Console Game Poll vol. 4 - NOMINATE the best 6th Generation Console Games (1998–2013, includes PS2, GameCube, GBA and more!)

It's been about two and a half years since we crowned the greatest games of the last generation where we bothered counting "bits." Just because I gotta pick something, I picked the Wikipedia article as my reference for this.

Accepted consoles include, but are not necessarily limited to (make your case!):
Home consoles: Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nuon, Panasonic M2, XaviX, V.Smile
Handheld consoles: Bandai WonderSwan (incl. WonderSwan Color), Game Boy Advance (incl. SP, Micro, Game Boy Player), Nokia N-Gage (incl. N-Gage QD), Sega VMU, Pokemon Mini, GP32, Leapster, Tapwave Zodiac

This gen has a lot of cross-platform games. If a game is significantly different across platforms, be sure to let me know with your nomination. Re-releases are generally okay, follow your heart, if it doesn't feel like a this-gen game, don't vote for it.

The deadline for nominations will be long, to give people some time to brush up if they want. Let's pick, idk, September 4th 2023. Write-ins are allowed but you've got two months to nominate them, so do that!

A note: the WonderSwan was included in the last poll, perhaps accidentally, but nothing really charted. So I'm including it again in this one, and I expect the same will happen. Prove me wrong, Bandaiheads.

Previous results:
(Soon to be obselete) PS2-only poll
Third generation
Fourth generation
Fifth generation

time to go cross-post this all over ILG!

Some top of mind PS2 games to start --

Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy XII
Def Jam Fight For NY
Burnout 3: Takedown
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Suikoden III
Suikoden IV
Suikoden V
Katamari Damacy
Digital Devil Saga
Digital Devil Saga 2
Disaster Report
Raw Danger
Berwick Saga

Very few GC games because I haven't thought about it much (but I probably will soon):

Resident Evil 4
Super Mario Sunshine

Someone else can do Xbox games, I never really played one. I played some DC but my brain is tired so I'll try to do some of those later

GameCube:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door
Metroid Prime
Soulcalibur 2

PS2:
Tales of the Abyss

Xbox:
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

GBA:
Mother 3
Metroid: Zero Mission
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Wario Land 4

honestly i havent played enough good non-nintendo stuff from this gen to properly vote, i only had a GBA and a pc laptop during this era

PS2:
God of War
God of War II
Shadow of the Colossus

PS2/Xbox:
GTA San Andreas

Xbox:
Half-Life 2

honestly i havent played enough good non-nintendo stuff from this gen to properly vote

lots of people vote having not played half of the consoles, you're good!

most of these are multiplatform but arranged how i played them:

PS2:
Prince of Persia
Dragon Quest VIII
TimeSplitters 2
Deus Ex: The Conspiracy

GC:
James Bond 007: Nightfire
Beyond Good and Evil

XB:
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

PS2:
Bully

PS2/Xbox/GC:
Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance

PS2/GC:
Killer7
Viewtiful Joe
Resident Evil 4

PS2:
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Manhunt
Spider-Man 2
Guitar Hero 3
FIFA (any)
The Sims 2 (only sims co-op ever? Big win)
Simpsons Hit and Run
Devil May Cry 1-3
Destroy all Humans
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Persona 3 FES
Persona 4
Gran Turismo 4
Red Dead Revolver
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Tony Hawk’s Underground
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix
Rachet and Clank
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havock
Yakuza
Silent Hill 2
SOCOM US Navy Seals
We Love Katamari
War of the Monsters

GameCube:
Animal Crossing
Mario Superstar Baseball
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

GBA:
Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Astro Boy: Omega Factor

Someone else can nominate Pokémon gameas

Dreamcast:
Bangai-O
Illbleed
Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram
SGGG
Crazy Taxi
Rent-a-Hero
Shenmue
Shenmue II
Rez
Blue Stinger
Skies of Arcadia
Castle Shikigami 2
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Capcom vs SNK 2
Ikaruga
Gunbird 2
Mars Matrix
Border Down

PS2:
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
God Hand
Global Defence Force (EDF2)
Drakengard (Drag-on Dragoon)
Dodonpachi Daioujou
OutRun 2 SP
Gigantic Drive (R.A.D.)
Steambot Chronicles
Gradius V
Shinobi

Gamecube:
F-Zero GX
P.N.03

Xbox:
GunValkyrie
Metal Wolf Chaos

ps2:
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
We ♥ Katamari
Jak and Daxter
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Psychonauts

dreamcast:
SoulCalibur

gba:
Advance Wars
Metroid: Zero Mission
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (originally for GBA, but only came out on DS in north america)

gamecube:
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Baten Kaitos
Baten Kaitos Origins

oh to those who are wondering how they can play these games in the year of our games 2023:

pcsx2 (ps2) and dolphin (gc) are both extremely capable emulators on modern machines! and roms are easier to find than ever (who knows how long that'll last with everyone pressuring the internet archive? oh well, we'll see!)

