Let's Talk Favorite PS2 Games

I've been turning this one over in my head for awhile. Since at least when I posted about favorite XBox games. The Playstation 2 didn't have quite the clear separation for me between the Top 5 and everyone else that some of the other consoles did. It was very clear to me which game was #1, but there was kind of a mess for spots 2-9 that took a lot of thinking to sort out. And I'm still not totally sure about it. Oh well, nothing says I can't change my mind in the future. Looking back, for example, I probably should have bumped Starfox 64 up to #3 on my N64 list.

5. DragonBall Z Budokai 3
4. Sky Odyssey
3. God Hand
2. Ico
1. Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3

Hmm, turns out I never did a dedicated review of DBZ Budokai 3. Just offhandedly mentioned it in a couple of posts. I will mention that it had the advantage of being one of those fighting games where it was fairly easy to pull off some of the cool special attacks, which is my preference (see my Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 review from August 29th). Even if I feel like the story mode kind of half-assed it at times, it's still a fun fighting game.

Like I said, 2-9 were pretty close together, so some of this could have gone differently. Right now, I'd rank Bully #6, then Echo Night Beyond, Okami, and Shadow of the Colossus. Bully suffers somewhat from the same problem as a lot of GTA-style games: if I want to play through the story again, that's going to mean playing through a lot of stupid, irritating missions. And there's only so much fun I have roaming the town egging people. I don't think Echo Night Beyond would be as scary the second time through. Maybe the latter two rank higher in replayability, but the first two were more fun the first time around?

Of the actual Top 5, fighting game (w/some RPG elements), flight sim, beat 'em up, puzzle game, RPG/social sim game. Persona 3 had to be first. I've finished it at least a half-dozen times, and even accounting for my skimping on the level grinding in later playthroughs, we're still talking 300+ hours. Even though the Social Link aspect is a puzzle of sorts (juggling friends, saying the right things), it's at a more relaxed pace, and it's optional. I don't have to make any friends if I don't want to. But I do, because even I, antisocial grump I am, like having friends.

I knew either Ico of Shadow of the Colossus had to be in there, and I think I went with the latter because it tends to keep the puzzles separate from the combat. Killing a Colossus is a puzzle in itself, while with Ico, I can typically worry about switches and moving blocks, and after that, come the shadow things out to recapture Yorda. Relaxes the pace (meaning, I don't like solving puzzles on the clock). God Hand is occasionally frustrating - I've still never beaten it - but it's so strange, in ways both creepy and absurd, that I enjoy it. It's also one of those games where, when things are going well and I'm in a groove, it's an absolute joy to play. When I'm stringing the combos together and smoothly dodging every punch, it feels like a real accomplishment.

Besides, what other game makes me fight five dwarf Power Rangers, and a gorilla dressed as a luchador that is actually a man in a gorilla suit (dressed as a luchador)?

Once I decided to hell with the game's desire for me to use the D-pad, and went back to the joysticks, Sky Odyssey was much more fun. It really is a very good flight game, and I have more fun applying ludicrous paint jobs to my planes, giving them stupid names, and trying to design my own logos than I would ever have expected.

That covers it for the PS2. I have no idea when or if there'll be a top 5 for the 360. Microsoft is supposedly going to keep releasing game for it for the next couple of years, so until they stop releasing games I want to play, I guess I can't make the list.