This has been a retrospective last few months, as people have been pouring over their favorite things of the new decade, from the best and most influential games and movies, to political drama, to key events in the history of the last ten years. However, recently for some gamers, an anniversary this past week has sparked a hint of nostalgia for Sony, and thePlayStation 2, whichturned 20 this year.
So in the spirit of PS2’s lifespan crossing over two decades,holding secrets in logospeople did find for 20 years, let’s take a look back at some of the best titles to hit the system during its life-cycle. Now, this isn’t a best of list, or a top of Metacritic check, but a look at some of the most influential games on the console that changed gaming and brought on the current landscape of the industry.
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Grand Theft Auto 3
It’s a tough decision on whether to putGTA 3here, orGTA San Andreas, but for the sake of influence, this has to go to the former, as it set the stage for a whole genre of games to come. Copycats, likeTrue CrimesandSaints Row, sprung out of the ground almost overnight at the rampant success of theGrand Theft Autoseries. With a promise of unbridled chaos and giving players the ability to do whatever they want in a virtual city, this title not only set up Rockstar up to be the industry powerhouse that it is today, but ushered in a whole new genre of game during thePS2era.
Now, games with an open map that could be explored to the hearts content, like earlyLegend of Zeldatitles, had existed before, but never to the degree thatGrand Theft Autobrought. So, while this might not exactly fit into what players would call open-world today,GTA 3pioneered the genre. Couple that with Rockstar’s excellent storytelling that inspiredsome of the best video game narratives, and the first 3-D installment of the series becomes the groundwork for every game the company makes from then on, includingRed Dead Redemptionand the incredibly popularGrand Theft Auto 5.
God of War
There were definitely a few choices that could have been picked to fit the niche thatGod of Warfinds itself securely fastened into. With the first two titles in the series appearing on PS2, they boasted brutal hack and slash mechanics framed in beautiful set-pieces. Other games would later follow suit, withDante’s InfernoandDarksidersattempting to emulate the same grandiose nature of theGod of Warseries.
However, with the 2018 release ofGod of Warand itssuper hyped upcoming sequel, it’s clear that this series is one of few that had the staying power to remain the top dog. That being said,Devil May Crycould also takeGod of War’s place on this list, and for any fans of the series wondering why it didn’t, it was a coin flip andGod of Warhad a better Metacritic User Rating. Needless to say, both games have set the pace for what good hack and slash action needs to be.
Final Fantasy 10
Recently voted to bethe bestFinal Fantasygame ever,Final Fantasy 10was the first time that anyone had ever seen the graphical capabilities of the PS2 pushed to its full extent. WhileFinal Fantasy 7may have opened the door for JRPGs to flood the market back on the PS1, its PS2 successor established the genres domination over the market for the next few years. With some of the most lifelike pre-rendered cutscenes of the time, this was one of the best looking titles to ever hit the PS2.
This also marked the end of Square Enix (Squaresoft at the time) utilizing traditional turn based combat in the way that series veterans had been familiar with. AfterFinal Fantasy X, the series slowly made the transition to a more active style of combat, and eventually arriving at a sort of action-hybrid style that has been utilized in games likeFinal Fantasy 15andFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’s stellar combat system.
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Shadow of the Colossus
Nowfree for PS Plus members,Shadow of the Colossustakes the cake for incredible boss fights, set pieces, and puzzles in any game of the generation. The game also set the stage for minimalist storytelling, similar to what FromSoftware manages with theDark Soulsseries, although that company did have a separate title on PS2 calledEvergrace. Without chapters, or much dialogue that wasn’t vague ramblings from a voice in the ceiling, the legendary title has some of the best uses of environmental storytelling and subtle nods at the nature of what the character is really doing in all of gaming.
While it might not be as cinematic asPrince of Persia, which deserves an honorable mention here, the way thatShadow of the Colossusapproaches puzzles and boss encounters is fairly similar. That’s not to say that the two are clones of each other, but the list was starting to run long andPrince of Persianeeded somewhere to belong on this list, if for nothing else, inspiring future games likeUnchartedandAssassin’s Creed.
Kingdom Hearts
This was another coin flip, but this time between two games in the same series.Kingdom Hearts 2is easily the superior game of the two PS2 releases, but the spot on the list goes to the originalKingdom Heartsbecause of how it started the long running series. Beginning as Square Enix’s reply toSuper Mario 64of all things,Kingdom Heartshas become one of the most beloved 3-D platformers of all time, spanning into a series across multiple systems andlaunching huge titles on mobile.
The battle system of the series has even becomes so successful for Square Enix that producers originally intended forFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketo usethe combat style fromKingdom Hearts. It should be noted that the entire series also really amounts to a piece of Disney/Square Enix crossover fan fiction, so to hold the accolades the series does is a miracle.
Resident Evil 4
A number of contenders could have, and maybe should have, knockedResident Evil 4out of this horror spot, likeSilent Hill 2. However, at least in theResident Evilseries, the fourth title has yet to be topped, as it balanced horror, action, and a compelling narrative better than any game in the genre.
Capcom has recently been trying to recapture the magic ofResident Evil 4, and bothResident Evil 7and2 Remakehave come close, but they’ve never quite hit that mark. And that’s saying something when a game is so good at what it does that two console generations later, it still can’t be topped. And whileResident Eviltitles are currently beingremade to give a modern experience, this game may live best in its original state.
Bonus: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
This takes the spot of the sports games that continued to grow throughout the PS2’s lifespan. While many would claim thatTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2was likely the best game in the series, the third game still boasts the highest Metacritic score from the entire system’s library.
To be honest, a hundred different games deserved some sort of slot on this list, but thePS2 libraryis massive, and everyone’s favorite games are subjective. So for readers who liked the games on this list, congratulations, and anyone who’s favorites, likeDark Cloud,Guitar Hero, orJack and Daxter, those opinions are still perfectly valid. However, when looking at the most influential on the market today, it can’t be denied that the above mentioned titles have had a lasting impact on gaming.
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