Top 50 BEST PS2 JRPGs Ever (Random Order)

The PlayStation 2 is 20 years old now. It's my favorite console of all time, so here's a list of its 50 best JRPGs, in my personal opinion.
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Remember: the list is in RANDOM ORDER. Doesn't mean number 1 is the best of them all.

[@mesange8682]

00:08 .hack Series 00:34 Ar tonelico 00:52 Disgaea Hour of Drakness 01:14 Tales of the Abyss 01:36 Persona 4 01:57 Final Fantasy XII 02:23 Wild Arms Alter code: F 02:45 Star Ocean Till the End of Time 03:05 Romancing Saga Minstrel Song 03:35 Growlanser II The Sense of Justice 03:58 Phantasy Star Universe 04:20 Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 04:44 Arc The Lad Twilight of the Spirits 05:06 Odin Sphere 05:29 Atelier Iris Eternal Mana 05:52 Disgaea 2 Cursed Memories 06:11 Tales of Legendia 06:31 Ar tonelico II 06:54 Growlanser III The Dual Darkness 07:17 Suikoden IV 07:39 Radiata Stories 08:03 Shadow Hearts 08:29 Mana Khemia 08:49 Phantasy Star Universe Ambition of the Illuminus 09:13 Chaos Wars 09:40 Final Fantasy X 10:00 Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim 10:21 Atelier Iris 2 The Azoth of Destiny 10:45 Kingdom Hearts II 11:05 Grandia II 11:27 .hack GU Series 11:49 Wild Arms 3 12:13 Growlanser Heritage of Wars 12:42 Mana Khemia 2 Fall of Alchemy 13:07 Dark Cloud 2 13:30 Shine Megami Tensei Nocturne 13:53 Suikoden V 14:16 Dragon Quest VIII 14:39 Rogue Galaxy 15:05 Eternal Poison 15:31 Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner 1-2 15:56 Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria 16:31 Wild Arms 5 16:56 Grandia III 17:20 Shadow Hearts Covenant 17:42 Suikoden III 18:10 Shining Tears 18:32 Stella Deus The Gate of Eternity 18:54 Persona 3 19:21 Xenosaga Trilogy

[@trashinGame]

u, sir, made my pirate life easier

[@riyuphoenix4533]

I'd say over 90% are amazing games. Suikoden 4 seemed awful, 5 was good though.

[@playlist-explorer]

tell me your favorite rpg games my is Exiled kingdom (android) (i wish it was longer)

[@xabus3133]

Erick Landon is a hidden gem! Great video, mate!

[@sherrdreamz7232]

Nice compilation, PS2 was most definitely the best console for an endless stream of unique JRPG'S! I loved .hack, Xenosaga, Star Ocean, Shadow Hearts and Final Fantasy X.

[@archdemonred6108]

hav u tried Valkyrie Profile 2 ?

[@brendangoodell6233]

PS2 and PS1 were really awesome.

[@Sight-Beyond-Sight]

Yeah, after the PS2, console gaming (exclusives) went downhill...

[@ltb1345]

The 3DS has an insane library of JRPGs as well!

[@sherrdreamz7232]

@@archdemonred6108 Nope never tried a Valkyria game aside from the Valkyria Chronicles games which I believe are unrelated to Profile and Slimeria.

[@Fearwolf2013]

I wasn't into Jrpgs as a kid but now an adult of 36 I'm getting into them and your videos help guide me.... oh and cost me a fortune.

[@trevor_mounts_music]

two years late but....PCSX2.. Stop spending your money on games from 20 years ago.

[@Swagatron64]

@@trevor_mounts_music I like playing them on the original console

[@HollowRick]

@@Swagatron64 then get free mcboot and play the games off a hard drive

[@darviniusb]

@@Swagatron64 play them on pcsx2 with a controller upscalled to 4k and see them in all splendore. The FFXII is gorgeous even for today or Kingdom hearts upscaled . Many of them are fantastic upscalled but look horrible on 65'' oleds tv because they where not made for it. Unless you scale them up and play on a 65.

[@dxtremecaliber]

@@trevor_mounts_musicuhh collectors exists also playing the games on the actual console have this immersive experience you can also play these games for free if you gonna mod your console

[@TheKestevon]

Ps2 was a jrpg paradise. Huge selection of jrpg games you can play on that platform.

