler Spoiler for 16th colossus The only colossus to feel so direct in its attacks towards you, you can feel its anger at watching its fellow colossi die. Especially since when you reach the top you realize the 16th faces out from the bottom of the map, so it saw every colossus be slain one after another.
Also holy shit having to snipe its hands/shoulders then jump onto it was so exciting, even if it was a bit jank. :::
Kinda surprised how long it took to scroll before seeing Ico and SOTC mentioned, tbh.
Crown jewels of PS2, imo. Pushed the medium forward artistically.
Yes absolutely! Inspired Dark Souls, future zelda games, & basically every indie game to come out afterwards.
I started The Last Guardian, still need to go back & finish it. I liked a lot of what it was bringing to the table, but the pacing dragged a bit in the middle imo.
I strongly recommend Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2. DC2, to my memory, could have aged well, but DC1 might be a rough play if you're not in the headspace for a game of that era. I haven't played them in an age, though.
Otherwise, I find that Kingdom Hearts (and KH2 in particular) aged very well. KH2 just feels really good to play.
As for Final Fantasy, if you have a wild hair to play just one, you'll get a dozen different opinions. However, since essentially every game plays with new universes and new gameplay mechanics, you really do get a fresh start with each one.
Seconded for Dark Cloud 2 specifically. Game is incredibly good.
DC2 is absolutely a must play. Its a ridiculously big game though, be warned. You'll be deep into the latter chapters with the game still throwing new mechanics at you like "omg, I have to play golf in dungeons now too, and fishing, and base building, and photography, and and and and"
I kind of do reccomend a guide for it as there's some permanent misables.
From my memory, the misable stuff isn't the important, but it is frustrating to not be able to get. I would say if you aren't worried about missing a few unlocks, just accept that you'll miss stuff and don't stress about it.
If you're the type of person (like me) who finds out they missed something and feel compelled to restart, even if you were never planning on 100% the game, then yeah, use a guide. I wouldn't use a guide for everything, but I'm certain there are guides that say when misable stuff is coming and how to get them.
I'm not too surprised; it's been a long time since I've played it, and I suspected my fond memories might not reflect reality. Did you give the sequel a shot?
I remember it being a great game! Moreso than DC1; I think the former appealed to me so much because it was the first game I played with a base-building gameplay loop like that. If you're looking for a game to play, consider giving it a shot. I remember being reeled in pretty quickly, so you ought to be able to make up your mind early on (although more and more interesting systems get introduced the longer you play, of course).
DC2 is still fairly similar with the dungeons (though much less grindy, and far less annoying with running out of water or whatever, from my memory). 2 adds a ton of other things to do though. If you're tired of grinding dungeons, go fishing, breed your fish for races and events, go golfing, find things to take pictures of for inventing, progress your town for more unlocks, advance NPC quests to add them to your group, etc. 1 is fairly linear with one way to progress. 2 has probably a dozen different activities to progress in, so you can do whatever you want in the moment.
Katamari Damacy and sequel <3
Im here for this answer.
Beyond Good & Evil
Devil May Cry trilogy
If you liked God of War (and its PS2 sequels), another franchise well worth checking out!
Final Fantasy X. Hands down the best entry of the franchise (fight me), and one of the best introductions to the series.
Ico + Shadow of the Colossus
Literal works of art.
Killer7
Manhunt + Manhunt 2
If you like Bully & PS2-era GTA entries, this series is well worth exploring. Very dark and gory.
Need for Speed Underground + Underground 2
Some of the best racing OSTs ever, and the offline PS2-editions don’t lose tracks when licenses expire.
Prince of Persia - Sands of Time
Silent Hill 2
Viewtiful Joe + Viewtiful Joe 2
An incredible 2d beat-em up with a great vibe.
The Warriors
Rockstar’s love letter to a cult classic 70s film.
Zone of the Enders + Zone of the Enders 2nd Runner
Hideo Kojima just doing more of his thing outside of the MGS franchise.
Zone of the Enders was phenomenal.
I never finished X, it felt like it was dragging on and there were too many unskippable scenes.
I actually preferred XIII, which I nearly 100%'d (I think I was one or 2 combats away from 100%) and even XIII-2 which I enjoyed, tho I thought the "post-game" was too heavy with loading screens. I never played XIII-3 (Lightning Returns).
In any case, FF VI is actually the best entry in the franchise. I know that because I played and beat it as a child. (/s)
(I was really hoping FF XV [?; road trip with the boy band] would be good, but I played about 10 hours and had nothing good to say about it.)
To each their own, I suppose!
FF7 was my entry into the franchise, and I went back to play 4-6 after 8 left me disappointed. I ended up (regretfully) skipping 9 until revisiting it much later. I’m saying this specifically to point out that I am not biased because FFX was my first.
I skipped XI as MMORPGs didn’t hold any interest to me at the time - but WoW would change that, and cause me to skip XII altogether!
I didn’t like the combat of XIII, it was too much of a departure of what came before (variants of ATB and general turn-based combat) - and I did not find the plot engaging enough to persevere much beyond I think the ~10hr mark?
I haven’t bothered to revisit the newer entries since, even though I have added XII, XIII, XIII-2 & Lightning Returns to my retro collection. Perhaps one day?
I thought I wasn't going to like the combat of XIII, but I ended up really quite enjoying it most of the time. I thought the support roles AI was quite good, and eventually I figured out a rhythm of switching roles that felt really good.
But, I probably should go back and play some of the 7-9, maybe even X again. I picked up 2, 3, and 5 (and the portable Nintendo consoles to play them) and never made the time to play them.
I know some are on Steam, but I'm on Linux and I don't know how well the Proton/SteamPlay works with them. (Plus, I need to finish up Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 before I buy yet another JRPG.)
According to protondb.com the entire Final Fantasy catalogue is pretty much flagged as either Gold or Platinum so you shouldn’t have issues.
For what it’s worth, the console versions also run great through EmuDeck and RetroDeck on my Steam Deck too!
I need to get around to playing Clair Obscur - I’ve seen and heard great things about it, but with a 2yo running around the house - I just don’t have the bandwidth currently to invest in new games… 😅
Burnout 3 is one of the best arcade racing games for this generation.
I see you have Kingdom Hearts II in there. There's also the original Kingdom Hearts as well.
The Simpsons: Hit & Run is like GTA but more "family-friendly".
There's also other Ratchet & Clank games on the PS2, including the original, Going Commando, and Deadlocked.
If you like racing games, Need for Speed: Underground 2 is one of the best games in the NFS series. IMO it's better than Underground 1.
Also, appreciate the guide for higher res textures.
Seconding Burnout 3!
You're so welcome! Let me know if you ever run into any troubles!
Every single one of those games is excellent, but tbh I'd recommend starting with Underground 1 and then going onto Underground 2, they're both fantastic IMO.
Ratchet & Clank and Going Commando are great.
I've been playing Ratchet & Clank (something-or-other-about-booty) via RPCS3 on my Steam Deck, and I've been loving that! Totally forgot R&C got their start on PS2. Thanks!
Quest For Booty is my favourite since the PS2 era, great puzzles and story, but it's so short!
It plays wonderfully and is my first R&C game I've ever tried playing!
I also really enjoy the beachy setting for what I've seen of it so far :)
God Hand is probably the most underrated game on the platform. Dont let the visuals or the crass humor turn you off. It's made by Clover (the same devs behind Okami and Viewtiful Joe) and is mechanically deep to an absurd degree. Easily the best beat-em-up on the console.
God power keeps my pimp hand strong, so trust me or you won't last very long!
God Hand is great!
I'm a big fan of the R-Type series, and R-Type Final plays very well on the Deck.
Also:
Katamari Damacy - Really weird concept for a surprisingly fun game. Roll up the world!
Devil May Cry - The high-speed brawler that launched a genre.
Tales of the Abyss - A good RPG with likeable characters and some great twists.
Bunch of good Shmups on the PS2, Gradius V, gradius 3 and 4. Darius gaiden and G darius are on a taito collection. Bunch of cave stuff, the Dodonpachi DOJ port is good. Bit psyiko stuff too I think it has Dragon blaze.
Here's a list from my collection
.hack://Infection
.hack://Mutation
.hack://Outbreak
.hack://Quarantine
.hack://G.U. Rebirth
.hack://G.U. Reminisce
.hack://G.U. Redemption
007: Agent Under Fire
007: Nightfire
007: Everything or Nothing
10,000 Bullets
Altered Beast (i.e., Project: Altered Beast)
Ape Escape 2
Ape Escape 3
Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia
Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica
Armored Core 2
Armored Core 2: Another Age
Armored Core 3
Armored Core: Last Raven
Armored Core: Nexus
Armored Core: Nine Breaker
Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana
Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny
Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II
Beyond Good & Evil
Blood Will Tell
BloodRayne
BloodRayne 2
Bloody Roar 3
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Bunjingai: The Forsaken City (i.e., Bunjingai: Swordmaster)
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Castlevania: Lament of Innocent
Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest
Chaos Wars
Chulip
Clock Tower 3
Cold Fear
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Crimson Tears
Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud 2 (i.e., Dark Chronicle)
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! 2
Deus Ex (NB: Worse than PC version)
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry 2 (NB: Only because I'm recommending the others)
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening - Special Edition
Disaster Report (i.e., SOS: The Final Escape)
Disgaea 1: Hour of Darkness
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
Downhill Domination
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Drakengard
Drakengard 2
Dynasty Warriors 5
Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends
Evergrace
Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Final Fantasy X (NB: See end)
Final Fantasy X-2 (NB: See end)
Final Fantasy XII (NB: See end)
ForbiddenSirenForbidden Siren 2
Forever Kingdom (NB: Prequel to Evergrace)
Gitaroo Man
Gladius
God Hand
Grandia Xtreme
Grandia III
Gregory Horror Show
GunGrave
GunGrave: Overdose
Haunting Ground
Headhunter
Headhunter Redemption
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman: Contracts
Hitman: Blood Money
Ico
Initial D Special Stage
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II
Jak 3 (NB: Fuck the naming scheme)
Jak X: Combat Racing (NB: Get V2.00 specifically)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
Katamari Damacy
Kingdom Hearts - Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II - Final Mix (NB: Translation somewhere online)
Kinetica
Lumines: Puzzle Fusion
Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy
Manhunt
Manhunt 2
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Maximo vs Army of Zin
Mega Man X7
Mega Man X8
Mercenaries - Playground of Destruction
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (NB: See end)
Michigan: Report from Hell
Mister Mosquito
Need for Speed: Underground
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Carbon
Nightshade (NB: Sequel to Shinobi)
ObsCure
ObsCure II
Odin Sphere
Okage: Shadow King
Onimusha 1: Warlords (NB: Pressure-sensitive buttons)
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny (NB: Pressure-sensitive buttons)
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (NB: Pressure-sensitive buttons)
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
PaRappa The Rapper 2
Phantom Brave
Primal
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Psychonauts
Radiata Stories
Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (i.e., Locked and Loaded)
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Raw Danger! (NB: Sequel to Disaster Report)
Red Dead Revolver
Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
Resident Evil Outbreak
Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2
Resident Evil 4
Rogue Galaxy
Romancing SaGa
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
Samurai Western
Second Sight
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Shadow of Destiny (i.e., Memories)
Shadow of Rome
Shadow of the Colossus
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (i.e., Lucifer's Call) (i.e., featuring Dante from DMC!)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
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: Persona 3 FES
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Shining Force EXA
Shinobi
Shinobido: Way of the Ninja
Silent Hill 2 (NB: Pressure-sensitive buttons)
Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill 4: The Room (NB: Just because)
Silent Scope
Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette
Silent Scope 3
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
Soul Nomad & the World Eaters
Spider-Man 2
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Steambot Chronicles
Suikoden III
Suikoden IV
Suikoden V
Super Dragon Ball Z
Tales of Legendia
Tales of the Abyss
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
The Bouncer
The Getaway
The Getaway: Black Monday
The Godfather
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Simpsons: Hit & Run
The Sword of Etheria
The Thing
The Warriors
Tokyo Road Race
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
TY the Tasmanian Tiger
TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue
Way of the Samurai
Way of the Samurai 2
Wild Arms 3
Wild Arms 4
Wild Arms 5
Wild Arms: Alter Code, F
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
X-Men Legends
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
Yakuza
Yakuza 2
Zone of the Enders
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (NB: Get PAL special specifically)
So Final Fantasy games are often unrelated to one another. Meaning you can just pick whichever to start. Although Final Fantasy X has a direct sequel, that being Final Fantasy X-2.
