Topic: PS2 Recommendations Thread

I haven't seen a thread for recommending (or not recommending) PS2 games, so I thought that I should start it.

Anyway to start it off, I'm considering buying Xenosaga I-III. They're developed by Monolith Soft, the same developers that made the excellent Xenoblade Chronicles (which I'm currently playing at the moment). I'm not expecting the trilogy to be as majestic as Xenoblade of course, but they sound like interesting games.

So could anyone who has played at least one of the Xenosaga games tell me if they're good and worth buying or not? I know that the three games are connected storyline-wise, so I'll have to buy all three for the full experience. Also, how different is Xenosaga I-III from Xenoblade in terms of combat and exploration? Are the ''episodes'' different from each other in terms of gameplay?

I would rather buy all three in a HD Collection for the PS3 for the sake of gaining more trophies, but I know that will likely never happen since Monolith Soft is now completely owned by Nintendo.

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

hmm I don't low, but this does remind me, I should get Xenosaga 1+2 someday but IDK if I should get it for PS2 or DS

They're great games, storywise and the gameplay is pretty good. They're nothing like Xenoblade Chronicles, though, and I mean nothing. They're far less exploration focused, they're completely turn-based with a lot more strategy involved, and the overall story, while good, is very confusing and lacks the finess that Xenoblade shows. Thankfully there's no random battles, but battles do take place in their own areas like most RPGs do, if you get what I mean. I recall being able to damage and cause status effects to enemies by utilizing the environments, which is really cool. As for changes from game to game, there are some, but not a lot. The second game adds some negative changes, the third game takes them away and maybe adds some positive things.

Really, IMO they're essential games for the PS2. Just don't expect them to be as progressive as Xenoblade was.

I have some questions of my own:

Has anybody played Drakengard and know if it's any good? What about Nightmare of Druaga?

Is Gitaroo man any good? Watching Cr1tik0l play it right now and it looks ridiculous.

Drakengard is a very sub-par Dynasty Warrios clone. Cool aesthetic andflying in the dragon is awesome, but is way too hard.

The PSP version was very enjoyable. I suopse the PS2 is very similar. Shame it's too short with less than ten songs.

@BenjaminRosa Is the PSP version retail or online. If the game is cheap considering you said it's on the short side I may pick it up.

@BenjaminRosa - Thanks, I probably just won't bother with it.

I would say pick up Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle if you like JRPGs. Those are two games that should get a HD collection but most likely will never. There's also the buggy port of Grandia II but it's the best option if you don't have a Dreamcast.

I know it's retail, but i havent seen many copies of it, so it will be surely hard to find.Mine was a bit of luck when i saw it on the pawn store.

Dont know if it's for donwload, but you wont lose many time by searching the PSN.

Don't get it on the DS unless you can read Japanese.
I only played some of the first one on PS2, but it was EXTREMELY story heavy (like, the first time I ever saw a cutscene over a half hour long, even including two mid-cutscene save points, as I remember). I can only imagine the DS version uses text cutscenes so unless you can read Japanese, you're just going to be scrolling through countless text boxes for a good part of the game.

Drakengard was made by Cavia.

And now you know my thoughts about the game. I noticed that there was a comparison to Dynasty Warriors up there. I don't agree with that assessment. There's a lot of fighting in Pokemon, too. That doesn't make Pokemon a turn-based clone of Dynasty Warriors.

I've never played Druaga, sorry.

A couple of recommendations of my own:

Chaos Legion: People often forget about this game, but it's like Devil May Cry, only more intelligent.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne: I'm biased because my review of the game was quoted on the back of the box in the Australian edition.

Haunting Ground/ Clock Tower 3: Genuine horror games. No stupid weapons, no stupid zombies. Lots of puzzles and you're essentially defenceless in both games.

Gregory Horror Show: So incredibly, insanely entertaining. Hurry up with an iPad port, Capcom.

That's awesome!

I'd recommend Dragon Quest VIII for anyone wanting a JRPG.

Get any of the Socom games ASAP because SCEA is shuting them offline on August 31, 2012. Ill be playing Socom 3 if I can figure out how to set up online on my PS2. Also Every COD game except for WaW plays online for PS2. You should also get Sonic Riders Zero Gravity or Sonic Unleashed for PS2 or maybe any of the Tony Hawk games.

It's not technically a PS2 game, but since all PS2s play them, picking up the original Spyro trilogy (Dragon, Ripto, Year) is a wise investment. They're excellent games. Spyro: A Hero's Tail is also good, although if you can only pick one go with the other. Plus I hear it's the worst version of the game.

... Yeah, I don't play many PS2 games now. Does anyone have recommendations for platformers for it?

I had a feeling Turtle might've beaten me to it.

Obviously every Shin Megami Tensei gae on the PS2 is a very wise investment, no matter how difficult they are to get ahold of these days.

As far as platformers the original Jak and Daxter is amazing, the other two are still platformers but have a heavier emphasis on combat. Ratchet and Clank also has that action/platformer feel so that too.

Personally I don't think the PS2 a great console for the platformers - though whichever Soul Reaver games were on the PS2 are worthwhile hybrids.

Throw in the Sly games and you have every great 3D platformer you'll ever need.