Playstation 2 Games You Need To Get Part 1 – RPGs
lwelyk wrote this on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 in Articles, Top X Y
The Playstation 2 is now $99, meaning you have absolutely no excuse to not have one. In fact you’ve already gone to the store and bought one, right? Good! You have made the right decision, the Playstation 2 library is very large and very diverse; it will fill in any gaps between releases this generation. Now that you are a proud owner of your Playstation 2 system, I am starting a series for you on what games you need to get. Each week I’ll look at a genre and what in that genre you need to get. This week, we’re going to take a look at some RPGs.
Persona 4 and Persona 3 FES
If you’re even remotely interested in Japanese RPGs, you need to play these games. They have a fresh modern setting, very likable characters, and a great battle system. Weaknesses and buffing/debuffing spells actually matter! When was the last time you played an RPG where you actually cared about those? It also features a large portion that is very reminiscent of dating sims, in which you build relationships with your party members and schoolmates for bonuses in other areas of the game. The game works simply enough for you to get it fairly quickly, but has enough depth to keep you going. I would recommend getting Persona 4 first, and if you like that, going back to get Persona 3 FES.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht & Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra
The Xenosaga trilogy is well-known for its very, very long cutscenes. If you don’t like those, move on to the next game. The cutscenes are usually pretty well done, but they do tend to drag on. The battle system in Episode I is rather complicated, but fun once you get the hang of it. In Episode III it’s more refined and easier to understand. Episode II… don’t buy it. It was a horrendous ruination of the series with horrible, horrible gameplay.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Dragon Quest VIII is a beautiful game with a wonderful soundtrack. It’s also very, very old-school, so keep that in mind.Very simple plot and battle system, but that’s a good thing. Although the game went on too long for my tastes-the game should have ended at 40 hours (which is where I quit)-the time I played was definitely worth it.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Nocturne is, to put it simply, a more complicated version of Pokémon rated M. You wander a post-apocalyptic Tokyo as various factions work to recreate the world as they see fit using the power of their gods. The plot takes a while to pick up, but when it does you’re hooked. The battle system’s “press turn” system, allowing extra turns for exploiting weaknesses and passing, worked really well. You recruit demons through battle, and then you can fuse them to make more powerful ones. It just has a lot of depth and is a very good game that no RPG fan should miss.
Odin Sphere
This one is a bit different; it’s part beat-em-up, part RPG. You have your basic beat-em-up combat, but RPG style special attacks and stats. You play as several different characters throughout the game, all of which have fairly unique play styles; keeping it fresh as you go on. It is probably most well-known for its beautiful 2D sprite graphics, something sorely missing from most modern games today. It’s worth playing for the graphics alone, but keep in mind it is brutally difficult, those not wanting a challenge should avoid it.
Final Fantasy X
I figured I had to add a Final Fantasy game on here, so I picked this one. Don’t listen to what other people say, Final Fantasy XII is terrible, but Final Fantasy X is very good. The characters and plot aren’t the best-Tidus is one of the most irritating RPG protagonists you’ll run across-but the game itself is quite good. The battle system is fun, and the sphere grid system for leveling up is pretty creative. It’s not the best game out there, but it’s definitely worth picking up.
Honorable Mentions:
Tales of the Abyss – Good action-RPG with great characters, but the fake-out ending ruined it for me.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant and Shadow Hearts: From the New World – I haven’t played them enough to comment too much, but I like what I’ve played so far.
Suikoden III & V – I haven’t had a chance to play them yet, but Suikoden II was great and these are considered the other good games in the series.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 – It’s Shin Megami Tensei, which means quality. I unfortunately haven’t had the chance to play them yet.
In case you couldn’t tell, I love RPGs, hence the long list of ones I say you should buy. The Playstation 2 is the system for RPG gamers, but also great for other genres too. Next week I’ll look at some Action-Adventure titles, so keep an eye out for that.
Nice list, but where’s Kingdom Hearts?
DQ8 sounds good. I have FFX, I just made it to Yunalesca the other day in fact. Tough little cookie. I do love Kimahri and Lulu, though.
Didn’t they say that it was going to be marked down on April 1st? that’s an interesting day…
@lilmetal I loathe Kingdom Hearts with the fury of 1000 suns.
Why do you hate FFXII? It was a pretty decent RPG and only lacked a good protagonist. It may not be great as FFX but it certainly was an above average game.
I did not enjoy the battle system. It was just dull to me. It felt like playing an MMO minus the other people. : /
Also I hated the characters.
I agree with lwelyk. though it is a fine game if you like the battle system. I just didn’t. FF 3 and 9 are my favorites. I bought KH when I first got a PS2, a bold move at my household, since we’d never owned a non-Nintendo system before that. I also loved the old Disney flicks as a kid, so I found the game enriching. I love both KH and KH2. They were a part of my growing up.
I would also put shadow of the colossus as a mention.
I would too, if it were an RPG
Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite RPG evar.
Radiata Stories?
Haven’t played it, but it’s Tri-Ace, so I doubt I’ll like it that much. : /
You need to play Digital Devil Saga ASAP.
I know, and I will when I have more time and moneys.
don’t see how this list can be without Disgaea… unless it’ll be in a different section but with Odin Sphere here…
I found Disgaea to be a tad repetitive, and I didn’t like it. Thus it didn’t come to mind. If I had rememebered I would have given it an Honorable Mention.
that it could be, could take on the upwards of 400 hours of power leveling to take down all the secret bosses in that game…
Radiata Stories wins points with me for having actual meaningful choices in the game (that affect the DIRECTION the story takes let alone minor details of the ending), although the story does have some pacing problems and a lack of a real conclusion – but the battle system is engaging enough to hold your attention the whole way through (even if the minor sidequests and somewhat tedious tracking of where people are at any given time don’t). I would say it is worth checking out, because there really isn’t any other game like it.
Okay that does sound somewhat interesting. I’ll look into it.
Passable list, but…Final Fantasy XII, terrible? You just ruined your credibility bro…
There we go, I was waiting for someone to comment on that directly on the site.
Thanks…I’ll like to read the rest of this article.
But I’m not interested in Turn Based RPG’s:/