The PS2 was easily one of the most successful consoles of all time. During its 13-year run, the console sold over 160 million units, and over 4,000 games were released on it. That’s a lot of consoles and a lot of games. Every year wasa treasure trove of great releases.
These days, it’s common to hear people complain about the fact that seemingly every new game is either a prequel, sequel, spin-off, remaster, or remake. But back in the glory days of the PS2, this franchise fatigue hadn’t set in yet. People were actuallyexcitedwhen a sequel to their favorite game was released. While quite a few of these were misses, just as many were massive hits. These sequels were chosen via a loving blend of metacritic score, nostalgia, impact, and how they hold up today.
When the originalKingdom Heartswas released in 2002, it quickly became a smash hit. A bizarre but lovableFinal FantasyandDisneymashup, it appealed to fans of both franchises. Kids adored the visuals, and their parents enjoyed the surprisingly good story and RPG gameplay. Three years later,Kingdom Hearts 2hit the shelves.
It was easily one ofthe best RPGs on the PS2. It simply took everything that made the original good and made it great. Combat was more varied, mixing magic, Keyblade melee, and new form states for Kora. Its world design was also much improved, and the game did a lot of heavy lifting, building up the lore for later entries. Sadly, its sequel,Kingdom Hearts 3,isn’t quite so beloved, arguably being one of the worst entries in the series. Lucky for fans, Square Enix seems to re-release these games every few months, soKingdom Hearts 2is as easy to pick up and play today as it was back then.
Jak 2, the sequel to Jak andDaxter: The Precursor Legacy,was an incredibly brave move by Naughty Dog. The first game had been a launch title for the PS2 and had, in many ways, felt like a bigger, better, more open version of their legendaryCrash Bandicootseries. It had beautiful graphics, great presentation, and gorgeous cartoon-style graphics.
What did they do for the sequel to one of the generation’s most critically acclaimed performers? Turn it into a shooter, of course.Jak 2was even more gorgeous and still had great platforming, but it also crammed in an arsenal of guns, a shadow version of Jak, driving mechanics, a hoverboard, and a ton of mini-games. This being Naughty Dog, of course they pulled it off.Jak 2was and still is a hoot to play, even if it’s a little difficult by today’s standards. The third entry, the aptly namedJak 3was still pretty good but had lost a little bit of the original Jak and Daxter charm.
ThePS2 had a lot of awesome racing gamesand, in all honesty, most of this list could have been racing sequels. WhileBurnout 3andNeed for Speed Underground 2were strong contenders, in the end, the spot on the list went toGran Turismo 3. Partly because it was a console exclusive, partly because it had the highest metacritic score, but mostly because it’s where the series peaked.
Gran Turismo 3was a technically impressive racing sim for the time. While not as accurate as more modern sims, it got most stuff right and did a great job of balancing realism and fun.Gran Turismo 4was just as impressive but sacrificed some of that fun in the name of simulation, especially during rally events.Gran Turismo 3was often as hard as nails and demanded a completionist attitude to get the most out of it, but no other game in the series has succeeded in capturing that magic quite as well.
IsRatchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenalthe greatest title for a video game ever? Maybe. Thankfully, its name isn’t the most impressive thing about it.Up Your Arsenalis the third entry in the series and arguably the best entry ever. It took everything that made the first two so good and dialed it up to 11.
The game had an impressive 41 main weapons to collect, as well as the usual host of Metroidvania style upgrades and unlocks. The platforming was tight, and the shooting was as good as any other Insomniac game, but the real stars were the characters and story. The series remains popular, but for many fans, it’s never really improved uponUp Your Arsenal.
A newTimeSplittersgame is right up there withHalflife 3when it comes to things many gamers really, really want and will probably never get. At least they still have the original games, which were some ofthe best first-person shooters on the PS2.
