Releasing an "old-looking" 2D Castlevania on the PlayStation seemed like a strange move to some in — even IGN's original review reads: "It looks like the same old 2D platform action as before. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is about as close to a perfect video game as you can get, one that is still being copied and iterated on by modern developers.
No one had ever seen anything quite like it when it launched on the original PlayStation in The dark, sci-fi storyline and incredibly of-the-times character design took a whimsical fantasy franchise, and brought it to an international audience in a way that neither Sony or Square could have possibly predicted. Long before we had the intricate sandbox of The Phantom Pain, and before the twisting plots of The Patriots or bloated diatribes on the complex political realities of war, the third entry in Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear series cardboard-box-crawled its way onto the PS1 and things were never the same again.
All of these exceptional elements, plus some truly unforgettable breaks in the fourth wall, combined to create a gaming experience that still holds up as one of the best to this day. In consideration of that, we wanted to give some shoutouts to the following games which are also quite excellent:. PaRappa the Rapper. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Crash Bandicoot 2. Final Fantasy VII.
Celebrating the power of the original PlayStation. YES NO. The Best Resident Evil Bosses. Was this article informative? In This Article. Parappa the Rapper is about a rapping dog named PaRappa and his friends. One strike really is enough to defeat an opponent if timed right. Characters can be wounded with certain hits, leaving them to hobble or crawl.
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is the perfect title for recreating arcade feels in the living room. Players choose one of four imaginary teams and car makes from four different countries before going for gold in different races.
As with titles such as Burnout and Need for Speed, new cars and upgrades are unlocked as players progress through the game. There are main cars to unlock in total, with a final car based on a certain famous dot-eating arcade character arriving as a bonus vehicle thereafter.
Where would I put them? Ridge Racer fans will already love the hi-octane corner taking and drifting past opponents, and PS1 fans in general should give this game a go. Find a JogCon and experience this game with total control. Spider-Man wall-crawls into the 33th spot in our list of the best PS1 games of all time! As a marvel nerd anyway, anything with Spider-Man is usually on my radar. But playing as Spidey for the first time with voice actors from the original cartoon series — well that just blew my mind!
Spideys out to clear his name after being mistaken for a criminal. Narration from the one and only Stan Lee, the opportunity to unlock comic book covers, swinging through cities; the Spider-Man video game has it all. Compared to Miles Morales, one of the best PS5 games , this much simpler adventure feels more like a comic book outing and less like a motion picture. Twisted Metal 2 takes the 32nd spot in our list.
And when I put it like that, it suddenly becomes one of the best games ever, right? Ruined husks of Moscow, New York, Holland, and other countries around the globe serve as proving grounds in this no-holds barred battle game. Like current deathmatch games such as Fortnite, the last plater standing is the winner.
Items and weapons are scattered around each of the battle arenas for players to collect. Nothing beats plowing over your mates in a tank…and I mean nothing! As a self-proclaimed sci-fi nerd, the Phantom Menace game was like a dream come true.
Wielding lightsabers on a federation ship, solving puzzles in Naboo, traversing the underwater Gungan city; it all happens in this epic playable version of the film.
Fighting with Lightsabers in 3D was the closest I could come to being a Jedi back in One of the best bits about this title is how in depth each of the levels are. Lucas Arts could well have made a simple Star Wars title, though they went to great efforts to add engaging NPC dialogue into the game and areas for players to explore. These explain what other characters may have been up to while other scenes were playing out.
Rest assured, this is a cleverly made and well thought out Star Wars game for the ultimate Jedi-wannabe. They should have renamed the console the PlaySquare!
As with the other games in the canon, it champions turn-based battles and RPG plotlines that George R. R Martin could only dream of conjuring up. Featuring an unknown world, a futuristic sorceress, romance, action, and gigantic monster, FFVIII is a stunning game for players to sink their teeth into.
It has everything that one might expect from a Final Fantasy game. Spyro games have a timeless feel to them that make them popular with gamers everywhere. Watch his colour as he indicates how much life Spyro has left. Bottled butterflies act a little like a bottled fairy in Zelda, giving Spyro an extra life. The enemies, buildings, and scenery are quintessentially Spyro.