[@ivanborges67]

I love Suikoden 4, even have the rune of punishment as a tattoo, glad to see that you included it!

[@faidou9954]

The PlayStation always did have the best JRPGs.

[@82Kaizoku]

I'm searching for Grandia here, but damn... Its so nostalgic to watch all of them in this video. I played most of those games in the list, but I regreted some, because I haven't finished it yet. My PS2 got broken before I had the chance to. Shame.

[@gamer197730]

At first I thought you weren’t going to put any Xenosaga game on the list. I LOVE the Xenosaga trilogy. I wish monolith would release a remaster of the trilogy on modern consoles.

[@dustybunny6716]

I really wish they would do a remaster of the Xenosaga games one day.

[@mattbrown9631]

Same, same

[@numberone2836]

The voice acting killed it for me. Also so much watching, less playing

[@shashix6551]

Big props for having all SMT and Persona games :)

[@danhnguyen8014]

Erick, please make a video about top 10 epic boss battles in JRPGs that you like the most, love you

[@MelonOfWater]

Oh man, so many memories from so many of those games. Star Ocean 3 - Til The End Of Time had an awesome battle system and I loved the characters. Digital Devil Saga had a very unique setting and AMAZING music (Shoji Meguro is a damn genius). Radiata Stories I still replay at least once every year or two. I love recruiting all the different characters. Suikoden 4 was awesome. Sailing the sea was slow, but I found it relaxing and the battles were fun. Also, lots of characters to recruit. (Suikoden 4 is better than 5, FIGHT ME). All of the Atelier Iris and Mana Khemia games had a really fun battle system, beautiful visuals and awesome music. And pretty much most of the games on the rest of your list made me reminisce HARD. So thanks for that :)

[@riyuphoenix4533]

All true, except suikoden 5 was way better than 4, serious dude 😜

[@garydobis6395]

@@riyuphoenix4533 Suikoden 3 was better than them both.

[@CRedd9830]

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is the best game of its generation and the second best game I've ever played.

[@belfosama]

My Top 3 J-RPG in PS2: Shadow Hearts Covenant, Radiata Stories and Final Fantasy X.

[@diegokasady]

That’s a crazy bold statement I’ll take ur word

[@gamsolar156]

Silmeria number 1.

[@tylerkimdura6690]

I’ll have to try it

[@joanjoestar3252]

I loved the cover, i mean Nocturne and P4 are two of my favorite jrpgs in general

[@Skillmatic323]

Dang you’re already at 30k subs man, keep at it. I remember when you were 2k not too long ago

[@kevinflynn1299]

Would put one that were missed “legaia 2”

[@charleybrown8650]

I said this bro glad someone thought the same

[@gulygarnida753]

Legend of legaia duel saga

[@thiagobrunomartinspereira9638]

From this list I've played: Persona 3 and 4, Phantasy Star Universe, DDS, Suikoden 4 and 5, Disgaea 1 and 2, Grandia 2 and 3, Kingdom Hearts 2, .hack, .hack GU, Rogue Galaxy, Devil summoner 1 and 2, Valkyrie Profile 2, Xenosaga 1, 2 and 3... not even half of it... adulthood has taken its toll on me... (T-T)

[@MrQ12elve]

love your content mate, this is just what i need... currently playing Shadow Hearts on my laptop about an hour in and loving it !!! thanx for the list !!!

[@MarakoJuan]

I loved your list of RPGs, congrats man :3

[@enucxus]

Thanks for including RADIATA STORIES, your right it's really underrated. one of my favorite RPGs

[@gamershd4264]

I need more Memory , At least 64 Gb to play all those ps2 games on emulator, i'm soo exite to see all this video ! Good work man.

[@timbermaniac5756]

I'm playing Alter Code F as we speak. Never got to finish the original Wild Arms back in the day.

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

lucky you.... I knew about the game for years but never got my hands on it. Stuck trying to find an emulator of it cause people want to charge hundreds of bucks for it now. Alter Code was apparently so revered in the series that i QUICKLY couldn't find it in my state....

