IGN's Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time

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IGN's Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time (3/16/07)

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/772/772296p1.html

1) God of War
2) Grand Theft Auto III
3) Final Fantasy X
4) Shadow of the Colossus
5) Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
6) ICO
7) Guitar Hero
8) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
9) Twisted Metal: Black
10) Burnout 3: Takedown
11) Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
12) Gran Turismo 4
13) Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
14) Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
15) Resident Evil 4
16) Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
17) Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
18) Okami
19) Rez
20) NBA Street Vol. 2
21) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
22) Kingdom Hearts
23) Tekken Tag Tourament
24) Suikoden III
25) Amptitude
 
I thought it was a pretty agreeable list till I read #9. To me, the list kinda went downhill from there. Granted RE4 and Okami do deserve to be on there, though maybe higher.
 
Pretty good choices, however;

- Rez, while a great game, definitely does not deserve to be in the top 25. Not even top 50.
- Resident Evil 4 should be much higher.
- I really think Dragon Quest 8 shouldn't be there. There's tons of better JRPGs for the PS2 that deserve to be there instead.
- Ratchet and Clank 3 > Ratchet and Clank 2
- ICO is a great game but definitely ranked too high. 6th best? Give me a break.
- Shadow of the Colossus is amazing, but not 4th best worthy. 10th at best.
- GTA 3 at 2nd?! Yeah, no. San Andreas was better than 3 by a huge margin
 
No Vice City is absolute bullshit. Also Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy never gets any love, so now I'm gonna start mentioning it as often as possible. It's one of the best platformers ever.
 
[quote name='Kawnhr']Pretty good choices, however;

- Rez, while a great game, definitely does not deserve to be in the top 25. Not even top 50.[/QUOTE]

I own Rez, and I completely agree with you.

Though I was happy to see Amplitude on there. That's probably the PS2 game I spent the most time with, and I spent lots of time with lots of PS2 titles.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']No Vice City is absolute bullshit.[/QUOTE]
Yup, that's where they lost me, too. Of course, the whole point of lists like this are to create debate, and occasionally outrage over which games missed the cut.

All I know is that my own personal Top 25 PS2 games list would look very different from IGN's, and would include Psychonauts, Downhill Domination, Klonoa 2, Soul Calibur 3 and at least one of the Sly Cooper games for cryin out loud. :roll:
 
Go ahead and post your top 25 then... I'm curious to see everyone's take compared to IGN. I think their top 25 heavily takes into account influence on the gaming world as well... I for one, don't really like guitar hero at all, but it should still be top 5 or top 10 easily.
 
Im just wondering why RE 4 is so low? I realize the PS2 had more quality games than the Gamecube, but RE 4 was one of the best games of all time. How could it be #15 just on the PS2? Was it not as good as the cube version (I have only played it on cube)?
 
Some things i found:

In the IGN review for RE 4 it says, "it is easily one of the top 10 games you can lay your hands on." They rank it 15th though?
They gave Ratch 3 and better review score than 2, but 2 makes the list?

IGN scored Ratchet 3 higher than 2, but 2 makes the list?

I don't mind these lists, I just hate when they aren't even consistent with their review scores.
 
[quote name='daschrier']I was surprised to see Suikoden 3, what was there reason for this one?[/quote]

If you click the link....
"
Synopsis: In some games, it seems like the hierarchy goes: graphics, gameplay, lunch and storyline. Suikoden III said "Screw that."
In 2002, Konami dropped this RPG and introduced the world to the Trinity Sight System -- a game device that let players experience the same story from three different perspectives. It might sound boring, but trust us, it isn't. Each character's tale expands the overall story while filling in the holes from your previous 15 to 20 hours as somebody else. Although you'll be working on the bigger picture for some time, the smaller conclusions keep the story moving and you happy.
An expansive environment, easy to navigate battle system, the franchise's first use of a skill set, a Barbarian Prince, a Captain of the Zexen Knights and Harmonian undercover officer help this RPG coast to being one of the greatest PS2 games of all time.
Now go find all of those stars of destiny."
 
I'm so glad they didn't put that travesty Katamari Damacy in that list, as it's not even a videogames, but more an electronic novelty. And Final Fantasy X has no business on that list, as it's probably one of the most cliched RPG's ever made.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']I'm so glad they didn't put that travesty Katamari Damacy in that list, as it's not even a videogames, but more an electronic novelty. And Final Fantasy X has no business on that list, as it's probably one of the most cliched RPG's ever made.[/QUOTE]

So let's see - you complain about one game being cliched and about the other for actually having an original idea.

I would put FFX in my top 25, but not Katamari (I did like it, though).
 
[quote name='oremites']So let's see - you complain about one game being cliched and about the other for actually having an original idea. [/quote]

:lol:
 
For the record, I am sick of God of War and its incessant critical accliam.

