I have been lately interested in picking up old games for the PS2 that seem to have a good following (since they have had at least one sequel)
For example, I just recently picked up Jak & Daxter and Devil May Cry
I am looking into Rachet & Clank among other games.

What do you guys think are some games (PS2 or other consoles even though I only care about PS2 ) that any collection must have?

My PS2 collection is around 40 right now, but I' d be happy with about 50, because there are 10 more that I think I need to pick up to make it a truly great collection. But anyway, here' s my thoughts on some PS2 (and Xbox) exclusives that are must-haves. I' ll also include some multi-platform games at the end, just in case. You didn' t list what games you already have, so I' ll just list all I can think of (and SHAME on you for getting DMC this late!):

PS2

Klonoa 2
Twisted Metal: Black
Ace Combat 4
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
ICO
Shadow of Destiny
Onimusha 2, 3
Silent Hill 3
Ratchet and Clank/R&C: Going Commando
Kingdom Hearts
Gran Turismo 3
Red Faction
Hot Shots Golf 3, Fore!
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness/La Pucelle Tactics/Phantom Brave
Suikoden III
Rez
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Amplitude
Gladius
Xenosaga
The Bouncer
Soul Reaver 2
Champions of Norrath
Jak and Daxter/Jak II
Rygar
Star Ocean: ' Til the End of Time
Sly Racoon 1, 2
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
SOCOM II
Legaia 2: Duel Saga
Frequency
Katamari Damacy
Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Xbox

Ninja Gaiden
MechAssault
Halo
Chronicles of Riddick
Unreal Championship
Top Spin
Project Gotham Racing 2
Crimson Skies
Deathrow
Rallisport Challenge 1, 2
Dead or Alive 3
Fable
Tenchu (forget the full name of this one)
Deus Ex: Invisible War

Multi

Grand Theft Auto 3/GTA: Vice City
Prince of Persia
Max Payne 2
Burnout 3
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2/NFS: Underground
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Splinter Cell/SC: Pandora Tomorrow
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
TimeSplitters 2
ESPN NFL 2k5/Madden 2005
Beyond Good and Evil
Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance I, II
Silent Hill 4
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X

That oughta keep you occupied. I have most of these, so if you have any questions, shoot.

I have 22 PS2 games as of yesterday but have played and traded others:
Here is what I own now:

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud 2
Def Jam Fight For NY
Devil May Cry
Disgaea
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Gladius
Hot Shots Golf Fore!
Jak & Daxter
Kingdom Hearts
Legaia 2: Dual Saga
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
NFL Street
Shadow Hearts
SSX 3
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
Tony Hawk 4
Unlimited Saga
Xenogears
Zone of the Enders: 2nd Runner

BUT from your list I have also played through:
Twisted metal black
onimusha 1 & 2
hot shots golf 3
Suikoden III
GTA3
Prince of Persia
Max Payne 2
NFS: Underground
Metal Gear Solid 2
and Beyond Good and Evil

I am looking into picking up the ratchet and clank and sly cooper series
I was always interested in the bouncer (was the first PS2 game I played which was when it first came out) but I don' t know about getting it or not

I liked The Bouncer a lot. The critics were extremely unfair when scoring it, IMO. I' m certainly proud to have it in my collection; some of the best character design and voice-acting EVER, IMO. There' s also good reason to play through it multiple times, as that' s the only way to obtain all the moves for a particular character, AND you get to see different parts of the story if you take control of a certain character at a certain time. It' s really one of my favorite games.

Whatever you don' t own or haven' t played from the lists I put up, I say look into. They' re all worth it, IMO.

Dammit fathoms, how could you forget Klonoa 2???????
Go stand in the corner! You' re being put on Time Out for that!

Dammit fathoms, how could you forget Klonoa 2???????
Go stand in the corner! You' re being put on Time Out for that!

But I didn' t forget it! See, it' s right up there at the top. See?

I...er......didn' t edit it or anything. I swear.

Damn! i just have 13 ps2 games

my picks:

tony hawk3,4 or underground - You' ll like it even if you' re not into skatin

metal gear solid 1,2 and 3 - great gameplay,great storyline wat more can i say?

grand theft auto 3,vice city,san andreas - trust me

Hmm You should get Clock Tower 3 it' s really cheap and it' s a good scare. It' s something quite different from any other game out there. A real Gem to your collection.

ORIGINAL: fathoms

I liked The Bouncer a lot. The critics were extremely unfair when scoring it, IMO. I' m certainly proud to have it in my collection; some of the best character design and voice-acting EVER, IMO. There' s also good reason to play through it multiple times, as that' s the only way to obtain all the moves for a particular character, AND you get to see different parts of the story if you take control of a certain character at a certain time. It' s really one of my favorite games.

Whatever you don' t own or haven' t played from the lists I put up, I say look into. They' re all worth it, IMO.

