Final fantasy isn’t a continuation from game to game, they are new stories each time. Final fantasy is more like a feeling than a specific place or group of people.
All that said I really think you should consider trying Final Fantasy 10, it has fantastic cinematics and is a very emotional game.
I think of it as an RPG ruleset, like DnD. Most of FF games follow similar mechanics, class systems, sometimes there’s the same monsters, and sometimes there’s crystals that do stuff.
The original Fatal Frame trilogy are some of the best horror games I’ve played. Not only are they genuinely scary without using a lot of blood, but they have difficulty that connects well with the scariness.
It occasionally feels “unfair” and makes you feel vulnerable, but is still relatively doable so that you don’t get overwhelmed. At times you’ll be retreading old ground just trying to solve a puzzle when another ghost will come at you out of nowhere.
I just finished up a playthrough of SSX3 about a month ago, and I used PCSX2 for the playthrough. With the resolution unlocked and better texture filitering, the game’s graphics hold up nicely. Locked 60fps (except for one level), and just a really stylized grahpical presentation that still feels modern.
In terms of gameplay, the controls definitely have a learning curve with having to preload jumps and sheer amount of button combinations the game expects you to use and remember, but boiled down you are usually just holding dpad for a spin and then your modifier button + a trigger. The game isn’t particurally hard unless you are going for Platinum medals, and I found the soundtrack pleasant enough to listen to as it ebbs and flows with how well you are doing on the course.
I definitely spent way more time with SSX Tricky as a kid, but after playing through SSX3 as an adult, I would definitely say 3 is a much more polished and approachable game than Tricky.
One of my favorite eras to live through and emulate!
Aside from Dark Cloud 2, mentioned already, I also really love:
Katamari, but on Deck the native version is better and includes the sequel.
The Jak and Daxter trilogy, simply amazing games! The first or the second are usually the favs. 1 is a solid mascot platformer. 2 also is, kind of, but adds guns and cars and a slightly GTA inspired open world. 3 is also fun but leans harder into vehicles and generally isn’t regarded as highly.
Odin Sphere. All the VanillaWare games are great, but OS is one of the most beautiful games ever drawn, and has really fun brawler\rpg combat. GrimGrimoire is another of theirs, also good, kind of a side scrolling RTS.
Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 are both a lot of fun, especially if you love Disney or SquareEnix games. If not, they’re still pretty fun and have an… interesting, if convoluted, lore. I probably wouldn’t recommend if you dont care for Disney though. Probably worth playing Final Fantasy 7 first as well. It’s referenced quite reverently and is a great standalone game (and PS1 still counts I think, haha).
Devil May Cry 1 and 3. You can skip 2, even the fans and creators don’t care about it, and 3 is a prequel. DMC1 is a landmark game, and is required playing in my opinion for being both important and incredibly fun. It can be quite hard though. 3 is arguably the best in the whole series, and holds up really well near the top of the genre to this day.
God of War 1, 2, and 3. They’re fantastic action games, and pretty influential still. I dont like them as much as DMC, but they’re still pretty fun.
There were actually a lot of pretty mediocre DMC clones on PS2, like Gungrave or Bujingai. If you love the genre, they’re neat and OK fun. God Hand is quite funny and kind of unique, probably the best of the 3 listed here.
I see Okami in there and I approve! Although I think the remasters released on other platform more recently are a better way to play. I also preferred the Wii version back in the day.
The Sly Cooper games and the Ratchet and Clank games are also both really excellent series. I liked Jak more, but they’re distinct games with their own neat elements. Sly’s particularly unique as a mascot stealth game.
Metal Gear Solid series and the Tony Hawk games are obviously excellent, but you’ve got so many other ways to play those I’m not sure they’re worth emulating.
Zone of the Enders, 1 and 2. ZoE 1 is infamous as being the game that came with the first MGS2 demo on it. The game is fine but short, and mostly serves to set up ZoE2, which fucking rules! You pilot a badass mecha and it just has a really fun plot, great music, and good action. An underrated gem!
Not your jam I’m sure, but I’d be remiss if I didnt mention the many hours I spent playing Capcom vs SNK 2. Still one of my favorite fighting games, legendary roster and soundtrack.
If you’d like a roguelike, I’d suggest Baroque or (PS1) Azure Dreams. Both pretty fun, quite long games with lots of replay value. Baroque is uh… well titled, kind of challenging to get into.
Ah, there were so many good games in that era. Truly one of the most stacked console lineups ever.
Good catch, my bad, I thought it was just the trilogy collection on PS3. It’s probably been since it first came out that i played it.
I went general on MGS because I couldn’t remember which game premiered on which console generation without looking it up either, but it’s 2 and 3 for PS2 (and 1 from PSX).
I don’t know if its the age or perhaps I unconciously became sick of the practices OP describes, but the games I genuinelly enjoy playing the most nowadays are mainly AA or Indie. And ofc, I don’t mind paying full price for them.
A non-exhaustive list of those I loved:
Outer Wilds (became my favourite game of all times)
I recently went through a ps2 games phase. Some already mentioned but the lesser known standouts for me were;
God hand (probably the best game on ps2 and released really late in the life of the PS2 so many people missed it),
Odin sphere (best looking game on the system and really fun),
urban reign,
steam bot chronicles (robot action rpg really satisfying game play)
robot alchemical drive (ride on the shoulders of huge gundam style robots, really unique game)
champions of norrath, (action rpg based on EverQuest universe, really fun)
psi ops, (fps like game with stars wars style force powers, crazy fun)
Drakan: Ancient gates, (action rpg, fly on a dragon, one of the best magic systems ever where you have to trace the pattern to cast. The reason I started my ps2 phase was to replay this game, loved it as a kid and still holds up)
Zone of the Enders 1 and 2
Shadowhearts
SSX Tricky
Burnout
Katamari Damacey
Ribbit King
Roommania #201
SkyGunner
Oni
Dead or Alive 2
Silent Hill 2 and 3
Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Lost War Chronicles
Xenosaga
.dot Hack
Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain
Def Jam Vendetta
GunGrave
Capcom vs SNK
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Eh, if it’s a new game I want and I can afford it I’ll buy it. I’m just buying less new games lately.
I am however just going hog wild on emulating all the old console games.
Got my PS2 all set up with a hard drive and FreeHDBoot so I can just load it up with all the PS2 games I never got a chance to play or own! Hacked my Vita and download all that stuff I never played.
Haven’t tried to hack any Nintendo stuff besides my Wii, which I need to do again apparently. But I’m not exactly desperate for things to play, I’ve got loads of things to choose from these days.
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Destroy All Humans! Shadow of the Colossus, The Matrix: Path of Neo, Psi Ops: The Mind Gate Conspiracy, Burnout Revenge, Gitaroo Man, God Hand.
I’m sure there’s more but that’s off the top of my head. Also some of these can definitely be found in newer versions or ports, but they started on PS2 so I listed them anyways.
They’re both fun, but I think Path of Neo is probably more what people were hoping to get out of a Matrix video game.
Enter The Matrix was cool, but it suffers a bit from some awkward earlier dual stick controls that Path of Neo had corrected. Plus you’re stuck within the timeframe of the second movie only really.
bin.pol.social
Aktywne