If you haven’t played Kingdom Hearts before, you can pick up the entire collection on PS4 — or you can go ahead and jump right into Kingdom Hearts 3. Two decades later, there are still plenty of PS2 games that you can purchase if you’re interested in enjoying a little bit of nostalgia or taking a break from the hype of the PS4 and PS5. Any games with a social aspect like Persona 4? The solid platforming sections and humor from the original returned as well. Your fellow classmates are the various party members for the game, and they each play an important role in the story. Kingdom Hearts was built off a truly bizarre premise: Disney mashed up with Final Fantasy.
These Mirages function almost exactly like Persona, giving each character specific elemental and physical abilities.
On top of this the game advances with a calendar system, having you live out each day through classes, hanging out with classmates, or doing special operations. The world-building and character development in the trails series on another level compared to most games. It was eventually released in 2019 for the PlayStation 4 along with its sequel Trails of Cold Steel II.
If you enjoy the time management and social sim aspects of the Persona series, Rune Factory might be a good fit. Various points around the world marked with a handshake symbol, will allow you to view a scene relating to a particular character and their history or relationship with Shulk. Filled with smart puzzles and shadow creatures that jump from the floor and walls to try and contain Yorda, Ico is engaging to play. It may not have all the style or every mechanic that’s in something like Persona 5, but it’s definitely worth playing An enhanced remaster for the Nintendo Switch called Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore was released in early 2020.
If you really felt a genuine bond forming with the P5 cast during your playthrough, there's no surprise that Persona Q2 will be right up your alley. Whoops. Persona 5's success has lead to the release of an expanded version of the game called Persona 5 Royal. While it’s not an RPG like the Persona series those that enjoyed the social interactions around a school environment will find a lot to enjoy in Bully. Xenoblade tells an epic, sweeping tale about humanity’s survival against an antagonist machine race known as the Mechon. Though it hasn’t aged as well as some other PS2 games, in 2005, it was awesome.
You played as Sora, accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, on a mission to rid a bevy of worlds from the Heartless. RELATED: 10 Best RPGs Set In The Modern Day, According To Metacritic.
Rated 5 out of 5 by relyonjest from Persona 3: FES It’s an excellence entry in both the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series. While Ratchet and Jak were more similar to one another, Sly Cooper relied on stealth rather than going in guns blazing.
If you need a little bit more to scratch that Persona itch, this may just be the best next step. Throughout the game you have to hop between the real world and the Digital world, exploring dungeons in a similar manner to something like Persona 4. The player is cast as a new student called Rean Swcharzer at an elite military academy.
From the mind of Tim Schafer, Psychonauts starred Raz, a young boy with psychic abilities. NBA Street Vol. The third game was released in the west in 2020. However, sales for the game never took off and Clover shut its doors shortly after launch. Before Shadow of Colossus came Ico, another masterpiece from the mind of Fumito Ueda.
Doing this boosts that respective character’s link level, unlocking new abilities in combat, similarly to how the Persona social link system works. Buy Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 by Atlus for PlayStation 2 at GameStop.
The change fundamentally altered how the experience played. It’s tactical RPG developed by Intelligent Systems who also created the highly regarded Advance Wars strategy series. Though sometimes confusing and overwritten, Sons of Liberty is commonly referred to as one of the greatest games of all time. It likely will never happen due to music licensing, but at least we’ll always have fond memories. Digimon in general has a a bit in common with Persona, and Cyber Sleuth is clearly inspired by the popular JRPG series. This game went far beyond insane dunks by adding fancy dribble and passing combinations. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. To go along with this, you build a relationship with each by spending your free time with them while at the school. Persona 4 is the newest game on this list, as it actually launched on PS2 nearly two years after the PlayStation 3 launched. You can talk to your classmates to learn more about them, head out onto the world map to do sidequests, and boost your skills with classes.
Created by Hideki Kamiya, Viewtiful Joe follows Joe, an unassuming guy who suddenly finds himself in Movieland and in a fight to preserve the universe.
Your group befriends a group of friendly Mirages who also happen to be characters from the Fire Emblem series.
Sounds perfect to us. ... Persona …
The active time battle system was replaced with a more traditional turn-based system and the upgrade system was significantly overhauled with a skill tree.
Type-0 may not have the everyday life simulation of the Persona series, but the school setting and time management definitely give it a similar vibe, along with everything you’d expect out of a Final Fantasy title. 2 made our list because of the infamous “Be a Legend” mode. Once inside the supposedly abandoned place, Ico finds Yorda, a princess whose mother wants to sacrifice to live forever.
Between missions, you have a set amount of free time, and each action you undertake subtracts some of that time.
If you missed out, you can pick up the excellent 3DS port. Conception II has quite a few anime tropes and fan service, but there’s still a lengthy Persona-esque JRPG underneath.
God of War introduced us to Kratos and a world steeped in Greek mythology. Originally released in Japan in 2016, Persona 5 earned itself a place as one of the best JRPGs of the last decade and for many gamers, it is one of the greatest in the genre. We’ve tried to do just that here. Just like Persona 5 Royal, both titles have an extended version called Persona 3 FES, P3P, and Persona 4 Golden. And for good reason. The single-player campaign was also over-the-top and delightful. As the first DQ game to be fully made in 3D, Journey of the Cursed King was rendered in gorgeous, cel-shaded graphics that still look good today.
When not spending time in your school life, Conception II is filled with lengthy, complex dungeons to explore. You have to spend your time caring for your farm, making crops, fishing, interacting with the townsfolk, and exploring the nearby cave system. Sure, 2018’s God of War is easily the best entry in the Sony series, but let’s not forget about 2005’s God of War, one of the most impressive action games of the era. Extreme sports games may not have been as popular as they once were, but these games were (and are) still plenty of fun to dust off and play. God of War jump-started one of Sony’s most well-known series. Persona 4 (PS2) RPG 10 July 2008.
The group finds out about evil beings known as Mirages that steal an energy known as Performa from humans, that saps them of the will to live. SSX 3 also had a pretty excellent couch multiplayer.
During the PS2 era, no game franchise stirred more controversy than Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto. While that’s the departure from Atlus’ series, the relationship and friendship building mechanics in the game will definitely appeal to Persona fans.