Almost everyone owned a PS2 – it’s the console that was played DVDs, and was cheaper than a DVD player at launch. That’s an irresistible bargain and helped the console become one of the best-selling game systems of all time. We all either owned one, or knew someone who did, and it had a huge library of games, many of them heralded as some of the greatest of all time.
But that’s not what this list is about. In this list you’ll find some truly odd games, as these aren’t good, but they are expensive. Whether it’s due to few copies being printed or very few being sold, these are the PS2 games that now cost far more than they ever did when they were new and in stores. Just scroll down below for our list of the most expensive PS2 games of all time.
Sengoku Anthology
Let’s start the list with a big one. SNK’s Sengoku series is hardly the team’s most popular franchise at this point, with almost everything but King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown seemingly put on the back burner, but for some reason, the trilogy of Sengoku games available on PS2 in the Sengoku Anthology is one of the rarest and most expensive games on the system. This is more true in PAL regions, where the game wasn’t released until near the end of 2009. By this point most players had moved onto Call of Duty on Xbox 360, so Sengoku Anthology ended up becoming one of the rarest games on the system, valued at $1,459 for a nice boxed copy.
Rule of Rose
Rule of Rose is a very interesting title. Though it was developed in Japan and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, the European and US branches had zero interest in publishing the title. This meant the unique survival horror game was instead handed off to Atlus USA and 505 Games for international release. As usual, these strange circumstances ended up making the game very rare, and you’ll be paying $630 for a good copy.
Kuon
Kuon is a very strange game, but has quickly become a collector’s item thanks to Dark Souls fans who wish to dig into the developer’s past. Yes, Kuon is an odd survival horror game developed by FromSoftware, the studio recently celebrated for launching Elden Ring, which needs no introduction. Kuon is a very different experience though, featuring spooky demons and an atmosphere to make Blightown blush. If you want a nice copy of Kuon in your collection, expect to pay $770. Damn.
Xenosaga 3
The Xenosaga series had some tough highs and lows, but that didn’t stop the series from being cult classics that fans are still begging for more from. Unfortunately, that’s unlikely to happen, but the spiritual successor in Xenoblade Chronicles more than makes up for it. Xenosaga is a deep JRPG series with big mechs, and Xenosaga 3 is the rarest of the bunch. If you have a like-new copy with that fancy lenticular cover, you can sell it for $325, easily. No cover? No problem, you can still net up to $270.
Michigan: Report from Hell
Weird PS2 games don’t get much weirder than a survival horror game set in America, never released in America, and made by a team that is odd by Japanese developer standards. Yes, Goichi “Suda51” Suda worked on Michigan: Report from Hell along with the rest of Grasshopper Manufacture, these days known for Killer7 and the No More Heroes series. Was it well received? No, not really. But it’s so odd it’s a collectible, and if you want a copy it’ll cost you $270.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
The third game in the Devil Summoner sub-series, this odd JRPG takes place during the Taisho era of Japan and even features historical characters like Grigori Rasputin. You know, Russia’s greatest love machine. That one. This is another fairly late PS2 release, not launching until late 2006 in the US, and 2007 in PAL regions. That’s what makes the PAL version of this game worth up to $200.
Blood Will Tell
The full title for this one is Blood Will Tell: Tezuka Osamu’s Dororo, based on Osamu Tezuka’s manga series Dororo. An odd release like this would usually get mixed to negative reviews, but critics were surprisingly kind to Blood Will Tell. It’s a small cult classic that fans of the manga will want, but none of that really explains why it costs $420 in the modern-day.
Haunting Ground
This was a Golden Era for Capcom. Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil 4, God Hand, and many more cult classics were launched by the studio during this time, but not all of them hit the way Capcom had hoped. Well, God Hand was one of those, but Haunting Ground flew under the radar more than most. A spiritual successor to the Clock Tower series, it’s another Capcom title that got hit with mixed reviews at launch and ended up almost entirely forgotten. Well, collectors haven’t forgotten, as they’re willing to pay $350 for a good copy.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was relatively well-received at launch and is often referred to as the best Silent Hill game released since the series’ infamous fall from grace. Shattered Memories in particular was a very late release, originally launching just for the Wii in North America in 2009, and then launching on PS2 in the same region just over a month later – other regions got a simultaneous release. Of course, that’s very late for a PS2 game, and that means PS2 copies are exceedingly rare, fetching up to $280 in online auctions.
.hack: Quarantine
The fourth game in the .hack series, .hack Quarantine attempts to wrap up the expansive story about the MMORPG within a single-player action game. This was basically Sword Art Online way before it was cool. The full collection of four games launched fairly quickly, within less than a year in NA. Inevitably, fewer copies were made of the final game, and therefore Quarantine can easily set you back $270. Brutal.
Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.
