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Top 5 console games of last generation (PS2, GCN, XBox)

eXistor

Member
Random order:

Dragon Quest VIII--Perfect in every way. Love the scale, humour, music. It's everything a traditional rpg should be and indeed this is the very best of 'em all.

Metroid Prime--At the time, this could not be bested, great atmosphere, tight-ass controls, it was truly Metroid as it should be in 3d. Strangely enough it's subsequent Prime games that actually diminish the brilliance of the first. MP2 was good, but felt like a cheap sequel, MP Pinball is a fine game in it's own right, but again it did little good for the Prime franchise and MP: Hunters is an okay game that shoulnd't have been made.

Zelda: the Wind Waker--Nintendo doing what they do best. No, not the best Zelda game, but the awesome graphics, sound design, controls and a fun story and dungeons (if too little) make this a great great addition to the series. Shame about the difficulty though.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant Kinda like Metroid Prime, From the New World really shouldn't have been made, as it is a below-par rpg and feel like an incredibly cheap and easy sequel. But that doesn't change the fact that Covenant is one of the funniest and fun-to-play rpg's there is. I'm not very fond of the drab, gray-ish feel the game has, but it works well (though not as well as the first games' dark atmos), also I hate having to select locations instead of actually walking to them, but those are minor quibbles.

Knights of the Old Republic Can't really say anything bad about this one. I love Star Wars and this had some of the coolest characters it's universe has. Great story and an awesome twist and some great locations and a lengthy quest make it a must-play.


Ah screw it, five is too hard:
Tales of Symphonia
Silent Hill 3
Final Fantasy X
Baten Kaitos
Resident Evil 4
We <3 Katamari
Radiata Stories
ICO
Shadow of the Colossus
MGS3
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Super Mario Sunshine
Shenmue 2
Psychonauts
Suikoden V

Yes, I hate these lists too, but I felt bad leaving some games out :(
 
1. Metroid Prime

primeugenegc2.jpg


2. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
3. Resident Evil 4
4. Super Smash Brothers Melee
5. Animal Crossing

:D
 

LevelNth

Banned
Still very subject to change, as I've yet to play/finish everything I want, and a few possible entries have still yet to release (Final Fantasy XII, Rogue Galaxy, Twilight Princess, God of War 2, etc.):

1. Shadow of the Colossus (Team Ueda/SCE)
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Kojima Productions/Konami)
3. ICO (Team Ueda/SCE)
4. Dark Cloud 2 (Level 5/SCE)
5. REZ (United Game Artists/Sega)

Too many honorables to mention. A Top 10 list would be much better; 5 is a tad small.
 

Tsubaki

Member
If I have to leave out Dreamcast games (and their ports to other systems... Sakura Taisen 3, Culdcept 2, Space Channel 5 Pt 2...)

5. (Up for grabs)

4. Halo Combat Evolved
B00005NZ1G.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V61461097_.jpg


First FPS I've enjoyed since... Goldeneye 007. Halo definitely isn't perfect... it's rightfully criticized for its repetitive interior stage design. But it's everything else that is fantastic. It's the first time where I've encountered a world so expansive that I actually felt like I was part of it. Playing on Legendary totally makes the game that much more strategic too. It's too bad that Halo 2 destroyed everything I liked about Halo.

3. Zero/Fatal Frame/Project Zero
B00005RIWA.09._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg


This is the first survival horror game I've liked - It's genuinely creepy AND it's fun to play. Although Crimson Butterfly had a more complex/deeper camera system, there was just something to be said about the intensity of the first game. The first game was more action-y, requiring fast reaction times and accuracy take down opponents. It's like a more strategic FPS. The first game also has the creepiest atmosphere. I loved it so much I played it 3x! XBox ver has an additional boss on its highest difficulty.

2. Ninja Gaiden Black
B0009UC68U.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V63214193_.jpg


I did not think I'd like it, but its reputation of being a hard game pulled me in... and never let me go. I love how it's a game that you need to practice in order to get good at. When you first play, you will die and die a lot. But it forces you to learn how to play the game and sooner or later, you've overcome it. Then you try it on Hard and are blown away by all the upgraded enemies and even new enemies! Then you try it on even harder difficulties and see that they even have new bosses. Team Ninja pulled out all the stops. You just can't help respect them after this.

1. Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter
B00006D2DL.09._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Nothing compares. Forget the SOL stuff. The core game has a lot of strategic depth. The combination of AP points, magic traps, and combos make it far more advanced than SRPGs I've played. The ability to influence a fight before you enter it (ie, their PETS system) is also nicely integrated. Nothing has evolved the stale genre as much as this game, folks.
 

jammer

Member
5. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (PS2) more bonus content FTW

4. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2) updated to perfection

3. God Of War (PS2) western developers CAN kick some major ass?!

2. Metroid Prime (GC) 2d to 3d transformation executed almost perfectly all the while staying true to the series origins

1. Resident Evil 4 (GC) from beginning to end, heart pounding, adrenaline driven pure gaming FUN!


Halo and GTA fanboys can suck my left nut. Sadly I haven't played but a few minutes of Ninja Gaiden so I can't really add it to my list.. but F-Zero GX is so close to making it.

Also if DC is to be listed then Ikaruga would be placed 7th.
 

Geoff9920

Member
I can't pick just five, but here are some games that come to mind...

Halo/Halo2
RE4
Ninja Gaiden Black
Metroid Prime
Knights of the Old Republic
Dragon Quest VIII
SOTC
Wind Waker
Riddick
 
Picking just 5, hmmm that's tricky.

Jet Set Radio Future
Guitar Hero
Halo (1 or 2, i liked both.. so whatever works)
Psychonauts
Jak 3
 
Andy787 said:
Are we counting PC or Dreamcast? If so, Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, and Half-Life 2 would be on here.

Metal Gear Solid 3
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus
Ico
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Runners up: Metroid Prime, Yakuza, Halo, Zone of the Enders 2, Beyond Good & Evil, God of War, Devil May Cry.

Your list pretty much mirros mine, except replace Metal Gear Solid with F Zero GX. Even the runners-up are right.
 

WARCOCK

Banned
I need to include pc.

1.Hl2(+HL2 DM.CSS/DoDS, yes its fair ITS PACKED IN THE ****ING GAME silver pack ,srry life is a bitch + source = innovation engine of last gen... deal with it)
2. Warcraft: RoC + TFT (i really dont care what anybody says about it unless they can beat me at it which would mean that they comprehend the game better then i do, and hence their word > mine.)
3.MGS 2( YES 3 is a superior game, but 2-3 years too late( i suck at dates). Srry it just didnt have this one's wow factor)
4. Gran Turismo A-spec ( shame on all of you for not including this ****ing labor of love.)
5. SF3s (you have to squeeze it somewhere and eh this gen seems just fine)/VF4 evo( sheer admiration for the game although i personally dont enjoy it at all, superb pro-gaming platform)

Honorable mentions: WoW certainly deserves to be up there but when you weigh in the pros and cons its a tough call. Pros :Nothing quite like it in sheer scale, community included. Cons: Monthly fees and selling your soul. SSBM rocked as well.
 

Pimpbaa

Member
1. GTA3
2. WoW
3. GTA: VC
4. HL2
5. Mercenaries

This list was difficult for me to make. Not really sure if this is my top 5.
 
Is anyone keeping score, I mean we all know RE4 will win this but how about second place ;)

My top 5 so far (zelda will obviously be the best):

5. KOTOR
4. GTA: SA
3. Metroid Prime
2. MGS3
1. RE4
 

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
1. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess- Best game ever, so obviously it's going to be no. 1 this gen.

2. SSBM: The only GC game worth playing til F-Zero GX came out.

3. Resident Evil 4

4. Shadow of the Colossus

5. Paper Mario 2


The last 3 I just had to randomly think of. Might change it in a bit.
 

Amir0x

Banned
MrSardonic said:
pretty similar choices. Maybe Pikmin 2 would make my list if I had actually played it. This thread has just reminded me how insanely awesome RE4 is...I need to make time to play that game again.

Half-Life 2 is incredible, it's definitely top 5 material... but the topic only said "PS2, GCN and Xbox", so I didn't consider any PC games.

But yeah, you definitely have to try Pikmin 2! There are a few who don't like the 'random caves', of which there are many, but I loved everything.
 
Top 5 (unordered and including PC games)

World of Warcraft
Gran Turismo 3
Halo
Medieval: Total War
Fire Emblem: PoR

Guitar Hero gets an honorable mention instead of being on the list because I don't own it, I can just tell it will be from what I've played (getting 360 version).
 

kinoki

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
There is a common misunderstanding that Wind Waker, Final Fantasy X, Super Mario Sunshine, Ico, Metroid Prime (one and two), and Halo are good games. They're not.

But, we had lots of good games this gen none-the-less.

5. Gitaroo Man, Rez, Guitar Hero, DDR, SingStar

4. Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, Substance, Substinence, Psychonauts, Okami, Yakuza, Transformers, Gregory Horror Show

3. Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4, Half-Life 2, killer7 (although not great in any sense of the word but "the great failure" known as Suda51 who almost spoiled this one shot at greatness, the ever dependable Capcom did good in postponing this)

2. Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts II, Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest VIII, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga, World of Warcraft

1. Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas
 

Amir0x

Banned
kinoki, there is a grave misunderstanding that 'top 5 console games' means 'list 50 console games, but label them as 5.' I assume you've been caught in this pithole, but you can save yourself.
 

snatches

Member
Amir0x said:
kinoki, there is a grave misunderstanding that 'top 5 console games' means 'list 50 console games, but label them as 5.' I assume you've been caught in this pithole, but you can save yourself.

