so you feel it, just wrap it up and seal it, and deal with it when a rainy day comes along
Warning: completely arbitrary "best of" list ahoy!
...I figure it's late enough in the PS2's lifespan to look back on the games released for it as a whole. And specifically, my chosen genre of game, the RPG. So, bored and fueled by cinnamon bears, I am making a top ten list of the best PS2 RPGs ever.
The Top Ten PS2 RPGs Ever*
* that I have played
10. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
An amazing little game with a short but cracked-out (in a good way) plot, and gameplay so deep you could lose yourself in it for days (and I have). It's the kind of game that's catnip for completist players - so much to do! - and also their inevitable downfall - oh my God, so much to do! Also, it is probably the only game ever where you can equip a horse's wang as an accessory.
9. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
The first proper iteration of the Shin Megami Tensei series (i.e., not a spinoff) since the days of the Super NES, and totally worthy as a successor to the awesomeness of the series. How many other games BEGIN with the end of the world happening? Also, it's one of the few games in which the choices you make have a pretty large effect on the plot. And finally, it has Dante from Devil May Cry as a recruitable character, for those of you in love with cheesy awesomeness.
8. Kingdom Hearts II
Bigger and better than the original in every way, but most notably in gay subtext, it's the latest entry in the cracky Final Fantasy/Disney crossover series. Featuring some awesome new worlds (Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron, Steamboat Willie, etc.) and more phallic keyblade action than you can shake a...well, a keyblade at. And we're not even going to get into that ending. Still, in addition to the not-so-latent gay, it's a ridiculously fun action RPG where you get to fight off literal hordes (the battle partway through the game against 1,000 Heartless was a high point). Bonus fun: mentally replace every mention of "darkness" with the word "wang" and hilarity will ensue!
7. Final Fantasy X
Okay, I'll admit it: I cried at the ending. Despite the fact that the romance story is, as jokersama has put it, total girlporn - or maybe because of it - I found myself unable to stop playing this game until I beat it (and promptly sobbed for ten minutes afterwards). It also finally revamps the age-old FF Active Time Battle system into something a little more innovative and a lot more fun, with instant switching of party members. I even liked the Sphere Grid; so there, naysayers!
6. Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny
By all rights this game shouldn't be on this list: it's not hugely innovative - its major claim to fame being the alchemy system that's been in all 8 or so Atelier games to date, though this was only the 2nd that made it to the US - and its characters fit quite easily into stock stereotypes. Nevertheless, it was addictive and fun enough to make me play straight through the entire thing in a week - a non-vacation week - which is a pretty major feat, given how few games I beat PERIOD now that I'm in grad school (see below for more on that). I put it down to the alchemy system, which IS ridiculously fun and both offers a nice big list for completists to fill in and ensures that said list is actually manageable to complete. Combine that with a generally intriguing story and characters whose engaging likability manages to outstrip their generic archetypes (especially the main two, Felt and Viese Blanchimont), and you end up with a game far better than it has any right to be.
5. Suikoden V
Another game not all that big on the originality - it's a Suikoden game, so you know it's gonna have 108 characters and a certain kind of battle system and runes and so on - but which owes its quality mostly to its story and characters. The story is epic, in the way so many games claim to be and just aren't - truly bad things happen, often to good people, and the attachment the player develops both to the dead (in the brief time before they bite it) and the living ensure you'll want to play through it just to find out what happens to them. By far the best installment in the Suikoden series - yes, I'm making the radical claim that it's even better than the sainted Suikoden II, and will defend it to the death.
4. Star Ocean 3
This game has gotten so much flak over its plot twist, which has variously been denounced as "unbelievable," "stupid," "retarded," and whatever other insult words the assembled legions of GameFAQs users can dredge up out of their piles of feces and throw at this game. Nevertheless, I maintain that this game is awesome, and notice that no such poo-flinging occurred when another game (on this list, even) had essentially the same plot twist; I think it's because this one's by Squeenix, THE major RPG publisher, and therefore ZOMG IT'S "THE MAN," MUST TAKE HIM DOWN WITH OUR SCINTILLATING INTERNET MESSAGEBOARD RHETORIC. In spite of that, though, this is an amazing game, with a great plot (yes, including the much-maligned twist), a deep and well-realized world, (mostly) engaging characters (okay, Sophia can die in a fire, but I like everyone else!), and the usual Star Ocean standbys of a fun actiony battle system and a complex item creation system (not the series' best, but still pretty fun).
