The Greatest PlayStation 2 Game Of All Time Is...

I asked. You voted. Over 150 votes, and 75 games nominated, this was a tough ask- as it well should be. No console in history has ever had a lineup as diverse, varied, or simply full of great games as the PlayStation 2- and that definitely showed in this poll.

But in spite of all of that, ten games arose at the top of the pack, ten games that System Wars believes are the best of the very best out of the sheer abundance of quality that the platform offers to begin with. And so, without further ado, let me present to you all the Top 10 PlayStation 2 games of all time, as decreed by System Wars.

10. GOD OF WAR II (2007, Sony Santa Monica)

Even as the world was moving on to the shinier avenues of gaming afforded by the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, the PlayStation 2 continued to chug along and delivered one of the best games yet in its entire catalog- God of War II. Sony Santa Monica's sequel to their 2005 breakout hit was a bigger, better, more frenetic adventure in just about every way. The promise of the original game was finally realized, and the gameplay finally came into its own, giving Kratos what, to this day, remains the best repertoire of moves he has ever had, across an adventure that was varied and well paced. God of War II remains one of the PlayStation 2's best games, and a high watermark for the God of War franchise.

9. FINAL FANTASY XII (2006, Square Enix)

Long delayed, and highly anticipated, Final Fantasy XII was regarded as somewhat of a disappointment at launch- but time has only fed its legend. A game far ahead of its time, this prescient entry in the long running saga foresaw several trends in role playing games, and did them first- an emphasis on vast, explorable open worlds, a move away from turn based battles, AI controlled party members, a plethora of sidequests, and more. Not everything that Final Fantasy XII did landed well - notably, the story and the License Board system were definitely misfires - but on the whole, this was another great entry in an incredible franchise, and arguably the last time that Final Fantasy amounted to anything much.

8. METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY (2001, Konami)

Highly divisive at launch, Metal Gear Solid 2 has since gone on to be widely acknowledged as one of the greatest games ever made. In every way possible, Sons of Liberty defied expectation- the story takes focus away from Solid Snake, on to an unlikeable newcomer Raiden, the plot moves to highly exaggerated situations that served as a meta commentary on information control and mematics, its themes shift entirely from the anti nuclear war message of the original game... but while Sons of Liberty attempts to ergodically reinforce its central theme, it was a better playing, more expanded version, mechanically speaking, of the seminal PlayStation original, and an absolute technical marvel that single handedly sold the PlayStation 2. It does not matter what you personally think of Sons of Liberty and what it attempted- the game earned its place in history.

7. GOD OF WAR (2005, Sony Santa Monica)

God of War II may have been a better game, but it was fairly standard and expected- by contrast, nothing could have prepared the world for God of War. Kratos' debut was a violent, free flowing, dark and disturbing rampage through Greek mythology that was unlike anything that video games had ever seen before. Appropriating the stylish action based gameplay of Devil May Cry and simplifying it to deliver a smooth playing, forward moving action game, the original God of War is one of those games that forever changed and expanded our understanding of what games could be and what they could do- and nothing has been the same ever since.

6. RESIDENT EVIL 4 (2005, Capcom)

With Resident Evil 4, Capcom breathed new life into the ageing series, and ended up creating an entirely new kind of game in the process. Along the way, they also made what many have called the greatest game ever made. Nothing about Resident Evil 4 feels extraneous, everything about it just worked. From its white knuckle gameplay to its incredible setpieces, from its classic Resident Evil story to its thorough modernization of just about every single aspect of video games, Resident Evil 4 is a designer's textbook to creating new video games- a textbook that Capcom themselves have lost over the years, with increasingly disappointing follow ups to the game that completely changed our understanding of how video games can be played.

5. GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS (2005, Rockstar)

To date Rockstar's most ambitious game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is quintessentially GTA, and is perhaps the essence of the franchise distilled and refined. Offering players a mind bogglingly large open world with no shortage of things to do, an incredible sense of time and place thanks to some great atmosphere, the same kinds of over the top antics that had come to define the games, and refined mechanics, GTA: San Andreas is probably the video game that you should have if you could only ever buy one PS2 game.

