The PlayStation 2 is one of the greatest home consoles of all time. Sony refined its approach with this console by tightening third-party restrictions, ensuring that any games on the console met an acceptable quality standard.
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This forced developers to pull up their socks and craft tantalizing experiences that fans would love. In fact, some of gaming's biggest franchises peaked on this console and have arguably never reached this level of success ever again.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
A Beloved DBZ Fighting Game With A Ridiculously Massive Roster
- PS2 Games: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
The Budokai Tenkaichi fighting games are in a class of their own, and fans were glad to see Sparking Zero! Mark a triumphant return for the franchise. Back in its heyday, nothing came close to Budokai Tenkaichi when it came to fighters with incredible power who were in a class of their own.
Budokai Tenkaichi 2 had the best story mode, but the ridiculous size of the roster in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was off the charts. Literally no character from the series, canon or otherwise, was skipped, leading to what is easily one of the most jam-packed rosters in a fighting game that is still mind-blowing to this day.
Need For Speed
Underground, Its Sequel, And Most Wanted Are Some Of The Most Beloved Games
- PS2 Games: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Need for Speed: Underground, Need for Speed: Underground 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed is one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, even if the recent run of this series is all over the place. It's hard to compare to the heights of this series, back when it dominated the PS2.
Need for Speed: Underground was oozing with style, and Underground 2 added an open world on top of this to make for a major evolution in the series. Meanwhile, the legacy of Most Wanted speaks for itself and makes it clear why Need for Speed's run on the PlayStation 2 was in a class of its own.
Prince Of Persia
The Sands Of Time Trilogy Is GOATed
- PS2 Games: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
As things stand, Prince of Persia is largely known for its side-scrolling games. However, before this franchise turned into the foundation for Assassin's Creed to gain its footing, Ubisoft put its best foot forward in the development of The Sands of Time, which is easily one of the greatest action platformers of all time that still holds up.
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People may deride Warrior Within for its edginess, but this game eventually had the impact it desired and introduced the franchise to edgy young gamers all over the world. Finally, The Two Thrones combined the best of both games to mark a triumphant return for the Prince everyone knew and loved, with his dark side emerging from time to time after the Vizier corrupted his body for good.
Shadow Hearts
One Of The Most Underrated JRPG Trilogies Of All Time
- PS2 Games: Shadow Hearts, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Koudelka had its issues, but there's no denying that its storytelling and worldbuilding were off the charts. If the game was packaged with palatable JRPG gameplay, it could've been something special. Shadow Hearts achieved this, even if some fans felt that it was a generation too late and failed to wow players at the time, especially since Final Fantasy 10 had come around the same time.
However, fans have slowly warmed to Shadow Hearts, while Covenant is easily one of the greatest sequels of all time and a must-play JRPG in the eyes of many. This sentiment isn't universal for From the New World, but this game is still captivating enough to cap off the Shadow Hearts PS2 trilogy on a high note.
Ratchet & Clank
Insomniac Games Made Their Mark With This Franchise
- PS2 Games: Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet: Deadlocked
Before Insomniac became the go-to developer to enjoy good superhero games, fans knew them for their work on the beloved Ratchet & Clank series. Controlling this edgy marsupial as he teamed up with his robot sidekick to take on major foes with a huge arsenal of creative weaponry was a blast.
Ratchet & Clank dominated on the PS2, but it was clear that Sony's attention was shifting towards attracting a mature fanbase. This led to the franchise being left on the back burner, barring a few major entries, although Rift Apart was still a great return to form for the series that showed how comfortable Insomniac was with the PS5 hardware.
Kingdom Hearts
The First Two Games Were Amazing, Before The Series Became Way Too Convoluted
- PS2 Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2
Kingdom Hearts has turned into a convoluted mess that is downright impossible to get into right now, but this wasn't always the case. Back when this series debuted on the PS2, fans were surprised that the unlikely crossover between Disney and Square Enix was a resounding success.
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Sure, Kingdom Hearts had some minor issues, but it set the foundation for this legendary series and paved the way for what is easily one of the greatest video game sequels of all time. Kingdom Hearts 2 is a must-play for fans of quality action JRPGs, and it's a shame that Nomura's wild writing caused the franchise to go totally haywire after this point.
Silent Hill
Started On The PS1 Before Becoming A Psychological Horror Masterpiece On The PS2
- PS2 Games: Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4: The Room, Silent Hill: Origins
The survival horror genre is finally making a comeback after a long time, something that has elated long-time fans of this genre. However, while Resident Evil has hit the ground running since its revival, Silent Hill is still on shaky footing after an excellent remake.
Silent Hill 2 is one of the most important psychological horror games of all time, which tried something different and broke new ground in the horror genre. Silent Hill 3 is an underrated fan favorite, and The Room has some novel ideas despite its frustrations. While fans may have grown tired of the series by the time Origins came out, that should take nothing away from the generational reign this survival horror franchise had on the PS2.
TimeSplitters
Fans Want This PS2 FPS Series To Make A Resounding Comeback
- PS2 Games: TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
The fact that TimeSplitters has become a forgotten relic of gaming's past hurts fans to this day. The original game was decent enough, but it's TimeSplitters 2 that opened the floodgates for this franchise, what with its compelling story and engaging multiplayer gameplay.
Future Perfect built upon this concept, and it didn't seem like the TimeSplitters franchise could do anything wrong. However, games like Call of Duty and Halo dominated the market after TimeSplitters peaked, and other companies tried to make the next great CoD killer instead of trying to promote imaginative FPS games.
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