Cult Classics: PlayStation 2

"Look out for more PS2 Cult Classics in future, following a break for GDC." Well, we didn't say how long the break would be. Finally, then, we return to complete our mission: to dig out the quirkiest and least-publicised gems in the PlayStation 2's monstrous back catalogue. Today and tomorrow we'll complete our mammoth rundown following parts one, two and three, published in February, as we turn the EG Retro light back on at the spearhead of a minor revival. Backward and onward!

Yakuza

• Publisher: SEGA
• Developer: SEGA

We're hardly short of gangster epics, so it's always a shame when something that brings a spark of difference to the genre gets overlooked. So it was with this violent adventure, set in the Japanese underworld. The absence of vehicles and a focus on hand-to-hand combat probably made it seem less enticing to those expecting Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo, especially since the free-roaming elements were more Shenmue than Vice City, but for those willing to invest in its long-term levelling system the experience is narratively rich and packed with impressive set-pieces. The third game in the series is currently in development for PS3, but because Europe was so mean first time around it's only been confirmed for Japan and the US.

What we said: "Definitely more than the sum of its parts, and a rare case of a game getting there before Hollywood."

Ebay price guide: Less than a quid - yes, really!

Odin Sphere

• Publisher: Square Enix
• Developer: Vanillaware

An old-school scrolling beat-'em-up dressed up in an extravagant RPG bonnet, Odin Sphere sits alongside Okami as the sort of game that is both too different and too fancy to ever happily sit on European shelves. Forcing it to rub shoulders with Need For Speed and Generic Kid Movie Tie-In Part 4 would be like serving haute cuisine in Burger King. Of course, it's all very earnest and twee - the game unfolds as a series of five books being read by a little girl - but the art style should enchant anyone with a soul. Animated like a sort of 2D stop motion, it brings to mind the delicate intricacies of Asian shadow puppetry (if you're cultured) or Ivor the Engine (if you're me).

What we said: "Artistically Odin Sphere is one of the most marvellous videogames we've yet played."

Ebay price guide: Between GBP 15 and GBP 20

Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King

• Publisher: Square Enix
• Developer: Level 5

The Dragon Quest series is huge in Japan, even more successful than Final Fantasy, and yet it's never been anything more than a curious footnote in Europe. This is completely barmy, a bit like deciding never to watch a De Niro movie because Al Pacino exists. This eighth entry in the series makes our cultural dismissal of the series even more ludicrous. An absolute beast of a game, epic in scope and stunningly realised, with cel-shaded character designs from the bloke who invented Dragon Ball Z, it offers pretty much everything that makes Final Fantasy such a hit, but with the delightful whiff of freshness that comes from the unfamiliar. Seriously, even if you just consider yourself a casual RPG fan, you need to experience it.

What we said: "Elegant but simple, tired but fresh, grinding but impelling, derivative but engrossing, silly but serious, gentle but bitchy, easy going but tough-as-nails."

Ebay price guide: Around GBP 10

Gitaroo Man

• Publisher: KOEI
• Developer: iNiS

So there's this school-kid. He's called U-1. He gets picked on a lot, and the girl he fancies wants nothing to do with him. Until, that is, a talking dog reveals that U-1 is the last survivor of Planet Gitaroo and transforms him into Gitaroo Man, a guitar-wielding superhero. In this new guise, our hero then battles the evil Zowie and his minions by blasting hot riffs on his axe. Placed somewhere between PaRappa and Guitar Hero, this is one of those games that was probably ahead of its time. Using the analogue sticks to twang your sound is as intuitive and fun as it should be and, had it arrived today with a plastic peripheral, more people would have warmed to it. As it was, gamers in 2002 were clearly in no mood to seek out the precious few copies that reached Europe. Silly-billies.

What we said: "A genuinely impressive little title with something fresh to offer fans of this rather niche market."

Ebay price guide: Between GBP 5 and GBP 10

Global Defence Force

• Publisher: D3 Publisher
• Developer: Sandlot

EDF! EDF! Wait, GDF? What's going on? Those who quite rightly fell in love with Sandlot's gloriously lo-tech next-gen bug blaster on 360 should probably be aware that it was really just a shiny makeover of their PS2 series, popular in Japan but almost unheard of over here. Indeed, many fans still insist that it's the PS2 version you should pick up. The relentless mayhem against giant ants, spiders, robots and enormous monsters is pretty much the same, but you do get an extra character - Pale Wing - who can fly, and it's not as if you're playing the 360 version for the graphics. The truly dedicated may also want to track down Global Defence Force Tactics, a turn-based strategy game based on the series.

What we said: Not reviewed. And apologies for the 360 screenshot - we couldn't find a PS2 one!

Ebay price guide: Around GBP 10

Everybody's Golf 4

• Publisher: Sony
• Developer: Sony

Golf has endured because old men are always looking for an excuse to wear checked trousers, and because it's always fun to see how far you can wallop a ball. This simple pleasure has, of course, been sidelined over the years by a lot of silly waffle that makes the game seem more complicated and dull than it is. Everybody's Golf has long been swimming against this tide, and if you're one of those gamers who wishes golf games would feature less mind-boggling club statistics and more characters with funny-shaped heads, it's everything you hoped for. With the third game skipping Europe entirely, this fourth entry was the last on the PS2, and therefore represents the affordable halfway house between the glossy but expensive PS3 version and the sweet but clunky PSone original.

What we said: "One of those simple but endearing classic titles that will occupy a special place on your shelves for years to come."

