[Edit] To clarify, I am fine if the game got released on PSN at some point as long as it didn't get remastered. If the game is available in a better form then I just don't want to buy it for PS2 right now.

[Edit 2] Thanks so much for all of these suggestions. I have a lot to dig through now and I am really excited about it!

Hey everyone,

I just regained a Playstation 2, and I am interested in building a collection of good games for it. However, I've found that many of the popular and well-known PS2 titles have been remastered in HD for the PS3 or PS4 in bundles like Jak, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, SotC, etc.

Since I can get those titles for pretty cheap and with better visual quality on the PS3, I was wondering about PS2 games I could get that have not been remastered to stronger systems. I have found the Maximo games, which look really cool, and Simpsons: Hit and Run which I know came out on other systems, but as far as I know it has not been remastered or anything. Do you all have any recommendations for such games that I could start looking for?

Thanks!

Katamari Damacy.

Radiata Stories

Shadow Hearts series

Steambot Chronicles

Guitar hero 1?

The getaway

Eternal Ring I think. If it's available somewhere else I'd like to know so I can buy it.

Edit: not saying you should get Eternal Ring because it's kinda rough but I have a love for it.

Is it weird that the first thing that comes to mind is Rule of Rose, a game I never actually played and no one ever mentions?

I think the PS2-era Romance of the Three Kingdoms games (strategy/RPG games set in the same period as Dynasty Warriors) are only available on that system; at least in English. There may be Japanese-language PC versions.

Did the Xenosaga games ever get released on PSN? If not, those are good.

Devil may cry 1 and 3? Dont think they got rereleased.

The SOCOM series.

Musashi Samurai Legend

Mark of Kri

Godhand

Ultimate Spiderman

Dragon Quest 8

They had HD ports to PS3/360 on a single disk, like MGS2+3. Pretty great deal actually.

DQ VIII is available on 3DS and mobile devices I believe.

Suikoden III

Radiata Stories

Ape Escape 2 and 3. 2 is on PS4, but it's the UK localization which puts me off personally. Just doesn't quite hit that nostalgia spot.

Buy Burnout 3. It's one of the best racing games of all time.

That's all that comes to mind. Honestly, Sony's done a pretty good job of bringing their PS2 games to newer consoles.

Armored Core 3

Ring of Red

Shadow Hearts series (especially the first two)

Lots of Shin Megami Tensei games: Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, Devil Summoner, Persona 3 FES

Wild Arms 3

Okage: Shadow King is a pretty fun and quirky JRPG

The Atelier Iris/Mana games

Someone already mentioned the Mark of Kri, but that's a great game and it has a sequel.

The Maximo series is great as well.

I know, right?

Why hasn't anyone decided to re-release THIS series in HD??

No one lives forever.

@oursin_360: They were both re-released on the Xbox 360 and PS3

@belowstupid: Mark of Kri is on PS4 and Dragon Quest 8 is on 3DS

@magmamud: Okage is on PS4

@redwing42: PES3 is on PSP and Vita, Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 are on PS3

Wild arms 3 is on PS3 and PS4 I believe.

Yakuza 2. The English version never received the PS3 remaster that Japan got.

I'm going to also go ahead and just say Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4, because that HD remaster was buggy trash.

This is my chance to give a shout out to one of my favorite games of all time: Wizardry: The Tale of the Forsaken Land.

@cheetoman: P3 FES is a superior version to P3P in my opinion so consider checking it out anyway.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is a pretty cool tactics game with a combat system similar to Valkyria Chronicles but with dating sim elements mixed in. It's weird and totally not an excellent game but I enjoyed it well enough. It also came out on the Wii but the versions are the same with the PS2 actually having the additional Japanese voice track.

SSX Tricky and SSX 3 are both great and the fact that they haven't been remastered yet is a grave injustice. Tricky is probably better.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is the best.

Viewtiful Joe and its sequel are both great 2D beat-em-up style games with style coming out the butthole.

God Hand is also a stylish 3D brawler game that kind of has super weird controls and honestly I'm not sure how well it'll hold up today but I loved this game.

@redcream: Yeah, I loved Tale of the Forsaken Land too, by far my favorite of the Japanese Wizardry games to date.

Suda51's Michigan: Report from Hell isn't out on PSN in Europe at least, don't know about other regions.

There's also the Champions of Norrath and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games (though I believe Dark Alliance at least was released on the original Xbox and Gamecube, Champions of Norrath however wasn't, since they were a spinoff of Sony's Everquest franchise).

I'd say the FPS Cold Winter and the open world game The Getaway are also pretty interesting from that era.

Almost all FPS games in the next couple of years following Half-life 2 showcased their physics engines and usually had some kind of environmental physics puzzle, Cold Winter is to my knowledge the only FPS that attempted that on the PS2, and used it in some interesting ways, allowing you to push around furniture to block doors, flip over tables to use them as cover and such. I thought it worked pretty well, and enjoyed playing through the campaign a couple of years ago.

The Getaway was part of that wave of GTA 3 clones, released around the same time as Mafia and like it tried to minimize the amount of UI on screen and instead convey mission locations and player health by in-world stuff like the turn signals on the player's car and having the character limp and bleed when hurt. It wasn't particularly successful, but I think it's a pretty interesting title very much of that era.

I dont remember if the Lord of the Rings movie tie-in games were on other systems, but those were pretty cool.

Last I looked Ring of Red, but thats okay US PSN now ;/ not EU

@cheetoman: Okage is on PSN, OP already specified he is fine with that.

These

The Xenosaga trilogy. And Tourist Trophy.

This being true makes me sad.

Would kill for an Onimusha HD collection.

Word up to Onimusha being #leftbehind...

Two of my favourites that haven't been mentioned yet are Kengo: Master of Bushido and the original, cult classic Way of the Samurai.

Gran Turismo 3, 4. Enthusia Pro Racing, Tourist Trophy. God, I love Tourist Trophy.

This list just reinforces why my PS2 stays plugged in at all times. There's just so many great and kind of weird games that are only on that system.

I'll add MS Saga: A New Dawn to list. It's a forgotten gem of a PS2 rpg.

EDIT: I was going to recommend picking up a Logitech wireless controller if you're really serious about starting a good PS2 collection, but not for the $120 they're currently going for.

No love around here for Genma Onimusha?

Thanks everyone SO MUCH for these suggestions. I have a lot here to dig through!