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10 Landmark Video Games That Pushed the PlayStation 2 to Its Limits – IGN SOUTH EAST ASIA


It’s easy to take for granted on how much the PlayStation 2 and its library of games truly changed the face of gaming for the better.

In terms of technical prowess, the PS2 was much more underpowered compared to both the original Xbox and the GameCube, and yet, Sony managed to pull through with its awesome range of games.

These technical limitations did not stop developers from making full use of PS2’s hardware and some of the most memorable games in history, many of which still live on in some shape or form.

So, in honour of the PS2’s 21st anniversary, here are the 10 games that we cannot believe were able to run on the console, games that truly created new benchmarks in graphical fidelity and mechanical design.

SoulCalibur III/Tekken 5

These two exceptional fighting games by Bandai Namco steered their respective franchises into bold new directions, with SoulCalibur III embracing its fantasy influences by adding in a character creator and a full-on RPG campaign. Tekken 5, meanwhile, sped up its gameplay and improved its Tekken Force beat ‘em up mode.

Overall, gameplay was smooth on both games, with very little load times in between matches and modes. The character models were also beefed up, keeping their stylised looks while also looking that much more realistic.

Persona 4

Atlus’ fourth entry in their high-school simulator/JRPG came out quite late in the PS2’s lifespan, making its debut in 2008. So, the development team had ample time to take everything they learned from Persona 3 and made improvements for Persona 4.

For a game with so many moving parts, Persona 4 does it all masterfully, letting players juggle their nightly dungeon raids on the Midnight Channel with their day-to-day errands like attending school or hanging out with friends. Its story, which features LGBTQ themes, is also quite remarkable considering its time of release.

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

The first Zone of the Enders game was already an impressive feat on its own, letting players fly around in their own robot, essentially being a playable mecha anime that is lovingly crafted by Hideo Kojima and his team.

The 2nd Runner improved on everything its predecessor sought out to do, offering a much faster combat system and even more enemies on screen. It was the best alternative to what many would envision a perfect Gundam game would be, and is punctuated further with the later HD remasterings of The 2nd Runner on modern systems.

Shadow of the Colossus

While the PS2 did not have the likes of Nintendo’s Zelda franchise gracing its library, it nonetheless featured some truly original and outstanding games. Shadow of the Colossus is a classic example of this, being a dark fairy tale in the same vein as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

It may not feature multiple dungeons or enemy types, but makes up for it with its massive overworld and the titular Colossi that are littered throughout the world. The fact that the PS2 provided enough power for players to experience the entirety of Shadow of the Colossus is a feat.

Okami

If Shadow of the Colossus is Twilight Princess, then Okami is the PS2’s Wind Waker. Playing as the goddess Amaterasu as a snow white wolf to save ancient Japan will always be an adventure we would gladly re-experience time and time again.

Its Japanese watercolour art style is timeless and truly showed the range of aesthetics that the PS2 could support. Beyond that, Okami’s unique paintbrush mechanic, where players could paint puzzle-solving objects like bombs and wind into the world, was unlike anything players had seen before.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The leap between Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and its predecessors Vice City and GTA III is remarkable, as it essentially set the benchmark for what a 3D Grand Theft Auto game and open-world sandboxes should look like in the future.

From a large open-world with no loading times between zones, as well as the added verticality and scale with the addition of swimming and climbing mechanics, San Andreas paved the way for its current successor GTA V and every open-world game since. It’s graphics may not be as impressive as it was when it was first released, but the upcoming Definitive Edition is sure to smoothen out the rough edges of its aesthetics.

God of War 2

Another game that came out after the release of the PlayStation 3, God of War 2 proved that the PS2 was still relevant and would continue to be for a few years. Kratos’s second outing sees the Ghost of Sparta once again waging war against the gods of Olympus.

It improves on the original in every conceivable way, with even more bosses for Kratos to eviscerate and an improved combat system that made making combos much smoother. It’s definitely the game that kept many from making the jump to the PS3, which was a pretty wise choice back in 2007.

Kingdom Hearts II

The PS2 era saw fast-paced combo-based combat taking center stage, with the aforementioned God of War games and the Devil May Cry trilogy bringing in fighting game-style combat to adventure games. Kingdom Hearts II pushed the envelope even further.

The original game was already a graphical powerhouse, and Kingdom Hearts II showed off its range with photorealistic worlds based on the Pirates of the Caribbean and crazy FMV sequences. The combat gave players precise controls over Sora’s moveset and a bevy of new forms that completely changed your combos mid-battle.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

If there was a game that could cohesively show off the sensibilities of Hideo Kojima’s game design philosophy, then Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater would be his piece de resistance. A game that truly embodied the spirit of a guerilla fighter, Snake Eater was a perfect blend of both survival and stealth gameplay.

It also allowed you to play as Big Boss, also known as Naked Snake, during a time before he became the anti-hero that we would know and love. This was a time before he was cloned into Solid and Liquid Snake. There are a ton of little gameplay secrets hidden away in Snake Eater that truly packs the game with a lot of content and is recommended for additional playthroughs.

Final Fantasy XII

If Final Fantasy X was a leap to the next level with its graphics and combat, Final Fantasy XII is a massive leap for the franchise as a whole. Gone were the days of turn-based combat, and here came a totally unique system that gave players full control of their party’s equipment, classes, and how they would react in battle.

The Gambit system was employed in this game, where players could program their party members to perform certain actions in battle, like healing at 30 per cent health. It was a gameplay innovation that influenced the RPG genre as a whole but has not been repeated in the wider Final Fantasy franchise. It’s grittier multi-faceted world was also a sight to behold on the PlayStation 2.



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