Hi Chaps, This will sounds somewhat retarded to many, but I've never played PS2. I had a Dreamcast way-back-when and got an XBOX after that then a 360 and PS3 after that (though just have a PS3 here in Japan at the moment). I have an extensive Dreamcast collection back home in the UK thanks to my previous trips to Japan, so re-buying some games again seems a little silly I suppose (though I might still do that some day). Thus, I am thinking of purchasing a PS2 here in Japan. The second-hand market is like nothing I have seen before. So many shops have PS2 games for sale it's really quite remarkable. So, I am just wondering, if people could list a few games that they recommend me to play! I'm into arcade racers, SCHMUPS, weird and exclusive titles and also would be interested picking up some Saturn/Dreamcast conversions. I'm not necessarily looking for the "top 10 games" but just some games that people really recommend I play. I will most likely get GT5 soon on my PS3, so buying a GT game might not be necessary, for example. I also have Wipeout HD, Blazblue and SSF IV. Thoughts and opinions are welcomed, I am sure that top 10s for the PS2 have been covered to death, but I hold your opinions in high regard. Cheers, Martin
Rez + Dildo? There was a mech game my friend and I played when it launched for a fair bit. It is probably shit by comparison to other games but it was one of the only games he had at the time (close to euro launch?) and so we found a way to like it. I'm pretty sure it was called Ring of Red. It was a little bit unconventional so could be up your street. Wikipedia Gamespot review 7.9/10 Gameplay basic training video We also enjoyed Fur Fighters. He went on to enjoy Metal Gear Solid 2 and Final Fantasy X without me, damned Phantasy Star Online
Most of the Dreamcast fighting collection was made available on the PS2 (Naming some Garou mark of the wolves which has a nice box art, Street fighter 3rd strike etc) Theres some Neo Geo collections, ICO, Shadow of Colossus, MGS anniversary collection, Okami ( really good original game) I'll try and think of some more my minds gone blank
Odin Sphere - I've never seen art in a game quite like it. Grim Grimoire to a lesser extent (it's by the same company). Okami - 3D Zelda-style gameplay in a world that looks like a living watercolour painting. Go watch a youtube vid, it's stunning. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus always get a mention for their graphics too, they're somewhat atypical games from a design perspective... both kind of hauntingly desolate and bleak. Great art direction, I think they miss more than hit when it comes to gameplay but they need to be seen either way. There is Wipeout Fusion for PS2, I played it a bit but it's pretty frustrating as I recall. I loved Wipeout HD, absolutely hooked by it, but that PS2 game ticked me off. I'm probably not hardcore enough. Gradius V is impeccable as shmups go, if you're a fan of that genre you need this game. R-Type Final tends to get mentioned along side though I didn't get as much out of it. There are some Cave shooters, I'll leave GP to give you the lowdown on those though if he feels like it. Fahrenheit (I think it was called Project Indigo in the States?) - by the same lot who did Heavy Rain for PS3 recently. An interesting and pretty unique attempt at telling an interactive story through a videogame. Be warned that the plot gets pretty over the top toward the end, which seemed unnecessary to me, but I'll leave it at that. One of the things I liked the most about the PS2 was walking into a store and just picking up something that looked weird and interesting. There are loads of peculiar titles, forgotten games like Mr Mosquito, in which you're pretty much just a mosquito going around biting people, or Freak Out, a surreal platform game by Treasure that mostly defies explanation. There'll be millions of Japan-only games that I've never heard of, too, bound to be gems in there. (God damn, that's a wall of text. Post over.)
Shmups : Ikaruga Dodonpachi Daioujou Psyvariar Gradius V Fighters : Tekken Tag Tournament Tekken 5 Hokuto No Ken Street Fighter 15th Anniversary Godhand Some Neo Geo collections (assorted fighters) Others : The Metal Gear Series ICO Shadow Of the Colossus Cant go wrong with the above
Thanks for all the replies guys! Just the kind of info I wanted This is a serious contender, though tracking it down might be a bit harder. Without a credit card I can't use Yahoo at the moment. I did enjoy playing Rez HD recently on the 360. Coolio. It's good to hear about some remakes... I remember reading that one of the Street Fighters was more "arcade original" on PS2 than the Dreamcast... and I thoroughly love them on the Dreamcast! Wow, thanks a lot! Ideal type of list there. Something to really get my teeth into by the sounds of it. I am hoping my mediocre Japanese skills won't hold me back too much! Great list, thanks!! Enjoyed those both immensely on the Dreamcast and Rez on the 360. I guess I might even be able to get a second hand 360 for used PS2 prices here in Japan... the old consoles seem rather cheap (though might just RRoD in a day!). Thanks again guys, if you have anything more to add it would be appreciated. I'll go and check out some shops over the weekend!
