The PS2 Game That Takes The Longest To Beat

The PlayStation 2 was the most successful console Sony ever made, in terms of the number of actual units sold. More than that, it did better than any other console in gaming history, with Sony reportedly selling more than 155 million units worldwide. Of course, part of its success was due to massive hardware upgrades that occurred following the original PlayStation, featuring improved graphical capabilities and a sleek new DualShock controller. Still, another reason the console was so popular was the incredible library of games on offer. 

The PS2 had dozens of blockbuster titles like "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," "Kingdom Hearts," "Final Fantasy 10," and "God of War." Not only did players fall in love with the games, but the discs themselves wowed the industry. Developers began using DVDs instead of CDs, which supported a much higher capacity at 17GB rather than a CD's limit of only 700MB (via Geeks for Geeks). The new disc technology allowed for longer titles with more content. 

With a significant hurdle removed, the RPG genre exploded, and dozens of RPG titles began taking advantage of the new media. Some games, like "Monster Hunter," were packed with side-quests and extra content that could last completionists hundreds of hours, while MMOs like "Final Fantasy 11" were arguably endless, but the PS2 game with the longest single-player campaign was "Persona 3 FES."

According to How Long To Beat, "Persona 3 FES" had the most extended playtime of any game on the PS2, with the main story averaging about 80 hours. Those who took their time completing every task could stretch the game to over 137 hours. These results were taken from a poll of 483 players and appear fairly consistent.

Those who have ever played a game in the "Persona" universe shouldn't be too surprised to hear that one of these titles had the longest campaign on the PS2. The combination of visual novel-style storytelling with turn-based fighting mechanics seems designed to allow players to whittle away the hours. This holds true in "Persona 3" as players join the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) and investigate a mysterious phenomenon known as the Dark Hour. The original edition of "Persona 3" was already a long game, but the comprehensive "FES" edition adds an epilogue titled "The Answer," which brings over 30 hours of additional content. Not only did this make the game longer, but it became a practice that Atlus would later repeat with titles like "Persona 4 Golden" and "Persona 5 Royal."