Title - Sony Playstation 2
Alternative title(s) - N/A
The Playstation 2 came out in 2000 for both countries. Japan got it in the season of spring and North America got it in the season of fall. Originally, the system was supposed to be out in 9/9/99 with the Dreamcast, but Sony wanted to make sure that there weren't any problems with their system. Thus, Sega got a head start with their Dreamcast.
Remember how I graded the Playstation as a disc system for the Super Famicom? Well, I guess do that here as well, even though this is now a 128-bit system.
Fun - 9
Aside from the equipment problem, which I'll get to in a bit, well, yes, you can play your Playstation games here. That's part of the fun. What's also fun here is the continuation of various series. Wai!
Let's see. There's "Final Fantasy X". There's "Breath of Fire V". There are plenty of games here that are worth your while including "Dark Cloud", "Metal Gear Solid II", "Makai Senki Disgaea" and "Xenosaga". Maybe a Korean game will appear on this system (and I say this because even though it's a PC nation in terms of both sides, the one system the people there like the most is the Playstation).
I better do my usual routine of saying games that were never released outside of Japan. Well, there are games like "Tokimemo III" and "Girl's Side", "Para Para Paradise", "Metal Slug III", "Kanon", "Air", "Saikano", "Yumeria" and so forth. As always, I wonder why won't America get these games.
Life - 9
Get rid of that one equipment flaw I'll get into and you got a perfect score here. I guess that's all that I need to say here. So, I'll carry on.
Equipment - 9
I would have easily given the system a perfect score, but the system doesn't feel right. Yeah, you get a DVD player. Yeah, you get the ability to play you Playstation games here. So, what's wrong? They don't really work to their full potential and while you do relive the days of the Famicom in terms of fun, you're also reliving the days of the Famicom in terms of durability.
I know people will always complain that there are only two ports for the controls. Deal with it. Not many of their games are games where many people can play at the same time. Plus, I don't play with people a lot and adding on, it still feels like an old school system.
Well, at least you still get the feel from the Playstation. The controller is still the same. The loading times are okay. You also get to use various equipment, but most of them only applies to certain series. Just remember to take good care of it, okay?
If you want tips, one would be to take the disc out of the system if you're done playing the game. That way, the holder will have more life. There are more ways to take care of it. I won't explain each and every one of them.
Audio - 10
I won't go much into here. You can hear the voice acting well. You can hear the music. The sound effects were right on the dot. I don't see many problems here overall.
Art - 10
During its duel against the Dreamcast, the graphics of both systems really stood out. Now that it is in a war against the Gamecube and America's own X-Box, I hate to say this, but for the most part, most of the people are right that those two systems are more powerful here than the Play Station. Of course, graphics don't mean diddly in a system and besides, I'm grading the system on 2000 standards, not 2002 standards.
Overall - 6
Despite the fact that it only got nines and tens, how in the world could the system get a six overall? I didn't mention this earlier, but Sony is not into 2-D anymore. Japan's branch may be harsh on it, but at least it's not America's. I may love 2-D games more than 3-D ones, but that doesn't mean I hate 3-D games. So, because of this, I subtracted 3 points off the average score. One was lost because of the Japanese branch, who should actually be keeping 2-D games strong and two were lost because of the branch of Sega's that killed them, which rhymes with "Shamerican". To those who think that I'm a Sony fanatic, you better think twice now because I just took away three points and three points is a lot.
It may not have made such an impact as the Playstation and it may not be as durable as the other next generation systems, but it still is fun. I guess that's what matters. So, what are you waiting for? Get this system now if you haven't done so. Oh and before I forget, I want give a "Happy 10th birthday!" to Sony for being in the video game competition.
+
It carries the good parts of the Playstation and it's the only new system that still has the one important element: fun.
-
Aside from Sony's stand on 2-D games, the systems don't always work to their full potential.
Date of creation - 3/27/04
Last update - 8/11