The ones that i remember right now: Arcade Racers: Burnout 3 Takedown!, Burnout Revenge and Burnout Dominator, OutRun 2006 Coast To Coast Shooters: Gradius V, R-Type Final and Raiden III Fighting: Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Tekken 5
Don't forget ESPgaluda. Initial D: Special Stage is pretty good as well. And if we're talking about PS2 games in general, there's also Katamari Damacy and We ♥ Katamari.
There's a lot of good shmups. Shikigami no Shiro (1 and 2), a lot of Cave titles (Dodonpachi Dai Ou Jou, Mushihime-sama, Ibara, ESPgalauda...) And don't overlook the changes in titles between regions, for instance FreakOut was mentioned earlier, which was called Stretch Panic here in the states and Hippa Linda in Japan.
Persona 4 (RPG) Sega Ages Collection (the later ones) Gundam Seed Destiny (Zaft 2) GT4 Okami Man I envy you. Getting into the PS2 this late & being in japan of all places. God you're going to find more things to play then you have time for. =D
I absolutely loved Golf Paradise by T & E Software, nothing special graphically but the gameplay was sublime. Released in the West as Swing Away Golf by EA. And why has no-one mentioned Fantavision? Man, that game is awesome and the JPN release is the best too, with better music and a soft, warm female narration SSX too, or the first sequel, SSX Tricky are great racers as is Ridge Racer V. Mad Maestro is a lot of fun too. If you like fighting games, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum is a very good.
Won't be playing that on PS2. Gamecube, Dreamcast, or Xbox Live Arcade. I mentioned Fahrenheit, it's actually called Indigo Prophecy in the States. Oh, and if you're into rhythm/music games there's a few worth mentioning aside from the obvious plastic-guitar fare. Frequency and Amplitude, both by the same team as the first couple of Guitar Hero games, but oriented much more around electronic music and using the original PS2 pad. Also Guitaroo Man, uses the standard pad as well and is worth checking out. Quite short but the PS2 version is very difficult (PSP is easier iirc). I'd echo subbie's sentiment that you will find dramatically more games to play for PS2 than you have time to play them in
Oldschool games: Shin Contra God Hand (3D) Any classics compilation (Oretachi no Geesen-zoku series, Taito Memories series...) Sega Ages: Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box (Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier) Sega Ages: Fantasy Zone (best port w/lots of content) Sega Ages: Phantasy Star Collection (all games except for IV are playable in ENGLISH as well) shmups: dodonpachi daioujou (maniac vert) ESPGaluda (maniac vert) Ibara (maniac vert) Mushihisama (maniac vert) Raiden III Exzeal Gradius V (hori) Thunder Force VI (hori) (not that good, but cheap and has a great soundtrack) 3D action, ninja hack'n slay etc: Shinobi Kunoichi Genji Shinobido Imashime Chaos Legion Mark of Kri Argos no Senshi (aka Rygar) Metal Gear Solid 2+3 Zone of the Enders 1+2 great "obscure genre" games: Ka 2 Katamari Damashii We Love Katamari (part 2 of the game) Densha de GO! Shinkansen Densha de GO! Ryou-jou-hen (antique trams) Densha de GO! Professional 3 or Final (the best Densha allround package until today. You could also buy the fancy Limited Edition with a model train of Yamanote-sen O_O) Simple Series: The Dodgeball (very funny if you know the moves) any Bemani-Game (Beatmania, Guitar Freaks, Drummania, DDR) Meiwaku Seijin Panic Maker (impersonate an alien who tries to spy on humans in central Tokyo, but watch your camouflage. Also great cel-shading graphics ) There are tons of great games for the PS2 and they're dirt-cheap in Tokyo. You can have 500 jpn PS2 games without only one mediocre title, it's an endless mountain of good software. Enjoy the ride
Breath of Fire V is the best RPG there is for the PS2. Ace Combat 5, for me, was the best game of that generation, all three consoles combined. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT own a PS2 and not Play Ace Combat 04, 5 and Zero. But the best one is 5.
