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Its time to choose, PS2 or PS4? Which has the best library?

Best library between PS2 or PS4?


  • Total voters
    228
  • Poll closed .
The 2 best games on the PS4 are Shadow of the Colossus and Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir--and both are PS2 ports. As a person who doesn't like walking sims with endless dialogue, the PS2 wins hands down.

Note that I'm counting out the PC games on the PS4 because the PC counterparts are far superior.
 
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Belmonte

Member
We could have a good discussion if the thread was about PS2 vs PSX.

PS4? No. PS2 not only have quality but quantity and variety in spades as well.
 

scalman

Member
Ps1 has best because all started somewhere, and depends what you want to play. I never had better time on never consoles that i had with PS1, PS2.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
This one is tough for me, and it's not for library reasons.

I had the PS2 day one on, but about a two years or so into it, I switched over to mainly PC gaming. So many PC games and LAN parties captured my attention.

So a good portion of the PS2's life, I missed out on a wealth of games due to that focus.

So for library and diversity I think the PS2 is the undisputed king when it comes to consoles, but for "play time" the PS4 has seen more for me in comparison to back then.
 
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Psykodad

Banned
Tough call, but I have to give it to PS4.

If I went by nostalgia, PS2 beat PS4 by a landslide, but it's 2019 and with online games like Warframe, Smite and Apex, there's "unlimited" fun for free.

Imo it's a matter of nostalgia vs progression and I'd rather not be stuck in the past.
 

EDMIX

Member
PS2 was an amazing platform in terms of its massive libary and many things happened to many publishers good and bad that might result in it being better in some areas and PS4 better in others.

JRPGs.

PS2 has a great amount of respectable JRPGs, but its also a time where the genre was still doing extremely well.
Best of the best PS2 JRPGS.

Final Fantasy XI (MMO), FFX, FFXII
Kingdom Hearts, KH2, KH CoM remake
Persona 3, Persona 4, SMT3, Digital Devil Saga 1 ,2
Xenosaga 1, 2, 3
Monster Hunter
Yakuza 1, 2
Dragon Quest VIII
Tales series (released like 5 or so PS2 games lol)

(if I'm missing some, let me know, those are some CLASSICS)

This is were things get a bit hazy. Consider this, PS4 STILL got sequels to some of those IP (of the popular ones that are still able to exist)

PS4

Final Fantasy XIV, FFXV
Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts 2.8
Persona 5
Monster Hunter World
Yakuza 1 remake, 2 remake, Zero, 6
Dragon Quest XI
Tales series still exist on PS4
(new comers)
Nier
Gravity Rush 1 and 2
I Am Setsuna
Lost Sphere
FFVII remake
Bloodborne
Ni No Kuni 2

and I'm sure I'm missing some.

I only used 1 genre to show the example of what I'm going to say. Those series that were successful enough to still exist for the most part still have PS4 versions, Sony has increased their studios from PS2 to PS4.

At the time of PS2, it was a great system for its amazing library , but even with as amazing as PS2 was......it was missing some huge IP.

Half Life 2
Doom 3
Far Cry
Chronicles of Riddick etc

PS3 allowed Sony to branch out to more AAA IP that normally didn't come to their systems the past gen, as Rage, Doom 3 remaster, Half Life 2 ,Far Cry series, The Darkness (same dev as Chronicles of Riddick) all came to PS3 and moving forward, PS3 was staple for most AAA IP. Add in Sony buying more studios, I might say PS4 by default might have the better library.

Imho, if we get Parasite Eve remake, Dino Crisis remake, Resident Evil 3 remake, Onimusha sequel, another Nier, another main line Final Fantasy etc it could tip the scales for many to see PS4 in a better light then PS2. PS2 was a classic console, it will always be in many of our hearts (teary eyed), but looking at both without any personal emotions of memories or anything like that, I'd have to say PS4 by default of Sony pushing out more new series, having a stronger first party and all major titles coming to PS as suppose to some.
 
D

Deleted member 738976

Unconfirmed Member
My favorite game series from PS1-PS3 are either lower quality, dead, or no longer Playstation exclusive anymore. Don't misunderstand and think I'm saying the PS4 is bad because stuff like Gravity Rush and VR made it worth it. Still at least for me the PS5 is going to be a hard sell without a good Metal Gear Solid.
 