4. FINAL FANTASY X (2002, Squaresoft)

Final Fantasy X is an ambitious, touching story, presented with beautiful graphics, set to an incredible sound score, in a thoroughly well realized way, and presented with some genuine innovations to longstanding series mechanics and systems. It was also the first entry in the franchise to go fully 3D with its gameplay, and to offer voice acted characters. It's easy to hate on Final Fantasy X today, over a decade after its release, since the game has perhaps not held up as well- but to do so would be missing the point. Final Fantasy X was, at release, perhaps the best entry in the series, and a promise of the series' ambition, answering the question of where the franchise would head to next after its seminal PlayStation era run.

3. PERSONA 4 (2008, Atlus)

A late 2008 release on the PS2 that flew under the radar, bombed at retail, and got no notice from just about anyone thanks to all attention having been shifted to the HD consoles, Persona 4 is perhaps the definition of a cult classic. The game was a refreshing, ground breaking rethinking of just about every aspect of the Japanese RPG, a genre that even then was beginning to get tired, wrapped up in a slick, stylish package, presented against a great soundtrack, with an incredible cast of characters and some very unusual gameplay. There was nothing else like it, and word spread out- over the years, the game garnered a massive fan following, went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, became one of the highest rated RPGs of all time, and would go on to become the modern standard of role playing games. Persona 4 was an incredible game, one that has only gotten better with time- and even on a system full of memorable experiences, it continues to stand out.

2. SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS (2006, Sony Japan)

Shadow of the Colossus is a true work of art, and a legitimate pioneer of emergent gameplay and storytelling. A game unlike any other, it presents us with one lone boy in a bleak world, fighting to restore his beloved to love by doing what he has been instructed to do- taking on sixteen massive colossi. Each colossus is a breathtaking harmony of elements, a boss battle that distinctly stands out in memory. Presenting players with a minimalist, morally ambiguous story, a beautiful world to explore, a premise never before approached by video games, and unprecedented ambition, Shadow of the Colossus was, at the time of its release, unlike nothing that the world had ever seen before, and its bold, daring take on just what a video game can and should do would go on to cement its developer's status as one of the very best in the industry.

1. METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER (2005, Konami)

No matter what you say about Metal Gear Solid 3, it is never going to be enough. Hideo Kojima's third entry in the franchise remains his magnum opus, a beautiful confluence of multiple gameplay systems and elements that realize his vision for stealth, delivering players with an unbelievably well playing, tightly paced adventure, with unforgettable boss battles, and a true consideration for realism in how the game responds to the player. And along the way, Kojima also delivers the very best story in the Metal Gear saga, with the story of Bigg Boss, the naive Cold War era soldier who gets disillusioned with governments, all leading up to a heart rending conclusion. Snake Eater remains the pinnacle of the Metal Gear franchise, even today, and is legitimately a front runner for the title of the greatest game ever made- it is small wonder, then, that it also ended up being voted the best game of all time on the PS2.

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So that's it, that's the list you all came up with, collectively. On the whole, I think you have reason to be proud of your picks- I'd be hard pressed to come up with a better Top 10 for the PS2 myself.

Also, here are the picks #11-20:

