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Which PS2 RPGs should I play?

F

Fou-Lu

Member
So back when the PS2 came out I got one for Christmas, but my dad lost his job shortly after that and I ended up getting very few games for the console. As a huge fan of RPGs missing out on one of the best RPG lineups should be something I correct. I have played and enjoyed:

Final Fantasy X and XII
Dark Cloud 1 and 2
Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2
Persona 3 and 4
Disgaea
Shadow Hearts

and probably a couple more I am forgetting. I am currently playing Shadow Hearts Covenant which is great. Note, I am perfectly happy to play the game on PS3/PS4 or in a remake if that is available, but most of the PS2 games I've bought so far were cheap on ebay or in a used game store.

I will accept PSX games I might have missed as they will obviously play on my PS2.
 
F

Famassu

Member
Wild Arms games. Front Mission 5. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Steambot Chronicles. Suikoden III & V. Valkyrie Proifle 2: Silmeria. Xenosaga Episode I & III (watch a movie of Episode II...)
 
P

purseowner

Member
Pretty much all of them.

Most of NISA's output is solid, mainline SMT is great, Wild Arms is worth a look, Dragon Quest V has a nice remake on there in addition to VIII.

I've heard good things about Xenosaga but have yet to get to that myself. The console's the golden age of JRPGs in my opinion (although we may be seeing a renaissance).
 
S

Seda

Member
Perhaps try an SMT game, SMT: Nocturne (Lucifer's Call in EU) is widely praised, or try one of the spinoffs like Digital Devil Saga or Raidou.

They are pretty different from Persona 3/4 but you'll be familiar with some of the terms and mechanics already.

Some of those games are available on PSN for PS3 if that's a better option for you.
 
K

Kwame120

Banned
Despite the PS2 being an RPG goldmine I haven't actually played that many RPGs on it. One I have played, Mana Khemia, I highly recommend. It's also available on PSP (I think that version's better, only played the PS2 version myself.) It's an Atelier game so has a strong alchemy focus, and what I quite like about it is that it ties the level up system to your alchemical proficiency - level up is quite disingenuous actually, you don't level up - you unlock abilities based on what you have created, using points gained through battles. It's battle system is pretty cool too, uses cards to create a timebased (but not real time!) system. Loosely, you control the main characters as they study to be alchemists in an alchemist school, which in itself might be a change of pace from your usual adventurous RPG.
 
F

Fou-Lu

Member
Famassu said:
Wild Arms games. Front Mission 5. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Steambot Chronicles.
Click to expand...

As someone who is obviously a huge fan of Breath of Fire it is probably a travesty that I have never gotten around to playing Dragon Quarter. Even after Aeana told me I really, really should.

Seda said:
Perhaps try an SMT game, SMT: Nocturne (Lucifer's Call in EU) is widely praised, or try one of the spinoffs like Digital Devil Saga or Raidou.

They are pretty different from Persona 3/4 but you'll be familiar with some of the terms and mechanics already.

Some of those games are available on PSN for PS3 if that's a better option for you.
Click to expand...

Spieler Eins said:
SMT Nocturne
Click to expand...

I've actually played quite a few hours of Nocturne. It seems odd to me that it hasn't hooked me yet as I love Persona and Strange Journey.

John Kowalski said:
Xenosaga
Click to expand...

I absolutely adore Xenogears and Xenoblade, it's probably about time I play the Saga.
 
F

Famassu

Member
Edited to my first post, but it bears repeating: don't forget Suikoden III & V! The fifth game starts really slow but it picks up!
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Valkyrie Profile 2 is great. Has one of the most interesting JRPG battle systems ever.

Don't play Rogue Galaxy. It's one of the worst-designed games I have ever played
 
W

Weiss

Banned
Okage.jpg


Okage: Shadow King is an incredible RPG. The actual gameplay is a bit simple with a few interesting quirks, but the phenomenal cast, story and music save it.
 
F

Fou-Lu

Member
Famassu said:
Edited to my first post, but it bears repeating: don't forget Suikoden III & V! The fifth game starts really slow but it picks up!
Click to expand...

Right, definitely will play these. I bought III on PSN when it came out but haven't gotten around to it. Suikoden II might be my favourite PSX RPG after FF9.

Weiss said:
Okage: Shadow King is an incredible RPG. The actual gameplay is a bit simple with a few interesting quirks, but the phenomenal cast, story and music save it.
Click to expand...

And here's one of the ones I forgot to mention having beaten. Such a quirky and fun game.
 
C

cyress8

Banned
Protome said:
Summoner 2
I never played the first one. No idea about it.
Click to expand...

Summoner 1 is alot better than 2 in my opinion. Feels more like a traditional RPG.
Think of it like this. Summoner 1 is Dragon Age: Origins and Summoner 2 is Dragon Age 2.

Summoner 2 is fast paced and short just like Dragon Age 2. Weird as fuck now that I see the similarities.
 
S

Sölf

Member
If you own a PS 3, skip KH 1 and 2 and buy 1.5 HD and 2.5 HD instead. If you don't own a PS 3, play those games of course.

Disgaea is great, there is also an enhanced Steam version now.

No idea about the Persona 3 and 4 PS 2 versions, both games are good but I played them both in PSP/Vita and I know Persona 4 Golden has quite a few improvements over the PS 2 version.

No idea about Dark Cloud. If that didn't receive remakes on another console, play those first. I never played them myself. Same goes for Shadowhearts.

I love FF X and hate FF XII. So, yeah, play X definitly.

Edit: Of course I skipped the "I played and enjoyed" part. I feel stupid.

