The Greatest One-Year Run In PS2 History

Konami may just be reentering the public sphere with hard-hitters like the Silent Hill 2 remake and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, but there was once a time when the publisher-developer was nigh unstoppable. Indeed, in the late 90s and early 2000s, Konami was a galvanizing force in the games industry, establishing bold trends and breaking new ground with innovative projects.

If one were to look at this era of Konami year by year, one would stand out as a clear exception. 2001 saw the release of three games that would come to define the PlayStation 2, and the games medium more broadly in unexpected ways. Looking at the long-lasting cultural impact of these releases, it’s hard to believe they all launched within the same year, but that’s just the level Konami was operating at back then.

• Metal Gear Solid 2 MetaCritic score: 96
• Metal Gear Solid 2 accolades and awards: Game Informer Game of the Year 2001, PSM Game of the Year 2001, Japan Game Awards Excellence Award 2001, Edge Innovation of the Year 2001

Hailed by many as the best entry in the Metal Gear series, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a landmark release for the gaming medium. It represented an almost unbelievable leap in power between the PS1 and the PS2, making the first Metal Gear, considered cutting-edge just a few years prior, look obsolete. Graphics and scope were far from the only way MGS2 innovated: its narrative was not only risky and experimental, but made biting sociopolitical commentary uncharacteristic of its era. It even correctly predicted many of modern society’s current problems, such as the spread of misinformation facilitated by the internet. These strengths were wrapped up in a cutting-edge stealth-action sandbox that still feels great to play, helping to immortalize Metal Gear in the annals of gaming history.

Silent Hill 2

• Silent Hill 2 MetaCritic score: 89
• Silent Hill 2 accolades and awards: IGN Editor’s Choice Award

Although it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as MGS2 upon release, many contemporary gamers would probably put Silent Hill 2 on a similar level as Kojima’s opus. Again, this game was a striking technological improvement compared to its PS1 predecessor, and its narrative, while not as cerebral as MGS2‘s, was remarkably arresting and uniquely upsetting. Even today, Silent Hill 2‘s story of love, lust, and guilt is remembered as impactful in ways that many video game stories fail to be. The narrative’s quality was underscored by last year’s Silent Hill 2 remake, which left the original’s plot and script virtually untouched despite major changes to every other design element.

Zone of the Enders

• Zone of Enders MetaCritic score: 78
• Zone of the Enders accolades and awards: Japan Game Awards Excellence Award 2003 (Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner)

Zone of the Enders is nowhere near as famous and genre-defining games like Metal Gear or Silent Hill, but it’s an undeniable cult classic, with yet another unexpectedly deep story—a theme that seems to define Konami’s 2001 output. Its compelling sci-fi plot about Earth’s fight against its Mars colonists is pulpy but compelling, with plenty to say about war, existentialism, and fate, lending the game a subtle edge. Zone of the Enders would later get a sequel that was even better received, nabbing the Excellence Award at the Japan Game Awards in 2003.

Looking back at Konami’s 2001 run, you can chalk some of it up to luck, but it reads more like the result of smart investing. More specifically, investment in talented creators and producers like Hideo Kojima, Masashi Tsuboyama, Noriaki Okamura, and Yoji Shinikawa. It’s bittersweet, as Konami has had quite a few rough years since 2001, and especially after its widely publicized split between it and Kojima in 2015. But after recent successes like Metal Gear Solid Delta and Silent Hill f, there’s hope that another 2001 could be in Konami’s future.