RF Generation Message Board

Who's up for some more Sony?

[img width=700 height=231]https://cdn.retrorgb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PlayStation2Page.jpg[/img]

While the PS1 got lots of love, the PS2 was an even more popular, possibly being the highest selling console all-time. It was one of the first gaming systems that also served as an entertainment center, doubling as not only a gaming system but a DVD and CD player as well.

More than 1200 games saw a release in NA regions, and more than triple that number worldwide. But what were the best? Join us this March in helping make that decision.

Participants-

EZ Racer*
shaggy*
Crabmaster2000*
SpriteCell*
Mr_Stubbes*
Fokakis79*
Disposed Hero*
ZX Kid

How to participate-

1. Make an ordered list of whatever games are your favorites for the system being covered that month.

-Make your list about what games you think are the best that system has to offer, NOT necessarily the most important. (For example, Super Mario Bros. is one of the most influential games in VG history, but not many would call it a better game than SMB3)

-Also, your list needs to be limited to games you have personally played. Don't include a game just because you've heard it's good, include a game because you know it's good.

-For a few of the games, try to include a few thoughts on why that particular game made your list. That way, those not as familiar with the game can see why it's one they should put on their radar.

2. Personal Message EZ Racer with your ordered list.

Just put "Top 20 games for the (whatever system we're covering that month)" in the subject line. Throughout the month, I will be compiling the results, and release a full list based on votes sent in. I will be putting extra weight on games voted for the top of the lists, so please make sure that your games are listed in numeric order. The reasoning behind a private vote is so that each member's vote can be their own, not influenced by what they think others would want.

The voting cutoff each month will be the last day of the month at 11:59 EST.

Please stick to NA and PAL releases.

Looking forward to parring this vast library down!

Oh no! This is going to be a tough one to widdle down

I'm in!

I’m in too

Got my list down to 34 by being incredibly picky. Gonna be some REALLY tough cuts from here on out to narrow it down to 20

Well, this is sad....  I have over 100 PS2 games and I can't come up with 20, I only have 14.  I've only played about a quarter of these games.  I can't put GTA in this list as I didn't play them on the PS2, only the Xbox.

Hopefully we've got people out there getting lists ready. Haven't gotten much in terms of feedback yet. When I was putting one of my own together for this, like shaggy it was harder than I thought to come up with 20 that I really believed in, but in the same breath I feel like any of my top 6 I could easily put at #1.

I’m in

It'll probably be another last-minute submission, but expect a list from me also.

Still having trouble getting mine down to 20

I'll try and get something together this time.

Finally got my list down to 20. Now to arrange the order :/

Think I got it. Going to sit on it for a day and see how I feel in the morning. Only 7 out of my top 10 are RPGs!

I'm in the same boat. I've played embarrassingly few RPGs on the PS2. I'll need to fix that going forward! Hopefully the Top 20 list will give me some good suggestions.

List sent. With how large the library is and how many great games there are to choose from I'll be surprised if more than 3 of my picks actually make the final list.

I have a list made. Just having trouble arranging were I want everything. My exposure to the PS2 is very limited and there are a lot of games that I haven't played that I feel will be on a majority of lists.

Last day. Get your lists in!

Decided to stop deliberating over it and just sent mine in. Looking forward to seeing the results!

Got my list submitted yesterday. It's gonna be a weird one!

My only prediction this time is that Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy X both make the top 3

So while this probably wasn't unexpected, out of 7 voters exactly 100 games got at least one vote. Of those 100 games, 78 were single vote getters!

I'll start posting them soon...

That's not surprising, in a way. The PS2 library is huge, and there's enough diversity of tastes here that I can see that scenario pretty easily.

Awesome. Let's uncover some hidden gems

Time for some also-rans


One 20th place vote


Fatal Frame II

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary- "Namco's biggest early arcade hits in a huge collection? Yes please!"

Silent Hill 4: The Room- "A bit of a departure for the series that has both its good and bad points. I generally enjoyed it overall, but it's definitely a mixed bag."

Rock Band- "Yes, it was gimmicky. But it was also a lot of fun. For a few years, when my friends and I would have our annual Super Bowl party, we'd skip the real halftime show in favor of our own Rock Band version. Needless to say those years we rarely saw the beginning of the 3rd quarter."


