The 45 Best PS2 Games of All Time (2005–2008)
Which PS2 Games Still Hold Up Today
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
We’ve reached the final act of our chronological tour. Parts 1–3 tracked the PS2 from a scrappy launch to its 2004–2005 creative peak. After closing out the last 2005 titles we enter 2006–2008: the console’s twilight years, which are anything but quiet.
The PlayStation 3 was released in North America toward the end of 2006. Even as the next generation loomed, Sony’s black rectangle continued to impress with polished, daring, and relevant games. This final stretch proved the PS2 could still surprise, inspire, and dominate through ambition and artistry.
2005 Continued
Shadow of the Colossus (Sony)
I’m going to wax rhapsodic here. Shadow of the Colossus is one of gaming’s most profound artistic statements, proving video games can achieve poetry. Wander makes a desperate bargain with Dormin: he must slay sixteen towering colossi to revive Mono. This quest unfolds in a vast wasteland where each battle is puzzle, platforming, and tragedy.
There are no dungeons or hordes of enemies. Instead you climb living architecture, managing grip and stamina as Wander grows corrupted with each victory. The PS2 hardware was pushed to its limits with wide open areas, dynamic physics, and a cinematic feel that still impresses.
Its influence endures: more than a cornerstone of the “games as art” debate, it represents a deep emotional touchstone cited by Hidetaka Miyazaki (of Dark Souls fame), and resonates in Breath of the Wild’s open-world philosophy. Two decades later, its remasters reaffirm its ability to move players—a true benchmark among gaming’s greatest achievements.
Tekken 5 (Namco)
Tekken 5 is the series’ best game and the mainstream favorite fighter on PS2. It brought the King of Iron Fist tournament back to its fast-paced, movement-focused style after Tekken 4’s mixed reception. New fighters like Asuka Kazama and Raven join familiar faces, each with their own story mode and cinematic ending that highlight their personal motivations and family conflicts. The Crush System also made battles more strategic, letting hop-kicks avoid low attacks and adding a new layer of mind games.
Character customization and the Devil Within beat-em-up mode added even more to the game. Namco also included faithful versions of Tekken 1, 2, and 3 as a bonus. With its balanced combat and almost no loading times, Tekken 5 set a standard that many fans still see as unbeatable.
2006
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
Final Fantasy XII is the definitive PS2 RPG—the game that pushed the console’s ambitions furthest by reinventing the JRPG formula into something closer to an offline MMO. Square Enix ditched random encounters for massive zones where enemies roam freely and real-time battles flow without constant interruption. Street thief Vaan gets caught up in a conspiracy involving fallen princesses and sky pirates, driving a political epic across Ivalice. The Gambit system is the genius move: you program your party’s AI with if-then logic, scripting complex strategies that let combat unfold automatically while you focus on positioning and high-level tactics.
Pair that with the License Board’s skill trees and dozens of optional Hunts, and you’ve got a game that rewards experimentation in ways most RPGs never attempted. FFXII collected Game of the Year awards, earning recognition as the best PlayStation 2 game and best RPG of 2006 for proving Final Fantasy could evolve without losing what made it special. Even fans who prefer X’s story often admit XII’s combat sandbox is more ambitious, and The Zodiac Age remaster confirmed these systems still hold up as the most technically daring JRPG the console ever produced.
Guitar Hero II (Harmonix)
Guitar Hero II is the rhythm game that made anyone feel like a rock star from their living room. It took everything that worked about the original and polished it to near-perfection. It came with a cherry-red Gibson SG controller and let you play along to 64 songs from the past fifty years. Harmonix improved the gameplay with easier hammer-ons and pull-offs, added three-note chords, and introduced a co-op mode where one person played lead and the other took on rhythm or bass.
With an expanded licensed soundtrack, a new practice mode, and accessibility that hooked both newcomers and veterans, it struck the perfect balance. Scoring a 10/10 from Official PlayStation Magazine and selling over 3 million copies, Guitar Hero II ignited a living-room phenomenon.