Glide to hidden areas, ram bad guys, and get that perfect gem-collecting score on every level. Pilot all kinds of crafts from the Star Wars franchise including X-Wings as you take down Tie Interceptors in the heart of space. This game rules! Chase phantom ties and defend Rebels from obliteration at the hands of the Empire. Unsurprisingly, the game was huge commercial success. Besides the gameplay, the game score was phenomenal and, true to every Star Wars film, had us humming and whistling along in no time.
The controls are a little skittish at times, but the PS1 port is like watching a 4K video compared to the PC version. Parasite Eve roars into the 27th spot on this list of the best PS1 games of all time, accompanied by Bring Me The Horizon playing at full volume! Gameplay follows a similar pattern to Pokemon, albeit without the fluffy monsters and a load of burning bodies instead. Aya encounters battles at random while walking over certain areas and can dodge and attack in a turn-based system.
Check out how good the graphics look too. This game looks well ahead of its time and plays like a PS2 title. Still, playing the game again after completion brings a new mode with a new level filled with battles to test your wits against.
Xenogears takes the 26th spot on our list, adding to the ever growing number of Square titles compiled here. Players begin by exploring the world of Ignas, working alongside other characters and utilising information from NPCs to find, collect, and battle their way to victory. Turn-based battles are the name of the game in Xenogears. Gamers control Fei Fong Wong as he tries to remember who he is while teaming up with other interesting folk from different parts of the region.
Expect reincarnation, magic, upgradable skills, and every other desirable trait one might find in a Square game. Fans of Nintendo favourite F-Zero X will love the first game in our list. Wipeout has some incredible Star Wars inspired futuristic vehicles and is the second instalment of the series. This futuristic racer is faster and more dangerous than the original game.
The damage bar was introduced for the first time in this game. The graphics on this game are superb and the courses are well thought out and incredibly imaginative. The music really got you pumped up and added to the whole feel too. One of the only reasons that I used to agree to go bowling as a kid was so I could play Time Crisis in the arcade afterwards.
This game was the coolest, and when a port came out for the Playstation, I could finally give up bowling altogether. Standing behind the sofa with the GunCon Light Gun was amazing.
It felt like I was really in the action, except for the fact that I was in a house and not a cavern filled with gun-toting enemies.
The duck and reload element of Time Crisis is what made the Arcade game so exciting. That and the mega bosses you had to face up against too. The PS1 port is amazing and great fun to play with a friend. As the player, you make your way through various stages kicking bad-guy ass.
There are various objects to hide behind while you reload, and you have to tactically pick off the enemies one by one to move to the next stage. The arcade-style time limit is what keeps this game addictive and your nerves on edge. Time Crisis will never win an award for the best storyline in a game, but it is one of my favourite titles and a nostalgic one at that.
This next title in our list of the best PS1 games is one that many of you will remember. Big-eared wonder-kid Klonoa and his pal Huepaw are the stars of the show in side-scrolling platform game Klonoa: Door to Phantomile.
Does that make it 2. The whole game kind of reminds me of Goeman: Mystical Ninja. Maybe he and Klonoa could team up for a sequel! A lot of retro games tend to revolve around a dream world, but this game does it superbly without rehashing old ideas.
There are bosses to fight at the end of some stages, and the grunts throughout the game provide just the right level of difficulty. You can pick up and throw enemies as weapons or turn them into springboards to reach new areas. Still, once you get a hang of it, Door To Phantomile is a cracking game. Fans of Crash and Mario? Give this a go! If you need introducing to the Mega Man Legends , then you must have been living under a rock for most of your life!
Mega Man seems to flit between consoles more than I have hot dinners, making him a well-known gaming icon no matter where your gaming allegiances lie. Legends was later ported to the N64 as Mega Man 64 catchy title. The PS1 title went on to spawn two sequels. Mega Man Legends 2 looks better visually, but I prefer to play the game that kickstarted his PlayStation career.