• Okami
  This gorgeous Clover studios developed action adventure game remains one of the most beautiful games of all time
• Kingdom Hearts II
  Square Enix went big with the sequel to their Disney/Final Fantasy crossover, and the result was a modern classic
• Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
  After a rare misstep with Devil May Cry 2, Capcom created the greatest character action game of all time with Devil May Cry 3.
• SOCOM II
  Sony joined the online shooter party with one of the most unique shooters of the modern era
• Burnout 3: Takedown
  Criterion decided to go for destruction porn, and racing games have never been the same ever since.
• Gran Turismo 3
  Gran Turismo reached heights it never would again, with the best game in the franchise, and one that is widely regarded the greatest racing sim of the modern era.
• Persona 3: FES
  Atlus reinvented the JRPG with one of the freshest games of all time. Great soundtrack, incredible characters, innovative gameplay, and awesome story- what more could you ask for?
• Kingdom Hearts
  Square Enix made the unlikely work with this gem of a game that combines their Final Fantasy legacy with Disney worlds and characters.
• Timesplitters 2
  One of the last bastions of old school shooters, before Halo changed the game, and also one of the best.
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
  Before Naughty Dog made the platforming challenged Uncharted, they released one of the best platformers on the PS2 with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.

Lol the worst metal gear solid is the best ps2 game?

Also, looking back now the ps2s best games are pretty meh

Seriously? MGS3, better than Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, TimeSplitters 2, Okami? **** that and your crappy tastes.

Looks like you're the one with the crappy taste.

Beautiful list. Top 3 is perfect imo.

@charizard1605: Some more interesting titles in this additional list than in the regular one.

I'm more than alright with that list.

I am personally offended that Burnout was relegated to the second list; Okami and DMC3 not being the Top 10 blows too. I would have liked for there to be less repeat franchises, but that didn't work out. Oh well.

I agree with pretty much everything except for RE4. The PS2 version suckass.

What? Graphics were still fine on PS2. And the PS2 version had some extras.

PS2 version was good.

Jak & Daxter is better than God of War.

My top 3 made it into the final 10. Seems like I have good taste.

God of War over God of War 2 is ridiculous. If you like the story

A: you like a bad story as it is
B: Yes the story of God of War 1 is better than 2, but TWO shits on it in every other fucking way. From mechanics to pacing to level design to boss fights.

I mean the fact that any God of War game is being put over Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 3, God Hand, Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2, or even something a bit more middling like Onimusha is lunacy, but I would have at least assumed the correct God of War would go over. Oh and Shinobi < 3

I'm assuming the sheer impact factor for God of War puts it over God of War II. II is otherwise a better game in every possible way.

What fucking impact? The shittyness of Kratos's existence? That should be held against it.

You may not like it but God of War games are good. And are on the same level as DMC or any other game you mentioned.

Nah, it was a revelation, with how narrative based it was for a character action game, and how fluid and accessible it felt.

The 2nd one (and to a lesser extent the third one)? Sure. Not in combat (it's wildly outclassed there), overall as a game (pacing, solid bosses, good enemy variety, decent level design, sense of scale)? Eh sure. Certainly not for its laughable story to anyone with good fucking taste or a modicum of exposure to a story telling medium that doesn't blow.

The first one? LOL

The first one is easily better than the third one.

It's aged poorly, but for its time it was bit for bit better than God of War 3, and even now, it provides a better paced, better playing game in general than God of War 3 does, the only claim to fame God of War 3 has is its boss battles, and boss battles alone can't compensate for everything else that it blows at.

@charizard1605: RE4 and FF12 ....in there !! Who the heck :P

Heres mine top 10 just for the fun of it

1) GOD OF WAR

2) FINAL FANTASY 10

3) ICO

4) SHADOW OF COLLOSUS

5) GTA 3 : SAN ANDREAS

6) OKAMI

7) METAL GEAR SOLID 3

8) JAK AND DAXTER

9) TEKKEN 5

10) DEVIL MAY CRY

all exclusives/time exclusives

some games i really liked also : Dragon Quest VIII / GTA3/GTA Vice - JAK2/JAk3 / Ratchet and Clank / Kingdom Hearts / Persona 4 / God of war 2 / Silent Hill 2-3 / MGS 2 / Dark Cloud 2 / Onimusha / Winning Eleven

No the **** it didn't. It's combat still wasn't all that, it's sequels have more combos, better alternative weapons. The sequels have more bosses, and that happens to the only gameplay sequence God of War consistently very good at (albeit yes, there are some stinkers in that God of War 3 rotation). Better paced? There was entire fucking slog of the poorest of poor Zelda Dungeons on top of whats his face's back that loses any appeal if you have some semblance of expectations for puzzles in a game.

