The Best Licensed Games For PS2

In the early 2000s, as the video game industry continued to advance, various developers started releasing more and more licensed games, to the point where licensed games were flooding the market during the 2000s. The PlayStation 2 console was no exception to this.

When the PlayStation 2 was released in 2000, it went on to house a huge range of licensed games, including games based on television shows, movies, and animations. While some of these licensed games left a lot to be desired, plenty of them were amazing and incredibly memorable, remaining in the hearts and minds of gamers to this day.

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We’re going to be diving into eight of the best-licensed games on PS2, so those looking to take a nostalgia trip know where to look to avoid disappointment.

8 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

A Magical Platformer

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Action-Adventure

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THE DEMENTORS ARE COMING... AND THIS TIME HARRY NEEDS HIS FRIENDS.
•Play as Harry, Ron and Hermione
•Fly Buckbeak
•All-New Spells
•Face the Dementors

Released

May 25, 2004

Developer(s)

KnowWonder, Griptonite Games, Electronic Arts

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts

Platform(s)

Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PS1, PS2, Xbox (Original)

Genre(s)

Action-Adventure

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The PlayStation 2 version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban did a great job of taking the elements that worked well in the previous movie tie-in games and improving on them while still maintaining what made them so beloved by kids everywhere.

In the Prisoner of Azkaban game, players can take on the roles of Ron and Hermione as well as Harry. All three characters have their own spells that they can learn, and players need to switch between them, as certain tasks require certain spells.

Graphics-wise, Prisoner of Azkaban is a big improvement, and its cartoonish art style suits the characters and the setting amazingly well. It might not be the perfect licensed game, but Prisoner of Azkaban does everything a sequel should, making it one of the best Harry Potter games from the '00s.

7 Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds

Bloody Good Beat 'Em Up

Set during the fifth season of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, Chaos Bleeds is a surprisingly excellent game with an engaging single-player story mode and various multiplayer modes as well.

Players switch between Buffy, Xander, Willow, Faith, Spike, and Sid the Dummy, all of whom have their own skill sets. Buffy uses her martial arts skills to karate chop bad guys, and Willow is weaker, but has the ability to use magic. There’s an impressive amount of weapons, combos, and fighting moves too, so there are plenty of ways to switch things up.

Chaos Bleeds is an incredibly fun licensed game that makes players feel like they are in the midst of a Buffy episode. It’s a must for Buffy fans, but is also well-suited for fans of fighting games and beat 'em ups, and for those who enjoy a bit of fantasy and supernatural horror.

6 The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

A Fantastic Fantasy Fighter

The Return of the King game beats out its predecessor, The Two Towers, as, much like Prisoner of Azkaban, it does everything that a good sequel should. Not only that, but it’s also an excellent licensed game in its own right. Though similar to The Two Towers, Return of the King ups the ante by offering more playable characters, more storylines, and more ways for players to interact with the environment. A cooperative mode for two players was also introduced for some levels.

The game, much like The Two Towers, was developed in collaboration with the team behind the iconic film series. Assets and references from the movies were used, which adds an extra layer of depth, and makes the game all the more enjoyable, particularly for hardcore Lord of the Rings fans.

The hack-and-slash gameplay might not have been revolutionary and hadn’t been changed much from the previous game, but there is enough here to make Return of the King one of the best-licensed games for the PS2.

5 Spider-Man 2

Paving The Way For Pizza Time

Much like the Spider-Man games on the PlayStation 1, the PlayStation 2's Spider-Man 2 game is not only a great game, but it paved the way for other successful superhero games in the future, including the critically and commercially successful Marvel’s Spider-Man games from Insomniac.

The PS2 game includes Spidey’s trademark abilities, such as his web-swinging, wall-crawling, spider-sense, and combat skills. The combat was one of the more advanced features in comparison to the PS1 games, as players have to time attacks to get in hits and create impressive combos. Meanwhile, the open-world web-swinging mechanic paved the way for the mechanics of the modern Spider-Man titles, acting as a blueprint for their success.

The game is split into chapters, all of which have their own objectives and upgrades that can be purchased. Upgrades are purchased with Hero Points, which can be earned by completing main missions and side quests. Side quests can involve anything from rescuing citizens around New York to delivering pizza.

