The Playstation 2 was released in 2000, and at the same time, anime in North America had become even more popular. Iconic series like Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z paved the way for more series to be officially licensed and brought over to the West. Lots of different series other than action-packed series become popular, and a lot of other media for different anime series became more widely available, like video games.
A lot of games for more popular media properties were officially brought over, but not all of them. Even series like Bleach and Neon Genesis Evangelion that have a popular cult following, also have games that never left Japan.
10 Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku No Serenade
Cowboy Bebop is a cult classic space-western anime known for its catchy use of jazz and blues music. Only two official games have been made, and neither was never officially released outside of Japan. Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade is an action beat-em-up PS2 game that features an original story.
While searching for bounties on outlaws, the Bebop crew finds themselves in the middle of a search for space pirate treasure, in opposition to a mysterious organization, and a song called "Diamonds" that seems connected to it all. Players get to play as Faye, Jet, or Spike during the hand-to-hand and shooting parts of the game, and they get to pilot different spacecrafts.
9 Meitantei Conan: Daiei Teikoku No Isan
Detective Conan, or Case Closed as it's known in North America, is a series about a high school detective who gets turned into a kid by a crime syndicate that he was investigating. He continues to solve crimes under a new alias and then impersonates other characters to make it seem like they solved the case.
Several games in the series have been released, including the PS2 game Meitantei Conan: Daiei Teikoku no Isa. It's a 3D mystery game that includes puzzle-solving gameplay. Conan travels to England to solve a murder case and has to use all his detective skills, special gadgets, and smarts to uncover the mysteries surrounding him.
8 Soul Eater: Battle Resonance
Based on the popular series Soul Eater, where warriors called "meisters" wield "demon weapons," which are humans with the ability to transform into weapons. Soul Eater: Battle Resonance is the only PS2 game for the series.
It's a 3D fighting game where players can take control of their favorite meister/demon weapon team and battle against the rest. Gamers will play through the first 24 episodes of the anime and experience the battles Maka, Soul and all the others went through firsthand.
7 Blood+ One Night Kiss
Blood+ One Night Kiss is sure to interest fans of both the anime and SUDA51, as the game was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and is reminiscent of killer7 with its cel-shaded style.
Players get to explore the town of Shikishi as the main protagonist, Saya, as well as a character original to the game, a detective named Kou Aoyama. On their own, both fight Chiropterans as they try to figure out why they've shown up in town.
6 Flame of Recca: Final Burning
Flame of Recca is a series about a boy named Recca who is obsessed with ninjas and claims to be one. He eventually discovers that he has the ability to control flames after meeting a girl named Yanagi who has healing powers, and also learns that he's the son of the leader of the ninja clan called the Hokage.
There have been two games made for the series, with Flame of Recca: Final Burning being the game made for the PS2. It follows the same storyline shown in the SODOM arc. It's an adventure fighting game where players get to play from the perspective of the main characters from the series like Recca, Domon, and even Kurei.
5 Bleach: Blade Battlers
The anime series Bleach is more popular than ever, especially with the release of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, a sequel to the original anime. There have been several Bleach games that were officially released in North America, though there are a few that still remain as Japanese exclusives.
Bleach: Blade Battlers is one of those games, a fighting game for the PS2. It has several game modes, including a Story Mode that has five original stories for Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Sado "Chad" and Uryu. There are 23 playable characters in the first game, and the second game, Blade Battlers 2, has 36.
4 Busou Renkin: Welcome To Papillon Park
Buso Renkin is a supernatural/action series about a high schooler named Kazuki Muto. After saving a girl from a monster, he becomes the user of a Buso Renkin (an alchemistic device), which is used to destroy monsters called a homunculus. The series has one game on the PS2 called Busou Renkin: Welcome to Papillon Park.
This hack-and-slash game takes place after the events of the anime. It has a Dynasty Warriors type of play style as players fight their way through hordes of enemies in different stages. At first, the only characters available are the two main characters and their Buso Renkin; Kazuki Muto and Tokiko Tsumura.
3 Eyeshield 21: AmeFoot Yarouze! Ya! Ha!
There are a lot of different sports anime series, and Eyeshield 21 is the only one about American Football. The series follows Sena Kobayakawa, who becomes the running back for an American Football club. There have been several games released for the series, which were never released outside of Japan.
It has one PS2 game called Eyeshield 21: Amefoot Yarouze! Ya! Ha!, which is both a visual novel and a sports game. The gameplay is in 3D and players have to traverse through the field while avoiding players from the other team and pass the ball as they try to score.
2 Neon Genesis Evangelion: Battle Orchestra
Despite how iconic and popular the Neon Genesis Evangelion series is in the West, many of its games haven't been translated into English. One such game is Neon Genesis Evangelion: Battle Orchestra for the PS2.
It's a platform fighting game that plays similarly to Super Smash Bros, where up to four players can battle it out in Rumble Mode. Players can choose between the different Eva Units and Angels to play as, all of whom have two powerful special attacks.
1 Evangelion: Jo
Evangelion: Jo is another PS2 game that was only available in Japan. It follows the story of the movie Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and the original anime series. The game plays out the events that happened in the movie and the original anime through 3D cutscenes.
There are three different types of gameplay. In 3D battles, the player pilots Eva Unit 01 to fight off Angels. The second mode is Quick-Time events. Finally, in relationship building, the player can interact with different characters. There are several endings to the game, which are determined by Shinji's relationship status with different characters.