The level design in the first game isn't good (hades towers not withstanding, there is also the tedious affair with the sirens in the desert, the swimming shit, that room with the wheel, all a celebration of monotony), the combat is the worst (and it's always been its biggest drawback to anyone that plays more Japanese beat-em ups), the enemy variation is the weakest, the copious amount of "adventure" elements it had did nothing more than add to the tedium of the game, and a lot of those weren't "well for the time"...no **** that Ninja Gaiden already existed at this point, there 2 damn good Devil May Cry games, 2 Otogi games, and by this point I'm pretty sure all 3 Onimusha games were up, and God Hand was later that year. God of War 3 may be a stupid story and a tale of two halves (strong first half, weak 2nd), but it's a more accomplished beat-em up than the original ever is.

Judged as an adventure game it was in a generation that saw Beyond Good and Evil, Okami, 3 Prince of Persia, and that lame ass game on the Gamecube you really like Wind something.

Aged? Pfft it was lame in 2005, Balrog and everyone on God of War 2 actually made a good game out of a bunch of half-baked ideas.

I have never seen or heard of Persona in my life. Don't know anybody that has it. Must be a Gamespot thing.

Yo, in 2005, its combat was better than God of War 3's was for 2010. This is indisputable.

Level design gaffes? Sure, I'll agree they existed, but I'll still give them higher status over God of War 3 because God of War 3 either had corridors or boxes for levels, and nothing else. It was the God of War equivalent of a corridor shooter, God of War 1 at least tries to mix it up so much.

The combat, sure, it was iterated upon in future games, but it better fucking have been iterated upon in future games, it's not a revelation that it was. What I am saying is that in context of its release, 1's combat holds up far better than 3's. 3 didn't even have the entire expansion of combat that 2's did (and it went back on a lot of great things that 2 did, like magic), it basically tried to emphasize the chains and that one fucking weapon you get at the end, it became a monotonous grind. By contrast, 1 may have been more of a grind in absolute terms, but back when it released? It was a revelation how good it played, especially since God of War 1 was more action adventure than just plain action or beat em up or whatever, and it was a good action adventure game rather than a mediocre game like God of War 3, even if there were better action adventure games than it.

It's not binary- God of War 1's individual elements were outclassed even at the time of its release, that does not make it a trash game, it was a holistic experience that played incredibly well, and was like nothing else on the market.

P.S. the only people who don't like the Hades levels are people who suck at fine movement in the game, I was fucking 13 when the game came out and I did it in one go.

It's one of the highest rated, best regarded RPGs of all time, and Persona 5 is one of the most anticipated games of the generation, and not just on Gamespot- GameTrailers, NeoGAF, IGN, it charts everywhere.

Could Gran Turismo 6 and the Ps2 resolution cars make it a contender for this category? Just wondering.

I agree with number 1, also surprised that FF12 is on that list.

No it wasn't. Ninja Gaiden and DMC3 (might have been a few months) weren't so far removed from God of War 1. The next great combat game was what...Bayonetta in 2010? And a good argument can be made that Bayonetta isn't better combat wise than the other 2 (I think it is, but that's for the things I like).

This "time" thing you want to hang on to, doesn't fly here, that shit was lame regardless of era. Why would God of War 3 be weaker in a generation that saw less beat-em up games and less advancement in that space? Vs a game that came out around the time of arguably two deepest entries that genre has to offer in DMC3 and Ninja Gaiden Black. Both of which are 2005, the exact same year, after NG1 was already out in 04.

