High poly? 😅 Personally, I felt a lot of developers, at least in Japan, were going for a cell-shaded look that demanded fewer resources while being super pretty. See Õkami and Dragon Quest VIII and Dark Cloud 2 and Auto Modellista to name a couple.

PS2-era Cel-shading is definitely its own distinct aesthetic. Not only the games you mentioned, but also Sly Cooper, Rogue Galaxy, Viewtiful Joe, Wild ARMS 3, XIII, etc etc. Those thick black borders and sharp polygon edges are very specific to that era of games.