![]() ![]() If you had to knock Dragon Quest VIII for anything, it would likely be this sequel’s adherence to the tropes and ideas of its predecessors. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King This game’s worlds, bosses, and storyline all rank comfortably among the very best in this series, but it’s really the ways all of those things come together that make this one of the definitive PS2 RPGs as well as one of the most memorable games of this era. This dream project that was somehow also so far beyond our wildest dreams arguably reached its peak with the brilliant Kingdom Hearts 2. There are times when it’s hard to believe the Kingdom Hears franchise even exists. This ARPG’s massive roster of playable characters that can be upgraded with gear and XP is certainly its biggest draw, but it’s the way this game captures the feel of assembling the perfect team of characters and then having them do battle against incredible foes that elevates this surprisingly deep experience over lesser imitators we’ve seen over the years. The PS2’s collection of surprisingly excellent ARPGs deserves to be celebrated more than they typically are, but what better way to kick off those overdue festivities than to talk about this incredible X-Men game that set a standard even modern superhero games are still chasing? While Tale of Symphonia is often remembered as a GameCube RPG, this brilliant title’s eventual PS2 port means that it absolutely deserves to be in any conversation about this console’s best role-playing experiences. You can’t come close to seeing everything this epic has to offer in one playthrough, but those who love it won’t mind playing it again. Along with being able to recruit over 176 NPCs who each bring their own stories and abilities to the fold, this game makes a simply admirable effort to ensure that every person in this world feels like they really live in this world. Yet, I will always respect the way this game uses its NPCs. This game’s more relaxed style and often slow-moving narrative just aren’t for everyone. To be honest, I really do get those complaints. I’ve heard some criticize Radiata Stories for taking too long to “click” for them or simply never grabbing them at all. ![]() There is so much depth and so much creativity on display in this massive adventure that you can easily forgive its punishing difficulty and occasional unevenness. While this game’s fundamental weirdness is undeniably part of its charm, the bigger draw here is Nocturne’s weak spot-focused combat system and demon recruitment mechanics. This absolutely bizarre post-apocalyptic RPG sees you play as a high-school student tasked with navigating a demon-filled version of Tokyo in order to battle the forces that control this realm. This strange blend of film scene recreations and original storytelling gave fans the chance to dive into Middle-Earth again, and the game holds up remarkably well to this day as one of the best ways to relive your movie memories. Yet, there is something to be said for the fact that The Third Age gave us a true Lord of the Rings RPG adventure at a time when the films were still the hottest thing in the world. On the one hand, I do feel kind of bad putting this game on the list above titles that are a little more critically acclaimed, a little more innovative, and, in some cases, perhaps simply better than what was essentially EA’s Lord of the Rings-themed take on Final Fantasy X. You know what a couple of the games on this list will be, but a deeper look at the best PS2 RPGs will remind you just how deep this console’s roster of all-time great titles really was. The result was an elite group of developers finally getting the chance to watch their biggest dreams come to life in a way that was simply never possible up until that point. The PS2 represents this incredible moment in the evolution of the genre when we were both benefiting from the ambition of the PS1 generation as well as getting to enjoy the ways that PS2 technology made true 3D gaming so much more viable than it had ever been before. However, there’s a strong argument to be made that the PS2 not only deserves to be in that conversation but could very well end up taking the crown. When we talk about the best RPG consoles, we typically focus on the SNES and the PS1 (and with good reason).
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