...Also it has Cliff Fittir, who is one of the most awesome videogame characters ever and whom I would marry were it legal in this state and he not fictional.
3. Digital Devil Saga 1+2
How do I count two games as one, you ask? Well, first off, they're really one story split over two games (much like the dot-Hack games, except, y'know, good), and secondly, it meant I had more room for games this way, so...one spot it is. Anyway, this is a pretty awesome game, reusing SMT: Nocturne's battle system, but relying much more on story than on gameplay (which I prefer). Also, did I mention you play future gladiators who can turn into cannibalistic demons? I usually recommend this game to others as "like Final Fantasy X, but your party is cannibals"; this occasionally gets me weird looks, but is actually pretty accurate! Add in the usual Megaten mythological references (this one focuses on Hindu mythology), the usual Megaten moral complexity, and a plot that manages to be both believable and cracktastic ("okay, and so they're reincarnations of scientists, except the good guy was the jerk and vice versa, and oh yeah in their previous life the jerk ate the purple-haired chick...no, not ate her OUT, I mean literally ate her. Oh, and after you die you fight the last boss - no, I said AFTER - no, it makes PERFECT sense, just not when I'm explaining it!").
2. Final Fantasy XII
The best Final Fantasy since VIII certainly, and probably the best FF ever (even if it does borrow plot twists wholesale from Star Wars). It would have been nice if they'd been able to move away from having to give us a spunky 16-year-old boy viewpoint character - christ, Squeenix, would it kill you to give us a main character who's old enough to drink? Also maybe one whose balls have dropped would be nice - but it's still pretty groundbreaking, as the true main characters are either female or older (Ashe, Basch, and the leather-pants-wearing Balthier). Also there's a bondage-suited hippie rabbit-woman! The battle system again gets a nice overhaul, now resembling an MMORPG action-style system and introducing the idea of Gambits, preset action patterns that make level grinding much less monotonous. Add a great translation with a wonderfully Shakespearean feel, completely gorgeous graphics, and a story by the mind that brought you the backstabbing and political plotting of Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, and you end up with a completely, ridiculously fun and memorable game.
And finally...
1. Persona 3
...This should come as a surprise to no one. The best PS1 RPG I ever played was also a Persona game (and not even one released in English, woe), and while it took them forever to release one for the PS2 it's no surprise that it's one of the best, if not the best, games for the system. A weird combination of an RPG and a school sim, high school by day and monster-fighting by night, the two aspects combine and merge deftly to reflect the bizarre confluence of these forces in the main characters' lives and how they interact. It also has characters who are probably the most engaging in any recent RPG - and not just the main characters, but the minor characters too, most of whom you get to know and develop relationships with in order to grow stronger. It's beautifully written and localized too - things like "Maya"'s netspeak had me literally cackling at her awesomeness, and all the characters have depth and...well, character. This is not to say it doesn't have its flaws - if you wanna get everything, you pretty much have to do it on New Game+ or use a FAQ, because seriously the people you hang out with are brutal if you don't spend enough time with them, and it would be nice to have had someplace to battle besides the tower of Tartarus and the various locations of New Moon events - but nevertheless I feel I can, without prejudice (well, maybe with a little bit of prejudice), anoint this game The Best PS2 RPG Ever.
A caveat: note that some of these have made it on the list despite me not beating them yet. this is mostly because I have sucked at beating games since I started grad school; seriously, I was thinking about it, and I can count on one hand the number of RPGs I have beaten in the past nearly-three years since I started here (Kingdom Hearts II, Atelier Iris 2, Disgaea 2, and Radiata Stories).
Similarly, there are a few that probably would have made the list if I'd had a chance to play them: the upcoming Mana-Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (the latest Atelier game), Dragon Quest VIII (though I'm not a huge fan of the series as a whole), Shadow Hearts 2 (which I have a feeling I would like, for the cracktasticness I hear it has if for nothing else), and Tales of the Abyss (which I've played a short bit of and liked, but haven't played enough of to judge). I own all these games (or will, in the case of Mana-Khemia), so as I play them you'll probably hear my opinion of them, and whether they displace any of the games on this list.
Okay! Making this post was one of my goals for the weekend; others are making a post about cracktastic yaoi manga (the one I've been promising for like 3 months), posting about how the manga Princess Princess changed my life (...kinda), posting some Old English riddles that enkiae was asking about, playing a shitload of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, and watching a shitton of Doctor Who (they tried to deliver my megaset today but I was off teaching, so I get to go to the Post Office and pick it up tomorrow, whee!).
