PlayStation 2 JRPGs

[John Davis]

I'm looking for cool/fun JRPGs to play for the PS2. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

[Ayen]

Final Fantasy X & X-2 if they're something you think you could enjoy.
Final Fantasy XII. I didn't enjoy it, but a lot of people here have so you might too.
Kingdom Hearts.
Xenosaga.
And while not technically a RPG, it does allow you to make JRPGs and has a premade one you can play, so, RPG Maker 3.

[Mirage]

Star Ocean 3. If you try to complete it on the hardest difficulty setting, that's basically the only PS2 RPG you need/have time for.

[Slothy]

Persona 3 and 4.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I believe Grandia II was ported to the PS2. I can't really say anything on how it plays on the PS2 because I played it on the Dreamcast. I've heard the game looks better on the Dreamcast. The gameplay is pretty fun. If I remember right, the story was pretty generic and the voice acting was horrendous, but I still had a lot of fun with it.

Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 are pretty awesome. Though, if you have a Vita you should get P4 for that.

If you like turn based tactics type games, the Disgaea series is great.

Dark Cloud 1 and 2

This (and ToriJ's list) are the extent of what I've played I think.

[CimminyCricket]

Disgaea, Disgaea 2, Makai Kingdom, Phantom Brave, .//hack, Shadow Hearts, Growlanser, Chaos Legion, Radiata Stories, Valkyrie Profile 2 (prequelish), Star Ocean 3.

[Mirage]

If you have the means to play modified games, you could also play the fan-made English patch of FF12 International Zodiac Job System version. I've yet to play it, but i've heard from reliable sources that the extra level of customisation and limitations make for a deeper and more tactical experience than the normal game does.

Of course, I am not going to suggest piracy so obviously you would have to buy the japanese version, rip it, apply the patch and burn it to a disc again because that's not really piracy!

[Bolivar]

I can't recommend Dragon Quest VIII enough.

[Pumpkin]

People have recommended the ones I was going to say

Final Fantasy X/X-2
Dark Cloud/ Dark Cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle)
Suikoden III/V (IV if you're feeling adventurous)
Xenosaga I/II/III
Kindgom Hearts I/II

[Vyk]

I'll second the Persona games. They're so different and interesting

[Forsaken Lover]

Why not the main SMT games? There was...I dunno, 2 and 3 I think? Plus Nocturne and Strange Journey. Never played any of them but it does seem like the Persona games have overshadowed the main series doesn't it?

To be a bit different, why not try the Ar tonelico games or Atelier? AT games though are relatively expensive and rare-ish on ebay but not sure about Atelier.

Also there were Tales games for the PS2, right? Play that. Don't play Star Ocean Till the End of Time. If you must play Star Ocean, pick any other game but that one.

[Depression Moon]

No one here said Rogue Galaxy yet, so I'll say it. I haven't played it myself, but I loved the demo I tried years ago.

Also Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits and Legaia 2 Duel Saga

[Raistlin]

Final Fantasy XII
Suikoden III, IV, and V

Those were the RPGs I enjoyed the most of the PS2 games. I've also heard good things about the Personas.

[Jessweeee♪]

Star Ocean 3. If you try to complete it on the hardest difficulty setting, that's basically the only PS2 RPG you need/have time for.

Persona 3 and 4.

I second these, especially Persona c:

Another favorite of mine is Phantasy Star Universe.

[John Davis]

There are a lot to choose from, but from what I understand, PS2 has a really nice collection of JRPGs. I am a fan of Final Fantasy X (only the gameplay really. I had the most fun at the end of the game doing sidequests and achieving stuff for completion). I also tried playing Makai Kingdom. While I really liked it at first, it became clear that the quirky mechanics of the game were often trying too hard to be "different". It is too much tedium for me. I realized how many ridiculously unnecessary stat considerations there are that I was extremely anxious the entire time I played the game. The way classes and their upgrades work is also incredibly terrible-- I simply am not willing to expend this much energy towards a game like this. Don't get me wrong, I like "complex" menu systems and all that great stuff but Makai Kingdom is trash. I may have really gotten into it if I were a good bit younger with more time on my hands.

I tried playing Disgaea and I got sidetracked before the first battle ended. That is not a testimony. I simply need to play it again at some point. I'm hoping it is a sensible version of Makai Kingdom.

And thanks everyone for the suggestions. I may find myself looking into Final Fantasy X-2, Persona games, Suikoden, and more.