TimeSplitters 2holds a special place in so many gamers' hearts because it strikes a perfect balance between the style and humor of the original and the grander scale ofTimesplitters: Future Perfect. Its cartoon-inspired graphics have aged well, the story is still hilarious, and the second-to-second gunplay is as fun as ever. The game’s special sauce, though, was its exhilarating multiplayer. With tons of maps, 16 game modes, and countless characters to unlock, it perfectly captured the split-screen fun of the Golden Eye years.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3is officially the highest-rated PS2 game on Metacritic, which is a pretty cool claim to fame. That’s pretty apt because in 2001, no game was cooler or more popular thanPro Skater 3. By this point, the developers had nailed the gameplay, so they could focus on stuffing the game full of insanely good music, more interactive maps, and crazy guest characters like Darth Maul.
It was also the first entry to include an online mode and competing against far-away friends was a lot of fun. While other sports game developers had already settled on incremental installments each year that barely changed anything, Neversoft deserves credit for continuing to mix things up. The only reason the game isn’t higher here is that skateboarding and skate-punk aren’t as popular as they used to be, making this one a bit more niche compared to other games on the list. It’s still a great time, though.
The originalSSXwas plenty of fun, and it at least attempted to pay homage to realism. Its sequel,SSX Tricky,threw realism out the window in an attempt to make snowboarding as wild and outrageous as possible. That approach obviously worked becauseSSX TrickyrivalsPro Skater 3as one of the most fun sports games on the PS2.
It had 10 courses to choose from, which may not sound like a lot, but each one was crammed full of secret alternate routes. Each of the 12 snowboarders also handled differently; some were more trick focused, others speedy, and others more balanced. The graphics popped, and some of the course designs were almost seizure-inducing. The best part, though, was the tricks, especially during the Show-Off events.Tricky’stricks were completely divorced from reality, and watching your rider’s face plant never got old. Many gamers of a certain age still have the “It’s Tricky” title tune stuck in their heads over 20 years later.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eaterisn’t just one ofthe best stealth games on PS2, it’s one of the best stealth games ever made, period. This sequel left Solid Snake and Raiden behind so that fans could travel back in time and spend quality time with Naked Snake, aka Big Boss, during his golden years working for the U.S. This prequel setting meant players had some chance of knowing what was going on if they had missed the first two games.
The stealth gameplay inSnake Eateris impeccably good, even if the controls haven’t aged all that well compared to today’s games. There were always multiple ways to get through encounters, and each boss battle felt more like a puzzle than a fight (who didn’t change their PS2 clock date to beat The End?). The game’s graphics were also gorgeous, pushing the PS2 to its limits four years into its life cycle. As a sequel,Snake Eaterwas simply bigger and better than the first two games, both in story-telling and gameplay.
TheResident Evilfranchise has had its ups and downs over the years, but for many horror fans,Resident Evil 4hit the sweet spot. As a sequel, it was nothing short of revolutionary. It was the first entry in the series to ditch the archaic-feeling fixed camera, use an over-the-shoulder perspective, and put much greater emphasis on action.
The graphics, voice acting, and writing were also all improved, with the story actually being somewhat comprehensible. While the tank controls feel outdated today, that wasn’t so at the time, and they’re still pretty easy to pick up.Resident Evil 4was a bloody blend of horror and action, with enough jump scares to put even the most hardened fans on the edge of their seats at times. Unfortunately, subsequent sequels made the mistake of emphasizing action over horror, butResident Evil 4remainsthe best PS2 survival horror game.
Before we start singingGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas’spraises, special mention should go to its older siblings.Grand Theft Auto 3pretty much wrote the open-world gameplay book and almost single handedly ushered in a new era of gaming.Vice Citytook the brilliant but rough-around-the-edgesGTA 3and honed its gameplay into something even more special.
ThenGrand Theft Auto: San Andreascame along and said, “hold my beer, big bros”. There had never been an open-world game like it before. For the time, its map seemed almost unbelievably big (thanks to some design trickery by Rockstar), and it added multiple systems that even later entries likeGTA 5still don’t have. It also had a more compelling story than the previous games, featuring a likable protagonist who wasn’t a complete sociopath. It’s amazing to think fans have been waiting forGTA 6for over 10 years when Rockstar managed to go fromGTA 3toSan Andreasin three.
