This has been a retrospective last few months, as people have been pouring over their favorite things of the new decade, from the best and most influential games and movies, to political drama, to key events in the history of the last ten years. However, recently for some gamers, an anniversary this past week has sparked a hint of nostalgia for Sony, and the PlayStation 2, which turned 20 this year.
So in the spirit of PS2's lifespan crossing over two decades, holding secrets in logos people did find for 20 years, let's take a look back at some of the best titles to hit the system during its life-cycle. Now, this isn't a best of list, or a top of Metacritic check, but a look at some of the most influential games on the console that changed gaming and brought on the current landscape of the industry.
Grand Theft Auto 3
It's a tough decision on whether to put GTA 3 here, or GTA San Andreas, but for the sake of influence, this has to go to the former, as it set the stage for a whole genre of games to come. Copycats, like True Crimes and Saints Row, sprung out of the ground almost overnight at the rampant success of the Grand Theft Auto series. With a promise of unbridled chaos and giving players the ability to do whatever they want in a virtual city, this title not only set up Rockstar up to be the industry powerhouse that it is today, but ushered in a whole new genre of game during the PS2 era.
Now, games with an open map that could be explored to the hearts content, like early Legend of Zelda titles, had existed before, but never to the degree that Grand Theft Auto brought. So, while this might not exactly fit into what players would call open-world today, GTA 3 pioneered the genre. Couple that with Rockstar's excellent storytelling that inspired some of the best video game narratives, and the first 3-D installment of the series becomes the groundwork for every game the company makes from then on, including Red Dead Redemption and the incredibly popular Grand Theft Auto 5.
God of War
There were definitely a few choices that could have been picked to fit the niche that God of War finds itself securely fastened into. With the first two titles in the series appearing on PS2, they boasted brutal hack and slash mechanics framed in beautiful set-pieces. Other games would later follow suit, with Dante's Inferno and Darksiders attempting to emulate the same grandiose nature of the God of War series.
However, with the 2018 release of God of War and its super hyped upcoming sequel, it's clear that this series is one of few that had the staying power to remain the top dog. That being said, Devil May Cry could also take God of War's place on this list, and for any fans of the series wondering why it didn't, it was a coin flip and God of War had a better Metacritic User Rating. Needless to say, both games have set the pace for what good hack and slash action needs to be.
Final Fantasy 10
Recently voted to be the best Final Fantasy game ever, Final Fantasy 10 was the first time that anyone had ever seen the graphical capabilities of the PS2 pushed to its full extent. While Final Fantasy 7 may have opened the door for JRPGs to flood the market back on the PS1, its PS2 successor established the genres domination over the market for the next few years. With some of the most lifelike pre-rendered cutscenes of the time, this was one of the best looking titles to ever hit the PS2.
This also marked the end of Square Enix (Squaresoft at the time) utilizing traditional turn based combat in the way that series veterans had been familiar with. After Final Fantasy X, the series slowly made the transition to a more active style of combat, and eventually arriving at a sort of action-hybrid style that has been utilized in games like Final Fantasy 15 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake's stellar combat system.
Shadow of the Colossus
Now free for PS Plus members, Shadow of the Colossus takes the cake for incredible boss fights, set pieces, and puzzles in any game of the generation. The game also set the stage for minimalist storytelling, similar to what FromSoftware manages with the Dark Souls series, although that company did have a separate title on PS2 called Evergrace. Without chapters, or much dialogue that wasn't vague ramblings from a voice in the ceiling, the legendary title has some of the best uses of environmental storytelling and subtle nods at the nature of what the character is really doing in all of gaming.
While it might not be as cinematic as Prince of Persia, which deserves an honorable mention here, the way that Shadow of the Colossus approaches puzzles and boss encounters is fairly similar. That's not to say that the two are clones of each other, but the list was starting to run long and Prince of Persia needed somewhere to belong on this list, if for nothing else, inspiring future games like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed.
Kingdom Hearts
This was another coin flip, but this time between two games in the same series. Kingdom Hearts 2 is easily the superior game of the two PS2 releases, but the spot on the list goes to the original Kingdom Hearts because of how it started the long running series. Beginning as Square Enix's reply to Super Mario 64 of all things, Kingdom Hearts has become one of the most beloved 3-D platformers of all time, spanning into a series across multiple systems and launching huge titles on mobile.
The battle system of the series has even becomes so successful for Square Enix that producers originally intended for Final Fantasy 7 Remake to use the combat style from Kingdom Hearts. It should be noted that the entire series also really amounts to a piece of Disney/Square Enix crossover fan fiction, so to hold the accolades the series does is a miracle.
Resident Evil 4
A number of contenders could have, and maybe should have, knocked Resident Evil 4 out of this horror spot, like Silent Hill 2. However, at least in the Resident Evil series, the fourth title has yet to be topped, as it balanced horror, action, and a compelling narrative better than any game in the genre.
Capcom has recently been trying to recapture the magic of Resident Evil 4, and both Resident Evil 7 and 2 Remake have come close, but they've never quite hit that mark. And that's saying something when a game is so good at what it does that two console generations later, it still can't be topped. And while Resident Evil titles are currently being remade to give a modern experience, this game may live best in its original state.
Bonus: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
This takes the spot of the sports games that continued to grow throughout the PS2's lifespan. While many would claim that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was likely the best game in the series, the third game still boasts the highest Metacritic score from the entire system's library.
To be honest, a hundred different games deserved some sort of slot on this list, but the PS2 library is massive, and everyone's favorite games are subjective. So for readers who liked the games on this list, congratulations, and anyone who's favorites, like Dark Cloud, Guitar Hero, or Jack and Daxter, those opinions are still perfectly valid. However, when looking at the most influential on the market today, it can't be denied that the above mentioned titles have had a lasting impact on gaming.