Next is about Mega Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Even though you have it listed I still mention it because Subsistence includes:
Being the most recommended versions of those games. (Not including Nintendo's recent ports)
I knew I was going to see Steambot Chronicles on that list after seeing the .hack games hah.
Final fantasy isn't a continuation from game to game, they are new stories each time. Final fantasy is more like a feeling than a specific place or group of people.
All that said I really think you should consider trying Final Fantasy 10, it has fantastic cinematics and is a very emotional game.
I think of it as an RPG ruleset, like DnD. Most of FF games follow similar mechanics, class systems, sometimes there's the same monsters, and sometimes there's crystals that do stuff.
I agree though, FFX is really good.
One of my favorite eras to live through and emulate!
Aside from Dark Cloud 2, mentioned already, I also really love:
Katamari, but on Deck the native version is better and includes the sequel.
The Jak and Daxter trilogy, simply amazing games! The first or the second are usually the favs. 1 is a solid mascot platformer. 2 also is, kind of, but adds guns and cars and a slightly GTA inspired open world. 3 is also fun but leans harder into vehicles and generally isn't regarded as highly.
Odin Sphere. All the VanillaWare games are great, but OS is one of the most beautiful games ever drawn, and has really fun brawler\rpg combat. GrimGrimoire is another of theirs, also good, kind of a side scrolling RTS.
Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 are both a lot of fun, especially if you love Disney or SquareEnix games. If not, they're still pretty fun and have an... interesting, if convoluted, lore. I probably wouldn't recommend if you dont care for Disney though. Probably worth playing Final Fantasy 7 first as well. It's referenced quite reverently and is a great standalone game (and PS1 still counts I think, haha).
Devil May Cry 1 and 3. You can skip 2, even the fans and creators don't care about it, and 3 is a prequel. DMC1 is a landmark game, and is required playing in my opinion for being both important and incredibly fun. It can be quite hard though. 3 is arguably the best in the whole series, and holds up really well near the top of the genre to this day.
God of War 1, 2,
and 3. They're fantastic action games, and pretty influential still. I dont like them as much as DMC, but they're still pretty fun.There were actually a lot of pretty mediocre DMC clones on PS2, like Gungrave or Bujingai. If you love the genre, they're neat and OK fun. God Hand is quite funny and kind of unique, probably the best of the 3 listed here.
I see Okami in there and I approve! Although I think the remasters released on other platform more recently are a better way to play. I also preferred the Wii version back in the day.
The Sly Cooper games and the Ratchet and Clank games are also both really excellent series. I liked Jak more, but they're distinct games with their own neat elements. Sly's particularly unique as a mascot stealth game.
Metal Gear Solid series and the Tony Hawk games are obviously excellent, but you've got so many other ways to play those I'm not sure they're worth emulating.
Zone of the Enders, 1 and 2. ZoE 1 is infamous as being the game that came with the first MGS2 demo on it. The game is fine but short, and mostly serves to set up ZoE2, which fucking rules! You pilot a badass mecha and it just has a really fun plot, great music, and good action. An underrated gem!
Not your jam I'm sure, but I'd be remiss if I didnt mention the many hours I spent playing Capcom vs SNK 2. Still one of my favorite fighting games, legendary roster and soundtrack.
If you'd like a roguelike, I'd suggest Baroque or (PS1) Azure Dreams. Both pretty fun, quite long games with lots of replay value. Baroque is uh... well titled, kind of challenging to get into.
Ah, there were so many good games in that era. Truly one of the most stacked console lineups ever.
Good catch, my bad, I thought it was just the trilogy collection on PS3. It's probably been since it first came out that i played it.
I went general on MGS because I couldn't remember which game premiered on which console generation without looking it up either, but it's 2 and 3 for PS2 (and 1 from PSX).
Party Girls
Ghost Rider
Ultimate Spider-Man
LEGO games, like harry potter and batman
Ratatouille
Beyond Good and Evil
Devil May Cry, DMC2, DMC3
Ghostbusters
Kuon
X-Men Origins Wolverine
Scarface
Mister Mosquito
The PS2 Ace Combat games (4/5/Zero) are still best-in-genre as far as I'm concerned, and have held up exceedingly well in general. Aerial dogfighting with good controls, good mission design and interesting story.
Sky Odyssey is a more "relaxed" little flight game that I also like, still got game-like controls but no combat, just missions where you fly through hard situations.
AC4 was what I came here to say. I loved that game.
BTW I couldn't get AC5 full speed on Steam Deck so if anyone knows the right config hmu
I think that you're going to likely get more-helpful suggestions if you list some games or genres that you like, something beyond "No Final Fantasy" and "No GTA".
This Reddit post has a list of PS2 games that "still hold up", without genre restrictions. There's nothing there that I glance at and say "oh, I loved that and one needs to go back and play it", but it's probably a reasonable starting point. Like, I enjoyed Max Payne (which I recommend playing on the PC rather than console) when it came out, but I don't know if I'd go back and play it as an FPS in 2025.
I can understand that, but having never owned any PS2, and only played some of what it offered by modern remakes...there's really nothing I'm going to ignore. Not sure why I'd cull this down when I don't want any suggestions culled down.
What I'm looking for is what people enjoyed playing themselves. Generally when someone loved a game, they'll recommend it and explain why they did. Thanks anyway!
Well, fair enough.
One point that someone does make in that thread where someone also brings up the "where to start with Final Fantasy" is that it doesn't really matter that much, because the series isn't in one universe --- it's a bunch of stand-alone games. It's not quite like you're starting on trying to read, say, Hellboy comics many decades into multiple series or something like that. The games did evolve in the technical sense, but you won't ruin a game by playing others "out of order".
Just thought I'd highlight that, since you said almost the same thing in your post.
