[General Discussion] What, you found some gold? Tell the others, we'll all eat gold tonight!

Genji: Dawn of the Samurai (PS2)

I loved this game. I had so much fun with it, even though it was short. There were two playable characters--Yoshitsune and Benkei. Yoshi was quick, wielded two katanas, and had a lot of very acrobatic moves. Benkei was gigantic and wielded either a huge club or a naginata. Each of the weapons were aesthetically different as were the armor, so your characters' appearance was ever-changing. Combat was quick and fun, and Kamui was awesome to use. Kamui slowed down time and became a button-pressing minigame wherein you could utterly defeat your enemies in slow motion. Cool. The game's environments were really well done, too.



Zone of the Enders: 2nd Runner (PS2)

Mech-based combat at its finest. Within my own gaming experiences, the targetting is near-perfect. Lots of enemies on-screen, each with different methods of fighting. Some of the mechs were close range, some were long-range and ultra long-range. ZOE2 used anime cutscenes and while the dialogue has been criticized for being awkward, it's still understandable. Graphically, it uses a bit of cel-shading on 3D models, making some of the colors a bit more vibrant and the explosions incredible. Another short game, but loads of fun. It even has a versus mode and a ton of unlockable side missions, even a 3D take on Gradius!



Legaia: Duel Saga (PS2)

I had a lot of fun with the first game, so I instantly went and snagged this game. The battle system is obviously the best thing about it--you use combinations of left, right, up, and down attacks to figure out new combos, of which you can chain together for massive damage. The characters have special attacks too, but the only magic-user is a girl, and she uses (instead of up, down, left, right) earth, fire, water, and wind. Pretty cool. Graphically, Legaia 2's not overly impressive, and the voices could use some work, but not too bad. Casino-based mini games and even an auction house will keep you from being too bored. There's also an arena and a flower-watering competition...thing. Really fun game though.



Also, I want to second Megalixir's post about Okami. This game is amazing, comparable with Zelda on every level save for Zelda being a series. This game will likely be the only one. Artisitically beautiful, cel-shaded graphics replicate watercolor paintings to give the game a very mystical, ancient feel. Combat's a blast, where Amaterasu can wield a few different types of weapons -- reflectors (shields that guard, but also swing like a sword), glaives (huge swords) and rosaries (beads strung together which can either be used like a whip or fired in succession). The music is fantastic, the characters range from being absolutely hilarious to quite serious. Issun, though, has got to be the most perverted and funny sidekick ever. For an NPC, he's actually got a rather deep and involved story that ties into the main plot. Well done, Clover Studios.

And saving the best for last...
Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)

This is what every sequel should be. Truly, over 100 hours of gameplay would make you think "repetition" and admittedly, there is some. But it's good repetition. It's an action-rpg dungeon-crawler hybrid sorta sim city thing. You go into the dungeon and find treasure, get the key to unlock the door, and pick up stuff called Atla. All the while, you gain experience and level your weapons up to greater power. Once you get stuck in the dungeon, that's often a cue to go back to the town and start rebuilding it after a colossal disaster ruins the world. You recreate towns and once you get them completely rebuilt, you can travel to the future and see what affect your present has had on the future. It's really cool stuff. The whole game is cel-shaded, making everything look very vivd and sharp. There are loads of minigames too--fishing, a weighing contest, a fish race, Spheda (a golf-like minigame), and really just fooling with the Atla and the towns. DC2 also has a relatively deep and inviting invention system, where you can create new weapons, clothes, items, and stuff for the main character's robot, Ridepod. That's the coolest part of the game.



Jam it back in, in the dark.