In the early 2000s, as the video game industry continued to advance, various developers started releasing more and morelicensed games, to the point where licensed games were flooding the market during the 2000s. ThePlayStation 2 consolewas no exception to this.

Whenthe PlayStation 2was released in 2000, it went on to house a huge range of licensed games, including games based on television shows, movies, and animations. While some of these licensed games left a lot to be desired, plenty of them were amazing and incredibly memorable, remaining in the hearts and minds of gamers to this day.

We’re going to be diving into eight ofthe best-licensed games on PS2,so those looking to take a nostalgia trip know where to look to avoid disappointment.

A Magical Platformer

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

THE DEMENTORS ARE COMING… AND THIS TIME HARRY NEEDS HIS FRIENDS.•Play as Harry, Ron and Hermione•Fly Buckbeak•All-New Spells•Face the Dementors

The PlayStation 2 version ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabandid a great job of taking the elements that worked well in the previous movie tie-in games and improving on them while still maintaining what made them so beloved by kids everywhere.

In thePrisoner of Azkabangame, players can take on the roles of Ron and Hermione as well as Harry. All three characters have their own spells that they can learn, and players need to switch between them, as certain tasks require certain spells.

Graphics-wise,Prisoner of Azkabanis a big improvement, and its cartoonish art style suits the characters and the setting amazingly well. It might not be the perfect licensed game, butPrisoner of Azkabandoes everything a sequel should, making it one of thebestHarry Pottergamesfrom the ’00s.

Bloody Good Beat ‘Em Up

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds

A dreaded enemy from Buffy’s past has unleashed the ultimate incarnation of evil - The First. Now, Buffy and friends must unite with an unlikely ally to slay vampires, zombies, and other bloodthirsty hellions. Destroy the dark side, before Sunnydale is forever condemned to permanent darkness.Battle as Buffy, Willow, Xander. Spike, Faith, and Sid the DummyUnique weaponry and over 150 slayer moves and combinationsAuthentic Buffy universe with involvement from creator Joss Whedon and writers Christopher Golden and Tom SniegoskiMultiplayer fighting with over 20 good or evil characters for up to 4 players

Set during the fifth season of theBuffy the Vampire Slayertelevision series,Chaos Bleedsis a surprisingly excellent game with an engaging single-player story mode and various multiplayer modes as well.

Players switch between Buffy, Xander, Willow, Faith, Spike, and Sid the Dummy, all of whom have their own skill sets. Buffy uses her martial arts skills to karate chop bad guys, and Willow is weaker, but has the ability to use magic. There’s an impressive amount of weapons, combos, and fighting moves too, so there are plenty of ways to switch things up.

Chaos Bleedsis an incredibly fun licensed game that makes players feel like they are in the midst of aBuffyepisode. It’s a must forBuffyfans, but is also well-suited for fans of fighting games and beat ‘em ups, and for those who enjoy a bit of fantasy and supernatural horror.

A Fantastic Fantasy Fighter

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

LIVE THE MOVIE. BE THE HERO.LIVE THE EPIC ADVENTURE•Play as 9 characters including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sam, and Frodo•Battle through 15 highly-interactive levelsFORM YOUR FELLOWSHIP•Fight side-by-side in multiplayer co-op modeDEFEAT THE FORCES OF EVIL•Confront Shelob, The King of the Dead, The Witch King, Sauron’s Lieutenant, and moreMOVIE EXCLUSIVES•The only game with scenes and music from the films

The Return of the Kinggame beats out its predecessor,The Two Towers,as, much likePrisoner of Azkaban, it does everything that a good sequel should. Not only that, but it’s also an excellent licensed game in its own right. Though similar toThe Two Towers,Return of the Kingups the ante by offering more playable characters, more storylines, and more ways for players to interact with the environment. A cooperative mode for two players was also introduced for some levels.

The game, much likeThe Two Towers, was developed in collaboration with the team behind the iconic film series. Assets and references from the movies were used, which adds an extra layer of depth, and makes the game all the more enjoyable, particularly for hardcoreLord of the Ringsfans.

The hack-and-slash gameplay might not have been revolutionary and hadn’t been changed much from the previous game, but there is enough here to makeReturn of the Kingone of the best-licensed games for the PS2.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

TAKE NEW YORK FOR A SPIN.From random crime to global threat, the entire city is relying on you to save it.• Do anything Spider-Man can with breathtaking new moves and amazing combos.• Battle Doc Ock, bust street crimes or clash with classic villains.• Go anywhere. Interact with anyone and anything.• Web swing for the first time from street to rooftop across the entire city.• Featuring the voices of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Alfred Molina.

Much like theSpider-Mangames on the PlayStation 1, the PlayStation 2’sSpider-Man 2game is not only a great game, but it paved the way for other successful superhero games in the future, including the critically and commercially successfulMarvel’s Spider-Mangames from Insomniac.

The PS2 game includes Spidey’s trademark abilities, such as his web-swinging, wall-crawling, spider-sense, and combat skills. The combat was one of the more advanced features in comparison to the PS1 games, as players have to time attacks to get in hits and create impressive combos. Meanwhile, the open-world web-swinging mechanic paved the way for the mechanics of the modernSpider-Mantitles, acting as a blueprint for their success.

The game is split into chapters, all of which have their own objectives and upgrades that can be purchased.Upgrades are purchasedwith Hero Points, which can be earned by completing main missions and side quests. Side quests can involve anything from rescuing citizens around New York to delivering pizza.