Final Fantasy is somewhat of an anthology: each major installment (just "Final Fantasy" plus a roman numeral, nothing else) takes place in an entirely different world and thus includes its own tutorial. You don't need to know anything before going into one of them. You can start anywhere, like Final Fantasy X, which was one of the most acclaimed FF releases and happened to be on the PS2.
Lots of good suggestions already, but I don't think I saw anyone mention Twisted Metal: Black. It's very dark and lots of fun.
Kingdom Hearts
Dark cloud 1 - amazing
Dark cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle in EU) - 11/10, I replay it almost every year
I recently went through a ps2 games phase. Some already mentioned but the lesser known standouts for me were;
God hand (probably the best game on ps2 and released really late in the life of the PS2 so many people missed it),
Odin sphere (best looking game on the system and really fun),
urban reign,
steam bot chronicles (robot action rpg really satisfying game play)
robot alchemical drive (ride on the shoulders of huge gundam style robots, really unique game)
champions of norrath, (action rpg based on EverQuest universe, really fun)
psi ops, (fps like game with stars wars style force powers, crazy fun)
Drakan: Ancient gates, (action rpg, fly on a dragon, one of the best magic systems ever where you have to trace the pattern to cast. The reason I started my ps2 phase was to replay this game, loved it as a kid and still holds up)
Recently did a no-deaths kick-me run of God Hand. The combo system in that game is so satisfying.
Also second the recommendation for Steam Bot Chronicles. The dialogue doesn't half let you say some out-of-pocket shit.
A warning about emulation though; bind a key to swap between hardware and software rendering. Software mode is necessary within stores.
Smugglers Run 2
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Gladius
Burnout Revenge
Gran Turismo 3&4
Final Fantasy X/ X-II
Just Cause 2
Drakkengarde
I'm sure I'm forgetting some really good ones.
I'm just being that guy on the internet as usual, but Symphony Of The Night is a PS1 title, not PS2. I'm sure OP can run a PS1 emulator on
hisher Deck if she wants to, though. It is a great game.It was released for both then. I have a physical PS2 copy. Not really surprised. They did that with a ton of titles when hopping from one generation of console to the next.
I was not aware it was released in that packaging, but I'm pretty sure that's still a Playstation 1 disk dressed up in a PS2 style DVD case, meant to be used with the PS2's backwards compatibility mode. To my knowledge SotN was never rereleased as a native PS2 title and wasn't rereleased at all until the PSP version. (And then later the Xbox 360 and PS4 as downloadable titles, and also the ghastly mobile phone versions.) If you have a PS1 kicking around you can try it and see, I suppose.
For what it's worth my copy is the green-stripe "Greatest Hits" reprinting, so what it's worth is alas not much.
*her Deck
Her, and him, and whoever!
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Destroy All Humans! Shadow of the Colossus, The Matrix: Path of Neo, Psi Ops: The Mind Gate Conspiracy, Burnout Revenge, Gitaroo Man, God Hand.
I’m sure there’s more but that’s off the top of my head. Also some of these can definitely be found in newer versions or ports, but they started on PS2 so I listed them anyways.
They’re both fun, but I think Path of Neo is probably more what people were hoping to get out of a Matrix video game.
Enter The Matrix was cool, but it suffers a bit from some awkward earlier dual stick controls that Path of Neo had corrected. Plus you’re stuck within the timeframe of the second movie only really.
NFS Underground 2 has a PC port, and there are some fixes online that make it the best way to play NFSU2, actually.
Underground 2 .net has as an amazing lore-accurate overhaul. Highly recommend it for a one stop shop mod.
Ps2 was golden Mortal Kombat territory.
Ratchet and Clank is the best, and the story is best experienced in order but the first game is a bit clunky so starting on the second game isn’t the worst idea. I personally started with Up Your Arsenal! then got hooked on the series and backfilled.
Black
It's great!
Challenging without being too frustrating, but patience is definitely required. Tactics play a big role when you're playing it on the hardest setting
I really enjoyed playing through it, mostly because I got to watch everything get shot down! I've kept it in my game library to occasionally shoot things when I feel the urge :)
You have to... No, You NEED to Play Downhill Domination. There is NO WAY you won't have fun playing that, trust me.
Oh! And Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3! You don't have to be a DBZ fan to have fun with that, is amazing and so chaotic!
Also, have you consider trying Devil May Cry 3? (Don't worry about the number, it's a precule). It's kinda hard but so fun and satisfying.
I had the same problem too, but after trying to play them chronologically (and failing), I learned that you can play any FF game at any time, cuz they are very unique and don't actually relate one another.
Final Fantasy X is a great pick, for example, it helped me overcome my despise for Turn-base combat RPG.
And, if you're up to some Big Robot Fight mayhem anime style, Zone of The Enders is Amazing.
edit: AND YAKUZA! HOW COULD I FORGOT YAKUZA!!?? YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE FIRST YAKUZA ASAP!!
(unless you want to play / already played the kiwami version, which may be a better experience)
Ratchet and Clank is a great series, and so are the Jak and Daxter series; both are excellent platformers for different reasons. Although, it might be easier to play Jak 1 and 2 through OpelGOAL, which will run the games natively on the Deck instead of emulation and isn't too hard to set up.
It's a bit of a black sheep, but Spyro A Heroes Tale is a guilty pleasure of mine. It isn't as great as the original Spyro trilogy on PS1, but it's entertaining in its own right. I'm currently playing through it and enjoying it.
Zone of the Enders 1 and 2
Shadowhearts
SSX Tricky
Burnout
Katamari Damacey
Ribbit King
Roommania #201
SkyGunner
Oni
Dead or Alive 2
Silent Hill 2 and 3
Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Lost War Chronicles
Xenosaga
.dot Hack
Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain
Def Jam Vendetta
GunGrave
Capcom vs SNK
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Super underrated. The first one.
I loved it, and don't take this as a dig because tons of games had this problem. It was one of the first games in played where environments were fully destructible. Trees? Nah. Trees are invulnerable to everything, including literal bunker buster bombs.
The only one, rather
Ah yes, single player open world Helldivers.
Absolutely amazing game. Just Cause kind of captured some of the same energy, but never quite there. There's nothing quite like being able to deploy cluster bomb strikes at will.
Bloody Roar is a fighting game where you can turn into a furry, and it's so cool I think they have a PS2 sequel, games go hard.
