For our second go around of Ask PSLS (check out the first here), we wanted to focus on the PlayStation 2 now that it is no longer being produced. Instead of asking the PSLS staff what our favorite game was, we’re going to go in a different direction and are asking: ‘What’s Your Most Memorable PS2 Game?.’
Remember that this weekly feature needs your help, so if there’s any question you’d like answered by us in a future installment, please leave it in the comments section below.
Alex Osborn – News Editor (@a_charlez)
For me, it has to be Kingdom Hearts. While clearly not the best game on the platform, the original KH was easily one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve not only had on the PS2, but probably ever. Disney movies and Squaresoft RPGs were a huge part of my life growing up, so getting the chance to explore a world that seamless melds the two together was an incredibly satisfying nostalgia trip.
Anthony Severino – Founder/Executive Editor (@Sev_Anthony)
Final Fantasy X – I remember logging hundreds of hours alongside my wife, who isn’t much of a gamer, but got involved in the story. It was also what I feel to be the last great main entry into the Final Fantasy franchise. It was also the very last RPG that I had the time available to me to sink countless hours into.
Cameron Teague – PR Manager/Reviews Coordinator (@Cameron_PSLS)
For anyone that follows me on Twitter or has been around the site for a while should know, I am about as big of a Suikoden fan as there is out there. So it should come as no shock to anyone that my most memorable PS2 game is Suikoden III. The game is so memorable in fact; that I have beaten it over 10 times without collecting a single trophy! Just imagine sitting down to play an RPG with over 108 playable characters and a storyline that allows you to play it from three different points of view throughout a majority of the game.
Chandler Wood – News Writer (@FinchStrife)
Off the top of my head? Psychonauts. That game was the under appreciated gem of the PS2. While it is a cult classic now, I still know too many people that have never played it, let alone heard of it. Being an extremely unique and gripping original IP from the mind of Tim Schafer, I’m surprised that it has not seen a sequel at this point. Maybe a next-gen Psychonauts title is in order? A couple of runner ups include Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts and nearly any title that they’ve given the HD treatment to.
Dan Oravasaari – Weirdly Obsessed With Dolphins (@FoolsJoker)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty has to be the one PS2 game that comes to mind when I think back to my PS2 days. Having bought Zone of the Enders just to play the short beginning ship sequence of MGS2, words could not describe just how excited I was for its release. Then when I finally got it, and got past the initial demo portion, I was greeted with not being able to play my beloved Solid Snake, but instead the aged Hanson member, Raiden. After working my way through the game back to Snake and the chaos that was the Colonel, I could not believe a game had taken me through such a ride. To this day I still drop random MGS2 quotes, and think back to when I could first watch ice melt in a video game…those were the days!
Jason Dunning – Lead News Writer (@Jasonad21)
That’s easily Final Fantasy X. Even though I’d played a few RPG’s before X, it was the very first one I really became heavily invested in and wanted to keep playing until the dead of night. During my first playthrough I actually got to the final boss (no spoilers here!) and couldn’t beat it even after multiple attempts, prompting me to give up. I then started a new game a few months later, same story.
So about a year after that second attempt, I leveled everyone up in the best ways I knew how and beat the final boss rather handily, finally allowing me to watch the ending and make some sense out of what was happening in Final Fantasy X-2 (which I played and beat before finishing Final Fantasy X).
Now if only Square Enix would hurry up and bring out Final Fantasy X HD! I want to ride ze shoopuf again!
Jesse Meikle – News Writer (@Jesse_WM)
Easily, Kingdom Hearts 2. I’m a young guy, and I spent most of the PlayStation 2’s lifespan playing terrible licensed games that appealed to my younger (more) ignorant self who had no insight into the glowing gems of the gaming industry. Fortunately, Kingdom Hearts had the perfect hook to pull me into all of it’s colorful, critical glory. I adored all of the familiar Disney characters, and the unfamiliar wind-hazard haired Final Fantasy characters weren’t a detractor either. Hook aside – the gameplay was fantastically fast paced, the graphics were incredible, and the story was personally unprecedented. To this day, Roxas remains one of my most beloved gaming characters, and Kingdom Hearts 2 stands as one of my favorite games.
Ryan Ordway – Writer, Site Technician (@decimalator)
Fur Fighters. My son and I spent countless hours chasing each other around the maps in the split screen death matches. After awhile he got good enough that I didn’t have to let him win.
Sebastian Moss – Commander-in-Chief (@SebMoss)
Uhhhhmm, I don’t remember much past last week… I guess it’s got to be a toss up between the first God of War, GTA III, Burnout 3 and Shadow of the Colossus. I think I’ll actually go for Burnout, because nothing has been able to rival that level of enjoyment for me when you’re with a group of friends playing locally (I miss those days).
Vivas Kaul – Writer (@VivasKaul)
God of War 2 is my most memorable game. Ignoring the obvious poignancy associated with it being a swan song for the PS2, that game was one of the first third-person, hack and slash games that I had ever played. It was also the first GoW game I had ever played.
While the violence was indeed a major contributing factor to my fascination with the game, just the fun of playing through the game on higher difficulties caused me to sink a bunch of hours into it. Cory Barlog’s vision of Dave Jaffe’s original concept was nothing short of amazing. It was also extremely tight in terms of the combat, the graphics, and the story. Most importantly though, it’s probably what really hooked me to the Sony brand. Since that time the series has had it’s ups-and-downs, but GoW2 represents a game that, to this day, I still go back to.
What is your most memorable PS2 game? What question would you like us to answer in the future? Let us know in the comments below.
