In light of the recent news indicating that the PS4 is able to natively emulate PS2 games with trophy support, we here at Middle of Nowhere Gaming thought we should share what games our staff members wanted most. 

Charlie Savidge, Associate Writer: Jak and Daxter Series

Apart from Jak and Daxter being my favorite video game series of all time, I feel these games hold up incredibly well. The art-style allows them to remain visually appealing, and the gameplay has always been stellar. It’s a series that more people should play, especially if you don’t understand the appeal of 3D platformers and what made so many games in this genre special. Even Jak X: Combat Racing was a surprisingly enjoyable racing game that deserves a playthrough. All of these games have frustrating sequences, but you always feel accomplished and rewarded for beating it. Between the games there is a plethora of differences and innovations in gameplay, so much that it started with a collect-a-thon styled 3D platforming series and ended with a racing game with a slew of deadly weapons and explosions. Jak and Daxter doesn’t just show how gaming has matured, but also how story and open worlds have become a larger component of gaming.

That being said some of the other games I want are the Sly Cooper games, NBA and NFL Street games, the Need for Speed games, and the Star Wars Battlefront games.

Chris Cobb, Associate Writer: Fatal Frame series

I’ve only recently been introduced to Fatal Frame, which is shocking. It seems to be a niche within an already niche genre, because although I consider myself well-versed in Survival Horror games, this one eluded me. Now that I’ve delved into them, I can honestly say this is a series that I want to bring with me on every new generation of consoles — and it should be made available for others to find as well.

Christian Glass, Associate Writer: Final Fantasy XII

I’m going to set aside the fact this was my first and favorite Final Fantasy, and speak from a place of logic. Final Fantasy XII is the only main installment in the series that you can’t play on a currently supported console. We’ve seen an influx of remasters and remakes with VII and X/X-2 (twice!). While it’s been rumored it will get the same treatment, and I’d love to see a full remaster, but if you’re telling me they’ll re-release it with trophies on a system that isn’t hooked up to a CRT in my rumpus room, I’ll call that a win. Logic aside, the battle system is incredibly intuitive and expects you to be involved, the 45 mark sidequests added both challenge and hours to the first RPG I ever beat 100%, and the game still looks gorgeous nearly a decade later.

Darius Purse: Onimusha 2: Samurai’s DestinyAs someone who never owned a PlayStation 2, I would like a chance to play something that hasn’t been remastered and is no longer a franchise that exists.  One highly regarded title that fits the bill for me is Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny.  The likelihood of Capcom ever resurrecting the series seems slim, so being able to experience one of the best games in the series is the next best thing.

Esteban Cuevas, Associate Editor: Twisted Metal: Black

The very first game I owned for the PlayStation 2 was Twisted Metal: Black and it’s still the best game on the platform. The dark tone of the game was unsettling, each character’s backstory disturbing, and the presentation disheartening. The action was hectic, challenging, and filled with various options to attack. Environments were destructible and could even lead to hidden areas where bonus weapons and even unlockable characters were. Even better is all of this ran at a smooth 60 frames per second and featured two player co-op and even four player deathmatch. I remember spending hours on this game as I went through each character’s campaign to see how their story would end. I was compelled to understand the motivations of each person competing in the tournament. Why they would go on a murdering spree so they could right something wrong they had done in the past. Whether it was Agent Stone who had accidentally killed innocents on the job or Bloody Mary who wanted to find her true love. I was hooked on this game for so long and it still has left a lasting impression on me.

Jesse Webster, Senior Writer: The Ratchet & Clank Series

Because we don’t know if we can also use the PlayStation 2 disks, it would be great if we can use the PS2 games we got from PSN when they were released for the PlayStation 3. This means I’ll have a few Shin Megami Tensei games, Psychonauts and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to play. If we can use disks, which is something I really hope for, then the BIG games would be the Ratchet and Clank series. I love the Ratchet and Clank games so having two of the best games in the series playable on PlayStation 4, while having the remake of the first one made for the PlayStation 4 would be fantastic to have. Other games include 007 Everything or Nothing and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005. There are tons of PlayStation 2 games I would love to revisit and play that I never got the chance.

Jordan Loeffler, Editor and Chief: Timesplitters 2

If Goldeneye 007 was my FPS drug on Nintendo 64 (and it was), then Timesplitters 2 was easily the one that threw me off of the wagon on PlayStation 2. Back when I regularly played my PS2, my library of games was almost embarrassing. If I saw a new game in-store, I had little reason not to pick it up and try it. I had never heard of the Timesplitters series before finding the sequel in my collection, but when I started running match after match of co-op/head-to-head shenanigans with my friends, I knew something was special. Not to mention, you can play the game as a monkey. A MONKEY! Oh, the joys of covering your friends with giant, glowing remote mines as they took a bathroom break!

Honorable mention goes to Socom II: U.S. Navy Seals for easily being my favorite foray into any game designed for online multiplayer. And before you ask, no I don’t want any of the other installments from the Socom series.

Riley Berry: Yakuza and Yakuza 2

I do not have any sort of nostalgic ties to the Yakuza games. I just really want to play the first two installments of the series as I enjoyed Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4 when I played them last year. Unfortunately, SEGA has notoriously ignored the West when it comes to these games, so these may be my only chance for a new experience in the franchise.