As video games have become more expansive, they’ve also gotten longer. It’s not uncommon for major current-gen triple-A releases to boast an average playthrough time of 40 hours or more, and some games, such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, ask for more than double that just to complete the main quest. If you plan to take on side content, that runtime extends even further.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)
Medium (7)
Hard (10)
Start
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)Start
This wasn’t as common in the PS2 era. Games were simpler back then, and the available hardware (especially on consoles) couldn’t handle the massive amounts of content that modern systems can. However, there are still some PS2 games that take forever to complete, either because they’re loaded with side content, boast a huge narrative campaign, or feature gameplay systems that necessitate multiple attempts before you’re eventually successful.
These are not exclusively the longest PS2 games of all time. We’ve made a few omissions. For one, all these games must have been released in the West on the PS2 (sorry, Fate/stay night) and not just as localized ports on modern hardware.
Second, we’re only featuring the longest entry from any series mentioned, even if another game from that franchise could also rank here. That’s why you won’t see Persona 4 or Suikoden 5 on here. The reason for that is that most consistently lengthy series feature titles that are all lengthy for the same reasons, so covering them twice (or more) feels redundant.
8
Suikoden 3
Recruiting 108 Companions Takes Some Time
Average Completion Time: 69 Hours
As with every game in the series, Suikoden 3 asks you to spend lots of time recruiting companions. There are 108 of them in total, and only 48 of those join you as part of the main quest. The rest require some legwork on the game’s side content, which is guaranteed to extend your playthrough for at least another 15 hours.
That side content can involve anything from simply talking to an NPC who eventually becomes a companion, to paying a companion a large sum, to completing an entire questline. However, because you’ll be playing as three different main characters, each from one of the game’s three main factions — the Karaya Clan, the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force, and Zexen — not all of these companions are connected to the same narrative thread. This keeps things from getting too cluttered and also helps you keep track of who’s who in this sprawling JRPG.
7
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Spend Hours Tiger-Proofing The Fairway
Average Completion Time: 70 Hours
As with any sports game from EA, there’s not really a firm “ending” to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005. There are several modes you can mess around with, but they’re all designed to more or less go on forever. If we’re just talking about avoiding repeating content and seeing everything the game has to offer in terms of “completion,” you’re still in for a lengthy playthrough, but there is an end in sight.
Related
10 Best Golf Games Of All Time, Ranked
Golf has a grand history in the gaming industry, with the following ten titles being the best of the best.
First off, you have My Legend Pursuit, which acts as a “Story Mode.” You face off against a series of famous golfers, completing specific challenges so you can earn a shot at defeating that tour’s Legend. Then there’s the Hall of Legends, which features a room dedicated to your created golfer. Filling it requires winning every medal and trophy in the game with your character. Then there’s Tiger-Proofing, a course editor that encourages you to make each course more difficult. Legends you’ve defeated in My Pursuit can then challenge you on your own created courses. The latter mode is the one that can really stretch out your playthrough, as the course editor is robust and really only limited by your creativity.
6
Dragon Quest 8: Journey Of The Cursed King
The First 3D Dragon Quest Game Features A Massive World To Explore
Average Completion Time: 72 Hours
As is the case with virtually any mainline Dragon Quest entry, Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King is a lengthy JRPG even if you stick to the main story. The crit path for this game will still take about 60 hours to get through, and that’s if you ignore every bit of side content, which just seems like a waste, especially considering the main narrative is the least interesting thing about this game.
There are five main continents to explore in the world, and you could easily spend 25 hours on each one between dungeons, towns, and side quests. Thankfully, Dragon Quest 8 does a good job of keeping things fresh throughout, so that you’re rarely doing the same things on repeat and wearing yourself out. It makes a completionist run a lot more palatable, and a lot of the time you won’t even notice that you’re trying to do everything; you’ll just be interested in seeing what the game has in store for you next.
5
Disgaea: Hour Of Darkness
Brutally Challenging And With Loads Of Optional Content
Average Completion Time: 76 Hours
A striking blend of strategy and roleplaying that was uncommon in the West back in 2003, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness was released in a year loaded with excellent JRPGs, from Dark Cloud 2 to Xenosaga. Emerging from amongst that crowd, Hour of Darkness represented a degree of challenge that was very unwelcoming to genre newcomers, but felt like a cool drink of water to JRPG veterans. This alone contributes to its extended runtime, but there’s more to it than that.
