Ah. I see.
Speaking of the Castle Shikigami games; is the third one worth picking up? I remember when it got released I didn't immediately jump on it for some reason or reasons. I just can't recall what it was. Does it support tate?
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PS2 Hidden gems
- Thread starter bomblord1
- Start date
Ah. I see.
Speaking of the Castle Shikigami games; is the third one worth picking up? I remember when it got released I didn't immediately jump on it for some reason or reasons. I just can't recall what it was. Does it support tate?
It has been 13 days since I've posted about Robot Alchemic Drive.
Is it just me or does this guy look like Banagher Links
Fun mix of Ace Combat style mission design with semi realism (g-forces, limited missiles). Lots of crazy missions where you have to destroy things like a wheeled aircraft carrier, crab tank, weaponized tokyo tower... etc. Great soundtrack too. Deserves to be much better known.
One of the best mech game ever made. So white-knuckled and fun!
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Mediocre at best. I bought it at GameStop years ago for real cheap. Not bad visuals and presentation.
I knew a lot of people who liked The Suffering, not my type of game to be honest. That and Van Helsing.
Not bad FPS. Lots of physics.
The Thing too.
Pick up Killswitch. I think the name alone was a hidden gem. It was okay, the controls were a bit rough coming off of Xbox.
Urban Chaos LOL you're talking about a game that looks like it should of done better than it did. That and Black. Buy Black.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
this or Clocktower 3
this time stamps PS2 in my head like no other. LOL
PensivePen
Member
akidnamededdy
Banned
It has been 13 days since I've posted about Robot Alchemic Drive.
MY MAN/WOMAN/PERSON
Yeah totally. I still plop it in from time to time in my PS2...
Most of the complaints about the game are that it's mostly training and not much game but whatever I still love it. I put the highest scramble alert possible and just spam the menus until I get one lol.
jeremy1456
Junior Member
I own Rogue Galaxy.
I hate it though. It suffers from that generic Level 5 atmosphere, and I never found the gameplay to be particularly fun.
Like most Level 5 games from the time it's... there, but it isn't much else.
Zantetsuken
Member
The backlog of games I have yet to play on the PS2 is crazy to me.
Ugh, it's not so much the quality of the voice acting that was bugging me, but it was the fact that the talking sections were unskippable and lasted about 10x longer than the actual gameplay. As fun as it was, most fights were done pretty quickly, then it was back to plowing through dialogue again. Still a great game, though, and a shame that nobody's done a remake/sequel/successor.
First two that spring to mind:
Maximo, Capcom. Incredible modern homage to everything Ghosts'n Goblins. The sequel is pretty good as well, but it has a far different theme and feel.
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, Spike. It's tough to get into, but also the easiest Fire Pro game to try and learn. Includes just about every option you could ever want for a wrestling game and is one of, if not the best in the series.
Maximo, Capcom. Incredible modern homage to everything Ghosts'n Goblins. The sequel is pretty good as well, but it has a far different theme and feel.
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, Spike. It's tough to get into, but also the easiest Fire Pro game to try and learn. Includes just about every option you could ever want for a wrestling game and is one of, if not the best in the series.
cj_iwakura
Member
Absolutely.
And I think so. It's not as good as 2, but better than 1. Story is mostly silly, but it has its moments.
Great mentions already. I will add some more...
Extremely underrated manic third-person arcade styled shooter. The first one is great too, but this one polishes and tweaks the gameplay a little bit. Something about this game brings back those PS2 feels of just blasting the crap out of stuff. Simplicity at it's best.
If you enjoy shmups (top-down shooters):
Espgaluda is straight shmup magic and this port is near arcade perfect with a 240p mode in tate rotation. If you have a CRT with either component or SCART you owe it to yourself to play this game. Gotta have either a Japanese PS2, modchip, or slide magic to play it though.
If you enjoy beat 'em ups:
Not the best game in the world and definitely sort of a disappointment but there is still fun to be had in this brawler.
Extremely underrated manic third-person arcade styled shooter. The first one is great too, but this one polishes and tweaks the gameplay a little bit. Something about this game brings back those PS2 feels of just blasting the crap out of stuff. Simplicity at it's best.
If you enjoy shmups (top-down shooters):
Espgaluda is straight shmup magic and this port is near arcade perfect with a 240p mode in tate rotation. If you have a CRT with either component or SCART you owe it to yourself to play this game. Gotta have either a Japanese PS2, modchip, or slide magic to play it though.
If you enjoy beat 'em ups:
Not the best game in the world and definitely sort of a disappointment but there is still fun to be had in this brawler.
My very first rougelike and it still holds a special place in my heart. I never did beat it but one of these days I'm going to give it another go.