Hey Am! How can kinoki save himself? I would like to know....that post is such a train wreck
 
Final Fantasy X? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*takes a breath*OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

That game is crap as FF games go..I've never understood how so many people can like that game. :(
 
5. ChuChu Rocket! - Dreamcast
4. Shenmue II - Dreamcast (European)
3. Hot Shots Golf: Fore! - PS2
2. Phantasy Star Online Ep. I & II - Gamecube
1. Jet Grind Radio - Dreamcast

These are my five favorite games for either DC, GC, Nuon, PS2, or XBox. Absolutely zero objectivity here, folks. Objectively, Shenmue II shouldn't appear near a top games list. Even so, the experience was awesome for me because I love the characters, visuals, sounds, and was wowed by the grand scope of the project.

I played hundreds of rounds of ChuChu Rocket! online and wish there was still a way to play people online, complete with the 1 second lag.

I'm a golf game enthusiast, so naturally I am drawn to the Hot Shots Golf series.

I've spent over 1,000 hours playing various versions of Phantasy Star Online (mostly during Summer 2003) despite the repetitiveness of it all.

And Jet Grind Radio, I think I will play it again right now!
 

Lakitu

st5fu
Wow this is a tough one...ummm..

OK

5. Gran Turismo 4 / Forza MotorSport / Project Gotham Racing 2 - can't decide :(
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
3. Halo / Halo 2
2. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
 

Red Scarlet

Member
kinoki said:
There is a common misunderstanding that Wind Waker, Final Fantasy X, Super Mario Sunshine, Ico, Metroid Prime (one and two), and Halo are good games. They're not.

But, we had lots of good games this gen none-the-less.

5. Gitaroo Man, Rez, Guitar Hero, DDR, SingStar

4. Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, Substance, Substinence, Psychonauts, Okami, Yakuza, Transformers, Gregory Horror Show

3. Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4, Half-Life 2, killer7 (although not great in any sense of the word but "the great failure" known as Suda51 who almost spoiled this one shot at greatness, the ever dependable Capcom did good in postponing this)

2. Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts II, Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest VIII, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga, World of Warcraft

1. Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas


Wow, you have a horrible post history.
 

Mooreberg

Member
01. Metal Gear Solid 3
02. VF4 Evo
03. GTA San Andreas
04. Rallisport Challenge 2
05. Halo

edit: if we're including PC games than throw Half-Life 2 in there somewhere
 
kinoki said:
There is a common misunderstanding that Wind Waker, Final Fantasy X, Super Mario Sunshine, Ico, Metroid Prime (one and two), and Halo are good games. They're not.

But, we had lots of good games this gen none-the-less.

5. Gitaroo Man, Rez, Guitar Hero, DDR, SingStar

4. Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, Substance, Substinence, Psychonauts, Okami, Yakuza, Transformers, Gregory Horror Show

3. Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4, Half-Life 2, killer7 (although not great in any sense of the word but "the great failure" known as Suda51 who almost spoiled this one shot at greatness, the ever dependable Capcom did good in postponing this)

2. Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts II, Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest VIII, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga, World of Warcraft

1. Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas

Yuck.
 

FiRez

Member
Halo: Combat Evolved (5 years later and I still feel goosebumps when I remember it )
03.jpg


KoTOR (the only RPG that I was compelled to finish 2 consecutive times)
kotor-7b.jpg


Halo 2 (ONLY for the MP) the SP is made of pure and concentrated fail
H2_mp_lockout_grenadetoss-G.jpg


Unreal Championship 2 (The next evolution of combat in the FPS genre and it was so overlooked *sniff* ;_;, I hate MS for dropping the publishment of this game, My only hope is that in the future epic or some other dev retook the awesome gameplay of this game)
unreal-championship-2-1.jpg


God of War (it was too easy but so fun)
god_of_war_006-large.jpg
 

Mallrat83

Banned
This is hard so I'm going to go by series:
Metroid Prime series
Halo series
SSBM (only one, but oh so freakin' good)
Zelda series (yea, I'm including a game that isn't even out yet. so sue me, i'm feeling pretty confident).
MGS series
 

LAMBO

Member
In order

DMC3, so good i bought it twice.

Mercenaries - The best sandbox game, don't care about GTA's after playing mercs

Shadow of the Colossus - makes you proud to be into games.

