I've been sinking further and further into the RetroDECK time-sink of setting up my emulators just so, and having the most fun doing so. The PS2 is a largely unknown system to me, I neither had one nor spent much time before now playing through some titles.

So...this is what I have so far! Most have either HD texture packs (Rule of Rose for example, and also Silent Hill 2 has a incredibly big 29GB of HD textures, I added after taking this screenshot), or mods applied (Gran Turismo is Spec II)

I haven't got MGS3 there, as I'm waiting for the remake to arrive, but...

Can anyone suggest any titles which are 'must adds' for me? I'd appreciate it!

(page 2) 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] mrbean343 11 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

Crazy Taxi, GTA Vice City, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, Gran Turismo 4, ICO, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Midnight Club, Midnight Club II, Odin Sphere, Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Shinobi, SSX, Star Wars Bounty Hunter, Time Splitters 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

That's my PS2 collection sitting on my shelf. Some of these have been remade into arguably better versions on later consoles, but the originals are still good.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago

For anyone who wants to play Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, don't forget about Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, which was a PS2 port of the GBA game. It's integral to the very wild and wacky story of the KH franchise, you'll be (even more) lost if you skip it and go straight to KH II

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago

Crazy taxi got quite a bit of attention, and it deserved far more. Great gameplay loop

[–] PerfectDark 3 points 10 hours ago

Thank you!!!

I'd be pretty tempted by Tony Hawk's, but the recent news that 3+4 will finally be getting remade makes me hesitate to play. Since the experience will probably be better there!

[–] mesamunefire 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Chrono trigger and cross are both good on the SD.

[–] atmur 11 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Some racing recommendations:

Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition

Enthusia

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 (the PS2 version is the best one)

Burnout 3 Takedown AND Revenge, both are stellar

Tokyo Extreme Racer 3 and Drift 2

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] Thcdenton 3 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

load more comments (2 replies)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix. If the first three Fast and Furious movies tickle your fancy, it’s the go to game

[–] PerfectDark 2 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

You know I was never a car girl...for the most part. But the last 12 months or so I have become obsessed with rally racing: the games, and the history (Group B!). From there I ended up watching general car movies, like Le Mans (or is the title The 24 Hours of Le Mans? I never remember), and finally...yes, just finished watching the original two Fast and Furious movies just last week! I think I like the second one most, it is cringe, but in a fun nice way!

Thank you, this looks perfect!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Also, if you ever end up playing Forza Horizon 5 to scratch your rally itch please add me because none of my friends like rally and I’m getting tired of looking at pavement.

This invitation is open to anyone, my Steam and Xbox profiles are both “tekeous”. Add me and let me know you came from Lemmy

[–] Majorllama 2 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

Midnight club 3 dub edition was THE game my brother and I played to the point the disk stopped reading eventually. That was a sad day.

If you're getting into motorsports in general and you liked rally I might recommend checking out the isle of Mann tt. It's the single most deadly motorsports event held each year. It averages more than two and a half deaths every year. Last year was super rare in that nobody died. Last time that happened was like 2012 I think. The most insane race car drivers in the world will tell you that nobody is more batshit crazy that the Isle of man riders. Even rally drivers look at them and think they are nuts.

https://youtu.be/ciPgQ1096Tw?si=TRgkGBSKBlkSIrAU

[–] reptar 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

That is insane!

[–] Majorllama 2 points 7 hours ago

No what's insane is these riders will fly past spectators mere inches from a wall at speeds upwards of 200mph.

The highest recorded speed of the riders on one of the straights is 206mph I believe. The record for highest average speed of a lap (which is nearly 38 miles long) was 136mph in a little over 16 minutes.

Insane doesn't even begin to describe these riders and that race.

https://youtu.be/N0cE3gIdO9w?si=JiHEa74XrSWu8ElI

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] Shameless 6 points 10 hours ago

Need for speed underground 2, this is my favourite racing game of all time. I sunk so much time into it.

[–] the_dopamine_fiend 5 points 10 hours ago

I’m with the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus stans, but I’d be curious how your emulation handles the light effects. PCSX2 struggles in my experience.

[–] Feathercrown 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Crash Nitro Kart and some of the PS2 Crash platformers are pretty good. The Kart one has a boosting system that I like better than mario kart (and better items and vibes tbh)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Gotta play the Time Splitters games. (3 of em).

Whatever Gauntlet games they ported from Arcade.

[–] PerfectDark 4 points 11 hours ago

Thank you, Timesplitters looks lovely! The art-design of it looks just perfect!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

Soul reaver

Grand teresmo

Rayman 2

[–] Pirky 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc is where it's at. I consider that peak Rayman. Would love another game with that vibe.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago

Me too. Such a great series.

load more comments (3 replies)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

Frequency & Amplitude:

The originators of the modern "rhythm game" genre.

[–] SamuraiBeandog 5 points 11 hours ago

ICO.

[–] RightHandOfIkaros 4 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

My personal favorites on PS2, as someone who did not own a PS2 while it was still being manufactured and sold as new. This does not include remakes/remasters or games that have better ports on other platforms (for example, Soul Calibur 2 on GameCube, Dead or Alive 2 on Xbox, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 Another Cases on PSP, or Need for Speed Underground 2 on PC).

Haunting Ground
Kuon
CyGirls (Both discs are fun but I prefer disc 1)
Drakengard 1 & 2
Ico
Lifeline (requires microphone, very underrated)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Nooo, wait who actually plays Drakengard? I love that game to bits, but I would never tell someone to play it. Was I just bad? That game is truly awful, haha.

[–] RightHandOfIkaros 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

Its one of the games I like. I would never have followed the story if I didn't play the game. OP doesn't have to follow my list.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

You know, maybe one day I'll do it again. The only people I would have play Drakengard are those with extreme patience, and unfortunately, I'm one of those people.

It does have a really good story.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

It's worth it for the giant babies falling* from the sky alone

[–] TrippyHippyDan 3 points 10 hours ago

The Soul Reaver / Blood Omen games have not been recommended yet. Though, as a warning, last time I tried to do the Soul Reaver 2, there was a strange bug with the sound that made it so that you couldn't pass a certain puzzle.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Dark Cloud 2

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] bishoponarope 2 points 9 hours ago

Primal.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago

If you're a fan of the anime, the .Hack// games hold up pretty well. There's a little OVA that is included with each game to give more story.

[–] Sanctus 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy is great classic fun

[–] edgemaster72 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I fucking love Gauntlet Dark Legacy, though if the Steam Deck is capable of Xbox emulation that's my preferred version since you can save powerups for when you need them.

[–] Sanctus 2 points 9 hours ago

Honestly any version but the GameCube one lol

[–] DJalexTheGameDev 2 points 10 hours ago

Klonoa 2

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe

Beatmania IIDX (if you don't mind connecting a keyboard to play)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 hours ago

Def Jam 2: Fight for NY. It's basically like some of the older WWF wresling games where there can be 4 fighters at a time, but you can only be targetting one at a time. But all the fighters are rappers. The finishing moves are awesome!

load more comments