Hitman: Blood Money (IO Interactive)
Hitman: Blood Money stands out as the series’ signature stealth-assassination game, refining Agent 47’s careful approach to each mission. Players can get creative with their kills, whether it’s dropping a chandelier, poisoning a drink, tampering with a barbecue, or making a balcony fall look accidental. With the new notoriety system if you were careless 47 became more recognizable, and future missions got tougher as characters started to notice him.
Blood Money added better combat, weapon upgrades, and memorable post-mission newspaper clippings that showed how you completed each mission. The game’s dark mood, detailed levels, and focus on making kills look like accidents set a new standard for assassination games. Modern Hitman titles still build on what Blood Money started.
Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)
Kingdom Hearts II builds on the the first game, taking the action-RPG experience even further. Sora’s adventure continues through worlds like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lion King. Square Enix improved the combat, made the camera easier to use, and introduced Drive Forms, letting Sora team up with friends to dual-wield Keyblades and try out new moves. Reaction Commands also made battles more exciting, allowing players to pull off team attacks with just one button.
With over 100 Disney characters, bigger and more interactive worlds, and real-time battles that are smooth and strategic, Kingdom Hearts II finds a great balance between being easy to pick up and offering plenty of depth. Its blend of Disney nostalgia and RPG elements made it a standout on the PS2, and features like context-sensitive combat and dynamic transformations still influence action-RPGs today. It’s outstanding.
Ōkami (Clover Studio)
Even among great PS2 games, Ōkami is special. It is the action-adventure masterpiece that turned Japanese folklore into interactive art and remains one of the PS2’s greatest achievements. As Amaterasu, the sun goddess reborn as a white wolf, you bring life back to a cursed land through the Celestial Brush: painting on the screen, slashing foes with strokes, or blooming dead trees with circular motions.
The sumi-e watercolor visuals transformed classical painting into living landscapes, creating an aesthetic that still feels timeless. What sets Ōkami apart is its fusion of innovation, myth, and artistry. Its artistic approach influenced how developers thought about visual design in games, though its commercial struggles meant its impact was felt more through critical acclaim.
Beautiful orchestral-folk music, folklore-rich storytelling, and environments that evoke living ukiyo-e scrolls earned it the praise of critics everywhere, who call it “a work of cohesive beauty.” Though it didn’t sell initially—contributing to Clover Studio’s demise—Ōkami’s blend of myth, design, and sheer artistry secured its place as one of the greatest games ever made.
2007
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami)
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is the best soccer game on the PS2, period. Its crisp eight-directional movement and manual‑leaning passing create a slow‑burn, chess‑like build‑up where every run and through ball feels like something you yourself plotted. The defensive AI defends as a unit so tight that 1–0 wins really feel earned, rather than handed to you.
Master League’s default misfits, from Castolo and Minanda on, become folk heroes as players spin years‑long dynasty saves out of their struggles and breakthroughs. Even without FIFA’s licenses PES6’s physical tussles, weighty ball, and sudden “how did that go in?” goals still feel closer to real soccer than many modern games. Two decades on, an active mod and patch scene plus constant retrospectives prove it still holds up as essential PS2 soccer.
God of War II (Santa Monica Studio)
God of War II is the action game that pushed the PS2 beyond its supposed limits. After the Colossus of Rhodes leaves him mortal and Zeus kills him, Kratos pursues the Sisters of Fate to turn back time and strike at Olympus. He returns with better combo-based combat, devastating Athena’s Blades, and new time-manipulation mechanics that make puzzles more cinematic.
Santa Monica Studio mastered every PS2 trick: fluid platforming through the Colossus of Rhodes interior, boss battles that span entire levels, and QuickTime events that feel epic rather than boring. With four times more bosses than the original and technical wizardry that made critics question if they were still playing a PS2 game, God of War II set the bar for cinematic action and proved the console still had masterpieces left in it.