I'll post a top 25 (in no particular order), as if anyone would actually read it...

Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Kingdom Hearts
Contra Shattered Soldier
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry 3
Okami
Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter
Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty (or Substance really)
Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater (or Subsistence)
Soul Calibur 3
Maximo: From Ghosts to Glory
Kingdom Hearts 2
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne
Jak 2
Resident Evil 4
Zone of the Enders 2: The Second Runner
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
Ratchet and Clank
Xenosaga
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Radiata Stories
Onimusha 2 Samurai's Destiny
Onimusha Warlords
 
[quote name='oremites']So let's see - you complain about one game being cliched and about the other for actually having an original idea.

I would put FFX in my top 25, but not Katamari (I did like it, though).[/quote]When that "original idea" involves rolling around a ball, that's not what I would consider a great game. Cats roll around balls of their own shit. Would that make a good videogame? Actually, if it was full of quirky Japanese stuff, most people around here would probably love it.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']Cats roll around balls of their own shit. Would that make a good videogame? [/QUOTE]
Actually, I probably would buy a videogame that involved cats rolling around balls of shit. Especially if there were some kind of multi-player battle arena.
 
Nice to see Amplitude on there, and anyone I know who has ever actually played it was hooked. I think they could switch San Andreas and GTA III, SA was better in almost every way. Maybe they gave GTA III a boost for setting a precedent?

I have no real arguments with the list, except I don't know if NBA Street Vol. 2 belongs on there. I also liked Tony Hawk 4 and THUG 1 better than 3, but again THPS3 was the first good [i/] online game for PS2 so maybe that counts for something. I also think Guitar Hero II is better than the first one, but perhaps that was too recent to add in.
 
Uh, why the fuck is Suikoden III on there, but not V? Pretty much everyone regards V to be better than all the other games in the series except for perhaps II. Kudos to them including VF4 Evo, but nearly everything else on the list is completely expected and unoriginal (besides Suikoden III). This is precisely why DQ8 is on there- because it's known and fairly popular- instead of some other, far superior RPGs. DQ8 is a great game, but it's certainly not one of the best examples of a PS2 RPG by a long shot. I'm just glad that someone had the balls to NOT put that POS FF12 on the list. I'll post some (aka the ones I can remember at the moment) of my top PS2 games, in no particular order...

Shadow Hearts 2: Covenant
Shadow Hearts
Suikoden V
Virtua Fighter 4/Evolution
Final Fantasy X
Digital Devil Saga 1/2
Disgaea
La Pucelle Tactics
Silent Hill 2/3

I haven't included ports such as RE4, Code: Veronica, etc, etc. Also I'm mostly an RPG person so this is obviously skewed and biased. I also tried to only include the best of the best IMO.
 
[quote name='lionheart4life']Nice to see Amplitude on there, and anyone I know who has ever actually played it was hooked. I think they could switch San Andreas and GTA III, SA was better in almost every way. Maybe they gave GTA III a boost for setting a precedent?

I have no real arguments with the list, except I don't know if NBA Street Vol. 2 belongs on there. I also liked Tony Hawk 4 and THUG 1 better than 3, but again THPS3 was the first good [i/] online game for PS2 so maybe that counts for something. I also think Guitar Hero II is better than the first one, but perhaps that was too recent to add in.[/quote]

I believe they said GTA 3 was higher because it set the precedent. Plus, it was such a HUGE change from the top down 2d games of the past that it changed GTA forever. Plus, it was one of the first BIg games on hte system that really sold it. And I think again with Guitar Hero was that Guitar Hero one was the first game of its kind that it's influence is taken into account. I have never understood their love of TM: Black or FF X but I have no problems with the list.
 
[quote name='oremites']Actually, I probably would buy a videogame that involved cats rolling around balls of shit. Especially if there were some kind of multi-player battle arena.[/QUOTE]
rare made this game, twice, but used a rodent instead of a cat
 
DQ8 definitely deserves to be on there. one of the best RPG's ever, period.. better than FFX for sure. (also i don't get the love for shadow hearts, i tried it and promptly traded it)

I don't get why DMC3 is on there but not the first one. 3 was good but nothing has topped the first one in my opinion.

Ico should have been higher than SotC... SotC was good, but Ico was amazing.

I dislike all platformers, so no comment on those.. also Twisted Metal Black??

Kingdom Hearts II was better than the first one, but the first was the pioneer i guess..

here's my top 10 PS2 List:

1) God of War
2) Grand Theft Auto III
3) Final Fantasy X
4) ICO
5) Devil May Cry
6) Dragon Quest VIII
7) Metal Gear Solid 3 (Snake Eater/Substinence)
8) SotC
9) Resident Evil 4
10) Guitar Hero

i haven't played Okami yet so that one is a wild card. anyways, this should have been the top 10 for their list ;)
 
Everyone always wets themself (atleast the editors) over Suikoden III's trinity sight system, but what they fail to realize is the battle system SUCKS. The story is great but I can't chug through the battle system, give me a Suikoden III book instead and I'll just read the story.