God of War 1's combat was box levels, because a lot of beat em ups use the same exact combat arena stuff to their level design. As far as selling environments go, God of War 3 wasn't exactly slouch. This weird revising God of War, God of War may be fresh, but to me fresh also needs a second running mate, called execution. And the original God of War is sloppy in that regard. It's exactly it's holistic experience that doesn't work. It's combat isn't good enough to carry the stretches of action it has, and none of its puzzles are particularly clever or interesting to warrant such an extensive amount of time wasted on that shit in that one temple.

Every single one of its short comings would have been worthy of criticism exactly the day it came out given all the games that came out in that era. We had way more action/adventure games that generation.

Hades isn't poor because of a skill thing, it's poor because it's a mundane stretch of corridors and tedium followed by spike towers that require a sense of rhythm the rest of the game doesn't expect you to focus on. I was able to handle it, isn't necessarily a defense. I was able to Master Ninja: Ninja Gaiden 2, doesn't mean that game isn't cheap as sin.

The point is, God of War existed before God of War II did (and pretty sure it existed before DMC3 and NGB too, but don't quote me on that). Those games bettered the bar for combat in a character action game- which God of War 3 then subsequently fails to meet. Hell, even if we remove DMC and NGB entirely, let's focus on God of War, after God of War 2 was a thing, 3 has no business being as shit as it is, 3 is a regression in encounter design, it's a regression in terms of combat because of its emphasis on the blades and its butchering of the magic system, and 3 also ditches the full action adventure trappings of 1 and 2 which makes it a badly paced slog. 3 has a worse story, terrible pacing, samey, corridor levels with no variation and no engagement from the player sans move forward, kill everything, pull lever, rinse repeat (outside of that garden level, which is the one good level in a 15 hour game).

God of War 1's combat was weaker because God of War 1 never focuses exclusively on the combat. It was not a character action game, it was pitched and marketed as an action adventure game, and its combat is far beyond any other action adventure game of the era. 3 focuses on being character action, and it comes short, and it also comes short of its own predecessor which predated it by three years.

Again, I'm not arguing with your issues regarding the first game's implementation- in terms of puzzles or dungeons, Zelda was doing it better. In terms of bosses, Shadow of the Colossus did it better. In terms of combat, yeah fine, DMC3 and NGB did it better (though, again, different genres). But God of War did all of it put together in one package better than all these other games, that's the point. And within its genre, even its relative weakness in combat was still better than anything else- the closest that would come to God of War were the later Prince of Persia games.

As for Hades, saying that the game brings it out of nowhere is wrong. The exact same puzzles are in the Temple of Hades section in Pandora's Tower, albeit not as intense or long, and then the same set of skills is needed to finish the Madness Buffs. The game had drilled that skillset pretty well into the player by the time you actually reach the underworld.

And it would still be better in all those areas than God of War 1. It doesn't do combat worse, it doesn't do level design worse (that's lunacy), it doesn't do pacing worse (again not an area God of War 3 is good at, but two games being bad at doesn't mean I'm actually pretending one is good at it), it doesn't do boss fights worse, it doesn't do its selection of weapons worse, it doesn't have less enemy variation. It's creatively duller in comparison? Sure, but the original does everything worse than that third game. I mean I'm not touching the part where you called God of War 3 a 15 hour game, lol okay. The action/adventure trappings weren't that strong to begin with, if anything it's more in line with what 2 did. 2 cut them down and made them quick one offs you would do in between combat. The original quite literally has extended sequences where you are just puzzling and exploring for a bit. Which it wasn't good at. The third games rhythm is entirely from God of War 2 some action - some platforming/puzzle(shit puzzle)/exploring area-boss, and yeah rinse repeat.

Repeating spaces? The original was doing that worse. The tail end of that game you back track through spaces you've already been. Hell you do that in all 3 of them.

And they are not a different genre, God of War's entire existence is due to shit that was being done in Devil May Cry, even David Jaffe would admit to that. He made a beat-em up game, he just decided to pace his game with platforming and puzzles along the way. Otherwise the gameplay is piling on combos by hitting some buttons and watching your character hit the enemies with a melee attack/weapon.

