I’ve been sinking further and further into the RetroDECK time-sink of setting up my emulators just so, and having the most fun doing so. The PS2 is a largely unknown system to me, I neither had one nor spent much time before now playing through some titles.
So…this is what I have so far! Most have either HD texture packs (Rule of Rose for example, and also Silent Hill 2 has a incredibly big 29GB of HD textures, I added after taking this screenshot), or mods applied (Gran Turismo is Spec II)
I haven’t got MGS3 there, as I’m waiting for the remake to arrive, but…
Can anyone suggest any titles which are ‘must adds’ for me? I’d appreciate it!
It’s Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time It’s Tricky…it’s Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky)
SSX. All of them.
It’s crazy to me that we don’t get games like SSX anymore. Games can’t just be a goofy fun time now, for the most part. Even indies don’t tend to do things like that.
That may because they actually don’t sell, but I doubt it. It’s just going to not make as much money, and most studios only make games with too much budget now instead of allowing smaller games to be made with less risk.
…from what I’ve read and seen in the past, that game can be rather risky on one’s thumbsticks due to all the efforts in making yourself look as amazing as possible.
(sounds worth it, tbh, thanks!)
Luckily since you have a Deck, you can realistically change your thumbsticks should they get damaged.
Fuck I miss SSX. I need to make sure I have a good one in my rom folder.
-Dark Cloud (1 and 2)
-Time Splitters 2
-Red Faction
-Grandia 2
-ICO and Shadow of the Colossus
-Shinobi
-Twisted Metal Black
-Ape Escape (2 and 3)
-Armored Core 2
-Dead or Alive 2
-Gran Turismo 3
-Final Fantasy X
-Grand Theft Auto III / Vice City / San Andreas
-Midnight Club Street Racing
-Soul Calibur 2
You and I would have been friends in 2001. We’d have smoked some weed, and played that stoner game where hou create a story one word at a time…and somehow, that one word always ends up being “penis”.
The PS2 version of Grandia 2 is the worst one, if I remeber correctly. Better emulate Dreamcast for that one.
What’s wrong with it? I enjoyed playing it on PS2.
I only read it somewhere since I only played the game on PC way back.
Supposedly, the PS2 version suffers from slowdown/FPS dips.
Ah ok. I didn’t notice if there was an issue when I was a kid playing it - too busy being enamoured with the battle system!
Listen to this person and also play Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
You beat me to Red Faction, that was some of the most fun I had in middle/high school.
Ps2 Mortal Kombat games were the best, they have beem sliding ever since.
Deadly Alliance is a slog for story/Konquest but a fun game.
Deception is so so good, one of my favourite games ever. Doesnt really hold up as well as Id like but it has brilliant features that I miss in every modern iteration. Namely the best konquest implementation. Chess Kombat.
Shaolin Monks, another one on par with Deception. I have to replay this next.
Armageddon is carnage, just fun fun all the way through. Every character from the entire run of the franchise is playable, it is everythimg.
Shadow of the Collossus
Katamari Damacy
Mercenaries
DOA 2
Katamari.
Do your best.
Mercenaries GOAT
love seeing it mentioned
Definitely play the AC games. Which series am I talking about? Both.
Armored Core and Ace Combat are really good games. For the PS2 continuity of Armored Core it is arguable that the PSP versions are better due to the extra content, but otherwise it’s not too big of a deal.
Not yet mentioned:
Prince of Persia Trilogy (Sands of Time, Warrior Within, Two Thrones)
God of War 1&2
Devil May Cry 1-3
Bully (Canis Canem Edit in PAL)
Killer7
Under the Skin
Viewtiful Joe 1&2
Definitely the DMC games.
Beyond Good & Evil. Legendary, Ubisoft firing on all cylinders. Weird and French and beautiful. HD remaster is also a fine option but I like it on PS2.
Ace Combat 4, 5, and Zero are great. The music in zero is legendary.
SSX tricky
Timesplitters
Final Fantasy X unless you want to do the HD remaster, which is a great way to play tbh.
Devil May Cry holds up incredibly well and IMO is a must-play.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
LOTR games are good fun.
Armored Core 3 is pretty great if you’re into the series as a whole.
GTA Vice City/San Andreas. 3 is fine but VC is better.
Shadow of the Colossus obviously
Final Fantasy X unless you want to do the HD remaster, which is a great way to play tbh.
Yeah, I’d argue that the HD PC port is actually the definitive way to play the game. They fucked up Tidus’ face, but virtually everything else about the game is better. And you can just install a mod to change his face back to the way it used to be.
Not a game I’ve seen mentioned much, but I would recommend Whiplash if you like dark humor and 3D platformer action games.
I haven’t seen anyone mention Dark Cloud. Love that game.
