My Top 10 Favorite PS2 Games

This blog was originally posted on my Game Informer Online Blog on October 7, 2015. The text has not been altered, but I did place the pictures above each section to reflect how I lay out blogs today. Though it is an older blog, I hope you will still enjoy it! - Justin

This past Summer I dug deep into my backlog to finish my final few PS2 games. Since I wrapped up my last game a few weeks ago, Radiata Stories, I felt now was a good time to put together a top ten list of my favorite PS2 games.

My list is by no means comprehensive of the vast PS2 library and it definitely does not tell the full story of what I enjoyed on the PS2 since it only covers my top ten favorite games on the system. When putting together my list I only considered the games I played on the PS2 itself so no HD remakes or handheld ports were eligible.

Before I dive into my list then I'd like to briefly share a little bit about some of the games I didn't include that I still want to call out. Only a few of my early PS2 games made the list, but some of my other favorites included XGIII (Extreme G 3), Timesplitters, and Gauntlet Dark Legacy all of which were great co op games.  No sports games made my list, but games like SSX 3 and Tony Hawk's Underground 2 were definitely favorites in my PS2 collection (Underground 2 especially since I really got into its create a park feature). My favorite bad PS2 game of course didn't make my list, Battle Assault 3 Featuring Gundam Seed, but it was definitely one of the most memorable PS2 games for me and my friends. Finally none of the Shin Megami Tensei and Disgaea games made my list because I played them on other platforms, but I'm sure some of them would have found a spot on my list otherwise.

With all that said, let's move on to my Top 10 Favorite PS2 Games!

10: Okami

I became interested in Okami the moment I saw its attractive art style and its central image of a wolf running through a field with flowers blooming in its wake. When I learned Okami would have the gameplay and structure of a Zelda game I knew it was something I had to play. What I didn't expect though, was that it would be Okami's sense of adventure and colorful cast of characters that would really stick with me for so long after. The journey begins in a small quiet town deep in the countryside, but you'll soon be traveling far beyond it to explore the forests, ocean, and eventually the snow covered mountains at the edge of the world. Defeating the evil demons that threaten the people and conquering all of the dungeons is exciting, but restoring the nature and color to the world alongside your growing group of allies and friends feels even more fulfilling.

9: Kingdom Hearts

I played a good chunk of the first Kingdom Hearts around the time it came out. I wasn't really a big Disney fan at the time, so I was more interested in seeing the Final Fantasy characters and the original content (the cool, effective commercial helped too). Even on the lowest difficulty the original Kingdom Hearts was brutal, especially for a game largely aimed at kids, so I was not able to make it too far in the story. After Kingdom Hearts II came out, I got my own copy of Kingdom Hearts and returned to conquer it. By then I enjoyed the tougher difficulty and forming a deeper connection with the characters I came to love through the sequel. While I prefer Kingdom Hearts II overall, I still appreciate the original Kingdom Hearts' straightforward story and its often grander worlds that offered more exploration than later games in the series.

8: Jak and Daxter
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I played Jak and Daxter at two very different points in the PS2's lifetime. I originally had rented the game from Blockbuster (which was a big thing then!) soon after it first came out. I played through the whole game and really enjoyed it, but it wasn't until the first Uncharted graced the cover of Game Informer that I decided I wanted to play through the whole series. I soon bought a copy and played through Jak and Daxter a second time. It was then I fully came to appreciate how special the game is. The platforming is excellent and there are tons of unique challenges across its fully connected world. Jak and Daxter's world is perhaps the best fully realized world ever imagined for a platformer outside of Super Mario Sunshine because it truly deepens the connections between all of its levels and characters. I loved the characters and the fun, adventurous nature of the first game so much, that the dramatic tonal shift in Jak II was a real betrayal.

7: Final Fantasy X

When I first got Final Fantasy X I actually didn't like it too much. The tone was far removed from the Final Fantasy games of old and I didn't like how oppressively linear it felt which was made worse by how its difficulty frequently stalled my progress. When I restarted Final Fantasy X in high school (and had more Final Fantasy games under my belt) I really came to enjoy all that it offered. The story had always intrigued me, but in my full playthrough I finally got to learn the deeper and darker backstory of the world of Spira. I came to appreciate the characters more too, even the goofy lead character Tidus with his honest reactions to the strange and brutal world he journeyed through. I also greatly enjoyed the combat which was satisfying in both the normal encounters and the complex boss fights which were often puzzles to overcome rather than simple endurance tests.

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6: Jak 3

Jak 3 melded the best elements of Jak and Daxter and Jak II to create a strong conclusion for the series. While Jak 3 continued the story from Jak II, it wisely distanced itself from the misguided, gritty tone of Jak II and reshaped Jak back into a more likeable character. Instead of directly chasing after Grand Theft Auto's open world ambitions again, Jak 3 struck out on its own by pursuing an open world desert that played host to some fun vehicle challenges. Jak 3 also refined the gunplay introduced in Jak II and brought back more of the great platforming from the original Jak and Daxter. Nearly all of the characters in the series had great moments and good sendoffs which made their final adventure all the more fulfilling.

