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Jam and dexter series
God of war
Sly cooper

I'm definitely gonna echo Persona 3 and Persona 4. They could definitely be combined into a single entry, but they MUST be included to some degree. I'd also say God of War, Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars Battlefront, and Devil May Cry.

ElkinFencer10 wrote:I'm definitely gonna echo Persona 3 and Persona 4. They could definitely be combined into a single entry, but they MUST be included to some degree. I'd also say God of War, Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars Battlefront, and Devil May Cry.

I don't know if persona would be. Although they are amazing games they never defined the system like the other stuff you mentioned.

Battlegrounds was cross platform on Xbox wasn't it? Maybe replace that with Socom?

mas wrote:Jam and dexter series

Is this a lesser-known (and much tastier and/or murderous) spin-off of the main series?

BogusMeatFactory wrote:

ElkinFencer10 wrote:I'm definitely gonna echo Persona 3 and Persona 4. They could definitely be combined into a single entry, but they MUST be included to some degree. I'd also say God of War, Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars Battlefront, and Devil May Cry.

I don't know if persona would be. Although they are amazing games they never defined the system like the other stuff you mentioned.

Battlegrounds was cross platform on Xbox wasn't it? Maybe replace that with Socom?

I actually didn't know Battlefront was multiplat until I googled it when you mentioned it. Good catch.

Persona may not have been big with everyone, but I still think they were influential enough to help define the system as an RPG powerhouse. Another one I think definitely needs to be mentioned - more than Persona even - that I just thought of is Kingdom Hearts.

I am on board with kingdom hearts for sure.

God of War Series
GTA Series
Gran Turismo 3 & 4
Guitar Hero
Final Fantasy X and XI
Dragon Quest VIII
Kingdom Hearts
Madden series

I think all of these are essential to the list

marurun wrote:And didn't the Musou genre start on PS2 with Dynasty Warriors or something like that?

Technically no, the first Dynasty Warriors is a fighting game on the PS1. The series shifted to a mass combat 3D beat 'em up with Dynasty Warriors 2 on the PS2. That said, if you go with the series' Japanese title, Shin Sangokumusou, it is the first of those, as the original Dynasty Warriors was only known as Sangokumusou.

To follow up on what other folks have said, I would definitely include the Grand Theft Auto, Devil May Cry, God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken, Gran Turismo, and Final Fantasy series, along with the likes of the original Guitar Hero, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest VIII.

The Silent Hill series seems like a potential choice, considering there are 5 on the console. SOCOM might also be something to consider.

ElkinFencer10 wrote:

BogusMeatFactory wrote:

ElkinFencer10 wrote:I'm definitely gonna echo Persona 3 and Persona 4. They could definitely be combined into a single entry, but they MUST be included to some degree. I'd also say God of War, Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars Battlefront, and Devil May Cry.

I don't know if persona would be. Although they are amazing games they never defined the system like the other stuff you mentioned.

Battlegrounds was cross platform on Xbox wasn't it? Maybe replace that with Socom?

I actually didn't know Battlefront was multiplat until I googled it when you mentioned it. Good catch.

Persona may not have been big with everyone, but I still think they were influential enough to help define the system as an RPG powerhouse. Another one I think definitely needs to be mentioned - more than Persona even - that I just thought of is Kingdom Hearts.

The reason I think Persona deserves to be part of defining is it single handedly managed to bring to public consciousness outside the hipster crowd the SMT series. And it was basically a last hurrah for PS2 RPGs, coming out around the same time the PS3 launched.

BogusMeatFactory wrote:Here is one.... Everquest Online Adventures. Full featured mmo that was on consoles and only closed down last year! That is quite an achievement considering that only this generation has started doing mmos.

Far as I see, EQOA shut down in 2012. Console support for FFXI ended in March 2016 though, which was the last remaining support for online PS2 play.

While I think EQOA is notable as one of the first console MMOs - and the one to pull it off without a hard drive - I think FFXI would be the more defining of the two, despite not being exclusive.

In general, Square Enix has succeeded with MMOs in the Japanese market like few other companies have. Even WoW doesn't have servers or language support for the region. Most simply don't have much of an audience. SE put an MMO with a franchise name on the PS2, showcasing (and bundled with) the HDD accessory...and unless something has changed recently, turned it into the most profitable Final Fantasy title, likely in large part because it was one of (if not the) genre-defining MMO for Japan. Even today, FFXIV has a larger (active) Japanese subscription base than US - Japan sometimes accounts for half or more of their global numbers.

Granted, it was limited to the US and Japan, as the PS2 HDD was not released in Europe, but it kept a good number of PS2s in use well after the PS3 and even PS4 were on shelves. The last retail expansion ([i}Seekers of Adoulin[/i]) was the final game disc released in Japan, and likely Rhapsodies of Vana'diel (the "final story content" that was not a retail expansion) represents the last content released for the system (in November 2015).

Obviously, the game is no longer available to play on the system (though the PC version is still going, and celebrating its 15th anniversary right now), but I'd say it's a very defining game for the PS2 anyway.


I would definitely agree with MGS2 (if not 3), GTAIII (at least), Gran Turismo 3 particularly, DMC, God of War, FFX, ICO if not SoTC as well.

Perhaps SSX due to the popularity at launch - it was the standout title as I recall.

I'd include Persona 3 and/or 4 for reasons mentioned. Also perhaps the Xenosaga trilogy, even if just as representation of the state of things. Less niche than .hack or Shadow Hearts or the other SMT games.

Maybe things like Okami and Onimusha as well.