One 19th place vote


Resident Evil Outbreak

Max Payne

Dead of Alive 2: Hardcore- "Some of the best fighting game action on the PS2, even if it falls ever so slightly short of the Xbox remake."

Madden 2002- "Yes, I realize that the only difference in most of the Madden franchise is the rosters, but Madden '02 was special because you could create your own team through an expansion draft, and build it from the ground up. We've seen the NHL games utilize this feature in recent years, but 2002 was the only time it appeared in a Madden."

Grand Theft Auto 3- "I remember having a lot of fun with this game back in the day. A little rough around the edges compared to its sequels, but nobody can deny the impact this game had."


One 18th place vote



King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga

Madden '07

Sly 2: Band of Thieves

LEGO Batman- "While it lacks the voice acting of its sequel, this game still oozes with charm, and is tons of fun."


One 17th place vote


Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast

Tony Hawk's Underground

The Simpsons: Road Rage

Buffy: Chaos Bleeds- "Some of my vote for this game is nostalgia, and some is because this is based on my favorite TV series ever. But for 3D action games, this is still a solid pick, and an improvement over its Xbox-exclusive predecessor."


One 16th place vote


Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

Ico

Soul Calibur III

The Warriors- "A great game based on a great movie. I've played through this with a friend a couple of times and we've always had a blast with it."

Burnout 3: Takedown- "I'm no fan of racing games, but this is so much fun, with the crashing, and the different stunts you can do."


One 15th place vote


Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

SSX

Guilty Gear XX- "While a half-step down from the Xbox version, X2 Reload, this is still peak 2D fighting during this console generation."


Lots to sift through remain...

More of the rundown-

One 14th place vote

Red Dead Revolver

Jak and Daxter: The Pre-Cursor Legacy


One 13th place vote

MVP Baseball 2005

Viewtiful Joe 2

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

Marvel vs Capcom 2

Time Crisis 2

R-Type Final- "For those who complain shooting games are too short, how about playing it with just over 100 different ships, some with vastly different weapon loadouts, and requiring different strategies for each level?"


One 12th place vote

Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex

Psychonauts

Tekken Tag

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas- "It's technically the best of the PS2 GTA games, but the setting didn't click with me nearly as much as Vice City."

Star Wars: Battlefront II- "A monster Star Wars action game that everyone who's a fan of the franchise should play."


One 11th place vote

Star Wars: Battlefront

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

Castlevania Lament of Innocence

Indigo Prophecy

Spy Hunter- "An interesting take on the idea of the original Spy Hunter arcade game, but with much more fleshed out ideas. It doesn't get everything right, but it gets enough right to be engaging."


One 10th place vote

Maximo: Ghost to Glory

The Suffering

Xenosaga II

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2- "In a game where you really need to make long term plans about who is going to learn which skills, it’s  frustrating how much your party members come and go, but otherwise a nice improvement from the previous game."

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection- "It's pinball, need I say more? Okay, it's classic Williams pinball, with tables faithfully recreated in video game form. A must own for fans of pinball."

Mega Man X Collection- "The early X titles are high quality adventures, and you can't go wrong getting 6 for the price of 1, not to mention some interesting unlockable bonus games. One of the smartest purchases I feel I've ever made."


Still got more coming...

Yep, as I suspected, lots of my choices already gone. Oh well, at least they're here, preserved for posterity :)

Last of the also-rans

One 9th place vote

Xenosaga III

Resident Evil: Code Veronica X

Shinobi/Nightshade- "I'm cheating a bit here, but Shinobi & Nightshade are kind of 2 sides of the same coin. This reimagining of the classic Sega series might not have struck commercial gold the way the Ninja Gaiden reboot did on the Xbox, but they're fluid action and interesting mechanics are worth your time anyway, as long as you're up for a challenge."

Yu-Gi-Oh: Duelists of the Roses- "What an underrated game. It plays as a strategic video board game, with a surprising amount of thought put into it. I just wish it was easier to collect the cards in game."


One 8th place vote

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

Xenosaga

Castle Shikigami 2- "Is this the best shmup on the PS2? Could be. But it's definitely the best Western-released shooter that most people have never played, and my personal favorite in the Shikigami trilogy."

