Joystiq [PlayStation]

In a year that we thought we'd see a Yakuza title hit the PS3, we instead got spun around and told that the two-year old Yakuza 2 was coming our way. It's not a bad thing, it's definitely a good thing for PS2 owners; however, it feels like it came a little too late. For readers of this site, the news of Yakuza 2 on a last gen system seems like something which should have stayed buried in the past -- especially since we report so regularly on the new titles like Kenzan! and Yakuza 3.

Despite this, the game released in September after only having been officially announced the month before. It was a rather surprise play from leftfield. Not too many had been keeping tabs on this Eastern Grand Theft Auto, but as any niche guilty pleasure, its clamoring fans no doubt have been appease by its release.

With the release of Yakuza 2, does it then mean there is still interest in bringing the newer PS3 games over? If so, then would we have to wait just as long for it to come? In any case, we've got Yakuza 2 to plow through and keep us busy until then.

Following after the Metal Gear Solid collection, Onimusha: the Essentials was the next compilation to come out this year. Capcom's action series has been long running on the PS2 and has graced the system from 2001 to 2006. It was about time that something like this would be released as Capcom had done something similar the year before with Resident Evil: The Essentials.

The budget release put together the trilogy of Onimusha: Warlords, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny and Onimusha 3: Demon Siege. It, however, lacks Dawn of Dreams and the fighting game, Blade Warriors. Just like the MGS collection, a pack like this suggests there's no more room for new games.

It was a great deal for those who hadn't picked it up before, but it's just even more evidence that we're seeing a decline in support for PS2.

Ah, it's the missing link between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. While it isn't really new, but a remake of the original GBA title, Re:Chain of Memories puts the old portable title in 3D for the first time. Initially, Re:Chain of Memories was released as additional content for Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ (which was never brought outside Japan) but was then taken to North America just this month as a standalone title.

The game itself gives some interesting insight into a lot of the characters from KH2 and makes the whole lore of Kingdom Hearts more cohesive. For the most part, a portable game in the series was a nice touch, but it was rather troublesome for those who didn't own a GBA. Purchasing another system just to have a complete story for one series seems rather impractical. The addition of this new game meant that KH fans didn't have to have anything but a PS2 to fully understand Sora and friend's story in its entirety.

Continuing from our Persona 3: FES write-up, there is one more Persona title making this list -- it's also one that is more deserving. Persona 4 was released earlier this year in Japan and localization efforts have been significantly sped up in time for a North American release this December. While Persona fans are probably still putting in another 200 hours into Persona 3: FES, someone really should tell them it's about time to put that one down and pick up P4.

Persona 4 is probably the most stylish title to have come out for the PS2 this year. The music is exquisite and everything about P4 is a step up from the previous title in the series. The menus and overall game design has improved and it's evident that the team has learned a lot from their previous efforts.

While we can't help but feel that this series has really grown in recent times, it makes us worry as everyone is moving away from last gen and making the shift. What then will happen to the Persona series? Can a relatively minor developer like Atlus move into the current gen arena as many of the traditional J-RPG companies have yet to release proper games for such a platform like the PS3. Whatever happens, we know the series can't last on the PS2 for much longer. As nearly everything else this year has shown, the PS2 is on its last lifeline. But hey, with games like P4 to herald in the end, we can say it's been a happy and fulfilled eight years.