[PS2] Must Own PS2 Games, or how many middling JRPGs can you suggest?

Oh shi~ In some form or another this thread has appeared numerous times in the past. Still it's nice to get everyone's opinions (not that they can't be found everywhere else on the internet).

Gonna throw in some already-mentioned recommendations:

Okami - Adventure - It just got re-released as a PS2 Greatest Hits title. Go buy it, now. By this post you've heard it all, awesome artwork, an incredible story, excellent combat system, etc. etc. Also, pervert humor <3. Unless you're a Madden faggot, this game should be on your shelf at home, sitting proudly.

Zone of the Enders - Mech Action - To truly, truly appreciate the second game (aptly named the "Second Runner"), you must experience the first. The second game is incredibly awesome, the first game was a great experience in its own right when it first came out. The combat was still quite refined and fully embraced 3D; Second Runner was a mix of 3D environments and character models wrapped in cel-shaded clothing. The original was all 3D and held up really well. Go check it out.

Dark Cloud - Dungeon-crawling/adventure/action-RPG/construction - The better majority of GFF vets know how I feel about Dark Cloud 2. Every opportunity I get I promote the Dark Cloud games, and for good reason; they're good. Dark Cloud had some minor issues, but ended up being a well-balanced game blending numerous gameplay elements (dungeon romping, RPG, create-a-city, etc.) into one decent package.

The second game really took off, using cel-shading as a nice visual element amongst dungeon landscapes and a broad range of characters. It's really a big positive change from the first game and absolutely deserved two or three playthroughs.

Rogue Galaxy - Action-RPG/Adventure - Absolutely fuck the haters. Rogue Galaxy is another awesome experience. Vibrant landscapes, characters filled with personality and a great combat system that is leaps and bounds better than FF12's Gambit system. It's a long game too, easily over 100 hours to see and do everything, much like Dark Cloud 2.

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - RPG - I really liked the first Valkyrie Profile and if you did too, then there's no reason for anyone to explain why you should pick this up. It's awesome and it's gorgeous.

Jak & Daxter - Platformer - With the exception of Jak X, the first three Jak games are all awesome. In the first he's a mute protagonist, but in the second and third games he gets this badass "I'ma fuck you up" attitude, but he's not too over-the-top with it and it works, especially mixed with his mascot Daxter who's constantly lightening the mood around Jak. Solid gameplay elements combined with a surprising great cast of characters and a brilliantly twisting story should make at least the first three games a must-have set.

So now for some new ones.

Ratchet & Clank - Platformer - What? No one's said anything about these? Ratchet and Clank define "platformer" to its core, mixing platforming with gunplay and a little puzzle-solving for some really incredible gameplay. Unlike Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank have five PS2 iterations (the fifth being a PSP port). The first three were very similar with standard "edition upgrades" like new weapons, characters, and a level-up system for both. The fourth game still contained those elements, but placed them in a gladiatorial combat setting. The fifth game went back to its roots though, but the port to the PS2 wasn't so hot. Even still, all five Ratchet games should be picked up and played.

Sly Cooper - Stealth platformer- The Sly Cooper games have sadly seen only three releases while Sucker Punch works on Infamous, but hopefully they'll have a new Sly game coming out. These three games were a ton of fun though. GTA-style map and checkpoint system combined with stealthy movements of a thieving raccoon, a turtle and a pink hippo. Fun, solid gameplay, humorous dialogue and a really great set of characters between all three games provide more than enough reason to play these games.

Soul Calibur II - Fighting - Most people agree that SC2 was better than 3, though 3 did have customizable characters the gameplay in SC3 was pretty broken. Soul Calibur 2 is a well-balanced weapons-based fighter that was simply good. As far as the bonus fighters go, personally I thought Heihachi wasn't the best choice, but he wasn't a horrible one either; he certainly was broken like Link.

Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution - Fighter - There's no real reason to pick up the first edition of VF4 since Evolution adds two more characters and more content. You can customize the existing characters, participate in arcade-style matches or play through a story mode. VF4 though is also well-balanced, so much so that you can never really blame the AI for being cheap. If you lose, you suck.

Wild Arms 3 - RPG - In my opinion, this was the last Wild Arms to really capture the Wild West feel without being silly and overtly childish. Wild Arms 4 and 5, both developed by XSEED, changed the gameplay so much that they should've just called it something else entirely. But Wild Arms 3 remained true to the gameplay of the first two and that's a damn good thing to say. The combat was refined to a greater degree and was excellent to participate in, the characters all remained interesting throughout (although I never liked Gallows that much) and WA3 had a cool labyrinth dungeon called the Abyss that was available during the first playthrough. Good stuff.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I didn't like Xtreme at all, RR, but Grandia 3 is a good amount of fun. Come to think of it, I liked it more than I probably would've given that it didn't play like Grandia Xtreme, but more like Grandia 2.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

Edit: Can anyone tell me if Rachet: Deadlocked is worth a purchase? I really liked all of the other R&C games (they did a better job with all the sequels than the Jak or Sly teams), but I'm a little wary with how they changed the formula in this one.

I liked it, but then I like all the R&C games. The only thing different about it is instead of going between planets, you're going between arenas. The game focuses much more on combat instead of combat mixed with platforming/puzzle elements, but I don't think it detracted from the gameplay, and there's still a story to be had.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.