Budget PS2 games - the good and the bad

[JazzFunk]

Recently, I've noticed a proliferation of cheapo Japanese-programmed budget games turning up in supermarkets and the '2 for ?15' sections of some high street shops. Trouble is, which ones are truly worth buying?

I got Yakuza Fury for a fiver this Saturday which is an interesting but basically pretty crappy brawler with RPG overtones, though it does have a 60hz mode. As it was a fiver, I didn't mind the loss and even though it was a bit toss, I'm glad more obscure stuff is being released.

There's lots more stuff out there like Splatter Master, Zombie Zone, Shogun's Blade, Castle of Shikigami, Assault Suits Valken, Zoo Puzzle etc.

Can anybody share their experiences of what to avoid/hidden gems etc.?

[Leon Retro]

I think these budget Japanese titles are a good thing. Gamestreet have released some nice shooters, and a few more are on the way, such as Raiden etc..

I don't have many budget games, but Gunbird and XII Stag are nice titles that I'm glad I bought!

[MikeRox]

Tokyo Road Race by Midas is actually Battle Gear 2, which is imo a damn fine drift racer. Seems to be about as close to Initial D as the PAL market will ever get. On the PS2 at least.

[JazzFunk]

I got Gunbird and XII Stag too - bargains. There's a few other pretty decent ones like Ultimate Mind Games, 1945 The Arcade Game (AKA Strikers 1945), Detonator. Even Boxing Champions is worth a punt. A lot of stuff is coming from 505 Gamestreet.

[Generic_Chaos]

I got Gunbird and XII Stag too - bargains. There's a few other pretty decent ones like Ultimate Mind Games, 1945 The Arcade Game (AKA Strikers 1945), Detonator.

Stay away from Strikers 1945 - it's terrible! I've heard good things about Detonator, but never played it. Castle of Shikigami II (AKA Shikigami No Shiro II) is a wonderful shmup and is a far better conversion than it's predecessor, released over here as Mobile Light Force 2.

As for Gunbird SE, best ?2.99 I've ever spent.

[fuse]

Ones I've personally enjoyed have all been mentioned before, but for the record: Castle Shikigami 2, Strikers 1945 and Gunbird SE have all been worthy purchases.

re: 505 Gamestreet

http://505gamestreet.com/products.htm?con=PS2

I knew they were planning on releasing Raiden 3, but Homura, Stella Deus and Magna Carta? I doubt these'll be straight to budget-prices, but regardless of that I'm v impressed with the work they're doing, getting all of these games to PAL territories...

Also from their list, if you see Bujingai on the cheap, that's well worth getting.

[muse hunter]

Stay away from Strikers 1945

it isn't bad for a tenner, but having no 60hz option really drags the game down. Look out for steel dragon EX which was the double sheinryu pack in japan, also Mr Mosquito which is a great laugh, strangest game i've ever played.

[Jusatsushi]

I love quirky games. There's a budget 505 Gamestreet game in Sainsbury's with some kinda 50 foot woman in a bikini, no idea what it is about mind... and another called Paparazzi (?).

Anyone played these?

[Strider]

A friend at work wants Castle of Shikigami and Gigawing generations, but isn't sure if they're both 60hertz

[muse hunter]

thats what annoys me about these budget releases is the way the majority of them are rebranded with some terrible new name and god awful coverart, why don't they just stick to the original? they must lose sales from gamers who would otherwise buy the game if they actually knew exactly what they were getting.

[EvilBoris]

This thread has just prompted me to search play.com for michigan and order it

[nightstalker100]

Most are 2d shooter that are great budget releases that can be found for 3 quid if you have the patience.

steel dragon ex
silpheed
xii stag
gunbird
strikers 1945
castle of shikigami 2
and soon to be added gigawing gen, homura, raiden 3 and sengoku aces

in the end its a great way for non importers to taste some great action at an affordable price and are the only titles that keep my ps2 in operation. Well that and tekken 5 and devil may cry

[muse hunter]

Most are 2d shooter that are great budget releases that can be found for 3 quid if you have the patience.

steel dragon ex
silpheed
xii stag
gunbird
strikers 1945
castle of shikigami 2
and soon to be added gigawing gen, homura, raiden 3 and sengoku aces

in the end its a great way for non importers to taste some great action at an affordable price and are the only titles that keep my ps2 in operation. Well that and tekken 5 and devil may cry

seriously? the sengoku aces pack is getting a pal release, cool, heres hoping they don't rebrand it, slap on a cgi rendered cover, and call it 'super samurai' or something similar. Its nice though that the huge ps2 market has left open some space for small publishers to release titles that would never see the light of day in pal land for other fromats.

Slipheed - thats aload of ****e, avoid

[nightstalker100]

seriously? the sengoku aces pack is getting a pal release, cool, heres hoping they don't rebrand it, slap on a cgi rendered cover, and call it 'super samurai' or something similar. Its nice though that the huge ps2 market has left open some space for small publishers to release titles that would never see the light of day in pal land for other fromats.

Slipheed - thats aload of ****e, avoid

Yes check out gamestreets webpage for release schedule.

As for silpheed, remember it can be had for chips so you can't really complain. Infact it seems all pal shooters on ps2 can be had for nothing, r type can be had for less than a fiver and even the sublime gradius v was 4.99 in gamestation recently. Cracking stuff.

Unlike gradius iii/iv which commands an undeserved higher price

[JazzFunk]

I love quirky games. There's a budget 505 Gamestreet game in Sainsbury's with some kinda 50 foot woman in a bikini, no idea what it is about mind... and another called Paparazzi (?).

Anyone played these?

I saw that Paparazzi game too. I though it might be a rebranded Polaroid Pete 'til I checked the back. There's a few more recent-ish things I've seen. 'Trigger Man' is one of them but it doesn't look Jap. I'm going to check out Wakefield tomorrow. 505 have got PS2 Harvest Moon out and I can see that going budget pretty quickly.