Dr.Muto is a funny 3D platformer
I'm playing through Yakuza at the moment and never bothered with HD textures before so will have a look at that myself.
I think Jak and Daxter now has a native PC port.
https://overclock3d.net/news/software/jak-and-daxter-and-jak-2-are-now-natively-playable-on-pc-with-opengoal/
The Mark of Kri was a good one
Dark cloud 1 & 2, star ocean til the end of time, dbz budokai and dbz tenkaichi. That's all I can think of.
Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 (and go back and play 1 first, if you haven't).
Only other thing that comes to mind is FFX. Just try to resist min/maxing too much. Very unsatisfying to spend tons of hours grinding your characters into unstoppable gods and then go one-shot the final boss.
I'm running off of pure nostalgia here:
Armoured Core 3
Any of the Ratchet and Clank games
Spyhunter 2 - great local coop
There are some good PS2 Crash Bandicoot games-- any of the platformers, or the racing ones (I had Crash Nitro Kart and can confirm it's a good time).
You could also try Kingdom Hearts (+ the sequels, Re:Chain of Memories and KH2) if you want to be confused
If you want a wacky, unique rhythm game: Gitaroo Man
For the PS2 entry into one of the best shoot em up series of all time: Gradius V
For a fun, anime themed, voice acted tactical RPG that you can just literally play forever because it seemingly invented the "looping, start over but with better base stats" mechanic that idle games use these days: Disgaea
(As a bonus, the original PS2 version of Disgaea has a different voice for one of the characters than it does in other releases because they lost the rights or some thing like that, so you get to experience it in a slightly different manner than most other people.)
If you have the time for a JRPG, Dragon Quest 8 is one of my favorite games ever. Maximo is also a cool third person action game.
Armored Core 2, Armored Core 3, Armored Core: Silent Line
Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2
Simpsons: Road Rage is my all-time favorite of any game on any console..
So much so that I bought the game without having the console to even play it 🫣
Hit & Run was also fantastic
I remember loving the Mercenaries game
I think I need a band aid.
You want me to throw my shoe?
OH NO YOU DIDN'T.
I see you've got 007: Nightfire in that list, so let me raise you 007: Agent Under Fire. The single player is not as good as Nightfire, but the multiplayer is spectacular, as it lets you turn on fun modifiers like moon gravity and use gadgets like the Q Claw on any surface instead of just preset spots. They probably toned down the multiplayer in Nightfire because Agent Under Fire's didn't feel very Bond-esque, but Bond or not, it was a ton of fun. The multiplayer is up to 4 players split-screen on Gamecube, but I can't tell if it still retains that on PS2; often times, back then, PS2 games only had 2 player support while Gamecube and Xbox had 4. This was because the PS2 was weaker and also required an extra peripheral called a Multi Tap to hook up more than 2 controllers. Find some friends and play some deathmatch, if you find yourself in a situation where you can dock your Steam Deck or otherwise play on another computer.
There's also Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, a third person shooter where you play a robot who can take over other robots. It's quite challenging, it's got a sense of humor, and it's probably one of the best games of that era to not get remastered in a modern port. Once again, we've got the multiplayer issue rearing its head, but I'd strongly recommend the single player for this one, too. I also played this on Gamecube back in the day, so just play whichever version is rated best for compatibility in your emulator of choice.
You might also want a Burnout game in your library. Most people seem to prefer Burnout 3: Takedown, but my Burnout of choice was Burnout Revenge. Both great. I wish we got more racing games like these today. Local multiplayer is a dying breed in this genre.
You've got Tony Hawk's Underground in that list, but for my money, the best game in the series is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
The first three Ratchet & Clank games on PS2 have not been topped by their later entries, as far as I'm concerned. Ever since the fourth game, Deadlocked, the best they've been able to do was to remix ideas they've already used.
As others have said, Ratchet and Clank series is fantastic
One I did not see in the comments is Test Drive: Eve of Destruction.
I came here to make sure outrun 2006 is mentioned. Try it!
(Also SC2, Burnout and Gradius V but I saw those mentioned)
Just throwing Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero into the mix.
Mister mosquito
Shadow of the colossus
Robot Alchemic Drive
Dark cloud
Dragon quest 8
Super monkey ball
Twisted metal black
Soul Calibur 2
Solid list! I am glad someone else recommended Dragon Quest 8 as it's god tier good.
I like Dark Cloud 2 more than the original myself. It's completely separate from the original and feels like an improvement on the concepts of the first.
Robot Alchemic Drive
that was such fun when I got it for my ps2 way back when. the game grumps playing it was hilarious too. GRANDMA!
Midnight Club 2
SSX Tricky, and any of the NBA or NFL Street games, they’re all gas, no brakes. If you can get someone else to play two player (don’t know how well that works on steam deck emulation), check out Cookies & Cream. It’s one of the more clever two player co-op puzzle games, and it’s one of the first games my wife and I played together when we were first dating.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was pretty close to the peak of the series if you ask me, and the PS2 version was the superior one. THPS4 also came out on the Playstation 2. I see you already have Underground on there.
If you'd like something you can handily use to consume the rest of your entire life, Disgaea and/or its sequel will probably do you.
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are also legendary. I haven't tried in ages, I have no idea if modern emulators can get the latter to run at a non-crap frame rate. It'd be a lot nicer if so.
Odin Sphere is an often overlooked 2D action sidescrolling fighting thing wherein you Norse In The North and beat the shit out of absolutely everyone. Its sequel, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is much the same thing except therein you Ninja In The Night instead. The latter stayed locked to the Wii to my knowledge but the former was on the PS2.
The PS2's library is quite vast. I'm not going to go looking this up to prove it right now, but I'm pretty sure it's got the most titles ever released for a home video game console (i.e. not the PC) in history. Even just trying out unknown games at complete random, it's likely to be able to keep you entertained in one way or another basically forever.
Road Trip Adventure is one of my favourite racing games. It's like Disney cars before then. You get to drive around a world doing side quests outside of races.
Driving can feel clunky and it feels really bad in the beginning, but most of it is due to the fact you start off with bad parts. As you upgrade your car the game starts to feel better and better as it goes on. Eventually you get parts to fly and go under water.
