I’ve been sinking further and further into the RetroDECK time-sink of setting up my emulators just so, and having the most fun doing so. The PS2 is a largely unknown system to me, I neither had one nor spent much time before now playing through some titles.
So…this is what I have so far! Most have either HD texture packs (Rule of Rose for example, and also Silent Hill 2 has a incredibly big 29GB of HD textures, I added after taking this screenshot), or mods applied (Gran Turismo is Spec II)
I haven’t got MGS3 there, as I’m waiting for the remake to arrive, but…
Can anyone suggest any titles which are ‘must adds’ for me? I’d appreciate it!
Downhill Domination is… honestly stupid as all hell, but by design: it’s a lot of fun :P
It’s a downhill mountain bike racing game with a combat system, and it’s ridiculous. You start being able to punch the bicyclists next to you; once you knock enough of them off their bikes you upgrade to being able to kick; then iirc you eventually get a stick or something lol. Otherwise, it’s just another get-from-point-A-to-B-as-fast-as-possible game that doesn’t require a lot of thought.
Try out Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2. It’s one of those JRPG games with a lot of mysteries and loose threads and every single one of them end up solved by the end.
Final Fantasy X unless you want to do the HD remaster, which is a great way to play tbh.
Yeah, I’d argue that the HD PC port is actually the definitive way to play the game. They fucked up Tidus’ face, but virtually everything else about the game is better. And you can just install a mod to change his face back to the way it used to be.
GTA San Andreas (also GTA III, VC, VCS, LCS), God of War 1/2, Gran Turismo 4, Katamari Damacy, SSX Tricky, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Downhill Domination, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3, Ace Combat 4/5, Resident Evil 4, Metal Slug Anthology, Metal Gear Solid 2/3
Another one for Jak & Daxter. I’ve got OpenGOAL and PCSX2, and between them both I have the full Jak series. I was playing Jak 3 when I had a crash, but then I had been playing it like all day.
I’ve also been making my way through the first three Sly Cooper games (loved the series as a kid, but only ever got to play the third one for myself) and they’ve been running flawlessly.
My plan is to play through the Ratchet & Clank PS2 games as I never really got a chance to play them when they were fresh or otherwise. I’m excited for those.
Then I might go and play through the Spyro PS2 era games, minus the original trilogy as I have Reignited already.
Aside from those I have a bunch of other classics I’ve played and loved/wanted to play like the Tak games, Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, Batman: Vengeance, and others.
I would also be open to suggestions. I’m very into 3D platformers and action RPGs.
If you’ve tried the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane trilogy, there are a few sequels of differing quality on PS2. I don’t think any of them are particularly bad, but none are as good as the original PS1 trilogy (or the N-Sane remakes).
If you like Jak, you’ll have a blast with Ratchet and Clank. Lots of good ol action platforming.
Klonoa 2 and Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom might also be worth looking into. I specifically remember finding tons of shortcuts in SBBB that were probably unintended, but that game also got a remaster in the last few years.
Ribbit King is Golf game with frogs for balls which get strategically shot around a map littered with bonuses and obstacles. Players alternate shots and try to have the most points after both players reach the hole. It’s extremely cute and great local multi-player fodder
Stuntman is tough as nails. You are a Hollywood stuntman pulling off increasingly complex stunts for movies being filmed. At the end of each shoot you get to see the movie trailer filled with clips of your own driving.
Black is a big dumb loud shooter, and it has zero reservations or shame in that. That’s what makes it so much fun to play
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is excellent 3D brawling. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is excellent 3D brawling with co-op
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is a 3rd person shooter where you have guns and psychic powers you use in and out of combat.
The only issue with Stuntman on emulators is it’s one the last remaining games not playable on PCSX2. There’s been consistent issues with the AI pathing on one of the levels and they haven’t been able to patch it after all these years.
I’m not saying it won’t ever be, but it may continue to be unplayable on non-native hardware for a while longer.
All the GTA games (GTA III, GTA VC, GTA SA, GTA LCS, GTA VCS). There are some good Need for Speed games too, and a bunch of great Tony Hawk games. TimeSplitters, SOCOM, and Red Faction are great too.
How’s PCSX2 performance on the Deck? I somehow get much better performance on my Ryzen 5 4500U laptop than I do on my Ally and that makes absolutely no fucking sense.
Performance is tied to framerate, or at least was a loooong time ago. I notice a lot of users on EmuDeck write about this. Like…a lot! Not your issue, but I read a lot who think the game is playing in super slo-mo, but this is all tied to the framerate. Keep it at 60 Hz or above, and all is fine.
PCSX2 has a huge range of tweaks you can make, but there’s also HD texture ‘packs’ you can download and apply, which re-do all the textures (yeah, I know you guessed that). Some of these can be huge like Silent Hill 2’s coming in at 29GB, and some can be teeny-tiny like MGS2’s which only re-textures the HUD and menu (because PCSX2 can upscale the native game’s resolution well enough on its own!)
Long reply, for me to say it performs perfectly for me!
I haven’t used PCSX in a while, but I remember those settings being obscure af if you’re not like an expert on VRAM and shit. I would just try everything until I found the best settings for the game lol. Thankfully you can save settings per-game I believe.
