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Best action RPG for ps2 for Gaf opinion
- Thread starter luca_29_bg
- Start date
Tales of the Abyss
Although if you're going to play it these days, the 3DS port is superior
Odin Sphere's another solid pick
Funyarinpa
Member
From the few I've seen, probably Drakengard LMFAO
snow in jamaica
Member
i like......d.........d............d............d-draken.........gard...............
How does it hold up? Played Drakensang 3 a while ago and even with the "not so good" graphics and fos drops I had a lot of fun and thought the writing was superb.
Funyarinpa
Member
I think Drakengard 1 is counted as "for the love of God, don't play it yourself unless you hate yourself" lol
Story goes PLACES though
isaacnukem
Member
Has to be Raidou Kuzunoha 2 for me.
Anyway, I find the Tales battle system heavy, if that makes sense. It's a shame, as I love JRPGs and it seems to be the only series I can't get into.
Anyway, I find the Tales battle system heavy, if that makes sense. It's a shame, as I love JRPGs and it seems to be the only series I can't get into.
A Black Falcon
Member
I don't know what the best is, but I'll mention a few I do think are good.
Champions of Norrath and its sequel Champions: Return to Arms are actually really good. All of the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance-style games are good (never PC Baldur's Gate great, but good), but those two are some of the better ones... and unlike most of the rest they are PS2-exclusive.
Beyond that, Rogue Galaxy is a very good, and maybe even great, game. It's a lot of fun.
I also quite like Shining Force Neo and Exa... yeah, I know they have issues (those repeating voice lines, particularly in Neo...), but the gameplay's good, really good in fact. I know, it's not "real" Shining Force, but of the Shining action-RPGs these are the best for sure.
Champions of Norrath and its sequel Champions: Return to Arms are actually really good. All of the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance-style games are good (never PC Baldur's Gate great, but good), but those two are some of the better ones... and unlike most of the rest they are PS2-exclusive.
Beyond that, Rogue Galaxy is a very good, and maybe even great, game. It's a lot of fun.
I also quite like Shining Force Neo and Exa... yeah, I know they have issues (those repeating voice lines, particularly in Neo...), but the gameplay's good, really good in fact. I know, it's not "real" Shining Force, but of the Shining action-RPGs these are the best for sure.
snow in jamaica
Member
Drakengard is wonderfully surreal. Don't play it unless you're insane. Or just insanely patient. Or insanely both. It's hellbent on being unfun to play but that works in its favor.
This is the one. I really need to pick up a PS2 at some point so I can finish the sequel since a scratched disc kept from getting beyond a certain point.
Right alongside Monster Rancher as one of the series I miss most.
witchedwiz
Member
Dunno..it started great both as story and as battle system variety..
Then the story ended up as okayish to good..
But the variety for boss fight piqued at the VERY FIRST BOSS FIGHT, anything after that was just "the usual stuff"
..
Anyway, norrath. Dark alliance gets my vote..
But I wonder how many played xmen legends, legends2, and the avengers counterpart on ps2..
They were REALLY good, especially as a marvel fan..
Scrolling beat 'me up with rpg elements, quest system, etc..
Also does tales count?
Because abyss has that insane battle system with phonic field, and some backstabbing plot twist..
And that ost....
witchedwiz
Member
Vp2 was very good, pity we never had vp3..
For some aspects it was even better than original vp..
A pity they killed it like that..
The framework of the saga was good, and the 3D combat with part breaking was spectacular and reminiscing of vagrant story in concept if not in execution..
Would have loved a vp3, but we can't always have good things..
Indivisible might scratch that itch, but it's basically vp1, where I would have loved a vp2-style bs..
Mr.Deadshot
Member
Kingdom Hearts 2.
poodaddy
Gold Member
X Men Legends 2 for me, but I totally admit to buying games to appeal the comic lover in me over the game enthusiast on occasion. I loved that game, and still do actually. I genuinely think it's a better game than either of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance titles. It's a damn shame that we'll never see a port of it to current consoles.
UnluckyKate
Member
Kingdom Hearts 2
Yakuza 2 (more a brawler than real RPG but still, phenomenal game)
Oding Sphere... but PS4 version really made it far better
Yakuza 2 (more a brawler than real RPG but still, phenomenal game)
Oding Sphere... but PS4 version really made it far better
Being able to see enemy attack range on the battlefield and then approaching using the semi-realtime movement before dashing into position and carefully juggling the enemy to cut off a body part was bliss. I definitely think the 3D positioning makes the battle system superior to VP1.
Indivisible looks great but yes, it's a VP1 style system. At least the platforming looks at least as good as VP2. Exist Archive is the same, I think, but the art style put me off that so I've not looked too deeply into it.
Couldn't get more spot on than this folks.
sixteen-bit
Member
Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance
KeyChainDude
Member
Good to see all the praise for KH2 Final Mix. It's the true answer.
And Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix comes in second, too.
And Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix comes in second, too.
luca_29_bg
Member
ok so many interesting titles here, thanks guys. I only played Kingdom hearts 2 final mix, plus, of course, the normal version and the first kingdom heart. But when i mean "action", i mean a combat system similar to kingdom heart series, where you can use combat moves even when there is no enemy to fight, and there is no transition to battle/exploration (i hate this sooooooooo much). No matter if 2d/3d.
Crankshaft
Member
I would consider an Action Rpg to be a game where the character runs around and is able to attack enemies without transitioning into a battle screen. I don't exactly view Star Ocean and Tales of to be Action RPG's but rather traditional JRPG's with an action focused battle system. I'm not saying I'm right and everyone else is wrong but that's my view on it.