[@flaviobondioli6682]

Never knew Valkyre Profile 2 had such an intriguing gameplay style 😮 so good

[@Morbisus]

Shining Tears caught my attention here as I like diablo style games

[@taikun91]

That must have taken a long time to edit. You are amazing and among the top of my favourite KZbinrs. I wish you all the best :)

[@KlassicKent]

As someone who is just recently getting into JRPGS and the PS2, this is daunting. 😄

[@gerardolavin4825]

I loved the xenosaga trilogy, its amazing the great library of ps2 games, it has no end.

[@FullOvellas]

I like how the wording of a sentence when talking about the Devil Summoner games implies that the 30s didn't exist

[@marchelottie]

I just realized I had already played almost all these games and yes I also consider most of them as best JRPGs too!

[@guillermocas2877]

What song appears at 15:04

[@yahyaridhosaputra7998]

Thx to your video, i found Radiata Stories. Its my first and long forgotten jrpg game. Im desperate searching for it

[@elkwesi2098]

Great video. I'm trying to get back into Jrpgs and play alot of the old games I missed out. Definitely a really helpful video.

[@xtiandg0914]

I kinda want to see some personal list in the future, you sound really passionate when you talk about things your personally invested.

[@stashmerkin9576]

Nice list Erick! Very informative, I've never heard of some of these.

[@cyriszx]

.Dot Hack + G.U. // and Xenosaga Trilogy is by far my favorite JRPG games ever . Story is so damn dark n deep but also very beutiful with many secrets , Amazing character developement , awesome Battles and ofcourse one of the best Soundtracks ever created !

[@sidartnaogautama780]

If it were about any other console I would say top50 is an exageration, but PS1 and PS2 have so much RPGs it makes a lot of sense! Ah, those times!!

[@AntoniusTertius]

I, mistakenly, posted a comment here, so I deleted. I have discovered your channel recently and I adore it, our viewpoints on jrpgs may be different, nonetheless your videos are very precious and your jrpg knowledge is amazing. Congratulations!

[@EVERYWHERE_MAN]

Tales of abyss was my fav on the ps2

[@Itwasme007]

Best video in all of KZbin as far as JRPG goes on the PS2.

[@HDMIx4]

Great video Erick, so many 💎

[@DiaaOnsa]

A great video 👌 I realized how many good RPGs I missed in the PS2

[@gozucritic4546]

Wooohooo,most of the games in here I have played & enjoyed so getting to see many get the spotlight is awesome thanks to Erick Landon RPG! So many great memories over the years with most of the games & actually playing some even before the first game in the series. Can't wait for the next installment & thanks for an amazing trip down memory lane. 😁

[@GoumesGames]

PS2 its amazing.So many great JRPGS...

[@Stayinthegrave]

Erik spoke about this on his stream today so checking it out while playin smt 5 lets gooo

[@dreamEnd]

Its great to see that theres tons of tons of great JRPG games on the good ol ps2

[@OleGasChaNneL]

Thank u man, u have a best list jrpg games! 💪😉👍🔥

[@tonywilkins2803]

I played 43 of these games and beat all 43.🤯

[@tonywilkins2803]

I personally think that the ps2 was the golden years for rpgs..

[@astaynax7531]

Nice list, although I find mega man x command missions to be an over looked/under rated game too, would make my own top 50 ps2 for sure.

[@charleybrown8650]

Make sure it's better than this and I agree I like x command mission def overlooked as we ll as legaia 2 and tales of legendia

[@leozar69]

I would've added: "La Pucelle Tactics" high on the list.

[@badxampletv1799]

What do you think about Steambot Chronicles @Erick Landon?

[@magnusjarnefelt1138]

Erick, I came here to see your face... ;[ We want more videos where we can see you talking! Too many of those faceless let's plays... Though more FFVIIR is always welcomed as we are on the hype train!

[@DalamSCO]

Glad to see Ar Tonelico and Growlanser on the list. Very good game series, the both of them.

[@makenleyx267]

The PS2 had So many great JRPGs. Persona 3 & 4, Final Fantasy 10/10-2, Dragon Quest 8, SMT Nocturne, etc.

[@trishaishot462]

Thanks for introducing me into more rpgs.