and all of those handhelds have been trivially easy to emulate for a while, you can prob even do it on your phone (easy on android, from what ive heard a pain on the iphone)

i haven't looked into xbox tho. and DC i know is doable i just can't remember the name of the emu

GBA:
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

GameCube:
Mario Party 5

dunno how y'all feel about Mario Party but I think it really hit its stride on gamecube

kind of stopped console gaming at this point so have little else to add beyond Mother 3 being maybe the best game ever and also once I rented a Dreamcast and played a 4 player Spawn game with three friends that was a pretty good time

PS2:
Singstar (any)
EyeToy: Play

Dreamcast:
Jet Set Radio
Metropolis Street Racer
Chu Chu Rocket

Can't believe I can't think of more PS2 games, I've scoured a top 1000 list but I'm sure there must be ones I played that haven't been nominated yet.

PS2:
Okami

Not nominating Wipeout Fusion as it's hot garbage.

PS2: Tekken Tag Tournament

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (originally for GBA, but only came out on DS in north america)

as long as voters are voting for the gba version and not the ds version! i imagine it'll do well on the 7th gen poll in uhh 3 years from now

OutRun 2 SP

The DS version of Ace Attorney added an extra case to show off the DS's special features, and it was a mess. I think the game is better without it.

more multiplatform nominations:
Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights -- starring Tim Curry and Don Knotts
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
Shrek 2

rez nommed above for the dreamcast was ps2 too.

xp bullshit take, Rise from the Ashes is one of the best cases in the whole series

any complaints if i merge this with outrun 2006 coast 2 coast (which i was gonna nominate but somehow forgot)? i only played the latter but as i understand it the former is contained within the latter, mostly.

none, i picked 2SP just because it was ported by AM2 themselves

apparently xbox exclusive outrun2, coast2coast and japanese ps2 exclusive 2sp have minor gameplay differences but i'm fine with merging all 3 for simplicity

Gamecube:
Super Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball 2

PS2:
Dark Cloud
Dark Chronicle (DC2 in the US?)
Enter the Matrix
Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in the US)
Fatal Frame / Project Zero
Final Fantasy X-2
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Onimusha
Onimusha 3
Ratchet & Clank 3
Shadow of Memories (Shadow of Destiny in the US)
Soul Reaver 2 (technically the previous game was on the Dreamcast but it won't be beating its 38th place for the PS version in the previous poll)

Gamecube:
Metroid Prime 2
Pikmin
Pikmin 2
Resident Evil
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Obvious biases, but goddammit this was a good generation.

PS2:
Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

(also Xbox, also Gamecube)

Ps2: auto modellista

Maybe the best looking game ever made. Played like garbage tho

PS2:
SSX
SSX Tricky
SSX 3

Ps2: auto modellista

oooooh ive been meaning to try this! i thought it was only gc for some reason, and my gc emu isn't set up as i'd like it yet, but ps2 is so this pretty lookin game is my new "try it for an hour"

doing cursory research as i put together the list and it's crazy that soulcalibur was on dreamcast only, and then soulcalibur 2 was on everything except the dreamcast

nominations list, updated... maybe daily-ish

commenting is on if i missed any consoles!

i'm gonna have to go on a gba nominating spree soon because we've only got 10 so far and i KNOW there's more than that!!

PS2

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
Sly 2: Band of Thieves

added, and added GTA3 for good measure

minor corrections, sorry for not being detailed wrt availability when nominating:

- castle shikigami 2 is one of a handful titles to be released for all 4 6th gen home consoles
- rez, capcom vs snk 2, marvel vs capcom 2 are all dreamcast games originally
- half-life 2 was xbox exclusive
- ikaruga is also on gamecube
- killer7, re4 and viewtiful joe are not on xbox
- mgs2 had an xbox port i think?

nice thanks for the clarifications! some of those i just kinda did from memory before i was like "i should probably check the wiki for everything"

also i am putting HALO because ????it hasn't been nominated yet????

another glaring Xbox-only omission: Ninja Gaiden Black

it's crazy that soulcalibur was on dreamcast only, and then soulcalibur 2 was on everything except the dreamcast

not really because the dreamcast was the most powerful console at its launch and then by the time of soul calibur 2 the dreamcast had already been discontinued

oh wow totally forgot about Klonoa 2, that game was lush!