Kingdom Hearts II- "A welcome revisit to Sora and friends, but unfortunately wrapped inside a much too complicated story"


One 7th place vote

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

Capcom Classics Collection 1&2- "As if the Mega Man collection wasn't enough, we also got a pair of excellent Capcom arcade collections that were a good early example of quality emulation, before most of us knew about real commercial emulation."

Need for Speed Underground 2- "Probably my favorite Need for Speed game. I’ve probably logged over a hundred hours in this title alone as a kid just messing around and customizing cars."

Nascar Thunder 2004- "While it's easy to dismiss this as just another yearly produced sports title, it's so much more. Great physics, deep career mode, roaring soundtrack and all kinds of other nice details make it one of the best racing games ever made, and easily the best Nascar game ever made."


One 6th place vote

Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero

Taiko Drum Master

Devil May Cry

SSX Tricky


One 5th place vote

Silent Hill 2- "The pinnacle of the Silent Hill franchise introduced many new staples for the series. An excellent soundtrack and an unforgettable story elevate this game to the top of the survival-horror genre."

Lego Star Wars- "The Star Wars prequels were rife for parody, and this game does a great job of straddling the line between that, and loving send-up, while asserting the high quality the LEGO games became known for, after this point."


One 4th place vote

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Tales of the Abyss

Guitar Hero III- "I put a ton of time into GH3, and it's easy to see why, with the great song selection, fun mechanics, and awesome presentation."


One 3rd place vote

Medal of Honor: European Assault- "A bit of personal bias here, but as a non-FPS player, this game totally captivated me, and won me over with both the story tie-in, and the solid action."

Gran Turismo 4- "An absolutely incredible opening introduction that still gives me chills to this day. This racing simulator gives off an amazing sensation and feel of actually being in the car racing, in a way that no game before it had done and few consoles games have pulled off since. The music in the opening is so well done, I actually took my PS2 to a college music class I was taking at the time I first purchased the game, because I wanted to share the music with my class."


One 2nd place vote

Gradius V- "If anyone was skeptical about what shmups could be, and look like in a modern 3D graphics context, this game proved it could be spectacular. Also, it's a great game!"

Dog's Life- "This is a game that I'm sure no one else will put on there list or even have heard of but it's worth every penny.  This is one of my favorite games on the PS2.  You play as a dog and must rescue your girlfriend.  You do different quests for people, use your nose to sniff out things, have peeing questions, and several other things.  The camera can be a bit wonky but I recommend you try this out."


So if you're counting, you'll notice there should be three more single votes, and they're all #1's. I thought it might be better to include them as honorable mentions since they scored better than the few other games that received multiple low votes, as you can see in the following-

Arc the Lad: Twilight of Spirits (#20, #17)

"The only game in the series I've played, but it's a pretty good RPG. It can also still be had for dirt cheap, so pick it up if you see it."


Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny (#14, #12)

"Keeps the core experience of the first Onimusha mostly intact, but adds in some unnecessary fluff such as a town with interactive NPCs that brings the experience down in my opinion."


Some major titles in this list, so I hope it creates a little discussion...

Geez, I think my whole list might end up on the cutting room floor  :-\

Lol, I'm right there with you

Surprisingly, I think I only have 3 or 4 of the above games.

Nailed it!!

Here's my list. HUGE high five to whoever was the other person to put Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s on their list!!



20. Final Fantasy X
19. Resident Evil Outbreak
18. King of Fighters Collection The Orochi Saga
17. Tony Hawk's Underground
16. Ico
15. Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s
14. Kingdom Hearts
13. Marvel vs Capcom 2
12. Psychonauts
11. Castlevania Lament of Innocence
10. Xenosaga II
9. Xenosaga III
8. Xenosaga
7. Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance 2
6. Devil May Cry
5. Onimusha
4. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Persona 3
2. Odin Sphere
1.Persona 4

That would be me.  Best Guitar Hero ever.  What do I win? :laugh:


Here's my list:

1. Beyond Good & Evil
2. Dog's Life This is a game that I'm sure no one else will put on there list or even have heard of but it's worth every penny.  This is one of my favorite games on the PS2.  You play as a dog and must rescue your girlfriend.  You do different quests for people, use your nose to sniff out things, have peeing questions, and several other things.  The camera can be a bit wonky but I recommend you try this out.
3. Silent Hill 3
4. Metal Gear Solid 2
5. Guitar Hero: Rock The 80's
6. Taiko Drum Master
7. Kingdom Hearts
8. Final Fantasy X
9. Metal Gear Solid 3
10. The Suffering
11. Final Fantasy XII
12. Dragon Quest VIII
13. Viewtiful Joe 2
14. Final Fanasty X-2

My list:

1.   Resident Evil 4 – It took one of my favorite series into a bold new direction, for better or worse. Say what you will about its sequels, but this is an amazing game, and revolutionary in its own right.