[@acidwizard6528]

Due to life situations I missed any and all gaming from 2002-2014, but it is my firm opinion that the PS2 has the strongest library of JRPGs out of any console despite my not having played the latter portion of them.

[@cyfei1982]

ps2, the golden era of jrpg

[@ryuyama6111]

Great reviews and rankings. I'm proud to be a Japanese person. We were born in a great era.

[@Chelaxim]

Mana Khemia isn't a spin off, they're the 9th and 10th Atelier games.

[@michaelcoffey1991]

Glad your going to do this for all the major console's in time. This was a tremendous fun watch

[@hellokittybabe6679]

Maybe someone here can help me, I’ve been looking for an JRPG I played when I was little. I don’t have much to go off of, I just remember main character being late for school, when you are there you have 2 best friends, one being a flamboyant boy and a girl, and then an earth quake happens.

[@marthislobogelido]

Mi backlog acaba de crecer!! Muchas gracias Erik!!

[@trashinGame]

Checking this out to fill my phone for AetherSx2 goodness

[@ariscarvajal4693]

Same hahaha

[@MrSpectralfire]

I've seen too many of your videos. I knew all of those games. 😅 I keep looking for Shining Tears but haven't gotten my hands on it yet. You didn't mention that Tales of the Abyss is multiplayer. I haven't played Legendia yet because it's only single player. That's a big change for the Tales series.

[@sith_turtle9631]

I was waiting for Xenosaga to show up and you went and put it at number 1. Which btw is where it belongs👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[@sufianramli8017]

I wouldn't put it there, but i did love it

[@sith_turtle9631]

@@sufianramli8017 to reach his own. The OG .hack series is a solid tour for the top spot for me too

[@sufianramli8017]

@@sith_turtle9631 Yeah. I loved it as a Xenogear prequel, but the combat system wasn't as great, especially the 3rd one. Still a solid series though

[@ThanatosTheDH]

Finally someone that has played almost as many RPGs than me. Kappa Great video btw.

[@opticgamer3731]

I wish game and go back to these days but with the quality of game that was on the PlayStation 2

[@MegaTeamV]

Oh man, this video is fantastic. I even wish to get back to trade fleet to have time to play all these games. Love art style and even today it looks great. Thank you for your videos and deep knowledge of the genre. Stay cool and awesome.

[@clintferguson6599]

AMAZING VIDEO!!!

[@joneix]

Xenosaga. Love it

[@Himari444]

What ost is playing since Eternal poison?

[@nifftbatuff676]

Top 50 for the ps2. The ps3 and ps4 don't even have this number in total.

[@TheGoldenPS1]

PS1 has top 100.

[@peterh.5396]

Ps4 has top 330 rpgs if you count digital and physical games. At least 250 physical. At least half of them suck but it still has many rpgs. PS3 has like 115 rpgs. And PS2 has like 165. I think PS1 has about 100. I have a complete collection for PS2 and PS3. Still working on PS4 because I only buy at cheap prices and games are still coming out. I will pay full price for some like cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Starfield.

[@nifftbatuff676]

Most of them ps1/ps2 ports.

[@familledegamer9842]

There are 165 RPG on ps2 (depending on your exact definition) Eric knows his games, some of the ones he named are often not even considered in tops. Some left field games like Magical Pengel, ChoroQ or even Shepherd's Crossing are super interesting, but not good enough to be in a top 50 best RPG.

[@阿隆-n4s]

After I watched it, I still want the game I'm looking for, which is a role-playing jrpg, and I can see my life in my turn.

[@blackmanjrpg17]

Why did you put Kingdom Hearts on the list dude? 🤔 Number 1 is rightly deserved 🤘

[@galaxymilky298]

I've always liked la' pucelle tactics more than disgaea, and think that it deserves to be on the list more.

[@faypierrot7912]

Meu top 10 de JRPGs do PS2 01.Final Fantasy XII 02.Persona 3 03.Stella Deus 04.Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 05.Rogue Galaxy 06.Suikoden III 07.Persona 4 08.Dragon Quest 8 09.Odin Sphere 10.Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

[@darrylnevels6141]

Trying to get my ps2 library in check because the new systems will never play the large library. O course I have it on the ps4 but some games don't work like they should.