5: Guitar Hero

I have always loved music and rhythm games, but Guitar Hero was the one that truly elevated my passion for them. While you weren't actually playing the guitar, it felt awesome strumming along and eventually mastering all of the unique rhythms and overcoming each of the increasingly complex guitar solos. I became addicted to Guitar Hero as I wanted to boost my scores as high as possible and conquer the entire game on Expert difficulty. The game hit at the right time in my life too as I was beginning to build my collection of music so I was thrilled as the game introduced me to many new songs and bands. While later Guitar Hero games improved on the gameplay and soundtrack, the first game will always have a special place in my heart.

4: Final Fantasy XII

Final Fantasy XII is my second favorite Final Fantasy game of all time just behind Final Fantasy VI. FFXII plays like an offline MMO and offers a truly expansive world that is also incredibly dense. I became fully lost exploring Ivalice, building up my party, and tackling the increasingly difficult Hunts that I often ended up leaving the story behind for hours. It took me 120 hours to see the credits roll and I played another good 20 to 30 hours beyond that to explore even more areas far off the critical path. Despite the massive amount of time I spent on Final Fantasy XII, the awesome and scary part is that I easily could have spent another good 100 hours to see everything it had to offer. I sincerely hope Square Enix decides to bring an HD version of the International Zodiac Jobs Edition to the Vita because I'd love an excuse to play through it all again.

3: Kingdom Hearts II

I remember becoming very excited for Kingdom Hearts II after reading a brief feature about the game in the BioShock issue of Game Informer (which incidentally remains my favorite issue of Game Informer to this day). At the time, I hadn't finished the original Kingdom Hearts, but I was intrigued by the radical changes to both the combat system and camera as well as the new selection of worlds including Steamboat Willie, Tron, and the Lion King. When I finally got the game I was hooked right away during the prologue that followed a new character, Roxas, during the dramatic final days of his summer vacation. As I continued playing I found a story far more epic and gameplay far more approachable and addicting than the original Kingdom Hearts. I just couldn't put it down until I maxed out Sora to level 99 and completed all of the side quests to see the secret trailer. Despite its massive length I've happily played through Kingdom Hearts II many times since to relive the story and experience more of its fantastic combat. Each and every time I play through it still holds up. While I think Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep is the best Kingdom Hearts game, Kingdom Hearts II will always be my favorite.

2: Shadow of the Colossus

There are very few games I've played through as many times as Shadow of the Colossus and I'm not exaggerating when I say I've easily finished the game over 20 times. I was absolutely enthralled during my first time through so I was eager to play through it again on hard and beat time attack to unlock more tools like explosive arrows, the Harpoon of Thunder, and the parachute. Beyond that, there were rumors circulating around the time of its release that if you beat the game four times you could encounter a hidden 17th colossus so I beat the game five times on both normal and hard and completed time attack just as many times to see if it was true and well it wasn't. I didn't mind playing through it all so many times because I wanted to scour every last bit of its vast desolate landscape and take down each of the colossi again and again. While I never found the fake 17th colossus, I found out so much else in the process such as discovering hidden animals like the hawks and fish, learning how to climb to the top of the shrine, and how to perform back flips. Shadow of the Colossus is one of those rare games that continually rewards and surprises you for putting so much time and energy into it and for that it will always be an important game for me.

1: Odin Sphere

Odin Sphere strikes a masterful balance between story and gameplay. There are five playable characters in Odin Sphere that each have their own intertwining stories and unique fighting styles. You must play through all of the characters' stories in a set order, but this works to the story's advantage as it carefully develops each character and expands the central mysteries and conflicts that all come to a head in the grand finale. While the story and characters are what ultimately push Odin Sphere to the top of my favorite PS2 games list, the action gameplay and the intricate process to building your characters are both very important as well. Each dungeon in the game is a maze of interconnected circular rooms that are filled with a limited number of enemies and resources. As you carefully dismantle enemy armies you must constantly be considering your health, your stamina, your inventory space, and the number of photons each enemy drops. Photons can be used to level up your strength by feeding your weapons or alternately be used to grow food on the battlefield that both restores your health and ultimately increases your maximum HP. Since you are always making tons of varied decisions throughout your fights and their aftermaths that impact you both immediately and in the long term, you really become invested in every single fight and outcome. Odin Sphere thus demands your full attention and constantly rewards you every step of the way. No other PS2 game fully satisfies me in quite the same way Odin Sphere does and for that it truly stands strong as my favorite PS2 game.