Ps2: auto modellista
oooooh ive been meaning to try this! i thought it was only gc for some reason, and my gc emu isn't set up as i'd like it yet, but ps2 is so this pretty lookin game is my new "try it for an hour"

― Ryan seaQuest (Will M.), Friday, 7 July 2023 2:49 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

This on a ps2 emulator with 4K upscaling? One of the most beautiful things on earth. But even on OG hardware just such a joy to look at. High recommend, let me know what you think!

ps2 emu yes, 4k upscaling no -- i think i only have it set to 3x or 4x for 1440p but yeah it is gorgeous! not often i just watch the post-game replays just to look at the graphics!

One Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast please!

soma GBA adds:

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Golden Sun
Metroid Fusion
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire
Tactics Ogre

a few old PS2 faves:

Espgaluda
Mushihimesama
Gitaroo Man

Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition
Ps2 and xbox

Dreamcast:
Puyo Puyo~n

DC, GBA, PS2, Xbox, GC:
Puyo Puyo Fever

PS2, Xbox:
Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance

PS2:
Super Dimension Fortress Macross
Tetsujin 28-gou
Twinkle Star Sprites: La Petite Princesse
Ibara
Bujingai
GunGrave
GunGrave: Overdose
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

i left the window for this open for so long that i almost forgot!

one more weekend to nominate stuff. surely there is more stuff y'all wanna put in here!

I've already nominated plenty of stuff firmly in the "interesting enough to obtain ROMs that will never be played due to lack of time/motivation/fan translation patch" territory but if the more the merrier here's another lot:

Armored Core 3: Silent Line - PS2
Cosmic Smash - Dreamcast
D2 - Dreamcast
Dynamite Deka 2 (Dynamite Cop) - Dreamcast
Outtrigger - Dreamcast
Power Stone - Dreamcast
Power Stone 2 - Dreamcast
Psyvariar 2 - Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox
Sakura Taisen 3 - Dreamcast
Sakura Taisen 4 - Dreamcast
Sakura Taisen 5 - PS2
Steel Battalion - Xbox
The House of the Dead 2 - Dreamcast
The Typing of the Dead - Dreamcast, PS2
Under Defeat - Dreamcast
Zombie Revenge - Dreamcast

Wave Race: Blue Storm (GC)
Star Wars Rebel Strike: Rogue Squadron III (GC)
1080 Avalanche (GC)
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (GC)
Donkey Konga (GC)
Doshin the Giant (GC)
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (GC, XB, GBA)
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (GC)
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GC)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (GC, XBX, PS2, PC, PSP)
Luigi's Mansion (GC)
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GC)
Mario Kart: Double Dash (GC)
Muppets Party Cruise (GC, PS2)
Pokémon Colosseum (GC)
Star Fox Adventures (GC)
Star Fox: Assault (GC)
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (GC, XBX, PC)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (GC, PS2, XBX)
Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
Wario World (GC)
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games! (GC)

(Couple of these appear to be nommed upthread eg Mario Sunshine by you Will, right at the top, but haven't made it into the gdoc list?)

Checking Dreamcast now, there are a few DC titles though which ports of PS1 games, I imagine those would be classed as 5th gen rather than 6th gen so I'm not going to include them here.

AeroWings (DC)
Dead or Alive 2 (DC, PS2)
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (DC, PS2)
Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves (DC)
Fur Fighters (DC, PC, PS2)
Giga Wing (DC)
Godzilla Generations (DC)
Guilty Gear X (DC, PS2, GBA, PC)
The House of the Dead 2 (DC)
Maken X (DC, PS2)
MDK2 (DC, PS2, PC)
Pen Pen TriIcelon (DC)
Phantasy Star Online (DC, XBX, GC, PC)
Quake III Arena (DC, PS2, PC)
Samba De Amigo (DC)
Seaman (DC)
Segagaga (DC)
Silent Scope (DC, PS2, GBA)
Space Channel 5 (DC, PS2, GBA)
Space Channel 5: Part 2 (DC, PS2)
Time Stalkers (DC)
Virtua Tennis (DC, GBA, PC)

thanks for pointing out sunshine missing!

ok it is prob a good time to close it -- once i am out of these endless meetings i'll set up the voting

Console Game Poll vol. 4 - VOTE/CAMPAIGN for best 6th generation console games (PS2, Gamecube, Dreamcast, etc.)! DEADLINE OCT 15

i count... 19 different ppl making posts in here? i hope we get at least 19 ballots! if you're lurking i want your ballot too. GIVE ME YOUR BALLOTS

Boxes and Cubes for Playing and Dreaming - Console Poll, vol. 4 - 6th Generation RESULTS