First new Adventure Island since the SNES games (and before the Wii game) but it never made it to NA, not sure on EU. Very fun, and it feels just like an AI game. I had a blast with it. There is also a Bonk game, Star Soldier, and Lode Runner, all on the PS2 and GCN.
RadarScope1
Member
Great thread. I thought I knew many of the system's hidden gems but so many here are all new to me. Now's the time to be snapping these up, too. I need to get a PS2 again...
Cromulent_Chill
Neo Member
Project Eden didn't get a real following or praise, but looking back... I feel people didn't reallyappreciate what they had here. 4 player co-op puzzle game. Each character had unique abilities. It had a decent sci fi setting, and creative level design. The combat was'nt really that special, but I didn't really care. Its really old now, but I still enjoy playing it with friends.
Given the whole co-op game resurgence, I encourage people to give it a try.
There is a PC version too with LAN support. I just have the PS2 one with 4 player splitscreen.
Also, and im not sur whether this was really that hidden but... TENCHU!
Maybe not as tight as Metal Gear Solid, but a pretty fun stealth series.
There are also co-op modes. It can be a pretty tough game at times, but really worth it
for stealth and/or Ninja fans
Also...
emperorspride188
Member
Great mentions already. I will add some more...
Extremely underrated manic third-person arcade styled shooter. The first one is great too, but this one polishes and tweaks the gameplay a little bit. Something about this game brings back those PS2 feels of just blasting the crap out of stuff. Simplicity at it's best.
Haven't played it but I liked the gameplay videos.
The retsupurae does not do this game enough justice but oh man it is easily the funniest RPs I've ever watched.
Almost had a pokemon vibe to it. Loved this game check it out.
GUNCON baby
Guncon2 is the greatest!
Guncon2 aside...
Hippopuncher12
Member
King's Field: The Ancient City. Man I love the Souls games, but I wish From would do another King's Field I loved that ish!
BaraSailey
Member
I don't know many people who have played this game, but it's soo good! It's a 2D platformer with 3D graphics, and is very charming. I still pull out my PS2 on occasion just to play this.
Also, the music is top notch.
xplicitone
Member
Guncon2 is the greatest!
Heck yea! Love it. Can it play on new tvs? Haha
Not sure how popular this was but this was my love for 1500 hours of playtime. Y'all have no idea how much I loved this game.
All of the RPGs I would have mentioned have already been covered (and I totally agree that Suikoden V and Radiata Stories don't get enough love), so I'm going with Mystic Heroes. There's something really awesome about a small-scale mosou game. It's kind of hard to go back to now, but damn I used to sink a lot of hours into this game.
Going straight from Shadow Hearts 2 to Shadow Hearts 3, I was really disappointed. The game was good, I just didn't like any of the new characters. A few years later I picked up SH3 again and totally loved it. If you've had some time away from the first two games, SH3 is a great way to get back into that universe.
AKA Bumpy Trot.
came here to post this
NoFaceNico
Member
So much win in this thread!!
I'm glad I'm seeing a lot of titles I own but haven't had time to check out.
A lot of the best hidden gems are mentioned but here's a few I can think of right now:
I sunk sooooooo much time into this game. [geddit?? SUNK! hee hee hee] So good.
I know Finny the Fish doesn't look like much. But if you like Ico, you're going to love this one. It's also the only game I know of that Sony made in collaboration with Sega.
These last two weren't PS2 exclusive, but still good choices and pick them up if you can find them:
Oh, shit! How could I forget Dropship!
I'm glad I'm seeing a lot of titles I own but haven't had time to check out.
A lot of the best hidden gems are mentioned but here's a few I can think of right now:
I sunk sooooooo much time into this game. [geddit?? SUNK! hee hee hee] So good.
I know Finny the Fish doesn't look like much. But if you like Ico, you're going to love this one. It's also the only game I know of that Sony made in collaboration with Sega.
These last two weren't PS2 exclusive, but still good choices and pick them up if you can find them:
Oh, shit! How could I forget Dropship!
Oyashrio-Sama
Member
A weird post-apoc jRPG with a big world to explore. In fact, it requires you to explore heavily to really get the story. Tons of endings, lots of bosses to fight, dogs to give shiny coats, and tanks to outfit.
*High Fives*
More people need to play this game. Its available it the USA under the same name people! Buy it!
IbukiLordSA
Member
This is actually somewhat amusing since the pre-order bonus for Covenant was a copy of the first game so you would think there would be more copies around. I still have an unopened Shadow Hearts laying around somewhere. If you were going to spend money on it may be worth checking to see if there is a difference between the original and pre-order version if that means anything to you or if there is any sort of difference though it would just be packaging probably.