[@brandonmunsen6035]

i rememner a game where you start off with a guy and girl. recruit some minotaur dude with a lance and i remember base defense elements sometimes. wish i knew what game it was. had to of been on ps2

[@artofwar420]

I gotta stop watching these PS2 game recommendations haha, they’re getting expensive to buy!

[@gavxmas]

I just bought a usb to ps2 memory port. Let's have at my persona 3 and nocturne saves again!

[@javierosorio9661]

Bro you can just download ps2 emulator and download any ps2 game Roms and play on a computer won’t be the same as a hard copy on a ps2 but it’s free 😂💪🏻

[@danielnielel]

I don't have a computer, but I have a PS2, so I buy an empty dvd, download the .iso archive of the game I want and then copy for the DVD I just bought.

[@Dark-Bit]

ITS EMULATION BABY!" PearlJam However, console with a CRT TV is a very nostalgic experience.

[@universalcitizensurvival]

@@danielnielel How do you download and burn to a DVD?

[@wolfbeam9169]

.hack, Xenosaga, Tales of Legendia, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Shin Megami Tensei, yes yes yes.

[@albertoknoxx1309]

Hi Erik! what about Jade cocoon 2? Have you played it? How about its mecahnic and your opinion on the game.

[@Spacefrisian]

Nobody seems to like Unlimited Saga, it even has a price of roughly 15 euros whenever i see it (as opposed to the 750 euro for the first Suikoden)

[@Chelaxim]

UNLIMITED Saga is awesome. It's not for everyone though.

[@ririn8984]

My favourite is Mana Khemia ❤️

[@superarty7]

I hope to play at least half of those games.

[@breathofthewild1749]

I was never interested in Odin Sphere but maybe I'll give it a chance.

[@MrQ12elve]

just a heads up mate..i heard Leifthrasir on the PS3 is far superior than the PS2 version although i never played the PS2 version... i love that game though

[@breathofthewild1749]

@@MrQ12elve Thanks. But isn't this on PS4 as well? I was going to go far that.

[@MrQ12elve]

@@breathofthewild1749 oh your right...soz i forgot about that haha

[@breathofthewild1749]

@@MrQ12elve All good.

[@eliteclashroyale7705]

Suikoden 2 is the best Suikoden series game, and Suikoden V is the best PS 2 Suikoden series

[@LuteFrontier]

This one is a Prequal(takes place before the PSX games)

[@elelel1987]

Nice job

[@kokonbini]

Grandia 2 is a fantastic game, no matter how you play it, but I'll always stand by the Dreamcast version, simply because I find it to be better than the PS2 version.

[@Chelaxim]

Well the PS2 port is one of the worst ports ever made.

[@lelxrv]

Nocturne, DDS1-2, FFX, FF12, P3, P4, Silmeria, Xenosaga. Doesn't get better than these.

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

Personally, I liked Megaman X Command Mission... also, gotta agree with a comment I seen before. Legaia 2 was really good (aside from it's voice acting, which is hit or miss sometimes)

[@biskuit2079]

Still not find my favorite Jrpg. I forgot game name but i remember gameplay that game. Gameplay like 10:15

[@ahmedf2843]

What a great movie

[@Mr.Joehar]

It's not a movie it is a comic

[@Mr.Joehar]

Did u get it ⁉️

[@Mr.Joehar]

Did YOU GET IT ⁉️

[@themarchinggoblin8294]

God so many amazing games. They really don't make em like they used to

[@IORI_YAGAMI_0]

Xenosaga

[@shidanslair]

I missed Monster Hunter 1 and 2 😜

[@HelvecioGomes]

Persona 3 fes, persona 4, smt nocturne are the best on ps2. Haven't played digital devil saga unfortunately.

[@joanjoestar3252]

Raidou Kuzunoha was good too

[@alissonsilva5894]

Does anyone know the name of a game that has a warrior cat and a monster that looks like Jell-O? I remember my bro playing, he kind of recruited these different warriors.

[@PiciosDev]

I just bought Legaia 2 xD

[@firenthefire2]

Anyone knows what's the song that starts playing at 15:07?

[@k-freeyamisuna427]

dammm nice job i agree with this list only gems inside!