It’s not perfect. Most games emulate absolutely fine, with only minor slowdown. One game I can point to which absolutely does not work fast enough to play is The Getaway which gets about 6 fps.
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One of the weirdest games I’ve ever played: Okage: Shadow King.
Think Final Fantasy gameplay + Zelda: Majora’s Mask level of being genuinely bizarre as all hell.
Fair warning, the music will be stuck in your head for the rest of your life.
Jak 3
Dance Dance Revolution!
Downhill Domination is… honestly stupid as all hell, but by design: it’s a lot of fun :P
It’s a downhill mountain bike racing game with a combat system, and it’s ridiculous. You start being able to punch the bicyclists next to you; once you knock enough of them off their bikes you upgrade to being able to kick; then iirc you eventually get a stick or something lol. Otherwise, it’s just another get-from-point-A-to-B-as-fast-as-possible game that doesn’t require a lot of thought.
Try out Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2. It’s one of those JRPG games with a lot of mysteries and loose threads and every single one of them end up solved by the end.
deleted by creator
Yeah, I’d argue that the HD PC port is actually the definitive way to play the game. They fucked up Tidus’ face, but virtually everything else about the game is better. And you can just install a mod to change his face back to the way it used to be.
GTA San Andreas (also GTA III, VC, VCS, LCS), God of War 1/2, Gran Turismo 4, Katamari Damacy, SSX Tricky, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Downhill Domination, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3, Ace Combat 4/5, Resident Evil 4, Metal Slug Anthology, Metal Gear Solid 2/3
How could you forget the best AC? Ace Combat: Zero!
Another one for Jak & Daxter. I’ve got OpenGOAL and PCSX2, and between them both I have the full Jak series. I was playing Jak 3 when I had a crash, but then I had been playing it like all day.
I’ve also been making my way through the first three Sly Cooper games (loved the series as a kid, but only ever got to play the third one for myself) and they’ve been running flawlessly.
My plan is to play through the Ratchet & Clank PS2 games as I never really got a chance to play them when they were fresh or otherwise. I’m excited for those.
Then I might go and play through the Spyro PS2 era games, minus the original trilogy as I have Reignited already.
Aside from those I have a bunch of other classics I’ve played and loved/wanted to play like the Tak games, Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, Batman: Vengeance, and others.
I would also be open to suggestions. I’m very into 3D platformers and action RPGs.
If you’ve tried the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane trilogy, there are a few sequels of differing quality on PS2. I don’t think any of them are particularly bad, but none are as good as the original PS1 trilogy (or the N-Sane remakes).
If you like Jak, you’ll have a blast with Ratchet and Clank. Lots of good ol action platforming.
Klonoa 2 and Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom might also be worth looking into. I specifically remember finding tons of shortcuts in SBBB that were probably unintended, but that game also got a remaster in the last few years.
The Simpsons: hit & run, Shinobido, GoW, Destroy all humans.
I spent a ton of time playing the two towers, bit I don’t know if it has aged well.
Also, war of the monsters was campy and fun.
Some good ones that are not yet mentioned
The only issue with Stuntman on emulators is it’s one the last remaining games not playable on PCSX2. There’s been consistent issues with the AI pathing on one of the levels and they haven’t been able to patch it after all these years.
I’m not saying it won’t ever be, but it may continue to be unplayable on non-native hardware for a while longer.
Actually did not know this. Truly sad to hear it. Guess I can’t get rid of my dusty PS2 just yet
All the GTA games (GTA III, GTA VC, GTA SA, GTA LCS, GTA VCS). There are some good Need for Speed games too, and a bunch of great Tony Hawk games. TimeSplitters, SOCOM, and Red Faction are great too.
Dark Cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle in EU) and Legaia 2:Duel Saga are my go to ps2 games.
Future Tactics: The Uprising
its a turn based shooter.
Katamari Damacy
Mercenaries
DOA 2
Katamari.
Do your best.
Mercenaries GOAT
love seeing it mentioned
How’s PCSX2 performance on the Deck? I somehow get much better performance on my Ryzen 5 4500U laptop than I do on my Ally and that makes absolutely no fucking sense.
It’s perfect!
Performance is tied to framerate, or at least was a loooong time ago. I notice a lot of users on EmuDeck write about this. Like…a lot! Not your issue, but I read a lot who think the game is playing in super slo-mo, but this is all tied to the framerate. Keep it at 60 Hz or above, and all is fine.
PCSX2 has a huge range of tweaks you can make, but there’s also HD texture ‘packs’ you can download and apply, which re-do all the textures (yeah, I know you guessed that). Some of these can be huge like Silent Hill 2’s coming in at 29GB, and some can be teeny-tiny like MGS2’s which only re-textures the HUD and menu (because PCSX2 can upscale the native game’s resolution well enough on its own!)
Long reply, for me to say it performs perfectly for me!
I haven’t used PCSX in a while, but I remember those settings being obscure af if you’re not like an expert on VRAM and shit. I would just try everything until I found the best settings for the game lol. Thankfully you can save settings per-game I believe.
It’s not perfect. Most games emulate absolutely fine, with only minor slowdown. One game I can point to which absolutely does not work fast enough to play is The Getaway which gets about 6 fps.
Hmmm, maybe you should try your resolution and texture settings, I’ve had not one issue playing games, no slowdowns for me.
But, never say never!