And the thing is I wouldn't just limit God of War (including the superior combat engines that both 2 and 3 have) inferior to just DMC, Bayonetta, and NG combat wise, there were plenty of other beat-em up games on the PS2 and at least 2 on the Xbox (the two Otogi games) that had more satisfying combat engines. That's not an aging thing, its contemporaries were always better than it in those areas. God of War 2 being a better game is actually that series having an argument for a more holistic experience (completely ridiculous, because again that story is crap, but God of War 2 being good is because it compliments a fairly weak combat engine well). That original well? Literally got by on some new car smell and a whole lot of flash. Oh and like really bad greek tragedy plot.

The PlayStation 2 when it's enjoyed such ridiculous success has to pass for cruel and unusual punishment. It's not so much that we couldn't come up with 25 games -- that much was cake -- it was having to plug them into the ranking.

Agreed. Having two games from a series sort of takes away the excitement as you're going down the list. But what can you do?

Not a bad list there though.

Onimusha :Dawn of Dreams was my all time favorite. With Dragon quest 8 being a close second.

Im okay with this list. MGS 3 is my personal favorite PS2 game so i am happy.

All Hail Burnout 3!

I had MGS3 as my #1, so obviously I'm okay with this, even though I think RE4 is the all around better game.

I don't have much beef with the ordering either. I mean the PS2 is flush with classics so it's hard to complain about one game I really liked being over another game I really liked.

Except Sons of Liberty of course. I've warmed up to it over the years but it can still **** off for the most part.

God of War 3 is way better than the first from an encounter design perspective alone. Seriously, horrible as the scorpion is, it's nowhere near as bad as some of the monotonous parts of the first. I mean, Char even has a God of War 3 pic for God of War 1, that's gotta be some subliminal messaging.

And looking at this list makes me realize, thank god for HD remasters and remakes. I played at least eight of the top ten games thanks to their availability on modern consoles, it's really helped the already legendary PS2 library have even longer legs.

List for me still goes

3) Resident Evil 4

2) Persona 4

1) Shadow of the Colossus

@Blabadon: Nah, i couldn't find a 1080p pic for God of War 1 anywhere, so I went with one that seemed neutral enough to work. With Kronos being a major character in the first game, and that entire picture sort of recalling the Pandora's Tower sequence, I felt that was good enough to work.

So you took a break for less than week? :P I knew you would be back and couldn't stay away..lel

MGS3 and RE4 are the only games I've played on that list -- none of which I played on the PS2, lol.

I don't give a shit about the spot some games got , but the list is great.

Even GT3 mabe the top 20 , so now i can sleep soundly at night.

@charizard1605: I'd put Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal over any Jak and Daxter game.

Hey, personally, R&C>>Jak and Daxter any day.

But I mean, ya'all are the ones who voted for these games, so :p

You're on crack. Most rational people would consider Snake Eater to be the best MGS game.

I really enjoy'd FF12 it is by far my favorite PS2 game, glad it made the list.

Also I consider RE4 a gamecube game, otherwise it would be right up there as the best PS2 had to offer.

I thought MGSV was Kojima's magnum opus?

Anyway solid list and I would kill for a true HD remake of RE4, SoTC, MGS3. MGS3 in particular with fox engine. Shadow of the colossus with current Gen visuals would be insane.

@a-new-guardian: it's a flawed game with a polarizing reception. No way is it his magnum opus.

needs more Ratchet and Prince of Persia, but pretty good list overall

Didn't recognize you at first without your Chie swag Char.

You just described Metal Gear Solid 3.

@charizard1605: if only they allowed him to finish it. That second chapter rehashed and chapter 3 was cut off including 3 maps from what I hear.

MGS3 should be remade in fox engine with MGSV gameplay. Would be incredible. there are a few areas in MGSV that made me feel like what if this was MGS3? I was smiling while playing even though I was just hiding and marking enemies in the darkness. I feel so bad ass taking out a whole outpost silently. If only they had a bow and arrow in the game too.