2.   Final Fantasy X – I feel like this is probably the most divisive game in the series, but I am a big fan of this entry.

3.   Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – I was in my mid-teens when this game came out and was diving deep into 80s metal, so this really was a case of the right game at the right time for me. Driving through the 80s-era cityscape causing as much chaos as I could with classic thrash metal blaring on the radio was a sublime experience.

4.   Kingdom Hearts – I initially hated this game, and it took many years and many attempts to finally get into it. When it finally clicked for me, I found it to be an engrossing experience.

5.   Silent Hill 2 – The pinnacle of the Silent Hill franchise introduced many new staples for the series. An excellent soundtrack and an unforgettable story elevate this game to the top of the survival-horror genre.

6.   Silent Hill 3 – One of the best survival-horror titles out there. Not quite as good as Silent Hill 2 in my opinion, but very nearly so.

7.   Onimusha: Warlords – This game oddly didn't click with me when playing it back in the day, but I absolutely fell in love with it when revisiting it more recently. Streamlines the classic Resident Evil formula a bit and adds in some pretty satisfying hack & slash action.

8.   God of War II

9.   Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X

10.   Shadow of the Colossus – Doesn't quite hit as high a mark for me as it does for most people, but this is still a great game regardless. Very few things in gaming are as satisfying as taking down a colossus.

11.   Indigo Prophecy

12.   Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – It's technically the best of the PS2 GTA games, but the setting didn't click with me nearly as much as Vice City.

13.   Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

14.   Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny – Keeps the core experience of the first Onimusha mostly intact, but adds in some unnecessary fluff such as a town with interactive NPCs that brings the experience down in my opinion.

15.   God of War

16.   The Warriors – A great game based on a great movie. I've played through this with a friend a couple of times and we've always had a blast with it.

17.   Arc The Lad: Twilight of the Spirits – The only game in the series I've played, but it's a pretty good RPG. It can also still be had for dirt cheap, so pick it up if you see it.

18.   Bully

19.   Grand Theft Auto 3 – I remember having a lot of fun with this game back in the day. A little rough around the edges compared to its sequels, but nobody can deny the impact this game had.

20.   Silent Hill 4: The Room – A bit of a departure for the series that has both its good and bad points. I generally enjoyed it overall, but it's definitely a mixed bag.

A few thoughts:

I would have loved to have included Persona 4 on my list and put it in the number 1 spot, but I only played the Vita version and wasn't sure how close the two experiences were. If it's anything like comparing Persona 5 to P5 Royal, then I think there are too many changes for me to include P4 without having played the PS2 version. I also had a similar dilemma with Dragon Quest VIII versus its 3DS counterpart.

There are quite a few games that I played a long time ago that could have been potential contenders for my list, but it's been so long that I really don't remember them at all. These include (but are not limited to) Tekken Tag Tournament, Kessen, FFX-2, FFXII, MGS2, Devil May Cry, and possibly some WWF/E Smackdown games.

I'm really disappointed that not a single other person voted for Silent Hill 2.

@shaggy - a high five!!

@disposed hero - that was one of my tough cuts. That one and Castle Shikigami 2 hurt to bit make my list. I had way to many games I wanted on mine. This was the hardest one for me to put together yet

I played it on Xbox so I couldn't put it on this list.

Gotta ask, was Mercenaries even on anyone else's radar? I put it as my #1, and was shocked that no one else even had it in their top 20.

I never heard of it.

I have a natural dislike for any military themed game so it was never a contender for me.

I think I played it a bit on the XBOX back in the day, but it didn't really grab me at the time. Had a similar experience with the sequel. Wasn't on my radar when putting my list together.