Need advice on PS2 purchase real quick!

[Klyde Chroma]

So I stopped by my local gamestop last night to gawk at the LE FF XIII-2 (they are nice enough to let me look at the games, before release) and someone came in and traded in a TON of PS2 RPG's... I immediately picked up growlanser as my copy has  seen better days, Magna Carta (wasn't the best but I traded it in and really wished I never had....) amongst a few others.... however I placed the entire dot hack series on hold (all 7 of them) and really don't know much about them. I also have on hold both Mana Khemia titles......

So my questions are A) Is dot hack worth picking up all 7 B) Is Mana Khemia within the same universe as the Atelier Series, a spinoff or a direct sequel (I have some catching up to do on the Atelier Series and didn't know whether I should entertain Khemia or not until I played Atelier 2 and 3)....



Additionally are there any other PS2 RPG's I should be aware not to pass up (kid traded in a ton more) excluding the following (as they are already in my collection):

-Odin Sphere
-All the Shin Megami Series
-All the wild arm series
-All the NIS titles
-Eternal Poison (terrible, terrible title...)
-All the Final Fantasies
-Xenosaga
-Breath of Fire DQ
-Growlanser Generation and Heritage of War

Thanks for the advice ahead of time! As I only have 48 hours or so for them to hold em for me before they go on the shelf, I need to make this decision fast!

[Ashtrot]

Suikoden series.

[cj_iwakura]

Put down Magna Carta. Slowly.

Now, turn and run. Never look back.

Also, look for Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land. One of the finest.

[Yggdrasil]

.hack//G.U. - Vol.1//REBIRTH
.hack//G.U. - Vol.2//REMINISCE

Everything that appears in those two reviews is what I know about the .hack games. I personally prefer the mangas, but that's me.

About the others, you can get Odin Sphere on PSN nowadays and Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is not for everyone but I'm pretty sure is one of the better RPGs on the PS2 if you give it a chance.

[VampiricDragon_]

I recommend dragon shadow spell


Now I know what you all might be thinking " vampiric, he will never find that in gamestop"

Well I say its one of the best rpgs in history so any chance I have to spread the word I will

[Prime Mover]

Suikoden series.

Wasn't on the list, unfortunately :(

Honestly, nothing there really screems "must have", unless you haven't played FFX/XII. Wild Arms 4 is a keeper. Never been a Shin Migami fan though (ducks).

[Annubis]

EDIT: I misread, yeah you can disregard NIS suggestions -_-

[Akanbe-]

I can't speak for the original .hack series, but the .GU ones are pretty good for an anime rpg.  Honestly - you'd probably love GU.  I could see you digging that bigtime.

DQ8. Dark Cloud 2 was pretty fun.

[Aeolus]

The first quadrilliogy is so padded with grinding they're pretty damn skipable. Maybe get the fourth game since all the cutscenes from the rest of the series is also on that disk. As for the GU games I'd say they're definitely better overall and have far better pacing; maybe start with one of them and see if you care enough about the plot to continue.

As for Mana Khemia it only sports a cameo by some ghost named Pamela and maybe a few other references but that's all I know or care to know about Mana Khemia.

[Klyde Chroma]

Thank you for all the help guys! My wording may have been misleading though.... I was looking for suggestion NOT on that list, since those are already titles I own...

excluding the following (as they are already in my collection):

-Odin Sphere
-All the Shin Megami Series
-All the wild arm series
-All the NIS titles
-Eternal Poison (terrible, terrible title...)
-All the Final Fantasies
-Xenosaga
-Breath of Fire DQ
-Growlanser Generation and Heritage of War

Thanks for the advice ahead of time! As I only have 48 hours or so for them to hold em for me before they go on the shelf, I need to make this decision fast!

So if that changes anyones answer please let me know....

And as for Suikoden... Great suggestion!!! Totally didn't get a chance to see if those were there... Thanks!!

[Bytor]

Tales of the Abyss
Rogue Galaxy
Radiata Stories
Dark Cloud


Probably not the most serious RPG's out there but I enjoyed those four games a lot.

[Farron]

Like some already said here, Dragon Quest 8 and Rogue Galaxy.
I have Rogue Galaxy but also haven't even started it but I hear besides the crappy story it's pretty good.

Tales of the Abyss. I played about 1/4 or 1/5 of the game after I got Vesperia. I didn't like it as much but of course it depends but it is syill pretty good.

Maybe Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter... I played part of it back when it was released and was having a bunch of fun, but then I found out that your power to turn into a dragon never replenishes, so I got pissed, dropped the game and never looked back, but hey if it's cheap you might enjoy it.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
While the story is 70% crap the gameplay itself is pretty good.

My god, I almost forgot, one of my PS2 favorites: Valkyrie Profile 2
Just get it and thank me later!

[VampiricDragon_]

namco x capcom

[Tomara]

B) Is Mana Khemia within the same universe as the Atelier Series, a spinoff or a direct sequel (I have some catching up to do on the Atelier Series and didn't know whether I should entertain Khemia or not until I played Atelier 2 and 3)....

Different universe, but the gameplay is pretty similar for the most part. Mana Khemia 2 is a sequel to the first one, but the connections are few and far between aside from a few minor characters that show up occasionally. I thought they were a ton of fun, but you need to be able to stomach a boatload of anime clichés if you plan on enjoying them to the fullest.

[VampiricDragon_]

mana khemia is technically an atelier game. Its just different

I believe they are officially games 9 and 10 in the atelier series