...I figure it's late enough in the PS2's lifespan to look back on the games released for it as a whole. And specifically, my chosen genre of game, the RPG. So, bored and fueled by cinnamon bears, I am making a top ten list of the best PS2 RPGs ever.
The Top Ten PS2 RPGs Ever*
* that I have played
10. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
An amazing little game with a short but cracked-out (in a good way) plot, and gameplay so deep you could lose yourself in it for days (and I have). It's the kind of game that's catnip for completist players - so much to do! - and also their inevitable downfall - oh my God, so much to do! Also, it is probably the only game ever where you can equip a horse's wang as an accessory.
9. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
The first proper iteration of the Shin Megami Tensei series (i.e., not a spinoff) since the days of the Super NES, and totally worthy as a successor to the awesomeness of the series. How many other games BEGIN with the end of the world happening? Also, it's one of the few games in which the choices you make have a pretty large effect on the plot. And finally, it has Dante from Devil May Cry as a recruitable character, for those of you in love with cheesy awesomeness.
8. Kingdom Hearts II
Bigger and better than the original in every way, but most notably in gay subtext, it's the latest entry in the cracky Final Fantasy/Disney crossover series. Featuring some awesome new worlds (Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron, Steamboat Willie, etc.) and more phallic keyblade action than you can shake a...well, a keyblade at. And we're not even going to get into that ending. Still, in addition to the not-so-latent gay, it's a ridiculously fun action RPG where you get to fight off literal hordes (the battle partway through the game against 1,000 Heartless was a high point). Bonus fun: mentally replace every mention of "darkness" with the word "wang" and hilarity will ensue!
7. Final Fantasy X
Okay, I'll admit it: I cried at the ending. Despite the fact that the romance story is, as jokersama has put it, total girlporn - or maybe because of it - I found myself unable to stop playing this game until I beat it (and promptly sobbed for ten minutes afterwards). It also finally revamps the age-old FF Active Time Battle system into something a little more innovative and a lot more fun, with instant switching of party members. I even liked the Sphere Grid; so there, naysayers!
6. Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny
By all rights this game shouldn't be on this list: it's not hugely innovative - its major claim to fame being the alchemy system that's been in all 8 or so Atelier games to date, though this was only the 2nd that made it to the US - and its characters fit quite easily into stock stereotypes. Nevertheless, it was addictive and fun enough to make me play straight through the entire thing in a week - a non-vacation week - which is a pretty major feat, given how few games I beat PERIOD now that I'm in grad school (see below for more on that). I put it down to the alchemy system, which IS ridiculously fun and both offers a nice big list for completists to fill in and ensures that said list is actually manageable to complete. Combine that with a generally intriguing story and characters whose engaging likability manages to outstrip their generic archetypes (especially the main two, Felt and Viese Blanchimont), and you end up with a game far better than it has any right to be.
5. Suikoden V
Another game not all that big on the originality - it's a Suikoden game, so you know it's gonna have 108 characters and a certain kind of battle system and runes and so on - but which owes its quality mostly to its story and characters. The story is epic, in the way so many games claim to be and just aren't - truly bad things happen, often to good people, and the attachment the player develops both to the dead (in the brief time before they bite it) and the living ensure you'll want to play through it just to find out what happens to them. By far the best installment in the Suikoden series - yes, I'm making the radical claim that it's even better than the sainted Suikoden II, and will defend it to the death.
4. Star Ocean 3
This game has gotten so much flak over its plot twist, which has variously been denounced as "unbelievable," "stupid," "retarded," and whatever other insult words the assembled legions of GameFAQs users can dredge up out of their piles of feces and throw at this game. Nevertheless, I maintain that this game is awesome, and notice that no such poo-flinging occurred when another game (on this list, even) had essentially the same plot twist; I think it's because this one's by Squeenix, THE major RPG publisher, and therefore ZOMG IT'S "THE MAN," MUST TAKE HIM DOWN WITH OUR SCINTILLATING INTERNET MESSAGEBOARD RHETORIC. In spite of that, though, this is an amazing game, with a great plot (yes, including the much-maligned twist), a deep and well-realized world, (mostly) engaging characters (okay, Sophia can die in a fire, but I like everyone else!), and the usual Star Ocean standbys of a fun actiony battle system and a complex item creation system (not the series' best, but still pretty fun).
...Also it has Cliff Fittir, who is one of the most awesome videogame characters ever and whom I would marry were it legal in this state and he not fictional.
