The 10 WEIRDEST PS2 Platformers
“Frogger: The Great Quest” (2001)
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You’ve heard of Frogger, right? You know, the pixelated green frog who must venture across dangerous traffic and moving lilypads alike in order to get to the other side? Well, what if I told you that Frogger had quite enough dodging traffic and river rapids and decided to become bipedal in order to go on a great quest to rescue a princess? That certainly sounds wacky to me. Frogger: The Great Quest tries really hard to be the next 3D mascot platformer but doesn’t quite nail the landing, mostly because of how cringy the whole experience feels as you hop around with Frogger, spitting at enemies, using your frog mouth thing to hover, and just generally doing quirky frog stuff while collecting coins, gems, and other treasures. Oh ya, and I guess also trying to rescue that princess I mentioned at the start of this entry. Good thing Frogger knows Frog Fu.
“Vexx” (2003)
If you’re looking for some rough and tumble, attitude-drenched goodness in your PS2 platformer games, then look no further than Vexx, a game that seems like it should be straight out of the 90s but is actually from 2003. This somewhat darker, nonlinear 3D action platforming game stars Vexx, a brooding chap who must stop the Shadowraiths from continuing to cause havoc and mayhem for the people of Astara and their ancient rifts. It’s up to Vexx to save the day with his arsenal of powerful and unique abilities and skills that can make quick work of the shadowy baddies in the game. Vexx took a different approach to 3D platforming with more open, exploratory levels filled with distinct areas and plenty of verticality. Where most platformers erred on the side of linearity, Vexx gave you more freedom in how you explore the nine realms while trying to collect the coveted wraithhearts.
“Whiplash” (2003)
Had the wonderfully wacky world of Whiplash been turned into a cartoon, it would have fit in nicely with the great pantheon of bizarre cartoons such as The Angry Beavers, Ren and Stimpy, Ah! Real Monsters, and the like. Perhaps, it’s the crazy animal duo of Redmond the rabbit and Spanx the weasel, perhaps it’s the madcap story and levels, or perhaps it’s even the off-the-wall platforming gameplay you can get into, but Whiplash is one looney game to be sure. Instead of playing as each character individually or independently, you are actually chained together, which leads to a lot of mayhem in each stage. As you explore the halls, offices, and laboratories of the clearly corrupt Genron corporation, Redmond and Spanx can rack up the combos with frenetic attacks, deal with ‘very much unsafe’ platforming conditions, and even smack and whack the environment to create quite the scientific kerfuffle.
“The Adventures of Cookie & Cream” (2000)
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I don’t know what’s weirder; the fact that this very early, hyper colorful PS2 platforming game is from renowned Soulsborne developer FromSoftware or that you can play the game with another person via one controller, with each player holding a side of said controller. I could just leave this entry at those two facts and the weirdness is there in spades, however, there’s a lot more to this frankly bizarre gaming creation. The Adventures of Cookie & Cream stars two adorable bunnies who just want to make it home to celebrate the Moon Festival, but before they get there, they are ambushed by a crazed rooster who tells them the moon is now missing…for reasons, I guess. Each stage sees you overcome obstacles and puzzles, utilize teamwork with the bunnies on either side of the stage, and perform lots of double-jumps, something the game really hammers home in the opening levels. Now…anyone up for some ice cream?
“Secret Agent Clank” (2009)
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While spinoffs of successful franchises are certainly not a new thing, I’m not particularly sure anyone was clamoring for a stealth-infused spinoff of Ratchet and Clank, one where you primarily just play as Clank himself, this time as a secret agent. This game started life on PSP but did eventually get ported to PS2. For the most part, Secret Agent Clank plays out like your traditional 3D action platformer, however, the spy-themed story is infused with stealth sections and mini games, and yes, even sections where you control Ratchet who is locked up in prison. The weirdness just exudes from this title as you see the tiny robot Clank don different disguises, take down massive baddies, and even partake in some casino games. It looks and feels like a cartoony James Bond experience and is quite the anomaly in the PS2 platformer genre.