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Since the PS4 isn’t done yet there is still time to make up some ground but since I favor Single player experiences over multiplayer when it comes to console I would have to give the blue ribbon to the PS2. Probably, my desert island system to be honest.
Silent Hill 2, Fatal Frame 2, GTA Vice Cit/San Andreas, etc...
 

ROMhack

Member
PS2 had a greater variety of excellent games, however, PS4 has games that are better in every regard than even the best PS2 games (e.g. Nier Automata).
It's not surprising because the quality of game design has only progressed. However, the industry has regressed in so far as denying entry to risky projects, which was PS2's trademark.

Indie games fill a void and are great but even the biggest PS2 games had room for experimentation. Games like Okami, Ace Combat, Ico/SotC, Beyond Good and Evil, MGS2/3.
 
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Three

Member
IMHO trying to argue that the PS4 has ‘superior’ version’s of classic games in this context is a disservice to the originals. Shadow of the colossus for example may look better on ps4 but it is at its heart a ps2 game.
I never said superior I just said modern. However the game is part of the PS4 library still. If I were to choose between the two libraries I would pick PS4 but from a 'which gen did you enjoy more at the time' this may be different. Was what I was trying to say.
 
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VertigoOA

Banned
The niche crowd of jrpg fans will say ps2 but the reality is the PS4 is the best games console with the best and most varied library to date.
 
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II_JumPeR_I

Member
“PS4 only has cinematic/walking simulators” is a tired argument from those that are trying to justify their Xbox purchase.
It really isnt. I dont have to justify anything. Not everyone shares the same taste in games like you.

You know what a tired argument is? "That <insert console here> has no games."
 
I love the PS4 and its library, but for me the PS2 stomps a nasty mud-hole in the PS4 and every other console's library. (The only one within shouting distance is the DS imo.)

QkRQIG7.jpg
 
I'm going to say PS2, but the gap has closed dramatically in the last 3 years. If the (purportedly) last two years of the PS4 are two 2018s, I will consider them too close to call.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
PS2 enjoyed the last dying breath of the worldwide arcade scene (Dreamcast too). That helped to flesh out its library with a lot of arcade and arcade-esque titles. I think that made a huge difference in the variety of its library. Games like Burnout and Midnight Club took heavy influence from arcade racers, for instance. Lots of arcade compilation packs, as others pointed out. This is an area where PS4 is kind of lacking in comparison. Fighters are another example. PS4 is no slouch at all, but PS2 just had sooooo many more ported to the system by this point of its lifespan: Tekken, Soul Calibur, CapcomVsSNK, Melty Blood, Guilty Gear, not to mention the Street Fighter/Fatal Fury/SF Alpha/KoF/etc/etc compilation packs. Mahvel Too Baby.

PS4 is enjoying the inevitable merging of high-end console and high-end PC gaming (which is no longer profitable enough to exist solely on one or the other). So PS4 is getting a ton of the PC games and PC genres that PS2 never got. If you thought PS2 was amazing because of all the cinematic, story-driven games, PS4 pretty much wipes the floor with PS2.

I can see why someone would honestly prefer one or the other.
 
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GametimeUK

Member
I think the staggering amount of quality indie games, remasters and remakes help catapult the PS4 ahead. Don't get me wrong, I loved my PS2 more than my PS4 if we are comparing how I felt in their current lifespans, but the PS4 vs PS2 through a none nostalgic and modern lenses puts the PS4 ahead for me.
 

FStubbs

Member
I vote PS2, but only because I'm a huge jRPG fan. I imagine the PS4 is better at shooters, cinematic games, sports games, and I know it's better at visual novels, open world, and 2D games.
 
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Elfstar

Member
Modern consoles are never, ever going to compete with classic ones that used to get entire libraries of exclusives.
 
Like everyone says, PS2 and its not even close. The PS2 had multiple releases of each AAA game, jak had 3 or something, two god of war, two great GT games, MGS2 and MGS3, Ratched / clank, sly cooper, three great SSX games, soul calibur 3, virtua figher 4, Tekken tag, tekken 4 and finally tekken 5. System also saw some of the greatest 90's games, Half Life and Dues ex, quite good ports too, considering.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus where masterpieces, graphically more advanced then anything PS4 has/had for the time. Black showed what the PS2 could do when pushed aswell, very pretty looking (and sounding) FPS title, great controls too.

