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 Weird how the passage of time works, and the PS2 is a retro console huh? Why yes, I feel existential dread over the fact that the PS3 will be considered retro soon as well, why do you ask? The Playstation 2's library of games is definitely in the running for the best all around packages of games, whether you like RPGs, action games, platformers, or just plain weird stuff like Katamari, the PS2 is home to some of the finest games around, and it is incredibly likely that if you're reading this thread, then some of them are easily among your all time favorites. The system is responsible for introducing us to new series like Devil May Cry, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, and Kingdom Hearts. Produced incredible sequels to Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, and SMT. It also had Dog's Life.  And that's part of what makes the Playstation 2 such an incredible console to go back to. I feel like every time I go back to it and look at games, I find new weird games I hadn't heard of before. Earlier this year, I bought Clock Tower 3 after discovering its existence, and that game rules. The library can feel so bottomless at times. I have a bit of an attachment to the PS2, because the PS2 was the generation when I first started exploring what video games had beyond licensed tie-ins to movies or tv shows I liked. The Two Towers and Battle For Bikini Bottom may have been fun games, but it felt like such a step up going from that over to games like Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Please use this thread to share your memories, recent purchases, playthroughs, and favorites related to this incredible machine. My favorite PS2 titles: Kingdom Hearts 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, Okami, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Katamari Damacy, Silent Hill 2 Still need to get around to: Silent Hill 3, Ace Combat 5, Dragon Quest 8, SMT 3, Ace Combat 5 Need to get around to actually buying: Darkwatch, Gitaroo Man, Monster Rancher 4, RAD: Robot Alchemic Drive I felt that this OP was kind of bare without another image, so here's an image comparing the protagonist of The Bouncer with Sora, both of which were designed by Tetsuya Nomura. 
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Oct 24, 2019 07:59
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That chain coming from his pants is actually attached to his wallet so people can't steal it
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Oct 24, 2019 08:33
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47ow4_Cmk0
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Oct 24, 2019 11:52
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I probably spend half of my game time every year playing PS2 JRPGs i never played before. And there's still like a dozen I want to play at some point, the PS2 library is overwhelmingly sick. Currently I'm playing Shadow Hearts Covenant, which is a huge step up from the first game in the combat + art design departments. The pretendered backgrounds in 1 were serviceable, but they were pretty small and and low-res, like it was a PS1 game they slapped some high poly characters into. The towns, locations in 2 are top notch. Also the character designs are ludicrously campy
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Oct 24, 2019 12:19
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Gotta say softmodding is the way to go. Slap a sata drive back there and you're set. Really kicks butt
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Oct 24, 2019 12:35
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The PS2 is one of the strongest in my memory of all the systems we got throughout my childhood (god, I was 15 when it came out  ) because it's the first system I ever preordered with my brothers, instead of us just getting them here and there. The build up to it was insane.
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Oct 24, 2019 12:41
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The hardware itself is just so perfect. The blue discs 
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Oct 24, 2019 12:48
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Shout out to everyone whose PS2 served double duty as a DVD player (and later PS3 for Blu-Ray).
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Oct 24, 2019 12:55
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Onimusha was such a great introduction to this system for meIn Training posted:The pretendered backgrounds in 1 were serviceable, but they were pretty small and and low-res, like it was a PS1 game they slapped some high poly characters into. it was originally being developed for the ps1 iirc Krakox posted:Gotta say softmodding is the way to go. Slap a sata drive back there and you're set. Really kicks butt i need to hurry up and change out the hard drive on mine, i'm still using the original ps2 hard drive they sold with ffxi instead of any kind of replacement, but you're right, being able to just load poo poo up on a ps2 rules.
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Oct 24, 2019 14:42
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I'm going to eventually get and mod a PS2 myself. I don't have one right now, because my last one gave up the ghost. I had just opened the top of it, and was using a SwapMagic disc for stuff. Was not exactly great for the innards to be exposed like that, but it was old and half busted already so eh.
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Oct 24, 2019 14:49
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shoutouts to anyone who ever made a swap key
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Oct 24, 2019 14:51
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Softmodding is pretty easy and you can either get a third party network adapter w/ SATA (no networking) or a replacement board for the original network adapter that lets you keep networking. I honestly don't think the network transfer is worth it, but if you play thru the network option in OpenPS2Loader that works pretty well. I just bought a USB 3.0 SATA thing to transfer games over instead of dealing with setting up my network right for the PS2 to see it. Currently playing through Shadow Hearts and GOD HAND again slowly. GOD HAND is still great, and Shadow Hearts is still super unique and there's nothing quite like it.
