You've probably noticed me lately saying that I've been almost nearly completely disappointed with the entire PS2 era of gaming.

This's the point where you list some of your favorite PS2 games, and explain to me that I DID NOT waste the amount of $$$ I originally put up for a PS2, much less the amount of time I put into some of those games...

Here're my picks:

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Beyond Good & Evil

An extremely atmospheric game with Zelda-styled gameplay, and a rather well-done plot of political conspiracy, if only basic. The stealth missions were pretty easy by stealth game standards, but what really sold this game for me was the cinematic, theatrical-like immersive feeling of being in the action.

When the enemy is chasing you, you have pyrotechnics going off around you, and the pursuers shouting to each other, and at you, you can't help feeling like you're actually in the game.

Some of the settings themselves were simply immersive: Hyllis City, and the first mineshaft dungeon were just nice places to be, as well as the Akuda Bar.

A short game, to be sure (10-14 hours), but when you're this good, you don't need to be a long-ass game, and sometimes, I appreciate a game you can finish within a week or weekend!

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Castlevania ~ Lament of Innocence

Another relatively short game, completable within a week or weekend, this game also really sold me on its atmosphere, mostly because of the music, but the visuals weren't any slouch, either.

Some say Castlevania doesn't belong in a 3D format, but as a hack n' slash game, I think Konami did pretty well with this one.

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Chaos Legion

This game is just...chaotic! I like a good button-masher! Between the gameplay, and the music, this game is just ACTION-PACKED! As an action game, I never thought Devil May Cry threw all that many enemies at you, but Chaos Legion really kept them coming! Your Legions (summoned familiars) added a decent amount of dynamics to the gameplay.

Really liked the bleak, desolate, medieval world setting; plot was decent, if though basic. Delacroix was kind of a rip-off of Sephiroth. Still enjoyed this game more than all get-out!

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Final Fantasy X

First time hearing voice-acting incorporated into a game almost every line in the game...the characters weren't very dynamic (except for maybe Auron...Auron was awesome, but I can't help thinking he was supposed to be the Morpheus of the Spira, and that Zanarkand was The Matrix of Spira)...the world, and its way of life, I believe, were the focus of the game, rather than the characters.

As far as being presented a new, different world, with its own way of doing things, I think they succeeded, and they rather shoe-horned you into the role of Tidus, as you're discovering this new world at the same time as he.

...spending as much time leveling up for the final boss as you needed to was a pain-in-the-ass though, the even the secret boss in the Omega Ruins (Omega Weapon) was far easier than the final bosses. That string of final bosses at the end of the game? RELENTLESS.

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Dual Hearts

Take Ryudo from Grandia II, tone down his suggestively murderous quips, and drop him into a Banjo-Kazooie-like game, replace all the furries with people, and make the gameplay some shades of Zelda, and you get Dual Hearts.

It seems like an action RPG, and even RPG Fan covers it on their site, but at its core, it's a platformer; you buy nothing, and as far as experience points, you weapons can be improved by defeating a certain number of enemies with them, but that's about it, and it doesn't take very many kills to max them out, either.

Spending more time exploring and taking in the sites, and much less time spent building levels? SOLD!

If you want a platformer with some levels that're actually nigh original, by all means, check out this game, if you haven't done so before! Another obscure, hidden gem endorsed by Atlus!

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Katamari Damacy

HAPPY!!! One of the most original game concepts ever: Roll crap into a ball. And they somehow provide decent motivation for doing so. J-Pop-styled vocal music well incorporated as background music. And, IS SO VERY HAPPY!!!

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Metal Gear Solid 2

I LoL.'d

I didn't discover the MGS series, until I began seeing parodies webtoons and videos on sites like Newgrounds, YouTube, etc., and decided to finally check out the series.

There were some comedic parts that I thought were out-of-place, for something which is supposed to be politically intrigue, but that's what made it funny: You didn't expect it.

Otherwise, I thought some of the plot twists were straight out of something like Evangelion, as when all the psychological stuff starts kicking in, you start feeling mindf.'d; that, and you get a "World's Gonna End" kind of feeling when Arsenal Gear finally launches.

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Okami

Plot, setting, visuals, gameplay, music...all around, a very complete package!

Zelda-styled gameplay, set in medieval Japan, and rife with Japanese cultural and mythology references, and the visuals done in the style of traditional Japanese painting (can't remember what the style's called...) anyone with any taste in culture and gaming should've already picked this up, if they haven't!

It's a long game, but I don't mind playing until the very end!

When you see an episode of South Park, which shows a video game store, and the background shelves are taken up by Okami game covers, you know there's a good reason for that!

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Shadow Hearts

At its core, a rather basic, turn-based RPG; attacks were determined by the timing of pressing the attack button, so you had to do more than just select commands.

