Over the course of its lifetime the PS3 released over three hundred digital versions of PS2 games to purchase on PSN. For $10 a pop, that was not a bad deal considering that many were, and still are, hard to find physically in any condition. It’s not as good as having backwards compatibility with physical games like the launch PS3 units or the continued support seen across Xbox consoles, but it was a start.
The PS4 continued these digital re-releases although there were only about fifty games added to its library. Some were even repeats. Across both platforms, which games have never been re-released in any form, in any territory, past their original launches?
10 Onimusha 3
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Onimusha series and Capcom has yet to show any signs of celebration for it. In 2019 they remastered the first game on a variety of platforms but there hasn’t been any words of more remasters coming. This means that the other three main games on PS2, along with the Super Smash Bros. clone. Blade Warriors, have remained untouched for years. Any of these would have been great to see again on PS3 or PS4.
9 SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs
The first three SOCOM games were a huge hits on the PS2. They were practically the poster children for multiplayer support using the PS2’s Network Adapter. The gimmick of using a headset in single-player to control one’s squad was also revolutionary at the time. The series burned bright fast, but by 2011, all that luster finally faded and there has not been a game or port since.
8 SSX Tricky
There was a single SSX game that got ported to PS3 digitally which was SSX on Tour. The caveat to that port was that it was exclusive to Europe’s PSN service.
SSX Tricky would have been great to see again just to hear Run-DMC’s song “It’s Tricky" blast once more down the slopes. If one wanted to hear that tune again in a different game, it was also used in the 2012 reboot, which is backwards compatible on Xbox One at least.
7 Star Wars Battlefront
There were a plethora of PS2 Star Wars games that released on both PS3 and PS4. However, in that sea of content there were two big omissions: both Star Wars Battlefront games. How could a poorly reviewed game like Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith come to PS3, but not either of those two classics. To Microsoft’s credit they did get both of these games to be backwards compatible on Xbox One.
6 Champions Of Norrath
Champions of Norrath and its sequel, Champions: Return to Arms, have not been seen since the PS2. They were action RPG spinoffs to EverQuest which played similarly to games like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Diablo II. They were Sony’s answer to the genre as exclusives and fans have been itching to either replay them on a modern console or to see a sequel. It’s hard to imagine what the hold up has been.
5 Castlevania: Curse Of Darkness
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence did make it to PS3 which was a better attempt at a 3D entry than the Nintendo 64 games. That PS2 game even got a sequel, this game, which would be a good game to re-release now. It didn’t come to PS3, or PS4, but the reason why it should come now to like PS5 is that it’s all about Hector. He’s one of the main characters in the Castlevania anime which would tie-in nicely you new and old fans wishing to see more.
4 Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne
This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of the Max Payne series. The first game came to PS3 and PS4, but not this sequel. It can still be bought on Steam so it’s not like the game is completely unplayable.
The anniversary is the summer so maybe it’s not too late to hope to see this game again on a PlayStation console. Now is as good a time as ever.
3 Def Jam Vendetta
This first game released on both the PS2 and GameCube in 2003. The sequel, Def Jam: Fight for NY, added the Xbox to the previous console lineup and launched just a year later. Re-releasing this today might be a licensing nightmare and one EA probably will not want to go through the hassle of. Not only is there tons of music to clear, likenesses to famous rappers might need approval too. It’s understandable then why both of these games were never re-released on PS3 or PS4 but it still hurts.
2 James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing
The James Bond series of games have also not been re-released probably due to licensing agreements too. The only one that has across other platforms is GoldenEye via the remake. Amongst the many PS2 contributions to the series, Everything or Nothing was the best reviewed of them all as it was its own thing. At the very least one can still enjoy the theme song by Mya.
1 Xenosaga
The trilogy of Xenosaga games remain trapped on PS2 as well as unfinished. This series had the lofty goal of continuing each game into the next and was planned for six episodes. While it did end, one could definitely feel the truncation of the story. Japan did get the first two games re-released but this was done via a remake collection on DS.
