The PlayStation 2 Era was packed FULL of fantastic games spanning all genres from racing, action and JRPGs. In the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in PlayStation 2 games being remastered. Let’s take a trip back in time and look at games that were just too good to be left behind. We picked 5 PlayStation 2 Games that NEED to be remastered, or at least revisited.
These days, gamers are getting used to seeing remastered versions of our past favorites from consoles of long ago. Whether it be a mere HD texture pack, or a game built from the ground up, remasters are a mainstay in today’s gaming climate. Games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Medievil, and Onimusha have been remade and have reclaimed the success they once enjoyed during their original releases. The Resident Evil franchise has rekindled the passion of many survival horror fans with their recent revisits to Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3. I for one, am a big fan of these remakes and remasters. I think they’re important installments to draw in newer fans that never had the chance to experience these games in their original forms. These newer gamers probably never would experience them if they didn’t have the fresh coat of paint and modern gameplay elements.
Let’s face it, the blocky and grainy graphical style of the PS1 and PS2 era look like poorly aged digital vomit to the current generation of gamers. So many incredible games were released on the PS2 that have since been remade to much success and acclaim. Final Fantasy X, Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, and Ratchet and Clank come to mind. We took a trip down memory lane, and picked these 5 PlayStation 2 games to remaster:
God Hand
First off, the box art for this gem is a tattooed fist being slammed into a mohawk man’s face. The best part is that it’s the perfect description for this Capcom cult classic. God Hand dropped back in 2006 and was absolutely slammed by critics for many of the reasons that it became a wildly popular title years after. It was developed by Clover Studios (who folded literal days after God Hand released) and featured some insanely over the top characters and scenarios. The beat’em up style appealed to a wide audience as you punched, kicked, knee’d, and… spanked your way through demons? Yeah, did I mention it was over the top? The extensive list of abilities you unlock and the near limitless combinations you can throw at your demon counterparts was impressive for a PS2 era title. It would be very interesting to see this once ridiculed, but now celebrated title get remastered and hit shelves for a modern console. As a big fan of fast paced action packed beat’em up games, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a God Hand remaster for a full $60 price tag.
TimeSplitters
Whacky over the top characters, unrealistic gimmicky guns, and a brick. That’s what comes to mind when I think of TimeSplitters. A game originally developed by former members of Rare that worked on Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, these games got lost amongst the saturation of first-person shooters during the PS2 era. But boy do they stand out to anyone fortunate enough to play through them. Though the plot to the campaigns weren’t extremely memorable, they were fun with a ton of action and a lot of humor to go along with it. The main draw for me was the multiplayer and its many modes to choose from (16 in total!). I have extremely fond memories of playing split screen with 3 friends and booting up Capture the Bag or Team Deathmatch with bots to fill the game. There were ninja monkeys, Elvis impersonators, and a dinosaur to choose from. A friend of mine would always pick a character that had a giant hand for a head named “The Glovernator”, and I’d insta-lock the duck. For real, he was a mean looking duck that carried giant guns around with his wings. A reboot of this with an extensive online format and different skins to unlock would be an awesome experience for everyone that missed out. That and the 3 campaigns would fill out a game well for a $40 price tag if you ask me.
Blood Will Tell
This hidden gem of a hack and slash journey was brought to us by Sega Wow and Red Entertainment back in 2004. You play as Hyakkimaru, a man that has had pieces of his body stolen by fiends and their hordes of demon minions. His quest is to defeat the fiends to reclaim his body parts and become whole again. You start off with prosthetic limbs turned into weapons that you use to hack and slash through your enemies. Along the way he meets a young thief named Dororo that helps him in various ways to get back what’s lost. Some really neat features come into play, and new skills and abilities are unlocked with each new body part you reclaim after defeating the fiends. With so many more possibilities, and the ability to create much larger maps to account for more fiend encounters, I feel that a current gen remaster would be an incredible experience for this concept. Imagine a map the size of Horizon Zero Dawn or Ghost of Tsushima with various outposts and strongholds that these fiends have built to keep your little tippy toes in a jar waiting for your vengeance to come free them. I’d gladly fork over $60 for a remake of Blood Will Tell.
Dark Cloud
Every person I know that has played Dark Cloud has had extremely fond memories of their experience with it. With a main character that suspiciously resembles Link from The Legend of Zelda named Toan, you are responsible for rebuilding a world that’s been sucked up by a magic spell by a massive pink genie that desperately needs more clothes. The buildings, landmarks, and villagers have been trapped in little orbs called “Atla” that only Toan has the power to release them with a magical stone known as the “Atlamillia”. You following me here? So Toan enters forests, caves, and other forms of dungeons that contain enemies, treasures, and “Atla”. The farther into the dungeon you go, the greater the rewards, until you ultimately fight a boss for key items that allow you to progress in the story.
The coolest part of this game to me was what you did with the “Atla” after finding them. You were given a big template of land with the freedom to place the buildings and landmarks wherever you’d like. But upon finding villagers, you could speak with them and find out just where their houses and possessions belonged. This can lead to some creative town building that would send you back into the dungeons looking for just the right piece to make all of the villagers happy with their homes. With 6 playable characters, the ability to find and upgrade weapons, and an optional 100 level dungeon for further upgrades and challenges, Dark Cloud had an insane amount of content for an early PS2 title back in 2001. A sequel was released in 2003 to much praise, but no further games have been planned for the series. A Dark Cloud remaster or 3rd installment to the series for the PS5 would be an absolute dream come true for me. I’d throw my wallet like a Nolan Ryan fastball the moment it was up for pre-order.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals
Did you really think this wouldn’t be on the list? Seriously? SOCOM was an absolute juggernaut of a franchise on the PS2 that at one point went toe to toe with Halo 2. SOCOM 2 held the record for the most simultaneous online players on a console a mere 2 days into its release. A tactical team-based shooter where you take on the role of a U.S. Navy SEAL or a wily terrorist from different regions, the maps and weapon balance made the online experience to this series beyond remarkable. Each game featured a pretty lengthy campaign full of hostage escorts, bomb defusals, and pure military-themed shooty-shoots as well. Developed by Zipper Interactive (R.I.P.), the original SOCOM games had a large community that harbored a very competitive scene with full clan battles on down to 2 v 2 ladders to compete in. Unfortunately, the success of SOCOM crumbled after Zipper went under and Slant 6 took over development duties for the franchise.
Some of my fondest gaming memories and longest lasting friendships came from playing SOCOM and the community it was able to build. This blog wouldn’t exist without having met my great buddy Ian through the original SOCOM all those years ago. If a remaster of the campaigns, and a new online multiplayer featuring the greatest maps across the original 3 games were to be released, I truly believe it would sell like gang busters. So many people had their first console online multiplayer experience through SOCOM, and if they’re anything like me, they’re itching to relive it. Give me a SOCOM remaster, a new installment to the series, or even a damned index card with “SOCOM” written on it. I don’t care! I WANT MORE SOCOM!!!