If you liked Disgaea, maybe look at Disgaea 2 or other Nippon Ichi games. La Pucelle Tactics and Soul Nomad and the World Eaters are both really good.
Jade Cocoon 2 is a great RPG I can recommend. Legaia 2 I never really played much (because it was rather difficult), but I remember it fondly.
 
D

Daouzin

Member
Dark Cloud 2 for sure for sure.

I'm a big fan of XenoSaga so I recommend those as well, but definitely Dark Cloud 2.

I would say 1 and 2, but 2 is much better and much longer. Don't want you to burn out on 1 and not be able to play 2.
 
E

Evantist

Member
Along with what others have said,

- Grandia 3
- .Hack GU

The stories for the above aren't that great but I like their gameplay.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga 1/2.
With the exception of Persona 3&4 and Shadow Hearts 1&2 (which you already played/are playing) nothing else on the system comes even close.
If you want more SMT check out Devil Summoner 1&2.

Xenosaga 3 is pretty good but you'll need to play 1&2... Still worth it imo, 2 is pretty bad but fortunately not very long.

Stay away from Rogue Galaxy and Wild Arms V, never have I regretted the time wasted on a game like with these.
These games taught me a valuable lesson, if it still sucks after 10 hours drop it, don't expect it to get better and don't feel forced to finish it because of the time you already invested, wasting 10 hours is a hell of a lot better than wasting 60.
 
D

decoyplatypus

Member
I'll limit myself to five:

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Dragon Quest 8
SMT: Nocturne
Suikoden 5
Valkyrie Profile 2.

These are all entries in long-running franchises, but you don't need to have played earlier installments to enjoy them. The only two where I would recommend playing previous games first if you have easy access to them are Suikoden 5 and Valkyrie Profile 2.
 
R

Robert at Zeboyd Games

Banned
My favorite PS2 RPGs are Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, FFX, Dragon Quest 8, Wild Arms 4, and most of the Atlus SMT games (Persona 3 & 4, SMT: Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2). Suikoden 5 is also good if you don't mind the load times. There's an enhanced version of Persona 4 on the Vita so you can skip that one if you have a Vita.
 
T

Taruranto

Member
Alright let's throw some names:

Shin Megami Tensei games: These are classics. Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, Raidou 2. Persona 3 and 4 are fine, but have significantly worse gameplay/battle system/dungeon design.

You can skip Raidou 1, it's kinda bad.

Atelier games: Mana Khemia 1 has one of the best implementation of the CTB and a great battle system in general, the Iris games are... not terrible (haven't played 3 yet, however), but more closer to your classical RPG than the Atelier on PS3.

Level 5 stuff: You already played DC1 and 2. I say avoid Rogue Galaxy.

Xenosaga games: 1 is solid, but VERY slow. 2 is garbage. 3 is a masterpiece.

Growlanser II and III: Solid. II feels more like a gaiden game tho', III is more like your classical RPG.

Radiata Stories: Nice, one of the best towns in gaming. Slow start.

Suikoden III and V: Very good, but play III only if you already played I and II. Also skip IV unless you hate yourself. V is technically a stand alone game, but I say no reason to not play I-II-III first.

Wild Arms games: Alter Code: F code and III are very good, IV and V are eeeeeeeeh, I say avoid them unless you don't have anything else to play.

Hack games: lol nope

Grandia games: II is ok as far I remember, but very easy so the battle system doesn't really shine. III has a FANTASTIC battle system with a decent level of difficulty, but everything else sucks.

Dragon Quest V and VIII: Excellent. V is fully fan translated in english.

Tales of The Abyss: Great, from the "Golden Era" of Tales.
 
L

Lynx_7

Member
A lot of people have already said Nocturne and DDS 1 and 2, so I'll throw Devil Summoner 1 and 2 in the mix. Gameplay in 1 isn't too hot but the setting, atmosphere and story have such a cool vibe to it that I couldn't help but really like it. I didn't actually play 2 (yet) but everyone says it's even better than the first so it should also be worth checking out.

You should definitely play Dragon Quarter too, just don't expect a traditional BoF game. It's a great game in its own right.

Dragon Quest V has an excellent remake for the PS2, but it's only available in english through a fan translation.
Dragon Quest VIII is also amazing and worth checking out. It's pretty lenghty though (I spent 90 hours back then finishing the post-game content) so you may want to leave it for when you have the time to sink a lot of hours in a game.
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
Romancing SaGa.

Weird ass remake of a weird ass SFC game made by Square in their prime. I bought it on a whim and loved the fuck out of it.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
Thinking about it, for all the jrpgs the system had, if I took away the SMT games the only remaining standouts for me would be SH and SH Covenant, Xenosaga 3 and FFXII.
But man, Atlus sure brought the goods, between Persona, DDS and Nocturne, that's 5 god-tier games right there.
Raidou games are pretty good too.
 
baberunisei

baberunisei

Member
Dragon Quest VIII is undoubtedly the best RPG of all time, so you will be doing the right thing playing that.

I personally also love Xenosaga, but I know that this opinion is not shared by everyone. I suggest you try Episode I and continue on to the other two if you like it (you'll know in the first hours)
 
M

MegaManTrigger

Banned
I'm amazed with people recommending BoF: Dragon Quarter. The game was a complete departure from what Breath of Fire was about (which is commendable but...), and the game was very frustrating with its system. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this game is BoF in name only.

Considering OP seems to be a BOF fan, maybe it's a game worth playing through to see what it's about, but I'd play some of the other great RPGs on the PS2 first before taking it on.
 
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