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is designed to be a grind. There are a dozen ways to improve your character and abilities, from traditional leveling up to improving class ranks and weapon proficiency and learning new skills. This is coupled with a 40+ hour main story and at least that much side content along with it, which all makes for one beast of a playthrough.
4
Persona 3
The Life-Sim JRPG Titan Finds Its Groove
Average Completion Time: 90 Hours
There actually isn’t a ton of side content in Persona 3 overall — maybe 15 hours or so — but if you’re familiar with this series in any capacity, then its lengthy runtime still shouldn’t surprise you. The Persona games are an addictive blend of turn-based dungeon crawling and Japanese high school life-sim, and the focus you’ll have to apply to both aspects is what makes for a long campaign.
Related
The Case for Persona 6 to Be Shorter Than Persona 5
Persona 5 was a notoriously long game, even for the standards of the series, and Persona 6 should make the effort to be shorter and more concise.
It all moves at a brisk pace, though. During the day you’ll attend class, study for exams, chat with friends, and pursue romance options, building up social links as you go which eventually unlock new Personas. Once night falls and The Dark Hour arrives, you’ll venture into Tartarus and take on the specific dungeon your party is currently focused on. However, you can’t enter Tartarus every night, which stretches Persona 3’s story considerably, as it forces you to take breaks and do other activities rather than rushing through to the finish.
3
Final Fantasy 12
Return To Form
Average Completion Time: 92 Hours
It’s no surprise that a Final Fantasy game made its way onto this list, but it may surprise some which entry made the cut. While Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2 are certainly long games in their own right, they both pale in comparison to the juggernaut that is Final Fantasy 12. This game marked what many saw as a return to form for the series after the strange and flawed decision to make Final Fantasy 11 an MMO.
Boasting exceptional character depth and a monstrously-sized campaign, Final Fantasy 12 managed to restore faith in a franchise that some felt had strayed from what made it successful. However, it took some risks too, like being the first offline FF game to ditch turn-based combat. Mastering this system and conquering the main story is already a tall task, but there’s an absurd amount of side content here as well, from bounty hunting to secret unlockables. It was, at the time, one of the longest games in the franchise, and it absolutely earned that title. Best of all, Final Fantasy 12 still holds up, even when compared to recent series entries.
2
Monster Hunter
Built For Online Play, But Lengthy Either Way
Monster Hunter
Released
September 21, 2004
ESRB
Teen // Blood, Use of Alcohol, Violence
Average Completion Time: 99 Hours
The original Monster Hunter didn’t have quite the same formula that the more recent entries have perfected. The loop of “Start in hub town, select mission, go hunt monster, use its parts to craft upgrades, repeat” was largely still present, but it didn’t have the same focus on choosing a weapon type and honing your skill with it until you become a monster-hunting master.
Related
The 10 Best Monster Hunter Games, Ranked (2026 Edition)
Capcom’s Monster Hunter games are all worth playing to an extent, but the best ones are among the greatest RPGs of all time AND in 2026.
Instead, you follow a more traditional RPG progression that doesn’t quite mesh with Monster Hunter’s particular brand of gameplay. As such, the early missions can really drag, while later missions clearly designed for online play become virtually impossible without at least one co-op partner. In that sense, this is a game that creates a long runtime through both organic and artificial means. Doing absolutely everything — unlocking all weapons and gear, etc. — will take hundreds of hours, but even if you’re just trying to complete the majority of its missions, Monster Hunter will grind you down with dozens of repeat attempts and crushing mission design that is really only enjoyable if you have a buddy or two helping out.
1
Gran Turismo 4
Gotta Unlock ‘Em All
Average Completion Time: 113 Hours
Much like Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, Gran Turismo 4 doesn’t have a cut-and-dry “ending” to strive towards. Sure, you can complete all the game’s main objectives, but it won’t stop you from hopping into more races after that. In fact, it would be a strange way to play this game, when the goal is far more about honing your own skills and building a car collection than completing a series of missions.
Speaking of a car collection, there are more than 721 cars to unlock in Gran Turismo 4 from 80 manufacturers, and 51 tracks to race them on. That’s where the game’s true length comes from. If you’re hellbent on unlocking every single one of these cars, it’s going to take you some time. If you want the best time on every track, that requires more time. Because of this, Gran Turismo 4 is currently listed as the longest game on the PS2. Thankfully, it’s one of the console’s best games as well.