Ever since I first saw screens for the game I have wanted it. I saw my friend play through a decent chunk of it and I was very impressed. The graphics were awesome, and you are definately right in saying the character design and voice acting were incredible. I just moved into an apartment with some friends and now have access to three PS2s at all times. I gotta pick this game up!

The game was unfairly judged because:

A. It' s short. The game can easily be beat in about 4-5 hours, even shorter if you skip all the cut-scenes.

B. No interactivity of the environment (can' t pick up a trash can and hurl it at someone, for example).

As far as I' m concerned, both complaints are flippin' bogus. You know what it says right on the back of the box? " Play the Action Movie!" That is EXACTLY what you do...I don' t know how long the movies are in the critic' s world, but...whatever. And the gameplay is plenty deep enough with the MANY different moves per character; interactivity with the environment would be nothing more than a gimmick.

On top of all this, the story is awesome, the characters are awesome, and by playing it through multiple times and choosing to control different characters at key points in the story, you will SEE different parts of the story. Like I said, it' s still one of my favorites.

Looking at Fathoms quoted post above, I notice that he thinks the critics were " unfair" when they judged The Bouncer (a game which hardly any critic or reviewer enjoyed and does not have a sizable fanbase at all). But somehow the critics are fair when they rate a game highly that Fathoms likes or rates a game low that Fathoms dislikes? Seems to contradict the lessons taught to us in the past by Fathoms in which the majority of critics' opinions on a game clearly states the game' s overall value. Maybe now Fathoms can finally admit that critics and reviewers ONLY serve as a useful guide, not as an overall judge of a game' s merit.

Anyway, some of my PS2 " must haves" would be:

Downhill Damnation
Great BMX game that plays like a snowboard game, only 90 times better. Unfortunately it has a weird SCEA interface so you can' t just jump right into the game without going through some weird, non-intuitive menus. Once you learn the menus though, you' re set. Just don' t put the game on the shelf for a few months like I did and come back to it and have trouble getting into the game!

Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Not the end-all be-all of fighting games, but pretty deep and entertaining for a $20 title. If you don' t mind the shamed giant red " Greatest Hits" thing across the top of the box and the disc (which is punishment by Sony for not buying the game when it was at full price) then you' ll love this one!

Gradius V
You NEED this game. It offers a serious challenge. That' s right... it' s challenging, not hard. Just like I like it! The more you play, the further you' ll get, and you probably won' t break a controller doing it. This is how game difficulty should be designed.

I don' t think The Bouncer was anywhere near as bad as most reviewers made it out to be. As a first gen title problems are to be expected. The only area I kinda agreed with the reviewers in was that some of the cutscenes were a bit too frequent and longer than some of the levels themselves. In some of the early levels you' d fight for maybe 1 to 2 minutes and then watch a cutscene and repeat that process a few times. I haven' t played the game in ages since I last rented it but I remember things picked up significantly during the later levels. If I remember right, wasn' t there a level where you hid in a disguise and had to pass yourself off as one of the bad guys? I think that was my favorite part of the game.

I dug the main musical theme though, I bought the OST just for that one theme, lol..

These are the games i have at the moment

PS2:

GTA 3
Onimusha 3
Final Fantasy X
Medal of Honor:Rising Sun
Socom 2
Virtua Fighter 4
FIFA 2003
T3:rise of the machines
Midnight club 2
Primal

XBOX:

Ninja Gaiden
Full Spectrum Warrior
SWAT
Soul Calibur 2
Rainbow Six 3
Rainbow Six 3:Black Arrow
Project Gotham Racing
Tony Hawks Underground
NHL Rivals
LINKS
Cronicles of Riddick
Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell:pandora tomorrow
Criminson Skies
Halo
Burnout 3

Looking at Fathoms quoted post above, I notice that he thinks the critics were " unfair" when they judged The Bouncer (a game which hardly any critic or reviewer enjoyed and does not have a sizable fanbase at all). But somehow the critics are fair when they rate a game highly that Fathoms likes or rates a game low that Fathoms dislikes? Seems to contradict the lessons taught to us in the past by Fathoms in which the majority of critics' opinions on a game clearly states the game' s overall value. Maybe now Fathoms can finally admit that critics and reviewers ONLY serve as a useful guide, not as an overall judge of a game' s merit.

Hey Joe, I got a thought for you (and maybe someone could quote this in a reply, so he can see it):

Shut the fu** up and don' t ruin a perfectly fine thread. If you maybe read all the replies here, everyone AGREES with me. I know better than anyone that reviews can only be used as guidelines (at best), because I am one.

You know, for someone that has me blocked and wants nothing to do with me, you spend an AWFUL lot of time slamming me from afar, as if anyone gives a crap what you think in the first place. What a fu***** pansy-ass coward.

Jesus... calm down. Joe don' t make Fathoms go on another crazy outburst. They aren' t fun. Everybody just calm down.

LOL! I can' t read his posts unless someone quotes him. I have nothing to respond to at this time, so don' t worry.