13 Longest PS2 Games, Ranked

The PlayStation 2 still holds its esteemed title of being the highest-selling home console of all time and remains one of the most beloved systems too. The console significantly contributed to gaming’s push into the mainstream throughout the 2000s, thanks to its ability to play DVDs and an enormous catalog of games that included classics like GTA: San Andreas, God of War 2, and Shadow of the Colossus.

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Furthermore, the console’s improved hardware compared to the original PlayStation gave developers the chance to make far longer and more fleshed-out adventures than ever before, ensuring that players got their money’s worth.

Updated on November 16, 2023, by Amy Cowley: The PS2 console is home to some of the longest games available, being the home to long RPG titles such as Persona and Final Fantasy. As such, people could while away the hours getting lost in these games that enthrall players from start to finish. Though it is difficult to determine the exact time it takes to beat these games as factors such as player skill and play style can affect total time, sites such as HowLongToBeat offer approximate times it would take for the average player. As there is no shortage of meaty games on the PS2, this article has been updated to include more of the longest PS2 games.

13 Kingdom Hearts 2

32 Hours

Kingdom Hearts was a highly ambitious project, combining the two giant IPs of Final Fantasy and Disney into one single RPG. But the risk paid off, resulting in a phenomenal series that is loved by many far and wide. The second game is technically the third in the timeline, taking place a year after the first and Chain of Memories. As with the other games, players will traverse through original worlds all ones from Disney IPs, such as Pirates of the Caribbean.

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With so many worlds to explore and characters to meet, it is not a surprise that Kingdom Hearts 2 is a game offering many hours of content. What’s more, the game is chockful of collectibles to gather and side quests to complete, which can double the approximate completion time should players wish to 100% it.

12 Final Fantasy 10

46 Hours

The Final Fantasy games prove they are never quite so final, with Square Enix constantly churning out new titles, spin-offs, or remasters to add to the engorged library of their famed JRPG franchise. FF10 revolves around Titus, a famed blitzball player, and Yuna, a summoner who is on a mission to save the world from destruction. The unlikely duo and other companions team up to stop the threat of Sin, a gargantuan whale-like beast that threatens the safety of all.

As with most Final Fantasy games, players will travel across a creative fantasy world, battle against monsters, and experience a story of epic levels that will make fans laugh and cry at moments. And who can forget Titus’s famous laugh?

11 Dark Cloud 2

50.5 Hours

As one might expect from an action JRPG, Dark Cloud 2 has a lot of meat to its bones, featuring multiple playable characters and a robust turn-based combat system. For the most part, players will control Max, a boy who wears a special stone as a pendant that a circus ringmaster is in search of, and Monica, a Princess who loses her father at the hands of a mystery man with magic powers.

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Players will adventure across time in order to save the world from the machinations of the evil Emperor Griffin and his henchmen, such as the ringmaster Flotsam, delving into dungeons or even indulging in mini-games such as fishing. After all, what is an RPG if it has no way to ignore the main quest?

10 Suikoden 5

52 Hours

Suikoden 5 was developed by Konami and Hudson Soft and released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in 2006. The game’s story is loosely based on the Chinese novel Shui Hu Zhuan and revolves around political issues in the Queendom of Falena.

The role-playing game was fairly well-received by critics, exemplified by its 76 Metascore. Critics generally enjoyed the game’s story and interactions between characters but criticized the visuals and frequent load times, which harmed the overall experience.

9 Monster Hunter 2

58.5 Hours

When discussing the longest games on any given console, there’s a good chance that the Monster Hunter series will pop up. Capcom’s iconic action RPG series cram tons of content into each of its entries, giving players numerous monsters to slay and quests to complete.

Monster Hunter 2 was released in 2006 exclusively in Japan. This exclusivity may surprise some people, given how popular the game currently is in the west, but it was an understandable decision at the time as the original Monster Hunter struggled to sell outside of Japan.

8 Little Busters! Converted Edition

58 Hours

Little Busters! is a visual novel that was originally released on PC in July 2007, before receiving an adult version titled Little Busters! Ecstasy the following year.

Little Busters! Ecstasy has since been ported to PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Switch, with the adult content removed in a version titled Little Busters! Converted Edition. Since its original release, the game has turned into a huge media franchise, with numerous manga adaptations, a television series, and even a handful of albums.

7 Final Fantasy 12

65 Hours

Like the aforementioned Monster Hunter series, the Final Fantasy franchise is always likely to pop up when talking about a console’s longest games. The role-playing series has provided players with numerous classic adventures over the years and Final Fantasy 12 is considered by many to be one of the franchise’s very best.

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Final Fantasy 12 implemented numerous exciting new features into the series, such as a seamless battle system and an open world. The PlayStation 2 iteration of the game received a whopping 92 Metascore, making it the console’s joint-26th highest-rated game on the site.

6 Fate/stay night

60 Hours

Fate/stay night is the second visual novel on this list. It was originally released on PC in 2004, before coming to PlayStation 2 just over three years later, and subsequently PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android.

Much like the aforementioned Little Busters!, Fate/stay night sparked an entire media franchise. Along with manga and anime, there have been numerous other video game releases in the franchise, including Fate/Grand Order and Fate/unlimited codes.

5 Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King

62 Hours

Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King was developed by Level-5 and initially released on PlayStation 2 in 2004. The game is best known for being the first Dragon Quest release with fully 3D character models and world design, with cel-shaded graphics that looked incredible for the mid-2000s.

The RPG was extremely well-received by fans and critics, exemplified by its 89 critic score and 8.6 user score on Metacritic, and it is regarded by many as one of the long-running series’ very best entries.

4 Suikoden 3

62 Hours

The third entry in the Suikoden series and the second to appear on this list was released in 2002 and beat the aforementioned Suikoden 5 in length by 10 hours. Chronologically, the game marks the end of the Suikoden main series, as Suikoden 4 and Suikoden 5 are set before it.

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Suikoden 3 is generally considered to be the best game in the series along with the original Suikoden, largely thanks to its engrossing storyline that wonderfully capped off the series’ chronological story.

3 Persona 4

73 Hours

Persona 4 is yet another entry on this list from the RPG genre, though the game differentiates itself from the other RPGs with its heavy emphasis on social simulation. A whopping runtime of 72.5 hours isn’t uncommon for the Persona series, as many of the series’ games clock in at around this time.

However, the series’ latest main series entry, Persona 5, takes the franchise to a whole new level, as it has an incredible main story length of almost 100 hours.

2 Gran Turismo 4

78.5 Hours

Gran Turismo 4 stands out like a sore thumb on this list for being the only entry that isn’t an RPG or visual novel. Rather than complex stories about relationships and overcoming evil, Gran Turismo 4 simply takes players to the road and gives them a whole host of licensed vehicles to drive from.

Although the game shows significant signs of age today, Gran Turismo 4 was an incredible technical achievement for 2004 and set a high benchmark for driving simulators that wouldn’t be topped for a number of years.

1 Persona 3

80 Hours

Topping this list at an eye-watering 81.5 hours, equivalent to watching around 50 films, is Persona 3. Much like Persona 4, Atlus’ Persona 3 differentiated itself from the crowded RPG genre with an emphasis on social simulation.

As is common in the series, a significant portion of the story puts players in a Japanese high school. For those who are new to the series, this time spent in school may initially seem like little more than a setup for the rest of the story, but it soon becomes clear that the relationships that players develop in school intertwine with the combat.

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