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Oct 24, 2019 16:08
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There's a dude on reddit who sells FreeMcBoot cards loaded up with a bunch of stuff (emulators, ISO loaders, etc.) so that's how I got mine. It's really awesome especially because my PS2 slim has problems with the laser so music and cutscenes skip a bunch. You can load games from a network share on your PC and so far everything I've tried has worked perfectly. I started rebuilding my PS2 library a couple years ago with some of the funkier JRPGs that I missed back in the day - I have playthroughs of SMT Digital Devil Saga and Shadow hearts going which I should get back to. And I just got a new CRT and some GunCons off SA-Mart so I can check out the Time Crisis 2/3 ports. Are there any other cool GunCon-compatible games I should check out?
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Oct 24, 2019 16:28
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I bought a memory card from that guy and had the wrong address associated with my PayPal account and contacted him to get another one but he probably thought I was trying to scam him or something so he ghosted me for over a year now of trying to buy another lol.
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Oct 24, 2019 16:30
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In Training posted:I bought a memory card from that guy and had the wrong address associated with my PayPal account and contacted him to get another one but he probably thought I was trying to scam him or something so he ghosted me for over a year now of trying to buy another lol. Lol how rude, he sent mine pretty quick. Did you ever end up getting one?
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Oct 24, 2019 16:36
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I still have my FreeMcBoot memory card even though I no longer have a PS2. At this point the only games I want to play on the system now have HD remasters or better sequels, but the PlayStation 2 still remains one of the best game consoles ever made.
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Oct 24, 2019 18:01
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Ah, the PS2, the system in which I have the most games for and continue to seek out more games on the regular. Been fortunate enough to have the same one since 2004, and have done all manner of mods to it from a top loader for swap magic (rather than the other method of pulling out the disc tray with a swap key), installed a hard drive, and a FreeMCBoot card. Only thing I wish it was better about was FTPing games to and from the hard drive, considering how easy it is to do with a modded OG Xbox.Pablo Nergigante posted:I started rebuilding my PS2 library a couple years ago with some of the funkier JRPGs that I missed back in the day - I have playthroughs of SMT Digital Devil Saga and Shadow hearts going which I should get back to. And I just got a new CRT and some GunCons off SA-Mart so I can check out the Time Crisis 2/3 ports. Are there any other cool GunCon-compatible games I should check out?
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Oct 24, 2019 19:34
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ArclightBorealis posted:Only other one that comes to mind is Virtua Cop ReBirth, though that's only if viable if you have the means to play japanese imports. It's basically a collection of VC 1 and 2 with updated graphics and some other nice features. Still drat great games. I have a Free McBoot so I do indeed 
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Oct 24, 2019 19:53
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How do you guys output video on PS2? I have a silver slim at home and I'm planning to dust it off tonight. Is composite good enough or is there something else I should be using? I also have a PS3 that's homebrew enabled..I haven't looked into it much yet but heard I could just use that if I wanted to?
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Oct 24, 2019 20:10
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Bank posted:How do you guys output video on PS2? I have a silver slim at home and I'm planning to dust it off tonight. Is composite good enough or is there something else I should be using? Honestly component cables do make a big difference on PS2 especially if you're playing on an LCD. The good news is that PS2 and PS3 use the same cables and there are tons of them for dirt cheap
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Oct 24, 2019 20:21
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Pablo Nergigante posted:Honestly component cables do make a big difference on PS2 especially if you're playing on an LCD. The good news is that PS2 and PS3 use the same cables and there are tons of them for dirt cheap Got it, I'll pick up a set. Now that I have an HTPC setup, it's time to dump then stream some PS2 games.
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Oct 24, 2019 20:46
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Bank posted:How do you guys output video on PS2? I have a silver slim at home and I'm planning to dust it off tonight. Is composite good enough or is there something else I should be using? Component is the best option, with a scaler of some kind like an OSSC if you want the best option or your TV doesn't have component plugs like mine. I just use the OSSC as a passthru for my TV since the TV's scaling looks better (since it's not bob deinterlacing).
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Oct 24, 2019 20:47
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Since this thread has been started, what good games were released in PAL terriorties that never appared in North America?
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Oct 24, 2019 21:07
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Island Nation posted:Since this thread has been started, what good games were released in PAL terriorties that never appared in North America? 
