So yesterday I decided to finally sit down and tackle something big: figuring out the absolute best RPGs on the PS2. Man, what a rabbit hole.
I started by digging out my old PS2 from the back of the closet. The thing was dusty as hell. Plugged it in, held my breath – thank god that chunky white box whirred to life. Found the memory card too, scratched up but still kicking. Booted it up, browsed my saves. Just seeing all those old game icons hit me right in the nostalgia.
Now, ranking these bad boys? Crazy hard. How do you even compare them? I needed a plan.
The Method to My Madness
I grabbed a notepad – old school, right? Figured I’d make a massive list first, every RPG I could remember playing back then. Ended up with like 35 titles. My hand cramped just writing them down. This was gonna take serious time.
I knew I had to consider a few things:
- How good was the story? Did it hook me or make me roll my eyes?
- How fun was the actual fighting? Smashing buttons forever? Or actually satisfying?
- That elusive “feel” factor – the music, the world, that thing that made it special.
- Did it actually hold up? Or was it just rose-tinted glasses?
Then came the hard part: replaying chunks. Popped in a few disks. Man, some graphics looked rough now! Others still had charm. Felt weird holding that old DualShock controller again.
Battle of the Titans (and My Sanity)
Alright, here’s where it got messy. Trying to pit, say, Persona 4 against Dragon Quest VIII? Or Shadow Hearts: Covenant against a Final Fantasy? Pure agony. I kept swapping them around.
Seriously debated things like: Was Star Ocean: Till the End of Time as deep as I remember? Did Suikoden III‘s multi-perspective story still work? Spent way too long wandering the world map in Dark Cloud 2 just to remember how building towns felt. That game wrecked me back in the day – in a good way!
Forgot how massive Xenosaga Episode I was. Remembered skipping cutscenes sometimes as a kid… didn’t skip them this time. Whew. And Final Fantasy X? That intro still gives me chills.
The Final Stand (and One Broken Controller)
After way too many coffees and one controller getting launched across the room during a frustrating (but faithful!) Wild Arms 3 boss replay, I had to lock it down. Took some ruthless cuts. Had to boot some genuinely good games.
So, drumroll please… here’s what my battered notepad finally settled on:
- Final Fantasy X
- Persona 4
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- Final Fantasy XII
- Shadow Hearts: Covenant
- Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
- Suikoden III
- Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2)
- Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
- Wild Arms 3
Picking the top spot was torture. FFX and Persona 4 could swap depending on my mood any given Tuesday. Dragon Quest VIII is pure magic I couldn’t deny.
Honestly? Feels kinda wrong seeing it typed out. Debating these titles took me right back to playground arguments. Spent more hours in these worlds than I care to admit. But there you have it – my messy, heartfelt, slightly sleep-deprived ultimate top 10 PS2 RPG list. What do you think? Did I miss your favorite? Let the friendly arguing commence!