The game is set in the year 80XX, whenever the hell that is. Humans have been replaced by fast-breeding cyborg imitations, and most of the planet is underwater. Mega Man has to deal with a host of antagonists during the course of the game. Pit your skils against the meddlesome Reaverbots, the fourty-one Servbots, and the Bonne pirate family.
The characters are a motley crew, but they helped to make the game an instant hit amongst fans of the blue boy-wonder. Did you know that Spielberg first created these games. From Final Fantasy 7 to Syphon Filter, the original PlayStation was a software goldmine that redefined an era of gaming.
No one could have predicted that the PlayStation would become a household name for decades to come. When the console first released in , it was a cutting edge technology that made use of CD-ROMs, which went against the grain of the extremely popular cartridge-based systems of the time.
Over the next six years the console--known now as the PSmade its mark on the industry and changed gaming forever. With a massive library of heralded games that pushed gaming into the third-dimension, the PS1 will always be remembered as a pivotal home console. Sony is now onto its fifth iteration of the PlayStation, and the company's debut console laid the foundation for PlayStation's rich history.
The original PlayStation had a treasure trove of memorable games, but we've whittled down its impressive library to the 20 best PS1 games listed in alphabetical order. No good could come from Simians on the loose, and in Ape Escape, it was your job to stop the monkey madness before it reached a boiling point.
Ape Escape is beloved for a number of reasons, from its truly bizarre humor to the endless pop culture references it threw players, but it's also fondly regarded as one of the first PlayStation games to make the recently introduced Dual Analog controller mandatory. For good reason as well, as feeling every shake and vibration of this manic monkey game only served to heighten the absurdity of those absurd apes.
Konami's Castlevania series had always been a solid collection of action games, but they had rarely made major waves in the industry. That all changed with Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, as this return to Dracula's castle was a landmark in game design. While it felt like every game under the sun was chasing the 3D craze that new console hardware allowed for, SOTN instead sunk its fangs into substance over style. That's not to say that the game wasn't stylish thanks to its smooth animation, Gothic influences, and hints of anime in the art department, but those positives played second fiddle to SOTN's RPG elements, non-linear exploration, and the part it played in establishing the metroidvania genre.
Taking a more-is-better approach, Naughty Dog's marsupial was back in action on the PlayStation with even more devious levels, challenging boss fights, and a brilliant 3D presentation. While it didn't diverge too much from the template set by the first game, Naughty Dog's first sequel felt like a more confident follow-up that knew exactly which risks to take while preserving the bonkers attitude of Crash and making the game one of the best-selling titles of all time on Sony's home console.
Even in a generation of gaming that saw multiple RPGs cement their status as classics on the PlayStation, Chrono Cross still felt like a cut above anything else available on the market. Released under the shadow of the monumentally influential Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross decided to forge a new path for itself instead of live up to the expectations of its predecessor.
The end result was a game that featured innovative combat, a sprawling story, dozens of memorable characters, and some of the best music of that video game era. A wildly different experience when compared to its SNES predecessor, Chrono Cross still earned respect for its bold choices and colorful storytelling. Provided that you could pass the ludicrously hard tutorial of this game, you'd be in for a treat when Driver handed you the wheel and a few streets to burn rubber on. Clearly inspired by classic s cinema, Driver was a perfect getaway vehicle from the humdrum reality of life with its exhilarating driving, selection of perfectly-paced missions, and the freedom to choose your own route as you outraced the fuzz across San Francisco, Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.
The PlayStation era of Final Fantasy is undeniably the golden age of the franchise which saw multiple hits in the mainline series and multiple spin-offs grace Sony's console. Tekken 3 features a total of twenty-three playable characters, including several new ones. It operates on the same core fighting system as previous installments in the series, but emphasizes 3D movement, with characters able to sidestep in or out of the background.
Characters fight AI fighters or one another in hand-to-hand combat with blocks, throws, escapes, and ground fighting. Fighters can also jump higher, recover quicker, escape tackles faster, and juggle more movements. New combo throws were also added. A minigame is included which pits players against various enemies in a side-scrolling environment.
