Sneak Peek at the Early 2000s

On 05/18/2024 at 12:53 PM by KnightDriver

I can't resist looking ahead to the games I'm going to try and play for my retro gaming in June. This will cover the years 2000-2005, which is the Xbox/PS2/GameCube/Dreamcast/GBA generation roughly speaking. This also becomes a sort of shopping list when I'm out at the game stores. I like to make some notes along the way too, so here is the greatest games of all time list from Metacritic, 1-16, for those years.

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - my choice would be either a PS2 or Xbox disc.
2. Metroid Prime - I still have this for Gamecube. Could play the remake too on Switch.
3. GTA III - Remastered on digital everywhere with Vice City and San Andreas.
4. Halo: Combat Evolved - I have the original and on Master Chief Collection.
5. NFL 2k1 - Dreamcast only title. Interesting. Do I want a Dreamcast again?
6. Half-Life 2 - I used to have the Xbox version and The Orange Box. Not sure I have either now.
7. Resident Evil 4 - Remake is available online for consoles.
8. Zelda Wind Waker - I still have it. I think the Wii-U HD version.
9. Metal Gear Solid 2 - Remaster is online for consoles.
10. GTA Double Pack - Redundant collection. I remember this was hot on Xbox back then.
11. Baldur's Gate II - Remaster is online for consoles.
12. GTA San Andreas - On consoles in a remaster collection.
13. GTA Vice City - Same as San Andreas, my favorite GTA game.
14. Zelda Collector's Edition - A now rare collection of Zelda I, II, Ocarina, and Majora's Mask.
15. Gran Turisom 3 - Only on PS2. Weird there hasn't been a collection or remaster.
16. Halo 2 - I don't have the original anymore but there's always MC Collection on Game Pass.

I go 16 titles because that's probably the max I could ever play in one month and only if I didn't like any of them that much. So it's pretty much overkill, but I'll be eliminating ones I don't get into and keeping the list for future retro runs in years to come.

What do you think? These the best for '00 to '05?

Cary Woodham

05/19/2024 at 08:01 AM

Early 2000s were full of ups and downs for me, but mostly ups. Really good games on some of my favorite consoles like the GameCube and PS2. Metroid Prime and Wind Waker on your list are great. Other GameCube favorites of mine include Animal Crossing, Smash Bros. Melee, Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, Luigi's Mansion, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, and so much more. PS2 had a lot of good ones, too, like Taiko Drum Master, Mr. Driller, Klonoa 2, Katamari Damacy, etc. Even the N64 and PSOne had a few good stragglers like Banjo-Tooie and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. And the GBA launched, too. So many great things on that.

KnightDriver

05/24/2024 at 01:02 PM

For me it was mainly Xbox because that's what my friend played, Halo and such, but it was in these years I was determined to get all three systems and sample exclusives to PS2 and NGC like Half-Life (PS2), and the Star Wars Rogue Squadron games on GameCube. These days I really cherish these systems in my collection. I play my GBA games on my DS lite these days for the better screen.

SanAndreas

05/23/2024 at 02:19 AM

My early 2000s shortlist:

Zelda: Wind Waker

Metroid Prime

RE4

Final Fantasy X

GTA Vice City

Virtua Fighter 4

Tales of Symphonia

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (this game is super-rare)

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Soul Calibur 2 (Gamecube version)

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

05/24/2024 at 01:07 PM

Oh man! I used to own Path of Radiance but sold it when it got valuable. It's unfortuneate, but when a game gets over $100, I just have to sell it. I found out today that I sold my copy of Paper Mario Thousand Year Door at just the right time just before the announcement of the remake. The price has come way down since then.

Great list btw.

05/24/2024 at 01:40 PM

I actually picked up the Paper Mario: TTYD remake. It's a lot of fun. It was a game that i missed in 2004 for... reasons, plus, I was really into Harvest Moon and Tales of Symphonia at the time.

05/24/2024 at 01:55 PM

I had Paper Mario TYD in my collection for years before I tried it. It was such a delight.

I think I had Tales of Symphonia too and sold that, darn it.

05/31/2024 at 12:34 PM

Tales of Symphonia is actually pretty reasonable priced on Gamecube. It's also available on every modern ecosystem. The Switch version was kind of rough at first but they've patched it up nicely.

The only thing is, the Gamecube version runs at 60 FPS where the modern versions run at 30 FPS. PC modders have tried for years to get it to run at 60 FPS but it doesn't work right.

PixlBit