...
Also when it comes to final fantasy, there is no one place to start, each game unless a direct sequel (like X-2) they are all completely standalone. None of them are in the same world or universe. They share similar themes but that's it.
I will ALWAYS suggest amplitude (sequel to frequency on PS1). Best rhythm music game ever.
Persona 4 and Clock Tower 3
I would recommend those that doesn't have a remaster version on current systems. Personally I'd recommend:
You already have an insanely good library. You could probably play for the rest of the year on those games alone. In addition to what you have here, I'd recommend:
Alien Hominid
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Burnout series
Def Jam: Fight for NY
Destroy All Humans 1 & 2
Devil May Cry
Godfather, The
GTA Vice City Stories & Liberty City Stories (NOT ON PC)
GUN
Hitman: Blood Money
Jak & Daxter series
Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Need For Speed Underground & Hot Pursuit series
Onimusha: Warlords
Psychonauts
Ratchet & Clank Series
Rayman 2
Resident Evil 4
Red Dead Revolver
Sly Cooper 1 & 3 (1 & 3 are probably my favs)
Shadow of the Colossus
Silent Hill 2 & 3
Simpsons Hit & Run
SoulCalibur II
Spider-Man 2 (phenomenal free roam)
Star Wars Battlefront I & II
Super Monkey Ball Deluxe
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Twisted Metal: Black
FWIW, the original PS2 versions of the GTA games that are also on PC are actually better because they removed content as licenses expired. Unless you have the downgraded PC versions - in which case, godspeed.
Even then, I usually stick with PS2 as PC doesn't have support for the analog face buttons that the PS2 had. I don't know if you can emulate that on Steam Deck, but if you play PS2 GTA San Andreas with an OEM controller, pressing the button harder actually does make you go faster. It's magic, and I find it hard to play without now. 😅
I look forward to seeing how the Deck holds up with some of these titles! I'll admit, I've been thinking about getting it to use as a portable PS2 myself.
There's no issue with PS2 games! I raise the resolution up to 3x native (I think? Whichever one is 1080, anyway), and also apply HD texture packs. There's not one issue I've come across on a PS2 game so far. And setting RetroDECK up to play them is a breeze!
Do it!
I've already got Spider-Man 2 on there (others also recommended it), but reading through your list, these all look wonderful! I didn't actually know the 'Stories' games on PS2 for GTA didn't end up on PC, thanks for that tip!
If you can emulate PSP games with ease, check out GTA Chinatown Wars. I just wanted to see how the game played one evening, and I ended up beating it in a couple days.
It has a drug dealing mechanic, and you have to crash cop cars to lose stars. Extremely unique and fun GTA.
I haven't read into RetroDECK, is it an emulator frontend?
Seconding someone else's suggestion of Psi-Ops - a really cool game that I think flies under the radar a little bit.
Gun is also really cool.
The early Red Faction games are also fun but a bit dated.
XGRA: Extreme G-Racing Association
Scifi Racer with motorcycles that go through the sound barrier and weapons
Onimusha 3 is a banger
Surprised I didn't see anyone mention Persona 3 FES.
The definitive version of Persona 3, before they simplified the combat system for 4, 5, and remakes of 3.
The epilogue of the game, The Answer, has the best story in the series.
Persona series is [almost] totally standalone; no need to play 1 or 2 first.
I wanted to say persona 3 FES as well, if you can't afford the remake on steam which is excellent btw.
Other similar options include Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne and the Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga duology
Is it better to play Persona 3 FES or Reload? I've already played P3P
If you played p3p I don't think playing p3fes or reload will be a new experience as the story remains mostly the same. Combat is the same with little differences between p3p and p3fes, but reload is closer to p5's gameplay.
P3P uses the same combat system as Persona 4 and 5, while the original P3 and P3FES system was quite different.
The actual changes are pretty subtle, but it makes the whole system feel totally different. The "1 More" mechanic did not activate on partial knockdowns with multi target moves, and being knocked down would result in skipped turn. Being hit while knocked down would also undo the knockdown.
Basically, multi target moves were much more situational, type weaknesses were much more dangerous (for both player characters and enemies), and there was a lot of potential strategy in getting enemies to skip turns.
I think it was a lot more interesting this way and P4/P3P/P5 simplified it to the point that P5 added a "play the game for me" button that autoselects the best move.
I agree with the other commenter that both P3Re or P3FES would be mostly the same as what you've already experienced, but I think it's worth it for the epilogue, especially if you liked the characters in the base game.
Between the two, I would personally recommend FES but I think most people would recommend Reload.
I'm bias, but Sly Raccoon is such a great series. I thoroughly enjoyed it growing up. I see you have Sly2 in your image. I would suggest starting with the first game and move up from there.
Lots of good suggestions from everyone.
No one mentioned Mr Moskeeto though!
We played the hell out of Shaun Palmer’s snowboarding. And I’m pretty sure we hammered Tony Hawk too.
Push 1v1 caused a lot of shouting matches between me and my brother. 10/10 would play again, that shit was genius.
Highly recommend playing 'Forbidden Siren', but WITH A WALKTHROUGH. Amazing and scary story, but for a slow gamer.
Dark Cloud 2 is a super unique dungeon crawler RPG. I absolutely love that game.
I just finished up a playthrough of SSX3 about a month ago, and I used PCSX2 for the playthrough. With the resolution unlocked and better texture filitering, the game's graphics hold up nicely. Locked 60fps (except for one level), and just a really stylized grahpical presentation that still feels modern.
In terms of gameplay, the controls definitely have a learning curve with having to preload jumps and sheer amount of button combinations the game expects you to use and remember, but boiled down you are usually just holding dpad for a spin and then your modifier button + a trigger. The game isn't particurally hard unless you are going for Platinum medals, and I found the soundtrack pleasant enough to listen to as it ebbs and flows with how well you are doing on the course.
I definitely spent way more time with SSX Tricky as a kid, but after playing through SSX3 as an adult, I would definitely say 3 is a much more polished and approachable game than Tricky.
Some small niche games that I grew up with, that I am playing again with my Steam Deck:
God Hand - A third person beat em up that is funny, and really good. Full of flavor. Complete flop.