DQ8 - exactley the way i like rpg gameplay, plus the best presentation i've ever seen in a rpg

MGS3 - good in so many ways

if you included pc my list would be different (hl2, Dawn of War etc.)
 
5 is to little so I'll do 10.

1. Metal Gear Solid 2-The first MGS game I ever played and I thought it was amazing. I had never played a game that I thought had a great story and felt like a movie. This game really brought me into the world of gaming.

2.Final Fantasy X-I also thought this game had a great story. I really liked the narrative and the characters, especially Tidus. The battle system was awesome and the game just felt like a big epic adventure. Also, I felt the dub was good.

3.Metal Gear Solid 3-Preatty much all the same reasons that I gave for 2 minus the experience of playing a game like this for the first time.

4.Grand Theft Auto 3-I love the atmosphere, the open world, and the humor. GTA 3 is an amazing game.

5.Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner- I love mechs(Gundam) and ZOE is the best mech game ever. The gameplay is awesome and fast.

6.Resident Evil 4-The gameplay is just awesome. A great experience.

7.Digital Devil Saga 2-The story and graphics are awesome and unique. As, is the music. The battle system is the best RPG battle system of this generation.

8.Kingdom Hearts 2-I just really liked the game.

9.Max Payne 2-The game is just really well made. It’s made with love. The story is awesome as is the gameplay.

10.Halo 2-Fantastic multiplayer game. So many memories.
 
in particular order:

Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio)
Shenmue
Shenmue II
Sonic Advenutre 1
Soul Calibur (DC)

in protest to the forgetfullness of TC forget that this great console was also from the same gen as PS2,Xbox and GC
 

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
metroid prime, resident evil 4, and half-life 2 were all too good to put them on any tiers of excellence. i get the same pants-filling jubilation everytime someone just mentions their existence.

i enjoyed lots of great games this generation, as there were many, but these three in particular just stood head and shoulders above the rest.
 
AAK said:
1. DMC1: The reason I bought a PS2

devilart_6.jpg
devilart_3.jpg

devilart_1.jpg
devilart_4.jpg

devilart_2.jpg
devil_38.jpg

Indeed.

Interesting art from the pre-trenchcoat Dante days. But further proof why dmc is king. I remember walking into the cathedral for the first time way back in 2001 to combo some demonic clown puppets in the air was memorable as **** with the lighting, animation and art design going full force. Damn, I miss Kamiya and Mikami now :(
 

CrapSandwich

former Navy SEAL
Halo CE
GTA: SA
Guitar Hero
Morrowind

I'll stick with 4 because those are the only games that completely shattered my fragile mind with their awesomeness.
 

gwiz210

Member
My list contains....

5. Viewtiful Joe- New, amazing, awesome, beautiful and a joy to play

4. Super Mario Sunshine- an awesome sequal to sm64(yeah people, its IS a sequal, deal with it.)

3. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker -Awesomness occured here. The graphics, gameplay and story come together to create an amazing work of art.

2. F-Zero GX - Feels like a Next-Gen game on my good ole' gamecube. This title was amazingly fast, dufficult, beautiful and addicting.

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee- Nothing beats it, its the first title I put into my GCN and it will always be there. Smash was awesome on all fronts, its a game that everyone can play. While some multiplayer games make my friends pissed when they loose(halo), SSBM was a game where they wouldnt get mad....besides I wouldnt know how that feels...Im reffered to as the "Smash Master" among my friends.
 

Chairman Yang

if he talks about books, you better damn well listen
Amir0x said:
Half-Life 2 is incredible, it's definitely top 5 material... but the topic only said "PS2, GCN and Xbox", so I didn't consider any PC games.

Remember it was on the Xbox too (although that version certainly wasn't the definitive one).
 

shpankey

not an idiot
I can't do less than 10...

Halo: Combat Evolved
Shadow of the Colossus
Resident Evil 4
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Ico
Halo 2
God of War
NBA Inside Drive 2004
Devil May Cry

Honorable Mentions:
Project Gotham Racing 2
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
Fable
Metal Gear Solid 2
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
MVP Baseball 05
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Hot Shots Golf
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
 

Ristamar

Member
AndoCalrissian said:
RE4 isn't on this list... how exactly?

Indeed. "I find your lack of RE4 disturbing."

I'd might go with (in no particular order):

1) RE4
2) Freedom Fighters
3) Metroid Prime
4) SSX 3
5) Prince of Persia

With these as possible alternates:

- Winning Eleven series
- GTA series
- Viewtiful Joe
- SSBM
- Wind Waker

I still have yet to play Gof of War, Snake Eater, Pikmin 2, BG&E, and a handful of other notable titles, as well as a few RPGs (DQVIII, DDS, etc). I'm sure the list will change in the next couple of months.
 
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