PS2 was also a platform where 60fps was a thing, God of war 1/2, ZOE2, MGS2, and many more were 60fps titles, while being graphically one of the / if not most great looking games of all platforms. In comparison PS4 is quite a disaster with its 30fps with dips output.
On PS2 we also had timed exclusives like GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas, which were even more reason to own a PS2.
Devil May Cry one and two also great games.

Final Fantasy was rather great too, SOCOM series had great online gameplay for being a 6th gen console, where online wasnt even really a thing yet. Free online aswell.
Many japanese titles like Klonoa 2 saw releases on the system, JRPGS also being a thing there.
Eye Toy also saw mutliple releases on the ps2, as did many pheripals did.

Multiplatform games wherent bad either, we saw TimeSplitters 2 and future perfect, prince of persia, Tony Hawk games, and much more sport games then the PS4 ever will.

Also, when PS2 launched it had rather high-end hardware (instead of like PS4, low end hw), it was more capable then a Geforce 2 in some ways, at a very respectable price of 300 dollars, and going down in price much more and faster then the PS4.
I remember everyone being blown away by the MGS2 E3 demo.



PS2 came with something new too, DVD player, like the PS3 brought blu-ray. PS4 didnt come with anything really, not even UHD 4k blu ray player in the pro somehow. Support for DTS/DD in some games for a march 2000 console is rather impressive too.

PS4 seems to have more heat/noise problems then the PS2 aswell, aside from laser-problems, the PS2 didnt really overheat and die thanks to it. 2 USB ports on PS2, 2 on PS4, rather lacking for a late 2013 machine, somewhere.

On top of all this, games werent just movies for the most, gameplay was a thing there. Oh and, full backwards compat without having to pay twice for the same games, even the PSX controllers/memcards etc where BC.
 
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fallingdove

Member
It really isnt. I dont have to justify anything. Not everyone shares the same taste in games like you.

You know what a tired argument is? "That <insert console here> has no games."

I don’t quite know what you are getting at. Are you saying the only games on the PS4 are cinematic games - and that the argument isn’t tired?

Also, I am all for variety, and appreciate people’s unique tastes in games. I own all of this generations consoles.
 

FStubbs

Member
Modern consoles are never, ever going to compete with classic ones that used to get entire libraries of exclusives.

How relevant are exclusives for something like this? Xbox One has less exclusives than Atari 2600 but I know which one I'd rather play.
 

Barakov

Gold Member
Despite the recent censorship business, the PS4 library is fantastic on all fronts. But I feel the PS2 is just on a another level. It just felt like on that system every developer was firing on all cylinders. Despite how difficult it was to develop for Sony allowed game makers to go all out. It was the typical sophmore outing (ie. SNES, Xbox 360) that brought seminal, fantastic games.
 

EDMIX

Member
Final Fantasy XIV was a terrible broken mess. You must be thinking of a realm reborn, which still doesn't erase the original game but at least it's playable.

? I think you know I mean Reborn, FFXIV original release NEVER came to PS4.... I don't know why you went so far to state such a thing when that version came out in 2010 and closed down soon after. Moot and obvious which one I'm talking about.
 

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
PS2 still has some of the best sequels and new iconic games ever. PS4 has some nice sequels and not that much new IPs
 

Aren117

Member
PS2 is the best console ever. It had quality games in a huge quantity. From the top of my head, not everything was exclusive but:

Final Fantasy X, XI and XII
DMC 1 and 3/3SE
a fuckton of Shin Megami Tensei games (SMT3, DDS1 and 2, Devil Summoner 1 and 2, P3, P3FES, P4)
Resident Evil CVX, RE4, RE Outbreak 1 and 2
Yakuza 1 and 2
MGS2, 3 and Online
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
Tekken 5
God of War 1 and 2
Onimusha 1, 2, 3, 4
a bunch of Kingdom Hearts
Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2
Silent Hill 0, Shattered Dreams, 2, 3, 4
Fatal Frame 1, 2, 3
Dragon Quest VIII
TimeSplitters 1, 2 and 3
Xenosaga 1, 2 and 3
lots of Tales games
King's Field 4
Siren 1 and 2
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus
Drakengard 1 and 2
Soul Calibur 2 and 3
Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2
GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas

and then much, much more games like a ton of JRPGs, some Splinter Cell, the Need For Speed games were still good (Underground 1 and 2 were awesome), the Prince of Persia Sand trilogy, the Lord of the Rings games, Harry Potter games, Black, the Tomb Raider games were cool too.
 