What really sold it for me, was, can you guess? Yes, the atmosphere of the game. They succeeded in making an RPG that centered around the macabre and occult, essentially making something horror-themed. Plus, it was based in the real world, in the early 1900s, giving a sort of aire of historical fiction.

Other than that, "I do believe I will return to England for the time being, and have myself a spot of tea!" (Gets hit in the head with a flying rock).

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The PS2, or the PS2 generation?  Because I have a boatload of Gamecube recommendations since I enjoyed that console more than I did the PS2.

But as far as PS2-specific games...

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are no-brainers.  Both are gorgeous and possess some of the most brilliant atmosphere I've ever seen in games (though Ico's low resolution makes it look kind of ugly on modern TVs - I'd opt for the upcoming PS3 ports if you have the option).  That said, they're very different in play - Ico is focused almost entirely on environmental puzzles with some crappy action thrown in, while SotC makes puzzles out of the action in that you fight the colossi and figuring out how to beat them is sometimes a riddle in and of itself.

Final Fantasy XII - Turned every RPG convention on its head and turned out better for it.  It's a VERY divisive game, though - there are plenty out there who hate it.  I can usually understand their arguments, but I adored the game.

Klonoa 2 - Really enjoyable 2.5D platformer.  I haven't played it in years, so I can't say how well it's aged, but I remember having a blast with it at the time.

Okami - Climaxes around 2/3 of the way through, but there are few games I find as visually stunning as this one.  It IS fun to play, but I found the end of the second act way more interesting than anything that happened later.  It definitely could've used some fat-trimming, but remains an enjoyable play if you want a gorgeous-but-flawed Zelda-type game.

Persona 3 - Personally I think this game is WAY overrated, but it's also unique and might have an interesting enough atmosphere for it to be worth a look.  It's at least 50 hours longer than I wanted it to be, and Tartarus becomes a totally boring chore, but the social links and story/characters kept me going.  Haven't played 4 yet, but I've heard it's better in just about every way.

Shadow Hearts II - you mentioned the first game in your original post.  Have you played the sequels?  Covenant is one of my favorite RPGs OF ALL TIME.  I love it so, so much.  It's especially awesome if you've played the first game.

Silent Hill 2/3 - If you like survival horror at all, these two are where it's at.  2 is the internet darling, but I think 3 is just as good (especially if you've played the original).

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim - Call me a Falcom fanboy, but I always find Ys games to be some of the best on whatever platform where they end up (except the DS... yuck).  Just make sure you get the cheat codes that let you revert the music and graphics and voice acting to what they were supposed to be before Konami tried to ruin it.

If you want to talk GCN, that's cool, but me, I pretty much ignored it, as I was busy with the PS2...

But as far as PS2-specific games...

Ico, early on, there was one puzzle, in which I had to get Yorda up a cliff somehow, and I just couldn't figure it out...I didn't have internet back then, so I didn't have any concept of walkthroughs, didn't want to buy a strategy guide...so I just gave up.

Shadow of the Colossus, using the light to find Colossi was perplexing and tedious at times. I managed to defeat the first 4 Colossi without any walkthrough or outside help. Some of the strategies they had you devise were just brilliant. But when it finally came to the flying Colossi, I had to use a walkthrough. That, and the one small Lion Colossi you had to turn on its back...that one, you had a split second to jump down onto its belly and kill it with 2 strikes...it was very unforgiving, and I rejoiced once I defeated it...the kind of jump-out-of-your-chair "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!"

I would've also appreciated being able to challenge the Colossi in any order I wished, much like how you're able to complete dungeons in Zelda games at any order you wish.

I've played through the intro, and the first 2-3 missions, but somehow, I just can't bring myself to play this game. It's got decent atmosphere, decent music, I've managed to wrap myself around the battle system, but...I just can't get into it. I can't.

YES! How could I have ever forgotten this game?! I liked the plot, and all the levels were pretty cool, too, and mixing some puzzles in with the gameplay, they did a good job. How you grab and throw enemies, it kind of reminds of Kirby, for that matter.

I liked both, but I never would've completed either without the help of Gameshark. Level-building just got too tedious; I was there for the setting and characters. I followed the plot of P4 more closely than P3...P3, some of the characters' backgrounds that were revealed as part of the plot, I just couldn't keep track of...

I've finished the whole trilogy. SH3, I appreciated if only for some of the settings, but the plot was pretty forgettable, if not completely contrived, when you're actually paying attention to it. SH2 was enjoyable, but not as enjoyable for me as the first. As far as I'm concerned, the series went downhill with each sequel. They improved the battle system in the later games, but that's about it.

I never did manage to get my hands on any of these games; when someone finally clued me in, they were out-of-print, and going for $$$ on eBay.

