11. Kingdom Hearts series
Seeing Goofy prance around with your favorite Final Fantasy characters might be hard to digest, but once you get a taste of Kingdom Hearts’ spellbinding storytelling and razor-sharp combat, you won’t hold back from placing your Sephiroth statue next to your Winnie the Pooh teddy bear.
12. Madden NFL series
The long-running Madden series made several significant evolutionary steps on the PlayStation 2. While it should be remembered for its introduction to online play and remarkably deep gameplay, most people will remember it for Michael Vick – the most skilled video game athlete since Bo Jackson.
13. Ico
Who would have thought a game with so much hand-holding and stick swinging would become a masterpiece?
14. Jak & Daxter series
Though there is a huge seam in the middle of the series separating the playful, kid-friendly atmospheres of the first game from the darker, more story-centric narratives of the second two, all three Jak and Daxter titles have a perfect blend of action and platforming. You never do the same thing twice in a Jak game, and that means you’re never bored.
15. Burnout Revenge
It managed to outdrive the excellent Burnout 3 and was the last appearance of Crash Mode, God rest its soul.
16. Prince of Persia series
Running along walls and leaping over spinning blades can be a blast, especially when you can rewind time if you happen to lose a leg in the process. The Prince of Persia trilogy is an adventurer’s dream come true, blending flashy swordplay with a good dose of puzzle solving.
17. Onimusha series
If we told you there is a series about famous Japanese legends retold and embellished with supernatural elements using popular modern day actors, you’d probably expect it to be marketing crap. However, Onimusha’s blend of constant action, Resident Evil-style puzzles, and stunning CG sequences made it a game you’d be wrong to judge harshly.
18. Okami
Painting with a wolf may sound like a potential throat being ripped out, but Capcom proved that this unlikely combination could deliver one of the most memorable and unique adventures of this generation. Okami looks like a painting that came to life, and offers amazing gameplay with its inventive brush-stroke techniques.
19. Hot Shots Golf series
Hot Shots doesn’t change much, but it doesn’t have to when it’s the master of the three-click swing and offers so many fun customization items and wacky characters. Hot Shots excels at being easy to learn, but the game also throws up plenty of challenges and requires nerves of steel.
20. SSX 3
With one gigantic mountain beneath your boots, you don’t need to hop around the world in SSX 3. Players can nibble on it bite by bite, or bomb the entire thing, trying to keep one combo going from summit to lodge.
21. Need for Speed: Underground
With four outstanding racing types, insanely deep vehicle customization, and a look that could kill, Need for Speed: Underground lights the fires and kicks the tires like few racing games can. It made tuning a mainstay in gaming, and has led to many gamers “pimping” out their Camrys.
22. Dark Cloud series
This imaginative role-playing series put developer Level-5 on the map, and its world building, wealth of customization, and rich environments delivers an experience unlike any other.
23. Shadow of the Colossus
Dangle from the chin hairs of a beast 100 times your size as it tries to swat you like a fly. Nothing compares.
24. Fatal Frame series
If you’ve played the Fatal Frame games, there is no shame in sleeping with a flashlight or second-guessing what goes bump in the night. This series’ unnerving atmosphere and expertise in scare tactics warrant a high pitched scream and perhaps even a stain in your pants.
25. Disgaea series
How deep can a turn-based strategy game get? Disgaea shows us that they can get absurdly deep. You can customize your troops, enhance your weapons, and be treated to some big laughs with its kooky cast of characters.