The PlayStation 2 in my opinion still has one of the greatest video game libraries ever and I have yet to see a system top it. Seriously, there is a reason I kept playing it even though all of my friends moved on to their fancy Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s. After all, the system was supported and had games being released for it as late as 2013! That is an amazing run. I’m here today to talk about a handful of games that I experienced that truly meant something to me. I bring you my top PS2 games.
We <3 Katamari
Such a simple concept, yet so incredibly addicting. I spent hours rolling the little ball around discovering new areas withing the huge levels or finding new objects to pick up. The music was beyond catchy as well. What made We <3 Katamari so great to me was the variety in the levels. Each of these levels take the basic concept of rolling around random things located throughout the levels and does something interesting with it. One level has you feeding a sumo to make him big enough to face off in a ring, another has you trying to catch enough fireflies to provide enough light for someone to be able to read a book, another has you building a snowman. I used to spend hours upon hours playing and replaying this game with my friends. And we all loved every second of it.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner is one of if not my favorite 3D action game of all time. It is smooth, fast paced, lets you ride a badass mech, looks incredible, and has an amazing soundtrack. Unfortunately, not a lot of people are familiar with it. Zone of the Enders was a series that was forever in the shadow of the much more popular Metal Gear Solid series. Those of you that bothered to give this series a shot, you know that it is a great 3D mecha action game. The 2nd Runner makes several improvements over the first one and is just an overall tighter experience. Unfortunately, the HD remake does not do this game justice, so I recommend getting the PS2 version.
Mega Man X8
After the negative reception of Mega Man X7, many people overlooked this one. Mega Man X8 is a solid 2.5D action platformer that really brought the series back to what it did best: provide non-stop action and look good while doing it! The amount of content in this game is insane and multiple playthroughs are more than encouraged. In fact, this is one of those games that actually gets better the more times you finish it because you unlock new weapons, armors and even some new characters — and I do not mean Axl! This game got quite a bit of criticism when it came out, mainly because of how it looked too old school in comparison to some of Capcom’s other action games of the time like Devil May Cry, Onimusha or Viewtiful Joe. If you like Mega Man or if you’re trying to get into the series, you really owe it to yourself to give this game a try.
Bully
Here is an unpopular opinion: I actually like Bully more than GTA. In fact, what I really like about Bully, was that you never killed anyone or even injured them severely. If a character was defeated they would simply lay on the ground in pain then get up and run away a few seconds later. I loved exploring the school campus and getting to know all of the students and trying to make a name for myself among the different cliques. I also liked that the player is free to romance both men and women. I remember this game getting criticized for allowing the player to do that back then, meanwhile today’s games like Tomodachi Life get criticized for not including a feature like that. Interesting how times change.
Okami
I could spend this whole article talking about why Okami is such a magical game. Okami is often compared to 3D Zelda, especially Twilight Princess since they came out within months of each other. While there are some similarities, I would argue that, at times, Okami does a better job at being Zelda than Zelda. You play as a silent but very expressive wolf named Amaterasu and it is your duty to restore faith to people who are on the verge of despair. This game is great in that you really feel like what you do actually matters and affects the game environment in a significant way. Also, the artstyle is beyond gorgeous. Watching Ammy run around is so entertaining and seeing everyone in the game become inspired by her actions is really heartwarming. Okami tells a great story not just through cutscenes but through the setting, which, to me, is one of the best ways to design a video game. Okami received an HD remake on the PS3 so be sure to check that out if you do not have a PS2 hooked up.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha VS the Soulless Army and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs King Abbadon
Those titles are a mouthful but trust me they are worth it. These are two of the more unknown games in the relatively unknown Shin Megami Tensei series. They are action adventure games that take place in 1930s Japan. You play as a demon summoning detective whose purpose in life is to protect the capital. One thing you will notice when you play it is how smooth it is. I could spend so long just watching Raidou run around the city but that is not even where the game gets fun. You can partner up with several demons you come across along the way and fuse them into even stronger creatures or even into your own sword. The battles are action packed with Raidou shooting, slashing and backflipping his way around enemy attacks. The storyline in both games is actually really good and can even be influenced by your decisions. In the second game, luck plays a major role in the story, and as a result the luck stat actually affects quite a bit in the game. YES, a game where the luck stat actually matters. I never hear anyone talk about these two games when it comes to Shin Megami Tensei, and that is a shame. These two games have gone on sale multiple times on PSN. Have you bought them yet?
So those are my Top 5, or rather Top 7 PS2 games. So what if I broke the rules? That just goes to show you just how incredible this system was.
Want to check out what other contributors think? Click here for the rest of the lists.