Again, earning points by completing main and side missions is a mechanic utilized in the recentSpider-Mangames. The newer games have taken a lot of inspiration from the classicSpider-Mantitles, includingSpider-Man 2.It’s a great licensed game, but it’s also a game that modern superhero games have a lot to be thankful for.

A Robot Rumble With Plenty of Platforming

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom

Are you ready, kids? The cult classic is back, faithfully remade in spongetastic splendor! Play as SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy and show the evil Plankton that crime pays even less than Mr. Krabs. Want to save Bikini Bottom from lots of rampant robots with your mighty bubbles? Of course you do! Want to underpants bungee jump? Why wouldn’t you! Want to join forces in a brand new multiplayer mode? The battle is on!Play as SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy and use their unique sets of skills. Thwart Plankton’s evil plan to rule Bikini Bottom with his army of wacky robots. Meet countless characters from the beloved series.Faithful remake of one of the best SpongeBob games ever created. High-end visuals, modern resolutions and carefully polished gameplay. Brand new horde mode multiplayer for up to two players, online and offline. Restored content that was cut from the original game like the Robo Squidward boss fight and more.

There were lots ofSpongeBob SquarePantsgames released for the PlayStation 2, butBattle for Bikini Bottomwas one of the best, so much so that it received a remake in 2020 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

The game focuses on SpongeBob and his friends — Patrick and Sandy — facing off against Plankton and his army of robots. Players platform their way around Bikini Bottom to fight robots and collect items. This is a little generic for a platformer, but the unique and cartoony setting of Bikini Bottom and the colorful cast of characters make things much more interesting.

SpongeBobgamestend to have an element of zany fun to them, as is to be expected from a series where the protagonist is a sea sponge.Battle for Bikini Bottomcaptures this humor and fun design fantastically well, making it one of the bestSpongeBobPS2 games, as well as one of the best licensed PS2 games in general.

Peter Jackson’s King Kong

An amazing licensed game for the PS2 isKing Kong, based on Peter Jackson’s film of the same name.King Konginitially puts players in the shoes of Jack Driscoll, the scriptwriter who travels to Skull Island with Ann Darrow, Carl Denham, and the rest of the crew of the SSVenture.

The game takes on a first-person perspective when playing as Jack, though it remains cinematic in style by removing the HUD (it can be turned on if the player enables it in the settings). Guns are available, but most of the time, players have to find their own weapons and methods to survive, such as sharp sticks and fire. Later in the game, players take on the role of Kong himself, played from a third-person perspective. Kong will battle dinosaurs and other huge creatures from Skull Island that can’t be touched with Jack’s weapons.

With highly engaging gameplay that switches up styles, and cinematic moments that feel like players are well and truly part of the movie, as well as stellar performances from the film cast who reprise their roles,King Kongis not only one of the best PS2 licensed games, it’s also one of the best PS2 games, period.

The Warriors

Rockstar Games Presents The Warriors

New York, 1979. A battle on the streets. The armies of the night number 60,000 strong, and tonight they’re all after The Warriors - a street gang wrongly accused of killing a rival gang leader. The Warriors must make their way from one end of New York to their turf on the other side of the city. All that stands between The Warriors and their survival are 20 miles and thousands of street gang members. The army of gangs owns the streets and there’s no turning back, they must fight for their lives and learn the meaning of loyalty as danger and uncertainty emerge from the city night.

Rockstar Gamesare a household name in the gaming industry for their work on theGrand Theft Autofranchise, but there are other games under their belt that are equally impressive. One of their best games — other thanGTA —isThe Warriors, a PS2 game based on the film of the same name.

The Warriorsis mostly a fighting game with a focus on melee combat, but it also has survival elements, action and adventure elements, and even RPG elements, as players can level up their fitness skills and stamina by working out in the Warriors headquarters. Players can also choose to help citizens around Coney Island, and they can learn new abilities by doing so.

The game expands on the classic movie, beginning three months before the film. The characters and their designs are also accurate to their film counterparts, and the game overall is a faithful adaptation ofThe Warriorsfilm, but Rockstar also went above and beyond with the gameplay, design, controls, and narrative to create an engaging game that is a fantastic licensed title for the PS2.

The Simpsons Hit and Run

One of the games that modern fans most want a remake or remaster of isThe Simpsons: Hit & Run, and there is a good reason for this nostalgia. Inspired by theGTAseries,The Simpsons: Hit & Runholds a place in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world.

Hit & Runis mostly a driving game where players race to objectives, collect a certain amount of items in their car, or destroy other vehicles before they get to their destination. There are some on-foot missions and classicSimpsonsbuildings that players can enter — such as the Simpsons family home and Moe’s Tavern — but driving is the primary mechanic.

Players will play as Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, and Apu throughout the game, and each character has their own default car that they start the game with. Other cars can then be unlocked, either by purchasing them, playing certain missions, completing races, or finding them in the game world if they are a secret vehicle.

Hit & Runfeels like players are in a lengthySimpsonsepisode, thanks to writers from the show having a significant role in the game’s narrative, and the original cast reprising their roles. Fans ofThe Simpsonswill immediately recognize the humor of the show and understand the many references and in-jokes.

Along with developing a cult following,The Simpsons: Hit & Runwas a critical and commercial success. It’s undoubtedly the most iconic, and one of the absolute best licensed games for the PS2. Here’s hoping that one day it gets the remake that fans are desperately craving.