Tekken 3 has often been cited as one of the best video games of all time with more than 8 million copies sold. It remains the fourth best-selling Playstation game and was met with universal acclaim from critics.
It was praised for its evolution from its predecessors including faster responsiveness, impressive 3D graphics, and more effective moves from new characters. Spyro: Year of the Dragon is one of the best PS1 games ever made and is great for all ages. This single-player platformer game was published by Sony in and is rated E for Everyone.
It is the third installment in the Spyro series, with new activities and more expansive locations added, and ultimately sold more than two million units in the US.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon follows Spyro, a dragon who must travel to the 37 Forgotten Worlds after magical dragon eggs are stolen by an evil sorceress. The eggs are earned by completing certain tasks or finishing levels, although some are hidden and must be found.
Portals are unlocked after other levels are completed. To proceed from hub to hub, five worlds must be completed, a particular number of eggs must be recovered, and a main boss must be defeated. In addition to collecting eggs, gems are obtained and often hidden in jars that can be smashed by Spyro in a variety of ways.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon was critically acclaimed for its expansion of the series, including new characters, better graphics, and more mini-games. It was also praised for the fact that it provides fun and enjoyment for players of all ages and skill levels. Though some criticized it for not making any significant changes to the formula of the series, others appreciated that it provided more of the same fun of its predecessors.
Tomb Raider is a stellar PS1 game worthy of all of the attention it has received over the years. This single-player action-adventure game was published by Eidos in and is rated T for Teen. Tomb Raider follows archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft who is hired by a businesswoman to find the Scion of Atlantis. Lara must fight enemies and solve puzzles to progress through levels split into multiple areas meant for exploration. The game is divided into Peru, Greece, Egypt, and the lost city of Atlantis.
The camera angle mainly shows Lara in the third-person, though players can adjust the angle to better explore environments. Tomb Raider was met with immediate praise for its then-revolutionary graphics, unique locations, tense atmosphere, and depth of control.
It also garnered attention for its blend of combat and puzzle-solving, appealing to a wider audience. This single-player and multiplayer extreme sports game was published by Activision in and is rated T for Teen. It is the second installment in the Tony Hawk series and is quite similar to its predecessor, though the graphics and gameplay were improved. Some skateboarders are real professionals and others are fictional characters.
Free-play mode allows players to skate without any objectives. Lastly, the multiplayer mode features several competitive games.
The game is set in a 3D environment with a soundtrack of punk and hip-hop music and a third-person point of view. Several critics praised it for pioneering the extreme sports game genre, while others complimented the graphics and game controls, amongst other technical elements.
If you like sports, skateboarding, and video games, this just might be the perfect game for you. Gran Turismo 2 is an excellent PS1 game that was beloved by both critics and players alike. This single-player and multiplayer racing game was published by Sony in and is rated E for Everyone. It is the sequel to Gran Turismo and was a critical and financial success, shipping a total of 9.
Gran Turismo 2 allows players to operate various automobiles while competing against AI drivers on race tracks. Nearly automobiles and 27 race tracks are available to race with and on, with rally tracks included as well. While the game is quite similar to its predecessor, the vehicle dynamics improved, the number of cars, tracks, and races expanded, and events can be completed separately without entering a whole tournament. Gran Turismo 2 was met with critical acclaim and received high scores on nearly every game review site.
It was praised for its ability to draw in all types of gamers, whether they had an interest in cars and racing or not. Several critics claimed it was the best racing game ever made and that it was a near-perfect sequel. Vagrant Story is a great PS1 game with so much to offer players. This single-player action role-playing game was published by Square in and is rated T for Teen. It was developed by the same team responsible for the Final Fantasy series, yet is unique with its action-adventure role-playing genre twists.
Vagrant Story is set in the fictional kingdom of Valendia and the ruins of Lea Monde. We follow Ashley Riot, an agent who travels to Lea Monde to investigate a link between a cult leader and a senior Parliament member.
We learn as the game progresses that Ashley was blamed for murdering the Parliament member, and the events leading up to the murder are also shown.
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