I stopped (console) gaming right around the PS4 era - partially because side I was heavily invested in WoW and PC gaming in general - but also because I was livid over how Sony handled the Anniversary edition launch, where scalpers scooped up ~98% of available stock.
I feel like I lucked out opting to become a retro gamer around that time - there are just so many great games from the PS3 generation and earlier that I could dedicate (my diminishingly little) spare time towards and never run out of absolutely incredible content.
Hell, my PS2 version of Vice City runs just as it did when it was new - complete with Billie Jean being the first track on the radio; something that can’t be said for any current/PC versions I believe.
I don’t think I’ve pirated a game since 2008! Used to be if I didn’t like their price, I waited and bought on sale or used. Now that I play on PC and used games aren’t a thing anymore, I just don’t play it.
There’s a sea of games out there and If I don’t like the practices of the publisher, I skip them and move to the next. Why should I engage with their product if they don’t respect me as a customer or share my sensibilities? I’m not a hypocrite.
Road Trip Adventure is one of my favourite racing games. It’s like Disney cars before then. You get to drive around a world doing side quests outside of races.
Driving can feel clunky and it feels really bad in the beginning, but most of it is due to the fact you start off with bad parts. As you upgrade your car the game starts to feel better and better as it goes on. Eventually you get parts to fly and go under water.
…
Also when it comes to final fantasy, there is no one place to start, each game unless a direct sequel (like X-2) they are all completely standalone. None of them are in the same world or universe. They share similar themes but that’s it.
May have been suggested already but Arc the Lad: Twilight of the spirits
It’s an interesting story who’s main overarching theme is messy families. The protagonists family gets separated very early at their birth, fathers lose their families and vice versa.
The PS2 Ace Combat games (4/5/Zero) are still best-in-genre as far as I'm concerned, and have held up exceedingly well in general. Aerial dogfighting with good controls, good mission design and interesting story.
Sky Odyssey is a more "relaxed" little flight game that I also like, still got game-like controls but no combat, just missions where you fly through hard situations.
If you want a wacky, unique rhythm game: Gitaroo Man
For the PS2 entry into one of the best shoot em up series of all time: Gradius V
For a fun, anime themed, voice acted tactical RPG that you can just literally play forever because it seemingly invented the “looping, start over but with better base stats” mechanic that idle games use these days: Disgaea
(As a bonus, the original PS2 version of Disgaea has a different voice for one of the characters than it does in other releases because they lost the rights or some thing like that, so you get to experience it in a slightly different manner than most other people.)
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