ThePlaystation 2was released in 2000, and at the same time,animein North America had become even more popular. Iconic series likeSailor Moon,Pokemon, andDragon Ball Zpaved the way for more series to be officially licensed and brought over to the West. Lots of different series other than action-packed series become popular, and a lot of other media for different anime series became more widely available, like video games.
A lot of games for more popular media properties were officially brought over, but not all of them. Even series likeBleachandNeon Genesis Evangelionthat have a popular cult following, also have games that never left Japan.
10Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku No Serenade
Cowboy Bebopis a cult classic space-western animeknown for its catchy use of jazz and blues music. Only two official games have been made, and neither was never officially released outside of Japan.Cowboy Bebop: Tsuioku no Serenadeis an action beat-em-up PS2 game that features an original story.
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While searching for bounties on outlaws, the Bebop crew finds themselves in the middle of a search for space pirate treasure, in opposition to a mysterious organization, and a song called “Diamonds” that seems connected to it all. Players get to play as Faye, Jet, or Spike during the hand-to-hand and shooting parts of the game, and they get to pilot different spacecrafts.
9Meitantei Conan: Daiei Teikoku No Isan
Detective Conan, orCase Closedas it’s known in North America, is a series about a high school detective who gets turned into a kid by a crime syndicate that he was investigating. Hecontinues to solve crimesunder a new alias and then impersonates other characters to make it seem like they solved the case.
Several games in the series have been released, including the PS2 gameMeitantei Conan: Daiei Teikoku no Isa. It’s a 3D mystery game that includes puzzle-solving gameplay. Conan travels to England to solve a murder case and has to use all his detective skills, special gadgets, and smarts to uncover the mysteries surrounding him.
8Soul Eater: Battle Resonance
Based on the popular seriesSoul Eater, where warriors called “meisters” wield “demon weapons,” which are humans with the ability to transform into weapons.Soul Eater: Battle Resonanceis the only PS2 game for the series.
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It’s a 3D fighting game where players can take control of their favorite meister/demon weapon team and battle against the rest. Gamers will play through the first 24 episodes of the anime and experience the battles Maka, Soul and all the others went through firsthand.
7Blood+ One Night Kiss
Blood+ One Night Kissis sure to interest fans of both the anime andSUDA51, as the game was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and isreminiscent ofkiller7with its cel-shaded style.
Players get to explore the town of Shikishi as the main protagonist, Saya, as well as a character original to the game, a detective named Kou Aoyama. On their own, both fight Chiropterans as they try to figure out why they’ve shown up in town.
6Flame of Recca: Final Burning
Flame of Reccais a series about a boy named Recca who is obsessed with ninjas and claims to be one. He eventually discovers that he has the ability to control flames after meeting a girl named Yanagi who has healing powers, and also learns that he’s the son of the leader of the ninja clan called the Hokage.
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There have been two games made for the series, withFlame of Recca: Final Burningbeing the game made for the PS2. It follows the same storyline shown in the SODOM arc. It’s an adventure fighting game where players get to play from the perspective of the main characters from the series like Recca, Domon, and even Kurei.
5Bleach: Blade Battlers
The anime seriesBleachis more popular than ever, especially with the release ofBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, a sequel to the original anime. There have been several Bleach games that were officially released in North America, though there are a few that still remain as Japanese exclusives.
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Bleach: Blade Battlersis one of those games, a fighting game for the PS2. It has several game modes, including a Story Mode that has five original stories for Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Sado “Chad” and Uryu. There are 23 playable characters in the first game, and the second game,Blade Battlers 2,has 36.
4Busou Renkin: Welcome To Papillon Park
Buso Renkinis a supernatural/action series about a high schooler named Kazuki Muto. After saving a girl from a monster, he becomes the user of a Buso Renkin (an alchemistic device), which is used to destroy monsters called a homunculus. The series has one game on the PS2 calledBusou Renkin: Welcome to Papillon Park.
Thishack-and-slash gametakes place after the events of the anime. It has aDynasty Warriorstype of play style as players fight their way through hordes of enemies in different stages. At first, the only characters available are the two main characters and their Buso Renkin; Kazuki Muto and Tokiko Tsumura.
3Eyeshield 21: AmeFoot Yarouze! Ya! Ha!
There are a lot of different sports anime series, andEyeshield 21is the only one about American Football. The series follows Sena Kobayakawa, who becomes the running back for an American Football club. There have been several games released for the series,which were never released outside of Japan.
It has one PS2 game calledEyeshield 21: Amefoot Yarouze! Ya! Ha!, which is both a visual novel and a sports game. The gameplay is in 3D and players have to traverse through the field while avoiding players from the other team and pass the ball as they attempt to score.
2Neon Genesis Evangelion: Battle Orchestra
Despite how iconic and popular theNeon Genesis Evangelionseries is in the West, many of its games haven’t been translated into English. One such game isNeon Genesis Evangelion: Battle Orchestrafor the PS2.
It’s a platform fighting game that plays similarly toSuper Smash Bros, where up to four players can battle it out in Rumble Mode. Players can choose between the different Eva Units and Angels to play as, all of whom have two powerful special attacks.
1Evangelion: Jo
Evangelion: Jois another PS2 game that was only available in Japan. It follows the story of the movieEvangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Aloneand the original anime series. The game plays out the events that happened in the movie and the original anime through 3D cutscenes.
There are three different types of gameplay. In 3D battles, the player pilots Eva Unit 01 to fight off Angels. The second mode is Quick-Time events. Finally, in relationship building, the player can interact with different characters. There are several endings to the game, which are determined by Shinji’s relationship status with different characters.
