Ah yes, the super chad of its console generation, tons of great games, dvd playback, and PS1 compatibility! What’s not to love about this legendary system?

What are your experiences with the PS2, what were your cherished games on the console?

Despite it being the weakest of its generation, you cannot deny they managed to craft some excellent games out of it with work arounds.

What are your thoughts?

  • HerrVorragend@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    The PS2 is the best Sony system to me.

    Back when it came out, it was so much better than everything else up to this point.

    This, coupled with many games that started fanchises and/or were highly stylish and creative, and had new Equipment (GuitarHero, SingStar, EyeToy) make it the GOAT.

      • gsfraley@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        It’s more over-the-top and arcade-y. Things like volcanos exploding as you ride down the slopes and an indoor mall-like mountain in Tokyo with an air-lift you use to do laps. Note that it’s not free-ride, so there are pluses and minuses to it.

        • ditty@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          My brother used to be able to get like 2,000,000 points with Mac at Tokyo Megaplex. That course was the best for tricks!

  • simple@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Jak & Daxter/Ratcher & Clank trilogy were goated. I know a lot of people throw around “they don’t make them like they used to anymore” but in term of those two franchises on the PS2, they really don’t.

    As an aside, I picked up the newest Ratchet & Clank on PC and was disappointed. They tried making it so much more cinematic and story-focused with tons of scripted scenes. Also it lacked any of the satirical humor the original 3 had.

  • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works
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    8 months ago

    Kingdom Hearts I & 2, Final Fantasy X, Jak trilogy, the Ratchet games, GTA 3D trilogy. So many games I still go back to this day.

    Persona 3 and 4 I found out at the back end of the PS3 era and dusted off my PS2 just play them as well.

    • SSUPII@sopuli.xyz
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      8 months ago

      It has the weakest hardware of its generation. During those years you had the Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube. All this consoles had a more powerful hardware than the Sony Playstation 2

      • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        And the PS2 was also reportedly the hardest to work with, especially early on in its life before the tools had matured. It proliferated purely on the install base (partly thanks to the DVD playback)

  • jeffw@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    In terms of games, Kingdom Hearts and Guitar Hero were highlights of my childhood.

    I thought the Dreamcast had the weakest technical specs of that generation? PS2 was also earlier than other consoles in that generation, so slightly lower specs makes sense.

  • kaitco@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Despite it being the weakest of its generation

    Ackshually…………

    The PS2 was still being produced until PS4 was introduced, and its last game was released even after the production ended in 2013 (Nov 2013, but still…)

    PS1 and PS2 were both masters of their generations. The OG Xbox was just really “Halo box” back then, and GameCube was awesome, but not as strong as PS2.

    • PotatoKat@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Ackshually…

      The GameCube was stronger than the ps2 it was just limited by the disc format. Compare Resident Evil 4 on the two. The GameCube version had hair physics for Leon and the cutscenes were rendered in real time, while they had to pre-render them on ps2 (which also made alternate costumes better on GameCube since Leon would wear them during cutscenes)

  • reboot6675@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    Me and my friends used to play a lot this shooter game called Time Splitters. It had some wacky characters and crazy guns. Good memories

    • timo_timboo@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Man, TimeSplitters 2 is the goat. Still play it every now and then. Some levels weren’t that great, but the characters, multiplayer aspect and just the overall “goofyness” of the game really make it stand out

  • SimplyTadpole@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    I played with my PS2 quite a lot when I was young, particularly because it had a much better version of a game I grew up with (NFS Hot Pursuit 2); it then introduced me to other games I quite liked, such as Test Drive Unlimited.

    It sadly broke sometime around early 2018 because I didn’t take good care of it. Now I emulate it but still wish my console worked.

    • shastaxc@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      Mine died after 10 years because I played the thing to death. At that point I went and got the PS2 slim and love that thing even more

  • AstroLightz@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Burnout 3, Midnight Club 3, and NFS Underground 2 were the best games to play on PS2. Such nostalgia.

  • Captain Poofter@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    The ps2 had THE BEST library of any console, even to this day. I am still learning about random hiddem gems ive never heard of on it, and I’ve been gaming for 25 years

  • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
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    8 months ago

    Bought a PS 2, Gran Turismo 4 and the GT4 Logitech steering wheel and pedals when I graduated college.

    Just dug it all out to show my 6 year old how fun driving can be. Looked better than I expected even with component cables.