ResidentDante
Member
Ghost In The Shell Standalone Complex
(Kinda shitty boxart)
Game was quite fun, I picked it up since I loved the tv-series midway into the Xbox 360 life. It held up well gameplay wise. The environments are fairly sparse and minimalistic, but I enjoyed the game. Third person shooter, which supports two analogue sticks, for aiming and camera movement. There's quite a bit of traversal of the environments too, great for GITS fans at least.
Confusingly enough, there's a seemingly identical game (same title) on the PSP. But it's actually a sequel. I couldn't get into it though as it was a first person shooter and I hated playing those on the PSP due to the single analogue nub it had.
(Kinda shitty boxart)
Game was quite fun, I picked it up since I loved the tv-series midway into the Xbox 360 life. It held up well gameplay wise. The environments are fairly sparse and minimalistic, but I enjoyed the game. Third person shooter, which supports two analogue sticks, for aiming and camera movement. There's quite a bit of traversal of the environments too, great for GITS fans at least.
Confusingly enough, there's a seemingly identical game (same title) on the PSP. But it's actually a sequel. I couldn't get into it though as it was a first person shooter and I hated playing those on the PSP due to the single analogue nub it had.
They've been said before, but I'll scond those underrated RPGs:
-Shadow Hearts series (amazing, must-play fir JRPG fans)
-Arc the Lad: Twilight of Spirits
-Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
-Tsugunai
-Legaia: Dual Saga
-Unlimited SaGa and Dirge of Cerberus (yeah, sue me. I love me some Hamauzu, it probably blinds me)
I wonder if Stella Deus and Eternal Poison are any good, I bought them a while ago but have yet ti play them.
-Shadow Hearts series (amazing, must-play fir JRPG fans)
-Arc the Lad: Twilight of Spirits
-Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
-Tsugunai
-Legaia: Dual Saga
-Unlimited SaGa and Dirge of Cerberus (yeah, sue me. I love me some Hamauzu, it probably blinds me)
I wonder if Stella Deus and Eternal Poison are any good, I bought them a while ago but have yet ti play them.
Vindicator
Member
Never finished it but had fun while playing.
TheAutomator
Banned
Playstation 2 has too awesome library and I'd like to play all these games but I don't have the time and money. (((
Here's my recommendation though. My friend had this game and I liked it back in the day. It's pretty simple 3D action platformer with robot battles similar to Goemon-series.
Yup. Great game.
Tomato Convenience Store
Neo Member
AKA Bumpy Trot.
I just want to chime in and say this. This'll probably come across as kind of hipsterish but this is my favorite PS2 game hands down. It may be a bit janky and the frame-rate is horrendous but it's ridiculously charming and had me frequently in stitches, and the choices you make actually make a real difference so it really is worth multiple playthroughs.
The fact that the sequel was canned is absolutely tragic.
nintendork666
Member
Not sure if the .hack and Dark Cloud games would be considered hidden gems, but yeah.
Also...
Cool little survival horror title that's especially fun for X-Files junkies.
Also...
Cool little survival horror title that's especially fun for X-Files junkies.
Not sure if the .hack and Dark Cloud games would be considered hidden gems, but yeah.
Also...
Cool little survival horror title that's especially fun for X-Files junkies.
This is actually a solid game. Definitely check it out if you're an X-Files fan.
famfrit
Member
It's not super unknown, but it's criminally underrated - Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is easily one of the best RPG of all-time. It's this amazing mix of careful level design, roguelike influences, tactical combat, and fantastic music (Hitoshi Sakimoto - FFT and a whole lot more) set in an imaginative underground steampunk world with a touching story. Got a bad rap because people didn't know what to think of it at the time (roguelikes were still very niche & the previous BoF games had been fairly standard JRPGs) & the difficulty is higher than normal.
This one is the best game that no one played. Awesome game with Demon Souls level of difficulty/reward. The Bosses are really good.
Oh yes, I have very fond memories of this game. I believe this is one of the few turn-based JRPGs where your battle characters are tanks and other fighting machines. You can upgrade your machines, replace them and so forth.
A weird post-apoc jRPG with a big world to explore. In fact, it requires you to explore heavily to really get the story. Tons of endings, lots of bosses to fight, dogs to give shiny coats, and tanks to outfit.
This game also has a really nice early dialog option - the protagonist gets asked whether he wants to go on an adventure or not. If you select NO, the game ends and the credits roll. I did it by accident the first time and ended up having a laugh.
N30RYU
Member
Never completed Dragon Quarter 'casue abused of the transformation and couldn't transform in the lasts two battles... (the one in the elevator and the one that looked to me like the final battle...)
I think not aneugh ppl played this gem
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