I'm really looking forward to Silent Hill ~ Shattered Memories once it goes down in price.

Gameplay was WAY too basic for my tastes, settings weren't anything really grand, and the plot, I just found myself skipping out on the dialogue completely after awhile. I just wanted to finish it...TOO short of a game for me, honestly.

That said, I'm still enjoying Ys Books I & II more than all get-out on Wii VC, but I expected a short game, and I didn't pay $40 USD for it, either.

Maybe that's why you were disappointed with the generation as a whole. 

Just counted to be sure - my collection from last gen has 71 Gamecube games, 60 PS2 games, and 6 Xbox games.  The usual disclaimer that my tastes are generally not in line with the mainstream, but I thought last generation was AWESOME.  It's this one that has been a bit lacking (except for the DS, really).

Lots of the others have posted their picks already.
http://www.soundtrackcentral.com/forums … hp?id=2461

Oh, don't get me started...I've absolutely no inclination whatsoever to splurge on either a 360 or PS3, let alone both...

I was really looking forward to FFXIII, but a lot of people have already shot it down for me, and I don't really know what else I'd get. Square really lost me with FFXI - seeing as how I don't want to get into an expenditure black hole with an MMO - and like I've said, I've not a whole lot of inclination to play FFXII, either, even though I still have the PS2, and even cheat codes to help me through the game faster...

Yeah, that's from back in 2007, though...wanted to see if I could ignite some new discussion.

I hardly even visit these boards anymore, and I don't see people posting a whole lot themselves, either...

I honestly don't think you need to worry about a troll culture cropping up here, boss man...

Qui-Gon already got most of the good stuff, but I guess I should mention:

Metal Gear Solid 3: Not quite as silly as 2, but if it's atmosphere you're after, you can't do much better than Snake Eater as far as the MGS series is concerned.

I'm rather partial to the Onimusha series myself as well. especially 2, but I hear they botched the voice acting for the English versions.

I'm not really sure what kind of genres you like, but the Splinter Cell trilogy was pretty awesome too, and again, scores very high on atmosphere.

How in the hell did I forget about that game in my post?  I even scanned through my PS2 games in order to write that, and somehow I just blanked when my eyes passed it?  Awesome game - best in that franchise.

Ahh, Metal Gear Solid 3...I wanted to like it...everyone familiar with the franchise agreed it was the best in the franchise...

But me, somehow, I just couldn't figure out how to take advantage of the Camouflage system, and I could never get past the first area without being spotted and killed.

I tried playing it right after Metal Gear Solid 2, seeing as how control schemes between sequels are often very similar, but, I just couldn't adjust to this game...

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. Stunning game.

Metroid Prime. Metroid. And, em, prime.

Grand Theft Auto 3, VC, SA. You don't have to like them but GTA3 was a revelation in its day.

Lego Star Wars. Yeah, I'm including Lego Star Wars.

Burnout. Can't remember which one. They're probably all good.

Devil May Cry 3. One of the finest fighting games.

God Of War. Not as refined but just as fun.

That's just off the top of my head right now. And, of course, many that have already been mentioned. Silent Hill 2 is one of the finest experiences of any generation. Ico is stunning - baffled that you abandoned it, it seemed like one of the only games ever that really wanted me to beat it. And ones that you've mentioned, like Katamari, that sprang up and partly defined that generation.

Personally, I thought the PS2, GC, XBox combo was pretty amazing. It felt to me like the previous generation was trying out a lot of things but it was the PS2 generation that really was able to deliver.

Fatal Frame 1 - 3, Odin Sphere, Suikoden 5, ZOE 2, almost any SMT game, just scanning my collection. The system's library is massive, so its fair to say we're missing quite a few here.

Some excellent PS2 games that don't usually get much attention:

Mister Mosquito
Disaster Report
Shadow of Destiny
Yakuza
Raw Danger
Indigo Prophecy
Gitaroo Man
Mad Maestro!
Siren
Dance Summit 2001: Bust A Move
Grandia Xtreme
Haunting Ground

This might not make anyone feel "better" about the PS2 generation, however it might make you feel old.  The PS2 was released exactly 10 years ago today in the U.S. and Canada.. October 26th, 2000.

Happy birthday.

I think the NES had it's 25th sometime this week as well. That's what adult swim said anyway.

If you mean the whole generation which includes DC, PS2, NGC, XB, GBA, and the WSC, there's plenty of great games, the best of which is Resident Evil 4.  Other greats include Jet Set Radio Future, Rez, Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, Mario Sunshine, Four Swords Adventures, Okami, Twilight Princess, Ys 6, MGS3, Metroid Fusion, Neo Contra, Xenosaga, Aria of Sorrow, Killer 7, MSR, Mega Man Zero 2, and many more (Gitaroo-Man!).