3. Digital Devil Saga 1+2
How do I count two games as one, you ask? Well, first off, they're really one story split over two games (much like the dot-Hack games, except, y'know, good), and secondly, it meant I had more room for games this way, so...one spot it is. Anyway, this is a pretty awesome game, reusing SMT: Nocturne's battle system, but relying much more on story than on gameplay (which I prefer). Also, did I mention you play future gladiators who can turn into cannibalistic demons? I usually recommend this game to others as "like Final Fantasy X, but your party is cannibals"; this occasionally gets me weird looks, but is actually pretty accurate! Add in the usual Megaten mythological references (this one focuses on Hindu mythology), the usual Megaten moral complexity, and a plot that manages to be both believable and cracktastic ("okay, and so they're reincarnations of scientists, except the good guy was the jerk and vice versa, and oh yeah in their previous life the jerk ate the purple-haired chick...no, not ate her OUT, I mean literally ate her. Oh, and after you die you fight the last boss - no, I said AFTER - no, it makes PERFECT sense, just not when I'm explaining it!").
2. Final Fantasy XII
The best Final Fantasy since VIII certainly, and probably the best FF ever (even if it does borrow plot twists wholesale from Star Wars). It would have been nice if they'd been able to move away from having to give us a spunky 16-year-old boy viewpoint character - christ, Squeenix, would it kill you to give us a main character who's old enough to drink? Also maybe one whose balls have dropped would be nice - but it's still pretty groundbreaking, as the true main characters are either female or older (Ashe, Basch, and the leather-pants-wearing Balthier). Also there's a bondage-suited hippie rabbit-woman! The battle system again gets a nice overhaul, now resembling an MMORPG action-style system and introducing the idea of Gambits, preset action patterns that make level grinding much less monotonous. Add a great translation with a wonderfully Shakespearean feel, completely gorgeous graphics, and a story by the mind that brought you the backstabbing and political plotting of Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, and you end up with a completely, ridiculously fun and memorable game.
And finally...
1. Persona 3
...This should come as a surprise to no one. The best PS1 RPG I ever played was also a Persona game (and not even one released in English, woe), and while it took them forever to release one for the PS2 it's no surprise that it's one of the best, if not the best, games for the system. A weird combination of an RPG and a school sim, high school by day and monster-fighting by night, the two aspects combine and merge deftly to reflect the bizarre confluence of these forces in the main characters' lives and how they interact. It also has characters who are probably the most engaging in any recent RPG - and not just the main characters, but the minor characters too, most of whom you get to know and develop relationships with in order to grow stronger. It's beautifully written and localized too - things like "Maya"'s netspeak had me literally cackling at her awesomeness, and all the characters have depth and...well, character. This is not to say it doesn't have its flaws - if you wanna get everything, you pretty much have to do it on New Game+ or use a FAQ, because seriously the people you hang out with are brutal if you don't spend enough time with them, and it would be nice to have had someplace to battle besides the tower of Tartarus and the various locations of New Moon events - but nevertheless I feel I can, without prejudice (well, maybe with a little bit of prejudice), anoint this game The Best PS2 RPG Ever.
A caveat: note that some of these have made it on the list despite me not beating them yet. this is mostly because I have sucked at beating games since I started grad school; seriously, I was thinking about it, and I can count on one hand the number of RPGs I have beaten in the past nearly-three years since I started here (Kingdom Hearts II, Atelier Iris 2, Disgaea 2, and Radiata Stories).
Similarly, there are a few that probably would have made the list if I'd had a chance to play them: the upcoming Mana-Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (the latest Atelier game), Dragon Quest VIII (though I'm not a huge fan of the series as a whole), Shadow Hearts 2 (which I have a feeling I would like, for the cracktasticness I hear it has if for nothing else), and Tales of the Abyss (which I've played a short bit of and liked, but haven't played enough of to judge). I own all these games (or will, in the case of Mana-Khemia), so as I play them you'll probably hear my opinion of them, and whether they displace any of the games on this list.
Okay! Making this post was one of my goals for the weekend; others are making a post about cracktastic yaoi manga (the one I've been promising for like 3 months), posting about how the manga Princess Princess changed my life (...kinda), posting some Old English riddles that enkiae was asking about, playing a shitload of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, and watching a shitton of Doctor Who (they tried to deliver my megaset today but I was off teaching, so I get to go to the Post Office and pick it up tomorrow, whee!).