I'm sorry but to this day I still can't beat Suikoden III because the battle system annoys me to no end. Thank god for Suikoden V because they fixed that, and of course introduced annoying load times but thats the PS2 is all about anyways.

List looks ok, but Devil May Cry 1 should be over Devil May Cry 3 as others have said, and theres alot, and I do mean alot, of people out there that believe Okami is the PS2 game out there (those that bought it atleast).
 
God of War is #1? Really? That's not nearly as ridiculous as Twisted Metal: Black's inclusion though... that game was fucking terrible.
 
I agree about 50% with that list . Glad to see God of War at the top of the list. That game made me realize why I play, and love gaming. It was an awesome experience playing that game the first time through.
 
[quote name='willardhaven']For the record, I am sick of God of War and its incessant critical accliam.

I'll post a top 25 (in no particular order), as if anyone would actually read it...

Contra Shattered Soldier
Kingdom Hearts 2
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
Xenosaga
[/QUOTE]
Your list is heavy on rpgs.
Xenosaga stunk,
Klonoa is an average platformer at best (maybe I didn't play enough of the PS2 version but gameboy version is a lot better),
Contra?
KH2 - crappy story, crappy Organization XIII characters. KH was better.

IMO FFX is one of the best PS2 rpg's - no other rpg matches up (I'd laugh at any one who thinks shadow hearts, suikoden 3, Kingdom Hearts, or SMT is even comparable). and although God of War's fighting got boring pretty quick no other game can match it's overall quality. Prince of Persia is the closest thing but the battles were even duller than GoW.
 
[quote name='jngx80']
IMO FFX is one of the best PS2 rpg's - no other rpg matches up (I'd laugh at any one who thinks shadow hearts, suikoden 3, Kingdom Hearts, or SMT is even comparable). and although God of War's fighting got boring pretty quick no other game can match it's overall quality. Prince of Persia is the closest thing but the battles were even duller than GoW.[/quote]

I actually really got tired of FFX quickly, I felt like I was fighting the same enemy every battle (palette swap city). Still a good game though, I should have included it somewhere in the middle.

The GoW demo bored me to sleep, PoP had terrible fighting, but that's not really what it was about.

SMT is definitely stronger than FFX in its atmosphere and customization, Shadow Hearts one would say has an arguably more entertaining battle system. These lists are personal preference, you can't argue the polish on GoW (even though I hate it), KH2, FFX, etc.

Contra btw was awesome for the sheer fact that the game was back, after a long time (previous gen had really bad 3d attempts).
 
For the people who dislike god of war (people dislike firefly somehow and life goes on), if the god of war engine was harnessed to an rpg, people would be declaring it as the greatest rpg of all time.

and rightly so
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']When that "original idea" involves rolling around a ball, that's not what I would consider a great game. Cats roll around balls of their own shit. Would that make a good videogame? Actually, if it was full of quirky Japanese stuff, most people around here would probably love it.[/quote]

QFT :applause:
 
:lol: at GoW being #1. DMC3 is a far better action game than GoW is.

Hell, even DMC2 is a better action game than GoW is. At least DMC2's combat system had SOME depth to it unlike GoW's extremely button mashy gameplay that gets quite old along with the button pressing minigames (at least IMO) before the game ends.
 
[quote name='jngx80']

IMO FFX is one of the best PS2 rpg's - no other rpg matches up (I'd laugh at any one who thinks shadow hearts, suikoden 3, Kingdom Hearts, or SMT is even comparable).[/QUOTE]

I think that SH: Covenant is comparable to FFX, though not the original Shadow Hearts, it just has too low production values to compete. After the first was a success, the (new) team was able to create something with a good bit of money that was at least on par with FFX, and IMO even better, though this is debatable for sure depending on your tastes. I agree with you that FFX is one of the best PS2 RPGs. Everything about it is quality, except for the palette swaps that willard talked about (though I don't think it's as big of a flaw as he seems to think). But I don't understand how people can shit on FFX yet love FF12. That game was pure shit. I can understand how some people might enjoy it, but the flaws are glaring and numerous.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']I think that SH: Covenant is comparable to FFX, though not the original Shadow Hearts, it just has too low production values to compete. After the first was a success, the (new) team was able to create something with a good bit of money that was at least on par with FFX, and IMO even better, though this is debatable for sure depending on your tastes. I agree with you that FFX is one of the best PS2 RPGs. Everything about it is quality, except for the palette swaps that willard talked about (though I don't think it's as big of a flaw as he seems to think). But I don't understand how people can shit on FFX yet love FF12. That game was pure shit. I can understand how some people might enjoy it, but the flaws are glaring and numerous.[/quote]

How about someone like me who knows that they're BOTH shit? ;)
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight'] I can understand how some people might enjoy it, but the flaws are glaring and numerous.[/QUOTE]

What are these numerouse glaring flaws?