Ebay price guide: Around GBP 10

Steambot Chronicles

• Publisher: 505 Games
• Developer: Irem

Even after changing the title from Bumpy Trot (as it was hilariously known in Japan), there still wasn't much interest from we sallow-faced Euro-snobs for this pioneering RPG sandbox effort. Piloting a stomping robot thing called a Trotmobile, the game offers a decent illusion of free choice, with multiple ways of approaching conversations and plenty of time to crash about the scenery finding your own amusement. A combination of unappealing visuals and tough real-time combat controls probably kept some interested parties at arms length when it came out for full price but, now you can pick it up cheap, it's well worth another try.

What we said: "Imaginative and enjoyable - all you can really ask for in a sandbox."

Ebay price guide: Around GBP 10

FantaVision

• Publisher: Sony
• Developer: Sony

Amidst the launch titles that heralded the arrival of the PS2, FantaVision certainly stands out as an unlikely flag-bearer for a new technology. At first glance it looks like one of those tech demos that they use to get developers excited about a new platform by banging on about real-time floating-point object-database manipulation, but to everyone else it just looks like pretty lights. Well, FantaVision does look a lot like pretty lights - it's a fireworks puzzle game. Or is it more like a shoot-'em-up? Whatever it is, you amass silly scores by detonating chains of fireworks in the sky. A bit like Boom Boom Rocket, you say? Not really, since FantaVision offers nuance and depth way beyond the usual rhythm action clichés.

What we said: Not reviewed

Ebay price guide: Less than GBP 5

Shadow Hearts

• Publisher: Midway
• Developer: Sacnoth

Do you like the idea of JRPGs, with their meaty storylines and immersive gameplay, but are put off by all those magical kingdoms, whimsical stories and precocious sword-wielding children? Then Shadow Hearts is where you should direct your curiosity. Set at the turn of the 19th century, and juggling some cheeky alternate history with the sort of gibbering horror that made HP Lovecraft famous, it's a darker and more moody take on the genre than many are used to. Some turned their noses up because it didn't use full 3D environments, others were put off by the novel (and actually very clever) Judgment Ring combat system. Most were probably just too dazzled by the bluster of Final Fantasy X, and failed to even notice this little cracker even existed.

What we said: Not reviewed

Ebay price guide: Less than GBP 10

Blood Will Tell

• Publisher: SEGA
• Developer: SEGA

It's common practice for videogames to send players scurrying from one place to another, collecting a set number of items that have been ruthlessly separated by the bad guys because they hold the secret to their defeat. In Blood Will Tell, one of SEGA's most obscure releases, you have an added urgency to your quest - the items you're collecting are 48 organs from your own body. Each piece you retrieve grants you some new ability, while your missing body parts are replaced with weapons. Based on a popular manga series, this odd-yet-engaging mash-up between Devil May Cry and Samurai Warriors is well worth a look for button-mashing enthusiasts. And amputee fetishists.

What we said: "If you like slashing and hording within intelligently structured worlds and have no problem sinking into the non-conformity of Japanese manga, then Blood Will Tell may well surprise you."

Ebay price guide: Less than GBP 5

Gregory Horror Show

• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom

This is one of the weirdest, most inventive games Capcom ever released, somehow managing to infuse its survival-horror template with the spirit of Grim Fandango. But like so many of these forgotten old gems, it's one that didn't quite make the cut. The general premise was to try and escape an old candle-lit hostelry, with Death himself offering you a way out of this crazy place if you can successfully extract the lost souls that each occupant is jealously guarding. Almost everything about the game was excellent, with a wonderful art style, fantastic dialogue and unique gameplay colliding with frequently heart-warming results. The problem, really, was some oblique puzzles, which resulted in lengthy trudges around spying on people and looking for clues - not to mention the frustration of being constantly chased. With a guide, however, this is excellent, so if you can find it, snap it up.

What we said: "A charming adventure that will have you beaming at its dementedness."

Ebay price guide: Less than GBP 10

Bombastic

• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom

If there was an overall Cult Classics award, Capcom would scoop it - but Bombastic is undoubtedly one of the most obscure, again. It doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. This sequel to the equally-overlooked PSone title Devil Dice is another fiendishly addictive puzzle game about blowing up dice. Obviously. Essentially several games in one, the main Quest mode involved moving a Tellytubbies-esque creature around an isometric play area, with the overall aim to position a die so that it set up chain reactions to blow up other dice in the vicinity. Although it looked like a cheap 16-bit game, it was surprisingly excellent once you got your head around it, with various endearing enemies spicing things up. Beyond the quest mode, there were plenty of interesting variations on the gameplay which we reckoned would keep you going for months, including slightly crazy multiplayer modes. Since Bombastic came out, we've all chilled out about simple retro visuals and embraced pick up and play gaming, so maybe this would make a perfect downloadable title, eh Capcom?

What we said: "One of those puzzle gems you'll treasure for years to come."

Ebay price guide: Around GBP 10

Shox

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Electronic Arts UK

We keep banging on about Shox. EA slipped it out under the radar with no promotion in the autumn of 2002, and it went the way of so many of its EA Sports BIG titles. But in terms of arcade racers on the PS2, it was up there with the very best of them, with great visuals and a slick, addictive premise that still feels fresh today. The basic idea was, and still is, totally bananas: each track has three Shox zones, and the goal is to get through them as quickly as possible. Getting the speed up to scoop, say, Gold, relies on a good approach, and if you can manage to get three gold medals in all three Shox zones, you triggered a screen warping shockwave which allowed you to scoop shedloads of cash into the bargain. It was mentally fast, frantic, and hugely addictive as all good arcade racing games should be - the mystery is why so few people were sold on it. We had a great time with it, and if you're into the kind of game that has you bug-eyed at 4.30am, then you could do a lot worse for a fiver. It's aged a fair bit now, obviously, but so have you.

What we said: "EA has pulled out a product of genuine quality that with a little more work in a few basic areas would have been a must have title."