Again, earning points by completing main and side missions is a mechanic utilized in the recent Spider-Man games. The newer games have taken a lot of inspiration from the classic Spider-Man titles, including Spider-Man 2. It’s a great licensed game, but it’s also a game that modern superhero games have a lot to be thankful for.

4 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom

A Robot Rumble With Plenty of Platforming

There were lots of SpongeBob SquarePants games released for the PlayStation 2, but Battle for Bikini Bottom was one of the best, so much so that it received a remake in 2020 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

The game focuses on SpongeBob and his friends — Patrick and Sandy — facing off against Plankton and his army of robots. Players platform their way around Bikini Bottom to fight robots and collect items. This is a little generic for a platformer, but the unique and cartoony setting of Bikini Bottom and the colorful cast of characters make things much more interesting.

SpongeBob games tend to have an element of zany fun to them, as is to be expected from a series where the protagonist is a sea sponge. Battle for Bikini Bottom captures this humor and fun design fantastically well, making it one of the best SpongeBob PS2 games, as well as one of the best licensed PS2 games in general.

3 Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Monkey Business

An amazing licensed game for the PS2 is King Kong, based on Peter Jackson’s film of the same name. King Kong initially puts players in the shoes of Jack Driscoll, the scriptwriter who travels to Skull Island with Ann Darrow, Carl Denham, and the rest of the crew of the SS Venture.

The game takes on a first-person perspective when playing as Jack, though it remains cinematic in style by removing the HUD (it can be turned on if the player enables it in the settings). Guns are available, but most of the time, players have to find their own weapons and methods to survive, such as sharp sticks and fire. Later in the game, players take on the role of Kong himself, played from a third-person perspective. Kong will battle dinosaurs and other huge creatures from Skull Island that can’t be touched with Jack’s weapons.

With highly engaging gameplay that switches up styles, and cinematic moments that feel like players are well and truly part of the movie, as well as stellar performances from the film cast who reprise their roles, King Kong is not only one of the best PS2 licensed games, it’s also one of the best PS2 games, period.

2 The Warriors

A Non-GTA Rockstar Smash Hit

Rockstar Games are a household name in the gaming industry for their work on the Grand Theft Auto franchise, but there are other games under their belt that are equally impressive. One of their best games — other than GTA — is The Warriors, a PS2 game based on the film of the same name.

The Warriors is mostly a fighting game with a focus on melee combat, but it also has survival elements, action and adventure elements, and even RPG elements, as players can level up their fitness skills and stamina by working out in the Warriors headquarters. Players can also choose to help citizens around Coney Island, and they can learn new abilities by doing so.

The game expands on the classic movie, beginning three months before the film. The characters and their designs are also accurate to their film counterparts, and the game overall is a faithful adaptation of The Warriors film, but Rockstar also went above and beyond with the gameplay, design, controls, and narrative to create an engaging game that is a fantastic licensed title for the PS2.

1 The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Grand Theft Auto, But Make It A Cartoon

One of the games that modern fans most want a remake or remaster of is The Simpsons: Hit & Run, and there is a good reason for this nostalgia. Inspired by the GTA series, The Simpsons: Hit & Run holds a place in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world.

Hit & Run is mostly a driving game where players race to objectives, collect a certain amount of items in their car, or destroy other vehicles before they get to their destination. There are some on-foot missions and classic Simpsons buildings that players can enter — such as the Simpsons family home and Moe’s Tavern — but driving is the primary mechanic.

Players will play as Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, and Apu throughout the game, and each character has their own default car that they start the game with. Other cars can then be unlocked, either by purchasing them, playing certain missions, completing races, or finding them in the game world if they are a secret vehicle.

Hit & Run feels like players are in a lengthy Simpsons episode, thanks to writers from the show having a significant role in the game's narrative, and the original cast reprising their roles. Fans of The Simpsons will immediately recognize the humor of the show and understand the many references and in-jokes.

Along with developing a cult following, The Simpsons: Hit & Run was a critical and commercial success. It’s undoubtedly the most iconic, and one of the absolute best licensed games for the PS2. Here’s hoping that one day it gets the remake that fans are desperately craving.

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