I really enjoyed playing both ffx and ff12. I may replay both again ... someday(though I got too bored with my brief re-attempts at ffx). Also enjoyed what I played of ffx-2 so far(crappy intro aside).

covenant was way too blah for my tastes. The characters, battle system, and story weren't compelling at all. And that's too bad because I enjoyed the first one almost solely based on the horror-ish storyline.
 
If there is not room for both of the MGS games on the list (although ICO and Shadow of the Colossus both appear), MGS 2 should undoubtedly replace MGS 3 on the list and maybe even move up at least one spot. MGS 3 just did not feel as epic or groundbreaking as MGS 2, not to even mention the storytelling and emotional aspect.

Since its release, MGS 2 has been hailed as one of the greatest games of all time. Why was it replaced by Snake Eater? The synopsis only mentions Subsistence being superior to Snake Eater, completely ignoring its predecessor. MGS 3 was superb on its own right, but does not deserve to be above MGS 2 on this type of list.
 
[quote name='primetime']If there is not room for both of the MGS games on the list (although ICO and Shadow of the Colossus both appear), MGS 2 should undoubtedly replace MGS 3 on the list and maybe even move up at least one spot. MGS 3 just did not feel as epic or groundbreaking as MGS 2, not to even mention the storytelling and emotional aspect.

Since its release, MGS 2 has been hailed as one of the greatest games of all time. Why was it replaced by Snake Eater? The synopsis only mentions Subsistence being superior to Snake Eater, completely ignoring its predecessor. MGS 3 was superb on its own right, but does not deserve to be above MGS 2 on this type of list.[/quote]

I could not disagree with you more. I thought MGS2 was a post-modern train wreck. Any emotional moments felt contrived in this surreal backdrop, ESPECIALLY
E.E's death. "lol little girl is dead. Cue the sad music and Otacon's wailing and the parrot! INSTANT EMOTIONAL IMPACT JUST ADD WATER."

Plus, MGS2 had most of the flaws of the predecessor. Little in the way of actual stealth opportunities, too much backtracking.

MGS3 was simply a better game. Hands down. This is fact. Rather than the wannabe intellectual plot of MGS2, we get an excellent 60s spy movie homage that maintains a meaningful plot, a feat not attempted since the sublime No One Lives Forever. The emotional impact at the end manages to feel genuine, at least. Not just "lol the moderately likeable dood(ette) dies." Plus, the environs minimize backtracking and maximize gameplay, something we don't see in MGS usually, unless we're talking the GBC game.

Plus, Para-Medic is the most likeable woman in all of gaming and anyone who disagrees should be stabbed.
 
Here is a question that has plagued me for years...

When someone says "higher" or "lower" about rankings, do they mean a higher rank (as in from rank 3 goes higher to rank 1) or do they mean the opposite (as in rank 1 goes HIGHER to rank 3). Yes, I'm about to graduate college with a 3.8 and I am still an idiot. :)
 
I like most of the games on the list except for Suikoden III. It might be one of the worst RPGs on the PS2 because of the Trinity Sight System. Also, I can't friggin stand fighting the hollys. Maybe they could've put Rygar in it it's place.
 
[quote name='depascal22']I like most of the games on the list except for Suikoden III. It might be one of the worst RPGs on the PS2 because of the Trinity Sight System. Also, I can't friggin stand fighting the hollys. Maybe they could've put Rygar in it it's place.[/quote]

Rygar is good, but not deserving of that list. Controls did not always work flawlessly. Not to mention the game is very short. I rented the game, then bought it at BB to finish it. I then beat it in less than an hour. Of course I was like :whistle2:| . Maybe one of the Onimushas instead?
 
[quote name='primetime']Rygar is good, but not deserving of that list. Controls did not always work flawlessly. Not to mention the game is very short. I rented the game, then bought it at BB to finish it. I then beat it in less than an hour. Of course I was like :whistle2:| . Maybe one of the Onimushas instead?[/quote]

I'd much rather play Rygar instead of the Onimushas. It might have been short but I had more fun with Rygar than Onimusha or *gasp* Devil May Cry.
 
[quote name='depascal22']I'd much rather play Rygar instead of the Onimushas. It might have been short but I had more fun with Rygar than Onimusha or *gasp* Devil May Cry.[/quote]

Fair enough, maybe I'm just bitter from basically wasting $30 on that game :) .
 
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