2008
Persona 3 FES (Atlus)
Persona 3 FES is one of the PlayStation 2’s most influential JRPGs, the game that turned “live a school year, crawl a nightmare tower at night” into the modern Persona blueprint. Its calendar-driven loop of classes, clubs, and Social Links by day and Shadow hunts in Tartarus by night makes friendships feel as important to survival as exploiting weaknesses in combat. The result is a coming‑of‑age story where themes of death and meaning land through systems as much as cutscenes.
FES bundles the original Journey with The Answer, an epilogue led by Aigis, and folds in refinements like new Personas, tweaks to Social Links, and extra challenge. That package was the definitive cut of Persona at the time, and even in a world with remakes like Reload, FES still holds up as a landmark JRPG worth experiencing in its original glory.
Persona 4 (Atlus)
Persona 4 is one of the greatest JRPGs ever released for the PS2, turning a sleepy rural murder mystery into a yearlong investigation into truth, identity, and the masks people wear. You juggle small-town routines with tense rescues inside the Midnight Channel’s TV dungeons, where each labyrinth visualizes a party member’s buried fears and lies. Turn-based battles revolve around exploiting weaknesses for knockdowns and All-Out Attacks, but the real power comes from the bonds you forge.
Wrapped in a bold yellow, TV-themed UI and driven by an infectious soundtrack, Persona 4 feels both cozy and unsettling. Weather-based fog deadlines force you to actually plan your year instead of grinding mindlessly, keeping the mystery taut. Golden and modern ports brought it to new audiences, but the original PS2 release still holds up with its slower pacing, tighter fog atmosphere, and some of the most beloved characters in the genre.
Between 2009 and 2013 the PS2 entered its final years. There were fewer exclusives, more yearly sports and licensed games, and continued support for existing players. Occasional online and MMO releases kept the system active until its last titles in 2013. People still bought PS2 games, but there were no more great or enduring games.
The PS2’s legacy isn’t just about big sales. It’s about a system that encouraged new ideas, improved old favorites, and gave us stories we still remember after twenty years. For me it’s been pure fun writing about one of the greatest eras in gaming. Do you still play any of these classics, or is there a hidden gem you wish made the list? Share your favorite PS2 memories, overlooked games, or thoughts in the comments. Let’s keep the conversation going and celebrate the PS2 together.
Additional Content – Games that played best on the PS2
I realized I couldn’t have an honorable mention section, because there’d be about 50 more games to add. I will just say that the games Tony Hawk’s Underground, WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2006, and Twisted Metal Black came extremely close to being on my list.
I will include a short list of multi-platform games that either played best on the PS2, or had unique features that other platforms didn’t.
Silent Hill 2 and 3. The PS2’s fog rendering technology was crucial to the game’s psychological horror atmosphere. Horror fans consistently cite PS2 as the version that “feels right”
Metal Gear Solid 2/Substance. The developers built MGS2 around the PS2, with smoother performance in effects-heavy moments like the tanker rainstorm, and stealth controls that used the DualShock 2’s pressure-sensitive buttons.
The Grand Theft Auto games. Again, these were PS2-first designs. They ran more consistently and felt right because of optimizations, while the Xbox had clunkier gameplay according to players.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. The PS2 version included exclusive tracks, weather options, Matrix-style camera effects, and superior handling tuned for the controllers.
Tony Hawk’s Underground 1 & 2. PS2 was the only version with full online play, plus face-upload technology. Again, the controls felt most natural on DualShock 2.
SSX & SSX Tricky. In both cases the controls were the best and offered the definitive experience, especially the grab system.
Half-Life. The PS2 had the Half-Life: Decay cooperative expansion with split-screen co-op, plus console-specific visual enhancements and UI modifications.
Quake III: Revolution. The PS2 had Quake III Arena with Team Arena content, exclusive weapons, redesigned progression, console-specific modes.
If you think I missed any PS2-definitive experiences let me know.