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Oct 24, 2019 21:09
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Considering my PS3 seems to have a failing audio chip, I wonder if it'd be a better idea to just get a PS2 and one of the newer model PS3s to replace it. I'm assuming there's a decent HDMI converter for the PS2? I have one for the Wii and it works pretty well.
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Oct 24, 2019 21:22
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Island Nation posted:Since this thread has been started, what good games were released in PAL terriorties that never appared in North America? Siren 2, it was the deciding factor in finally getting me to softmod my PS2
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Oct 24, 2019 21:38
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I think Michigan: Report From Hell was only PAL and that sure was a game that exists.
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Oct 25, 2019 04:20
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You can use one of these with a 2.5 to 3.5 IDE converter to play games from an SD card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079GSGCJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have this setup in my fat softmodded PS2 and it works great.
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Oct 25, 2019 05:44
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Pablo Nergigante posted:And I just got a new CRT and some GunCons off SA-Mart so I can check out the Time Crisis 2/3 ports. Are there any other cool GunCon-compatible games I should check out? I can't now tell you if it's good (it's hammy as gently caress, and it's basically just House of the Dead), but I spent a huge amount of my early teenage years playing Vampire Night. And given the two player mode is on one screen (unlike, say, Time Crisis), you can go full Keanu Reeves and dual wield the whole game away (or play with a friend, whatever). Though honestly, most GunCon games cost basically nothing nowadays (I've bought but not played Ninja Assault and Endgame for £1-2 each; and got Virtua Cop for not much more). So you've nothing to lose but time spent shooting baddies with plastic guns. I did not know this existed. I feel my life has been subtly made worse by this information. bossy lady posted:You can use one of these with a 2.5 to 3.5 IDE converter to play games from an SD card: This would have been far better than the "loving around with old IDE hard drives and trying to find a USB adapter" option I went with. I'll have to remember this when my ancient drive inevitably gives up. Death of Rats fucked around with this message at 10:05 on Oct 25, 2019 |
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Oct 25, 2019 10:02
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Until you can emulate the ps2 properly, it's not retro  That said, it was a cracking console and games like Grand Theft Auto III and MGS2 totally changed the landscape of gaming. GTA: Vice City is still one of my all time favourite games.
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Oct 25, 2019 13:36
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Dell_Zincht posted:Until you can emulate the ps2 properly, it's not retro Does this make N64 & Saturn not retro also?
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Oct 25, 2019 14:42
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I was "What? NO!" the first time I saw the PS2 called retro, but have had to accept I bought that thing new just over half my life ago at this point. It didn't feel that long ago, but then I looked up the date and "good lord, I was 15".
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Oct 25, 2019 14:54
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Death of Rats posted:I can't now tell you if it's good (it's hammy as gently caress, and it's basically just House of the Dead), but I spent a huge amount of my early teenage years playing Vampire Night. And given the two player mode is on one screen (unlike, say, Time Crisis), you can go full Keanu Reeves and dual wield the whole game away (or play with a friend, whatever). Cool thanks, I'm definitely gonna check out Vampire Night especially since I love HotD. Dell_Zincht posted:Until you can emulate the ps2 properly, it's not retro You've been able to emulate the PS2 for a while now! PCSX2 works pretty drat well
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Oct 25, 2019 16:15
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Playing games on PS2, at least as of 2018, still has players even if its really small https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITHXAk-mI4A
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Oct 26, 2019 02:32
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Any of y'all know if the Homebrew scene is still around? DC seems to be much more active, probably the cult vibe of it. I dream of a fully functional popstarter
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Oct 26, 2019 04:00
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Dell_Zincht posted:Until you can emulate the ps2 properly, it's not retro
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Oct 26, 2019 19:36
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The Bouncer was a fun game and I don’t care how bad it actually is. Also sort of relevant, I’m playing the katamari remaster on switch and it still loving owns.
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Oct 26, 2019 19:49
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AngryRobotsInc posted:I was "What? NO!" the first time I saw the PS2 called retro, but have had to accept I bought that thing new just over half my life ago at this point. It didn't feel that long ago, but then I looked up the date and "good lord, I was 15". The PS2 launched 19 years ago. That's longer than the gap between the NES and the PS2.
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Oct 26, 2019 19:52
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Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:The PS2 launched 19 years ago. honestly it feels like the amount of time people were willing to consider the ps1/n64 retro after they came out was a lot shorter than it's taking with the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox gen consoles
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Oct 26, 2019 20:55
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To me the cutoff for retro is two console generations ago.
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Oct 26, 2019 21:00
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