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - A third person shooter with psionic powers used as its main selling point. Good dumb fun on the PS2.
Spyhunter & Spyhunter 2 - A shockingly good reboot of Spyhunter by Midway games, where you have a car that transforms its mode depending on the mission. Part racing game, part spy game.
I-Ninja - A 3d action platformer that has Billy West as the lead, a ninja who accidentally killed his Master and now has to get him back and collect bullshit trinkets. Clearly more "just dumb fun" than anything serious.
007: Nightfire - The best James Bond game ever made. Better than Goldeneye. Plays like its an original movie, with solid gameplay, and I spent as many hours on the local multiplayer as I did with Halo.I didn't see that, but I wanted to share that I love that game.Evil Dead A Fistful of Bootstick - Still need to play more to see if it holds up, but its an original story featuring Bruce Campbell voice acting.
Silent Hill 2, obviously.
Kuon - FromSoftware
Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex
Robotech Battlecry (the Xbox release was better, but the PS2 one is fine)
Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc (there is an English patch)
Shadow Tower Abyss (there is an English patch)
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence & Curse of Darkness
Haunting Ground
Ultimate Spiderman
Winback
Xenosaga 1-3
Cold Fear (PC version is probably a better pick though)
This is an obscure one, and not high on most people's lists, but my personal favourite PS2 game is Steel Lancer International, a game where you build mechs and take them into arena battles in a post-apocalyptic future.
The original Fatal Frame trilogy are some of the best horror games I’ve played. Not only are they genuinely scary without using a lot of blood, but they have difficulty that connects well with the scariness.
It occasionally feels “unfair” and makes you feel vulnerable, but is still relatively doable so that you don’t get overwhelmed. At times you’ll be retreading old ground just trying to solve a puzzle when another ghost will come at you out of nowhere.
It depends on whether piracy is in the mix. If it is, that opens up assorted unofficially translated games. Super Robot Wars: Original Generations, for instance, if you are into strategy mecha games.
Metal Saga might appeal if you are into sandbox RPGs and a lover of tanks. Also, dogs with rocket launchers on their back.
Jak and Daxter as well as Ratchet and Clank are both fun series. Jak was always weird in emulators for me, but maybe it works now.
Better to use openGOAL to play the Jak and Daxter games, the work they do to make them native is absolute magic
https://opengoal.dev/
The original Yakuza games! Yakuza and Yakuza 2. There is a patch out now to for the original Japanese dub for the first game
Metal gear solid 2: snake eater
If you've never played the genre before, I'd throw dynasty warriors at you. Pick whichever was the highest number available, because quality of life improved so much for each one. It's an endless sea of mooks that you smash through until you come up against the wall that is... LU BU!!!
Fuck Lu Bu
In three kingdoms china, Lu Bu fucks you!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PlayStation_2_video_games
I'd just start reading at the top and play some that look fun. Sales are a fair proxy for "good" games. I'm sure there are ratings lists too, if you feel so inclined.
(You can probably skip all the sports games, though.)
NBA Street Vol 2 or V3. Never found another sports game that's as much fun.
Games only last a few minutes and there's no concept of seasons or anything. It's just casual streetball where no rules matter - including the rules of physics.
The legend of dragoon
The original Yakuza 1 and 2, though I'd recommend the Restored mods for each because the localizations (especially Y1's dub) were notoriously awful. Hilarious at first, but that wears off fast. (Though it is so funny to me how Y7 dub Kiryu's VA is the original VA from Y1, you'd think they would've wanted to forget that ever happened LOL)
When I first played the series I played the remakes first, and after going back and playing the originals I understood why so many series vets weren't happy with the remakes. Y2 especially has some of the best feeling combat in the franchise.
I'll recommend Kinetica. It's a one-of-a-kind racing game where you race through gravity-defying tracks as a person in a kind of iron-man negligee with wheels while listening to old-school techno.
Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite games ever, battling entities big enough that you run around on top of them, subtle storytelling, an enormous map for the time it was made, and fairly large even by modern standards.
The Tenchu games are also good: ninja stealth assassination.
Dark Cloud 2 is a kind of fun game. Smack your way through dungeons with a wrench and use the bits to build villages for your allies.
Bloody Roar is a favorite for fighting games. Fight to BIOS energy then transform into a wilder form, like a mole, a bear, etc. and you can kick people through the edges of the arenas into new areas to fight.
Devil May Cry is a classic.
Ratchet and Clank, classic.
Time Splitters is reminiscent of even older games.
Red Faction 2 wasn't a bad little shooter.
If you can get a webcam working for Eyetoy games, we played a fuckton of the window cleaning game. Even though its objectively shit.
Gun
Tmnt
Silent hill 2 Tekken
But my actual favorite was guitar hero.
The EA Sports BIG titles are stupid fun. Highly recommend SSX Tricky, NBA Street Vol. 2, and NFL Street 2.
MX vs ATV Unleased is a classic. Great racing game.
ATV Offroad Fury 2 is fantastic, but hard to emulate.
I'm sure I'll think of more, but those are great off the top of my head.
Haunting Ground
I had a ton of fun with Unreal Tournament. I got into the zone while playing Instagib CTF.
The Shadow Hearts series! I so badly wish it was remade so I could play it again.
Also, Magna Carta.
Final Fantasy isn't continuous. Aside from races, the occasional character name, and some thematic elements, the games are not connected at all. PS2 has two of the best: 10 and 12.
Of the two, 10 is a more traditional turn-based experience with notoriously awful-in-a-good-way voice acting and a very typical FF plot. It's not really a spoiler to say that you end up killing god. It features some of the most egregiously awful mini games to grace the franchise. And if you want some of the best gear in the game, you will be committing a not -insignificant amount of time to frustrating button mashing.
Square tried a whole bunch of new stuff with 12 including realtime, MMO-like combat and a much smaller and focused narrative that is mostly a side story occurring inside a larger narrative. The voice acting is infinitely better than 10's, and there are no obnoxious mini games.
They're both still worth playing. The PC ports don't add all that much to the games over what you can do with them emulated. In fact, I bet save states make some of the mini game awfulness of 10 better.
I did not intend to write an essay...
I recommend giving graffiti kingdom a try. It's a 3d platform er where you draw your own character.