“Dr. Muto” (2002)
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I feel like everyone at least knows someone who has played Dr. Muto, despite the game really never being a part of the regular platforming genre discourse from the early 2000s. For the uninitiated, Dr. Muto is a bonkers platforming adventure game all about science…okay, actually make that mad science. You, of course, play as Dr. Muto himself, a crazy scientist who wants to use his knowledge to create free energy for everyone on his home planet. And strangely, his home planet is called Midway. Yes, after the game’s publisher…Midway. That’s certainly odd to me. Unfortunately, he mistakenly destroyed his planet instead and must now rebuild it. On top of all of that weirdness, it’s the fact that Dr. Muto must explore various dystopian-like stages while transforming into all manner of animal-esque aberrations such as a gorilla, a mouse, and even a goofy fish. I guess it’s no surprise that this one ended up in cult classic territory.
“Ape Escape 2” (2002)
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Get your ape radar and monkey net ready since it’s time to catch us some adorable helmet-toting monkeys. Yep, that’s Ape Escape 2 for you. A downright bananas game, (see what I did there…) the follow up to the beloved Ape Escape sees Jimmy, Natalie, and the Professor working hard to send a bunch of pants to the monkeys in Monkey Park. Wow, that’s a sentence I never thought I would say in my life. However, things go awry when Jimmy mistakenly sends some monkey-controlling helmets instead. Now, the wacky team must venture to some frankly delightful and imaginative levels to wrangle up the monkeys so they don’t keep causing mischief and mayhem. The sheer variety in the gameplay here makes this one a real gem since you are constantly searching for monkeys, using your wide arsenal of tools, solving environmental puzzles, and even collecting some gotcha coins for some extra goodies back at the laboratory.
“Disney’s PK: Out of the Shadows” (2002)
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While a superhero platforming game isn’t all that weird, it’s the fact that this one, Disney’s PK: Out of the Shadows, is actually based on an Italian comic book series. In the game, you play as Donald Duck who happens to be working at a security tower, before he dozes off to sleep only to be greeted by a dream version of Daisy, Hewey, Dewey, and Luey who tell him he is too angry all the time. He dreams to be a superhero, and, well, he gets his wish via a glowing green AI. Alongside this, Earth is being attacked by some alien beings and Donald Duck, now as PK, must save the day, even if he doesn't know what he is doing. While most of the stages do kind of look the same, it’s pretty darn cool to see PK using his superhero powers and abilities to take out baddies, perform platforming feats, and rescue trapped scientists. It just hit me that a ton of the games on this list revolve around mad science of some kind. Hmmmm, interesting indeed.
“Stretch Panic” (2001)
Wow, I really don’t know how to easily convey just how bonkers Stretch Panic truly is. I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise given it was created by developer Treasure, of Gunstar Heroes, Mischief Makers, and McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure fame, to just name a few of their absurdly crazy games. Stretch Panic is really on a whole other level though as you play as Linda, a girl who must deal with a dozen of her sisters who are incredibly conceited and thus make her feel bad, not unlike Cinderella. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Linda, she befriends a demon-possessed scarf and also finds herself and her sisters in an otherworldly, fever dream dimension. While the game is light on actual platforming, it still feels and plays like a game in the genre, albeit with lots of scarf slapping of disproportionate human characters, stretching the environment to get around, and just generally being a quirky nuisance in hyper vibrant stages.
“Psychonauts” (2005)
I mean, come one, it’s Psychonauts, perhaps a game that is the epitome of weirdness and the poster child for bizarre PS2 platforming adventure games. If for some reason you haven’t heard of Psychonauts, you play as Raz, who heads off to a summer camp for the psychically gifted. In hoping to avoid his family’s circus, Raz thinks it best to pursue his dreams of actually becoming a fully-fledged Psychonaut one day. This game, created by Tim Shafer and Double Fine, heavily leans into the idea of psychic abilities, mind powers, and entering others’ consciousness, for better or for worse. The Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp area might be the most benign part of the game, as the rest of the experience sees Raz hopping into people's brains in order to solve their psychic conundrums which makes for some downright wacky levels. Honestly, it’s a lovely game that deserves your time and attention. Plus, its sequel is just as odd and just as fun to play and experience. Now, get out there and kick some astral projection!
