I got through phases of games, and right now I’m in the one I like to think of everything-modern-is-making-me-angry-so-I’ll-turn-back-to-vintage-games - and that’s in the form of PCSX2 on my Steam Deck.
Playing the PS2 generation on the Steam Deck is kinda the ‘perfect’ generation: I can upscale the resolution without a performance hit, I can apply HD texture packs, Retro Achievements and I can drop the TDP to extend the battery life.
Anyway, I never had a PS2 (it was just a touch before my time), so there’s so many games I’m yet to discover there. I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have for what I can play on there:
Just a couple notes:
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No GTA games because they’re better with the PC versions. While I’ve bought the games, the account that Rockstar demands people have to play their games makes me angry on principle (a single-player game forcing an online check each week to be able to play it? No thanks), so I’ve got cracked versions to play.
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No Final Fantasy because I’m not even sure where to start!
So if anyone was around back in the PS2 era, and has some recommendations for games they’ve loved, I’m all ears. I’ve been having such a fun time playing these.
Some big thanks to my friends who made and run RetroDECK (my choice for emulating on the Steam Deck), and to the PCSX2 team (who I’m chatting to right now actually, so keep an eye out and in a week or so I’ll share that chat with them all about creating and maintaining the PS2 emulator!)
Also, if you do have a Steam Deck, and want to play with the HD texture packs I do, then it’s really simple. Just download the pack, and name then according to their game’s I.D. code - SLUS-20743 for example, then place it in the texture_packs folder:
From there, go into PCSX2, then right-click the game, select properties, graphics, texture replacement and tick the two boxes I have:
Then you’ve got the games looking the best they can be!
Here’s a link to a stack of pre-done HD textures for a lot of PS2 games, to help you on your way!
I wanted to say persona 3 FES as well, if you can’t afford the remake on steam which is excellent btw.
Other similar options include Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne and the Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga duology
Is it better to play Persona 3 FES or Reload? I’ve already played P3P
P3P uses the same combat system as Persona 4 and 5, while the original P3 and P3FES system was quite different.
The actual changes are pretty subtle, but it makes the whole system feel totally different. The “1 More” mechanic did not activate on partial knockdowns with multi target moves, and being knocked down would result in skipped turn. Being hit while knocked down would also undo the knockdown.
Basically, multi target moves were much more situational, type weaknesses were much more dangerous (for both player characters and enemies), and there was a lot of potential strategy in getting enemies to skip turns.
I think it was a lot more interesting this way and P4/P3P/P5 simplified it to the point that P5 added a “play the game for me” button that autoselects the best move.
I agree with the other commenter that both P3Re or P3FES would be mostly the same as what you’ve already experienced, but I think it’s worth it for the epilogue, especially if you liked the characters in the base game.
Between the two, I would personally recommend FES but I think most people would recommend Reload.
If you played p3p I don’t think playing p3fes or reload will be a new experience as the story remains mostly the same. Combat is the same with little differences between p3p and p3fes, but reload is closer to p5’s gameplay.