The Playstation 2 Retrospective — Geoff’s Picks

Though the
PS2 hasn’t been given much software support in the last few years, Sony halted
further shipments of the system at the end of 2012. Given how excellent its
software releases were in its prime, though, it’s tough not to feel sad about
it now officially being a relic of the past.

 

If there were
a bunch of genres you enjoyed, chances are the PS2 had plenty of software to
keep you entertained. It was a time where localizations of Japanese games were
at their zenith. Though not every title we wanted made its way over, there were
plenty of games we could count on companies to release. It helped that its hardware
and software sales were monstrous, the latter of which were reportedly higher
than the DS and PSP combined. And
it’s a shame that we’ll more than likely never see another system like it.

 

Its legacy
is more than deserving of a recap. No one person could go over every piece of
good software the system offered, but I picked five of my favorite titles to
grace the system.

 

Dark Cloud 2 (Level 5/Sony, 2002/2003)
(Was known as Dark Chronicle in
Japan and Europe.)

 

To say the
original Dark Cloud was a little
rough around the edges would be a massive understatement. Many were forgiving
of it because it was one of the system’s earlier titles, but Level 5’s first outing
was an unpolished, frustrating experience. Fortunately, the developers analyzed
all its complaint and fixed them for the sequel, making it one of the best
action/RPGs to ever grace the system.

 

DC2 is
stuffed with a plethora of activities for the player to tackle, which is its
most appealing aspect…and biggest burden. In addition to the usual dungeon
exploration and huge sense of adventure, it offers plenty of weapons to make
(and the annoyance of breaking weapons was toned down significantly), town
building, item collection, a golf mini game that’s almost as deep as Sony’s own
Hot Shots Golf (minus the atypical
field), and a driving mini game. You could spend hours of your free time doing
only two of those. It also helps that
the game is gorgeous to
look at, even ten years later. It’s a rewarding and endearing adventure,
and that Sony (since it’s their IP) hasn’t contracted Level 5 to make another
one is downright criminal.

 

Devil
May Cry (Capcom, 2001)

 

It was after
playing through the Devil May Cry HD
Collection that I realized every game in the franchise is a different
beast. The original was an action/adventure that placed equal emphasis on
having great combat, level design, and appealing “gothic horror” backdrops.
DMC2 excels in being crap, but DMC 3 and 4 are interesting because they put
combat on a higher pedestal than everything else, and it showed — especially
in 4. The last two games in the (old?) franchise had better combat, but
everything else was done much better in DMC1.

 

It started
off as the first version of Resident
Evil 4, but became a new IP that rewarded skill, and knew how to
balance exploration and backtracking to make neither feel annoying. It deserves
a plethora of credit for being the game that launched the character action
genre, and few games have been able to match its polish and finesse. It’s a
shame the team that developed the game no longer works at Capcom, but at least
they’re still making titles like this
at Platinum Games.

 

Dragon Quest VIII (Square Enix/Level 5,
2004/2005)

 

The
overworlds on many Japanese RPGs during the PS2 era were reduced in scope
because of the sheer work they took to craft. Navigation in many of them was relegated
to menu selections, with a map showing every location. But Dragon Quest games
are typically huge sellers, so Square Enix could afford the money, time, and
manpower it would take to craft a huge and interactive overworld. And they did.
And it was fantastic.

 

And that’s
only one aspect that makes the game such an enjoyable experience. The game was
basically what you always wanted to see out of an RPG when you were younger,
and technology finally allowed for that with the PS2. It may be a pity that its
current sequels haven’t followed in its footsteps, but they’re still good games
— though that’s only an assumption, in the case of MMORPG Dragon Quest X. Since then, we’ve had other exploration-heavy JRPGs
with Final Fantasy XII and Xenoblade Chronicles.

 

As a bonus,
the western versions added some superlative voice acting and an orchestral
soundtrack.

 

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
(Konami, 2004)

 

Metal Gear
Solid 3 was, essentially, the Metal Gear game Hideo Kojima always wanted to
make. It takes place before the other canonical installments in the franchise, placing
protagonist Naked Snake in a jungle setting in Russia circa 1964. This setting
allowed for far more gameplay possibilities than prior titles, and much more
exploration. There’s also no modern technology, given the time period, meaning
sneaking through the jungle in a methodical manner was encouraged. It presented
a level of tenseness not seen in many stealth games, especially these days.

 

The game
also has the best story and boss battles in the franchise, along with an
excellent soundtrack. The game was made even better with an enhanced Subsistence version, and has an HD
version available.

 

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Atlus,
2003/2004)

 

Atlus picked
the right game to introduce westerners to the mainline Shin Megami Tensei
franchise. The leap to PS2 meant the abandonment of sprites and the traditional
first-person view for polygons, making a game that was graphically and aesthetically
a pleasure to look at, doing its horror/RPG feel justice. Admittedly, the “horror”
aspect is assisted by the game is tough as nails.

 

Like your
average Megaten game, it’s mostly a dungeon crawler with a side order of demon
hunting and raising, and fusing. The story of learning what happened in a
ruined Tokyo is enough to keep the player intrigued all the way through, along
with the emotional deconstruction of humans trying to cling to life. It also
came out at a time where we were unaccustomed to RPGs taking place in modern
settings, post-apocalyptic or not. It may be the game that kicked off the
franchise’s popularity in America, but it’s appreciable through its own merits
too.

 

The game also
deserves credit for taking DMC2’s Dante and actually making him interesting.

 

Man, all of
these great games sure makes you want to take out the system and play it, huh?
In a perfect world, they’d all have HD versions.