Summary
The PlayStation 2 was released and dominated the gaming market in a strange era when games were slowly becoming easier than the much less accessible games of the 90s. Most game companies kept their PS2-era games at a higher level of difficulty than the majority of games today feature, but there was still a general lack of hardship among RPGs for much of this era.
Nevertheless, in every era there are a few games that set themselves apart by adding a much larger degree of challenge than gamers are used to, and the PS2 era of RPGs was no different. From huge, familiar franchises to forgotten ingenious one-offs, many of the best RPGs of the PS2 era were also among the hardest.
6Unlimited Saga
Some games are brutally hard by design, including many of the entries in theSagafranchise, butUnlimited Sagais hard because it leaves so much to chance throughout the game that it is incredibly difficult to keep track and stay in control. The game itself isn’t even in control at some points, and most gamers who have played this will still remember it today for the intense difficulty.
The major difficulty ofUnlimited Sagais in learning the controls and getting to grips with the game early on since the early sections are particularly brutal and players have to learn a lot in a short period of time, or they will begin suffering.Unlimited Sagamay not be the hardest in theSagafranchise, but it is a brutal game compared to many of the more modern RPGs in this style, especially since itdidn’t feature a traditional level-up design.
5Final Fantasy 11
Many fans still question the idea behindFinal Fantasy 11and how much the difficulty in subsequent games in the series has been reduced since then. The MMORPG was hard because online play with friends wasn’t as frequent for players back in the PS2 era as it is now, and thus many players were forced to attempt bosses which required a whole party alone.
Even a lot of the leveling work before reaching these difficult bosses posed an issue for single players attempting to tackleFinal Fantasy 11. While other MMOs may have been released, and this game has subsequently moved to being a little easier, raising the level cap for instance, there is still a lot of challenge fornew players coming intoFinal Fantasy 11for the first time.
4Monster Hunter
Afranchise that doesn’t include as many gamesbut is beloved by fans,Monster Hunterbegan with the release of the eponymous first game in the series in 2004 on the PS2. The first game allowed players to take on the role of an upcoming hunter who takes on a variety of quests from people in towns and villages.
Related:Hardest Turn-Based RPGs Ever Made
However, while this common style of RPG is what players today would expect, the difficulty was not.Monster Hunterrequired a lot of patience from players as they attempted to level up in the early part of the game. Fans of the franchise argue a lot about the difficulty of each game and how it has transitioned along with the rest of the gaming industry over time, but one certain thing is that the originalMonster Hunterwas a tough one that came before the developers had mastered the controls.
3Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
The firstValkyrie Profilegame has an interesting level of difficulty, but when the sequel came out for the PS2, gamers found something very strange about the difficulty of the game. Instead of players being able to select a difficulty level for themselves when they started the game, they were given an automatic one, which the game refers to as “normal”.
However, if a player beats the game and starts another run, they will be given a higher difficulty level automatically. The strangest part is that this can be replicated around fifty times, with veteran players reaching the very hardest difficulty and finding it to be absolutely brutal. Mostly, each time this increases the main differences are in enemy capabilities and stats, making every step of the game more difficult, even for experienced players,who should check this franchise out.
2Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
TheBreath of Fireseries produced a game for the PS2 which is, even today, revered by gamers for the intense difficulty level. Even hardened, veteran RPG players have a lot of respect forDragon Quarter. From the get-go, the very first dungeon in the game forces players to learn all the mechanics and combat systems instantaneously or perish a lot of times.
Dragon Quarteris known for having a minimal number of save points, a complete lack of hand-holding to help players get to know the systems, and enemies that do a surprisingly huge amount of damage. Even seasoned RPG players have to be on their toes every second they spendplaying Capcom’sBreath of Fire: Dragon Quarter.
1Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturneinvolved a high school student who was transformedinto a demi-fiend after an apocalyptic event. Many of the systems worked in quite traditionally JRPG fashion, but players who weren’t used to the franchise found great difficulty.
As with any JRPG, some veteran players will find some ways that help with combat a great deal, but without these, it can be severely difficult to make it anywhere inNocturne. Players need to learn the systems quickly and only those who have played an awful lot of JRPG games will be able to figure out the systems without a lot of dying early on. Still, though, fans love these combat systems,marking them as some of the best seen in JRPGs.