Leonidas

Member
PS2 easily, back in those days PlayStation had tons of third party exclusives. Nowadays there are barely any third party exclusives.
 

Sakura

Member
PS2. There just aren't many PS4 games that I really love.
And then many games on the PS4 that are entries into series I'm a fan of, just aren't as good as the older entries (MGS5, KH, FF, Persona, etc).
I think a lot of it has to do with what kind of games you like though. I don't have any interest in titles like Horizon, or Assassins Creed, or Uncharted etc so many of these major PS4 games don't do anything for me, but for others they might be the best games of all time.
 

scalman

Member
it would be so nostalgic now take PS2 again but all best games on it are done and im not sure i would like how they aged to this day ....i mean i dont mind aging NES , SNES games , but those early 3d games can age really bad ...
 
? I think you know I mean Reborn, FFXIV original release NEVER came to PS4.... I don't know why you went so far to state such a thing when that version came out in 2010 and closed down soon after. Moot and obvious which one I'm talking about.

The beta was on PS4, but that's another story.
 

Hinedorf

Banned
It's great to look at our past fondly. NBA Coach Steve Kerr has the best quote when it comes to things from our past that really applies to anything.

When discussing players from decades ago: "They're all right. They would all kill us. The game gets worse as time goes on. Players are less talented than they used to be. The guys in the 50's would've destroyed everybody. It's weird how human evolution goes in reverse in sports. Players get weaker, smaller, less skilled. I don't know. I can't explain it."

The same applies to video games. There are more video games now, better video games now, more competition in the video game market to make better games now.

LITERALLY EVERYTHING IS BETTER ABOUT GAMES NOW. It doesn't go in reverse folks, sentimentality is for Uncle Rico.
 
To me the best Playstation generations were PS1 and 2. After that everything turned into super serious cinematic simulators, its especially like this on PS4, where almost every game looks and plays the same. A reason why i dont like any of this exclusive games.


Thats my take as a Xbox only owner.



Yeah shure it is. Boy you are missing some epic games on the PS4..

Games on the PS4 turned in to cinematic simulators...
Almost all games looks and play the same...

Bullsh*t and bullsh*t.
You never played the games and you have biased view.
And you know you sound like an Xboxfanboy.
But thats oke, you only have an Xbox and that tells a lot.
 

Myths

Member
I wouldn’t even know where to begin with the PS2 library, it’s that massive and amazing of a console/gen.
 

Terce

Member
Socom 1 & 2
Shadow of the Colossus
ICO
Gran Turiamo 3 & 4
Katamari
Ratchet and Clank (original Trilogy)
SSX trilogy
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 & 4
God of War 1 & 2
Final Fantasy X & XII
Beyond Good and Evil
Okami

It’s a tough system to beat.

You forgot Extreme G (XGRA), Dave Mirra, Shaun Palmer, Timesplitters 1&2, and FFXII but otherwise great list
 
PS2 enjoyed the last dying breath of the worldwide arcade scene (Dreamcast too). That helped to flesh out its library with a lot of arcade and arcade-esque titles. I think that made a huge difference in the variety of its library. Games like Burnout and Midnight Club took heavy influence from arcade racers, for instance. Lots of arcade compilation packs, as others pointed out. This is an area where PS4 is kind of lacking in comparison.

PS4 is enjoying the inevitable merging of high-end console and high-end PC gaming (which is no longer profitable enough to exist solely on one or the other). So PS4 is getting a ton of the PC games and PC genres that PS2 never got. If you thought PS2 was amazing because of all the cinematic, story-driven games, PS4 pretty much wipes the floor with PS2.

I can see why someone would honestly prefer one or the other.

Good balanced post.

I think part of the reason I prefer PS4 is because I don't care much for JRPGS and would generally much prefer something like Witcher 3. I would also add that, whilst the PS2 does have the PS4 beat for arcade/arcade-esque titles, the PS4 is no slouch in this regard either with an impressive fighting game roster (SFV, KOFXIV, Soul Calibur 6, Mortal Kombat X, Skullgirls etc.), the Assault Suit Leynos remake and some extremely high quality shmups like Resogun, Battle Garegga Rev. 2016, Nex Machina and Darius Burst Chronicle Saviours.
 
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