Not sure how well it holds up since nobody mentions it, but Tiny Tank was fun when I was a kid!
You're a sarcastic tank and fight other huge robots after they took over the world basically. You have 4 spots on your tank to put a lot of different weapons and could upgrade them during the level with positronic brains from enemies to make them more advanced (e.g. homing missiles, faster firing, etc.)
Reminds me of Sand Land!
I haven't heard about Sand Land at all, but after checking it out, that looks cool!
Do PS2s even work anymore?
They do, of course. There's also a gigantic scene where people modify the consoles. But check my screenshots, this is using PCSX2 via RetroDECK on my Steam Deck, not native hardware.
I've heard the drives crap out. I'm not a PS2 gamer or expert, just wondering.
DVD drive laser does. They're replaceable however. I replaced mine once because I also used a Swap Magic case mod to play burned discs at the time which accelerates laser wear. Outdated method these days.
Most tech savvy users just soft mod and run games off a hard drive for the fat models or over network LAN for fat/slim. Storing the games on a PC or NAS instead.
PSBBN (PlayStation Broadband Navigator), is a newer alternative to the FreeMcBoot memory card mod for the PS2.
I fing love this post. You're making me feel old but I'm glad younger peeps appreciate these games too. Igrew up on the PS2 and you've already got some amazing games there including some I missed and might have to try myself.
Anyway, here's my favourites. You have to try try the Ratchet and Clank games, at least the first one! They're still super unique and iconic today. I feel the most nostalgic about the 1st but the 3rd (going commando) probably has the best gameplay. The second is a longer, harder grind but still great. And the 4th (gladiator) is similar to the 3rd, but less story.
Other than that, Red Dead Revolver, Jak and Daxter, Medal of Honor Rising Sun and Battlefield 2 were all amazing. And Sly 3 if you liked Sly 2.
I have the Jack and Daxter games, and have them not emulated. openGOAL decompiled the games so they run natively on PC - which is the way to play them: https://opengoal.dev/
And I've been enjoying the Quest for Booty Ratchet & Clank game, via RPCS3! I know I didn't start at the first, but I'm having such a fun time with it!
Gitaroo Man!
I only played it recently but it really feels like an underrated gem that you don’t see mentioned that often in lists of “best PS2 games”
It’s a rhythm game with goofy visuals and cutscenes. Also super hard at points but the music is great!
Not played by many because it's one of the last releases on PS2, but if you like horror games then check out Rule of Rose. Up there for some of the best graphics on the console too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Rose
Others are suggesting Resident Evil Outbreak File 1 and 2. It's much better played online with other people than AI. There's fan server support: https://obsrv.org/ (you have to make an account to see the forum, sorry) and they have guides to set it up on PCSX2. I'd recommend learning how to install it to the virtual hard drive because the loading times are pretty awful otherwise and server hosts generally only make hard drive install only servers.
Their Discord community is a good way to find a group to play with, unless you have a few willing friends :)
Silent Hill 2 and Fatal Frame
I have a bit of an odd one for you; Ephemeral Fantasia. It's a jrpg for very eclectic tastes. It's a game in which you're dealing with time loops. You can think of it as a mix between Groundhog Day and your average jrpg. Little bit like Majora's Mask but more extreme I'd say.
May have been suggested already but Arc the Lad: Twilight of the spirits
It's an interesting story who's main overarching theme is messy families. The protagonists family gets separated very early at their birth, fathers lose their families and vice versa.
Devil may cry! And the follow up if you like it
Primal is a game that got a lot of hype at the time but nobody ever seems to talk about any more. No remaster, no sequel, nothing.
I love Magic Pengel and Graffiti Kingdom. First is a turn-based JRPG, second is an action platformer. Both share the same gimmick where you collect materials to make the characters you play with the clunky in-game 3D modeler.
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 or 3
Wild ARMS 3 Godzilla: Save the Earth
R-Type Final -- more than 100 fighters to unlock across a branching campaign, including at least one secret stage.
I was a little disappointed with R-Type Final 2, but I might need to just play more.
The only PS2 game I ever played was a Toy Story 3 game and it was pretty good
Twisted Metal Black Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (there are pc/steam remasters which are good, but this was my first Atlus game when it came out and it was fantastic to me). any/all of the Sly Cooper games Burnout 3 Robot Alchemic Drive Armored Core (any of the ps2 releases were good I think) Ace Combat Pro Evolution Soccer 5, 6 or 2014 Onimusha Tenchu I didn't play it originally but I've heard good things about Auto Modellista
Steambot Chronicles is my favorite game of all time. It's not well known, but absolutely incredible.
So judging from the comments, there is your ps2 games recommendations: the entire PlayStation 2 library.
The important thing (to me) is the comments where I can tell the writer is utterly in love with a certain game, and does all they can to convince me to play it. And I've gotten a fair list of games I'm adding this way!
Makes sense. Speaking of which, I have to break your rule. I think some people have already 'splained that Final Fantasy isn't as complicated as it seems, you can mostly jump in anywhere. Or to keep it simple, the best start is Final Fantasy X International. For me, Final Fantasy VII will always be my favorite just because it was the first one I played, and especially at a tumultuous time in my life. It was comfort food.
But so was X, and it really can't be emphasized enough how much of a phenomenon this game was when it first came out. The graphics for it's time blew people away and even hold up to some extent by today's standards (especially if you count the remasters). The story is like something you'd expect out of a Pixar film - it will tug at your heartstrings. The gameplay itself is so easy to get into, and even easier to be completely absorbed by. I love the sphere grid. The worldbuilding is rich, and the aesthetic is dreamy. I went back and replayed it somewhat recently, and was shocked because a lot of games and content in general have not aged well; but X definitely aged like wine.
There's a plot thread involving the main character and his struggles to be himself in spite of years of resentment toward his father's verbal abuse and toxic masculinity. When I was a kid I kind of felt embarrassed to be playing through those scenes if others were around, but it hits closer to home now that we are at least beginning (at least in some spaces/circles) to push past those cliches and have a little breathing room to let go of outdated masculinity norms ourselves. It's not a perfect game, but it does seem like it was a bit ahead of its time.
Yeah, easily in my top ten, maybe even top five.