Star Wars: Racer Revenge is probably the best racing game I’ve played to-date. It’s very similar to, and often confused with, the N64 podracing game, but it’s way more polished, and the driving physics are chef’s-kiss perfect. Like, the N64 game, the pod and two engines all move together as one unit; basically a car racing game with a pod racer skin. The PS2’s Racer Revenge actually feels like you’re in a pod that’s being pulled by two distinct engines.
Try playing in 1st-person view and set the controls (if you have a PS2 controller) so the left joystick controls the left pod and right joystick controls the right pod - so to turn left for example, you’d pull back on the left stick to brake the left pod, and push forward on the right to accelerate the right pod; since they’re tethered together, the right one arches around the left a bit, and it pulls the pod to the left. It’s harder to play that way vs the usual ‘press X to accelerate’ mechanic, but after the first couple laps you’ll have the hang of it, and it feels so satisfying.
Unfortunately, the last time I tried to run a rom of this game, it did NOT emulate well, to the point of being unplayable. That was probably at least 10 years ago though, so hopefully advancements since then mean it won’t be an issue for you; but heads up.
No one mentioned the Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank games. Those were my childhood growing up and in my opinion hold up gameplay-wise to this day.
Plus the Jak series have a native launcher called OpenGOAL.
While I never played them myself, I have heard good things about the Sly Cooper series.
I have enjoyed the several Ratchet & Clank games that I have played. I had tried the first two Jak games using OpenGOAL, and they just didn’t grab me like every Ratchet & Clank did.
I know that this thread is about PS2 emulation, but do you know if the HD collection for PS3 is a better way to emulate the original Ratchet & Clank titles nowadays?
I haven’t tried the R&C collection on RPCS3 yet even though I have a copy. The compatibility list has it under In Game with some graphical bugs and glitches, but it was last updated nearly 5 years ago, so things may have improved.
Second the ratchet and clank suggestion. Such a great series overall! I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I own or owned every single game in the series at some point (with the exception of the app which I didn’t find out about until far too late)
Going Mobile from 2005? That was surprisingly fun. Apparently you can still find it as a JAR file and play it using a Java emulator.
https://ratchetandclank.fandom.com/wiki/Ratchet_%26_Clank:_Going_Mobile
EDIT: Anyone know what the best way to play a JAR on Steam Deck would be? I tried using J2ME Loader on my phone, and while it runs fine, the touchscreen controls are just not great.
I am not ashamed to admit it either. I even made the effort to get the PS2 ports of the two games that released on PSP, however I still need to play those.
It is a goal of mine to have every single R&C game playable on my PC. The only one I’m still waiting on is the PS4 version, and it’s only a matter of time with ShadPS4.
It’s a little cringe in retrospect, but I really liked my time with Makai Kingdom. Avoid if anime stuff isn’t your bag.
Ico had some interesting ideas that are worth a look.
Rogue Galaxy was pretty okay.
Psychonauts deserves a mention, though it’s kind of obvious.
Red Faction had cool political leanings for a game of that era.
You’ve got heaps of great suggestions already so I’ll leave it at that.
Crazy Taxi, GTA Vice City, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, Gran Turismo 4, ICO, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Midnight Club, Midnight Club II, Odin Sphere, Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Shinobi, SSX, Star Wars Bounty Hunter, Time Splitters 2, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.
That’s my PS2 collection sitting on my shelf. Some of these have been remade into arguably better versions on later consoles, but the originals are still good.
Crazy taxi got quite a bit of attention, and it deserved far more. Great gameplay loop
My local arcade has a pair of Crazy Taxi machines and that’s always where I put my quarters
Thank you!!!
I’d be pretty tempted by Tony Hawk’s, but the recent news that 3+4 will finally be getting remade makes me hesitate to play. Since the experience will probably be better there!
For anyone who wants to play Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, don’t forget about Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, which was a PS2 port of the GBA game. It’s integral to the very wild and wacky story of the KH franchise, you’ll be (even more) lost if you skip it and go straight to KH II
But the HD remakes of the game are so much better. They’re the English releases of the final mix versions, which adds a lot of new abilities and extra content.
I was about to say “but you can’t emulate the HD remakes with a PS2 emulator, those only released for the PS4”, but then I remembered they were all released for PC lol. So yeah good shout, if you wanna play the Kingdom Hearts games on the deck, just buy the HD remakes on Steam
Some racing recommendations:
Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition
Enthusia
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 (the PS2 version is the best one)
Burnout 3 Takedown AND Revenge, both are stellar
Tokyo Extreme Racer 3 and Drift 2
I love Midnight Club 3 so much. That and Black just seemed (to me) to just push the envelope of what the PS2 could do. They’re gorgeous. Black can output 480p, and even with all the crazy physics and detailed textures, it never seems to experience slowdown.
This person knows what they are talking about.