That being said my favorite Action RPG's of the PS2 era are the Snowblind developed games. Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath. I know due to licensing issues we probably won't see an HD version of the Alliance games but I'm hoping that Sony makes a HD remaster of Champions 1 and 2. I know Sony Online Entertainment is no more and the license for Everquest has moved over to Daybreak but I would think there is enough still there for Sony to be able to make a deal with Daybreak to port those games to this gen.
Those Champion games had Online features back during a time when hardly anyone was using them. It would be great to play those games online now that internet is much more of a standard than it was back then.
That being said my favorite Action RPG's of the PS2 era are the Snowblind developed games. Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath. I know due to licensing issues we probably won't see an HD version of the Alliance games but I'm hoping that Sony makes a HD remaster of Champions 1 and 2. I know Sony Online Entertainment is no more and the license for Everquest has moved over to Daybreak but I would think there is enough still there for Sony to be able to make a deal with Daybreak to port those games to this gen.
Those Champion games had Online features back during a time when hardly anyone was using them. It would be great to play those games online now that internet is much more of a standard than it was back then.
Same.
luca_29_bg
Member
Exactly, i'm totally agree with you!
Stealthcobra
Member
So what makes kingdom hearts 2 final mix so good? Is it worth buying the ps4 remaster just to play it?
cj_iwakura
Member
I enjoyed it as well. It's janky, but it has an odd sort of charm to it. It's something best experienced in person.
ASilentProtagonist
Member
KH2
Valkyrie Profile 2
DC2
Valkyrie Profile 2
DC2
Vital Tundra
Member
Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix + is without a doubt the best to me. Shoot nothing since has matched it to me.
In the original version Sora's moveset was so busted you could win 90% of the game by mashing attack and hitting triangle prompts. Final Mix added Critical difficulty which actually starts you off with more abilities, but limits your HP growth and raises enemy damage to where you die in 2-3 hits. I wasn't really a fan when I played it but it's still a lot better than the original version. And the extra abilities it starts you with basically amount to "get more items and use more magic and drive forms".
Hippopuncher12
Member
Champions of Norrath by far.
Stealthcobra
Member
What did you think of the first gm final mix?
I am personally going to throw my hat in for Valkyrie Profile 2.
Plot is goofy as all hell, but I thought the battle system was extremely fun. And in typical PS2 Tri-Ace fashion, you could break the game late game that made things pretty entertaining to do.
Edit: Tales of Destiny Remake is definitely a close second though. Such a shame that never got an English release.
Plot is goofy as all hell, but I thought the battle system was extremely fun. And in typical PS2 Tri-Ace fashion, you could break the game late game that made things pretty entertaining to do.
Edit: Tales of Destiny Remake is definitely a close second though. Such a shame that never got an English release.
LouisaFerre
Member
Honestly, it's just a really fluid system that offers a lot of mobility, a good amount of nuance when it comes to defense, and does a good job of emphasizing skill over stats.
Leveling up in the game primarily just increases either your maximum health or gives you abilities that mitigate the damage you take. The tools you have access to with regards to movement, blocking/evading, and offense are gained as you progress through the game, so playing at a low level doesn't limit the amount of depth to the battle system.
Also, there's a minimum amount of damage that you can do to a boss, so even during a level 1 playthrough you're never doing chip damage. Even with the hardest bosses in the game, you're never going to be in a position where it takes more than 3-5 minutes to take them down, and that's not because they're easy. The really good bosses, like the extra humanoid ones, are difficult because they are incredibly aggressive, and they aren't the type that will repeatedly alternate between a stage of pure aggression and obvious vulnerability. That's not to say that there are not openings, but the way the combat system works is that your attacks can stagger enemies. Your goal is to take advantage of the first opening in their combo that's large enough that you can stagger them without getting hit, and to capitalize on that as much as you can before you hit a hidden value in the game that allows them to retaliate. I'm not going to say it has the depth or skill ceiling of a proper fighting game, but I feel like that system provides a similar sort of ebb and flow to the combat.
Picking Critical Mode makes the game A LOT harder, but in exchange you're given an abundance of Ability Points, so you can have all the moves you want equipped at the same time.
Your defensive/evasive options include blocking, parrying, dodge rolling, dashing, dodging in the air, gliding, and reflect magic. I don't want to drone on too much since I've already written out this much, but what I would say is that there are upsides and downsides to each maneuver, and there's a good amount of thought put into the limitations of each one. When you're aiming for mobility with gliding, your access to i-frames is significantly limited, and the viability of reflect magic, for example, can be diminished depending upon when you do it in a combo, and it doesn't actually deal damage back to the enemy until you allow yourself to be vulnerable again.
The gameplay does have its shortcomings, and if you want to compare it to something like Bayonetta or God Hand it's easily going to fall short, but I feel like KH2FM shows a lot more understanding of what makes action games challenging and rewarding than something like Ys: The Oath in Felghana(even though I enjoyed that game) or almost any other RPG I've experienced.
I would suggest playing on Critical Mode at some point, but it's fucking hard so be prepared for that.
I totally hate myself, perfect. Jokes aside, I think I should at least try it. The whole writing in Drakengard 3 was so good, that all of it flaws never bothered me. Thanks for your replies, may give it a try.
Yea I agree with you there. Though I think playing a few planets is worth the asking price (the PS4 rerelease).
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