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.
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