When it comes to licensed based games, unless one is a real diehard fan, most gamers would say they stink. It has gotten better over the years when companies are given the proper time to actually develop something unique. Batman, for example, had notoriously some of the worst games ever made until Batman: Arkham Asylum changes perceptions.
All that aside, one of the worst generations for lazy licensed games was the PS2, and the anime sub-genre was especially disappointing. While the console produced plenty of awful titles that weren't worth the plastic they were printed on, some games were actually ok. Let’s remember those titles, one per series, in celebration of the PS2’s 20th anniversary. Maybe there will even be a surprise or two from Japan.
10 Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade
Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenade was released in 2005 and only in Japan. Unlike the previous Cowboy Bebop game which was essentially a space shooter on the PS1 that was also only available in Japan, Tsuioku no Serenade was more of an action-adventure brawler.
It stuck closer to its anime roots too. While this side story doesn’t have the lasting impact of the show, hungry fans will surely get a kick out of it. It’s not the best anime brawler around, but Tsuioku no Serenade does have its charms.
9 GioGio's Bizarre Adventure
GioGio's Bizarre Adventure released in 2002 and was based on the Golden Wind arc in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, which was not that old at the time of this game’s release. Golden Wind started with the manga in 1995 and ended in 1999.
As the anime adaptation just got done airing on Adult Swim, this is as good a time as any to look for this adaptation. Strangely, Capcom announced it was releasing it back then for North America but it quietly just never happened.
8 Bleach: Blade Battlers
Bleach: Blade Battlers released in 2006. Its release date might have been the reason why this fighting game and its sequel were never released outside of Japan.
Bleach was getting big in the West at the time, but perhaps not big enough to justify a release in the same year as the new console, aka the PS3. Bleach eventually did get some Western game adaptations on the PS3, Wii, and DS.
7 Gungrave
Getting outside of the Japanese only releases, Gungrave launched in 2002 in North America. Fans of Adult Swim at this time might be interested to know that the creator of Trigun, another classic anime from the lineup, worked on Gungrave.
Yasuhiro Nightow helped with the video game adaptation along with the anime tie-in. This shooter still looks good on the PS2 due to its art style, even if it is nothing special in terms of gameplay.
6 Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked
Samurai Champloo was the samurai spiritual sequel, of sorts, to Cowboy Bebop. This 2006 game adaptation of the anime had a lot of flair to it but nothing that helped circumvent some of its shortcomings.
There was an emphasis on beating foes to the beat and remixing maneuvers which tied back to the vibe of the anime. Notably, Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and even directed by Goichi Suda, aka Suda51.
5 Blood Will Tell
Blood Will Tell is based on Dororo, a manga by Osamu Tezuka, who is basically the grandfather of the medium and even of anime. Most probably know his most famous work Astro Boy.
This 2004 game was like a reboot, although it still kept the manga's idea of a samurai replacing body parts. Think of it like Inspector Gadget as if he were a Japanese samurai fighting demons.
4 Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse Of The Crimson Elixir
Fullmetal Alchemist was yet another anime hit on Adult Swim that inspired many games to cross over to the West. The PS2 received these two action RPGs from Square Enix, but not the third sequel, unfortunately.
2005's Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse Of The Crimson Elixir, the better of the two localized titles, retells the beginning of the anime while diving into an original story afterward. It’s a basic action RPG but the visuals and material made it better than most adaptations.
3 MS Saga: A New Dawn
It might be hard to tell from the title, but MS Saga: A New Dawn is a Gundam game. When it comes to this series, Japan has more games than it can count compared to the West. Most are action games, shooters, or fighters, but MS Saga bucked the trend by telling an original story based on the lore and opting to be a turn-based RPG.
MS Saga: A New Dawn does not come close to matching the top RPG exclusives on the PS2; however, this late entry in the console's lifecycle should still be remembered for at least trying something new for Gundam fans.
2 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z is another long-running anime series like Gundam with too many Japanese exclusives to name. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi was the start of this series finally getting good fighting game adaptations as of 2005.
Of the PS2 trilogy, this was regarded as the best one. It treated the source material with great care and was actually fun to play in fighting tournaments.
1 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja
Finally, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja was the start of another fighting empire in 2003. This was CyberConnect2‘s first Naruto game and like Dragon Ball Z, the developer treated the manga and anime with care.
The visuals were stunning at the time and it did make players feel like they were controlling powerful ninjas. Ultimate Ninja and its sequels released throughout this generation were crucial steps in the creation of an even better love letter to the franchise in the form of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm.