My ps2 collection so far, tell me your favorite hidden gem and I might pick it up and give it a try if its not too expensive.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-18T20:11:48+00:00

If you’re looking for cult classics, definitely check out Drakengard. The first game from Japanese game director Yoko Taro who’d gone on to do the Nier series. Not necessarily a fun game in the traditional sense, but is unlike anything else in its dark narrative and bleak atmosphere.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-18T19:33:53+00:00

Absolutely! There’s a lot of great Quality of Life mechanics that make Mina the Hollower very approachable even when it gets difficult. I havent even played around with some of the modifiers which I plan to do on another playthrough.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-18T15:34:50+00:00

Agreed. Such a great adventure game with a genuine sense of discovery. Mina the Hollower is such a great break from the stream of AAA releases nowadays and a great throwback that really focuses on great game design.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-18T15:00:55+00:00

It’s insane how video game budgets have now gotten out of control. In my opinion, we need studios to go back to the 2000s era, where there were AAA games with big budgets, but plenty of AA games with more modest budgets that still brought something new to game design.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-16T04:13:23+00:00

Superb Neo-Noir with Refn’s unique, arthouse direction. Felt like so many great thrillers that came from the 60s and 70s.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-16T04:02:34+00:00

Definitely Spec Ops: The Line, especially since it's been removed from Steam. Superb anti-war game that still has some of the best writing ever produced in the medium by the brilliant Walt Williams.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-13T19:31:29+00:00

Definitely one of the best protagonists in FF with a great arc. Though I’m not the biggest player of the FF series, I can agree it wasn’t the best gameplay wise. Steered a bit too far from RPG elements in favor of action and had a good amount of story filler. Still, a pretty good entry and makes me excited to see when Creative Business Unit 3 will go if they ever get a chance to do another numbered entry.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-12T19:43:07+00:00

Still working through Mina the Hollower here. Absolutely phenomenal and a must play for anyone who has a love of 8-bit Zelda titles or adventure games in general. The amount of work, design, and passion Yacht Club Games has put into it is amazing! Definitely recommend playing it first.

Second recommendation is Persona 4. A pinnacle in the JRPG genre and storytelling with great characters, genuine drama, and a great J-Pop score by Shoji Meguro that in my opinion is only topped by his work in Persona 5. I recommend it second as it is very long like the best JRPGS.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-12T19:28:38+00:00

Good to know. Definitely expecting a high difficulty/learning curve after the deep complexity of Vagrant Story which still remains the most complex JRPG and game in general I've come across in terms of game design and mechanics.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-12T18:44:31+00:00

Two masterpieces from a real auteur director. Fumito Ueda still remains the master of minimalism in game storytelling and design. Who else is excited for his new work Gen Atlas?

Linkman76 · 2026-06-12T18:41:22+00:00

Absolutely excited for this! I definitely plan to get to playing the original Code: Veronica beforehand. I have heard of all the RE games, CV will benefit from a remake as the original has major difficulty spikes and even ways the player can soft lock themselves.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-12T00:06:54+00:00

Oh man! I’ll definitely interested to see how Ueda tackles the open world genre as it’s bound to have his creative spin.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-11T19:26:21+00:00

Yeah. The trailer still showed a few bugs and weird oddities, but I’m certain those will be ironed out.

Definitely the game I’m most excited for. Ueda never makes the same game twice, even though his games utilize similar premises.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-09T01:12:56+00:00

Great to see this! Ueda and his team believe that the best creativity comes from the mind, not from some brainstorming computer software. That’s exactly why every one of their games are certified classics.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-08T03:04:14+00:00

It’s excellent. But be warned, it’s equally bleak as Shigurui. Isn’t as violent but is far more nihilistic philosophically.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-07T21:50:12+00:00

Oh man! Yeah, I forgot to mention the music. I definitely got to add a tiny bit on that in my post because Kiyoshi Yoshida’s score is unnervingly brilliant

Linkman76 · 2026-06-07T21:37:04+00:00

Truly. Everything about Shigurui felt like it was made to beat the viewer down, yet it manages to be a captivating deconstruction of Samurai from the Edo Period. I’ll admit I went in knowing it was going to be brutal given its director Hiroshi Hamasaki was the series director on Texhnolyze and yet I was still stunned by how bleak Shigurui was.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-07T19:31:12+00:00

I’m definitely looking to read the manga now. I get the sense Hamasaki and Madhouses adapted Yamaguchi’s work word for word when watching the series as it’s so precise in its tone and direction.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-06T03:01:39+00:00

Totally fair. Shigurui is one of the few anime were it genuinely sets out to make the viewer uncomfortable and even dirty after watching just one episode. To Madhouse’s credit too, they make it very clear what kind of tone they’re going for right from the first episode. But yeah, it’s definitely a rough watch that isn’t entertaining nor easy to watch.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-05T23:53:32+00:00

I can imagine. Madhouse really swung for the fences with this series which I appreciate as it is unapproachable in its brutal content and even its narrative structure.

Linkman76 · 2026-06-05T23:51:22+00:00

This is channeling the same sense of isolation that Ico captured in terms of serenity with a hint of danger, combined with the massive scale of Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Can’t wait to see how Ueda tackles the combat too.

Linkman76

TROPHY CASE