Top 10 PS1 Titles

[Kain]

I know that sports titles don't get a lot of love as do some other titles as not everything is everyone's cup of tea. So i'm throwing some titles that i enjoyed a lot. THPS 2, Cool Boarders 3, WWF SmackDown 2. Ready To Rumble Boxing, Battle Arena Toshinden,  Ape Escape, Army Men. among many others just had a blast, top to bottom. I know it's a top 10 list so i just threw some games less likely to be on the list but some deserve the mention, if not great but fun.

[te72]

Well said Kain. The Cool Boarders and Battle Arena Toshinden series would have been on my list, if this were a top 30 or so haha. BAT is probably the game that convinced me, a former Genesis owner, to go with the PS1 over the Saturn.

 

Ape Escape was a lot of fun too... Anyone else remember Snake vs Monkey?

[kitsunebi]

-Vandal Hearts.

-Suikoden.

-Tail of the Sun.

-Metal Gear Solid.

-Final Fantasy 7. .

-Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

-Ridge Racer..

-Tekken... err... 2... no, 3. No wait, 2. NO! Tekken 3. Definitely Tekken 3.

-Tomba.

-Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo.

-Resident Evil.

-Doom.

-Need For Speed 3:

-Treasures of the Deep.

 

Sorry, but I have to comment on your list because you have Vandal Hearts at the top, and it was my #1 game as well (I realize you aren't listing them in any order, but I choose to think you listed it first for a reason )

 

Other than that, both our lists share Castlevania SOTN, Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil. 

 

Outside of GTA, I don't care for games where the primary activity is driving cars, so the racing games are a no go for me. 

 

And though I owned Tekken 2, I've never really cared much for fighting games. 

 

As for Doom, I've only ever played it on the PC, and it was never a favorite of mine, but that could be because I didn't play it until after it had already been surpassed by shooters with multi-level spaces and more interesting plots like Dark Forces.

 

Tail of the Sun and Treasures of the Deep were both on my radar back then but I don't think I ever saw them for sale.  I remember reading reviews that made them out to be so esoteric that it almost felt like they were daring me to enjoy them.  Which of course I was keen to try to do, only I never had the chance...

 

I own Suikoden, but like so many games I bought upon becoming a job-holding, paycheck-receiving "adult" in college, I never found the time to actually play it.  Never even removed the disc from the case, actually.

 

As for FFVII, I remember the hype building up to its launch and how it somehow actually lived up to the hype and was so awesome and cyber-punky and badass and the writing wasn't very good but it didn't matter because oh my god are you seeing these cut-scenes, they're freaking amazing and wow, four discs of gameplay - that'll sure give you your money's worth, but gee this whole materia system isn't all that interesting and hmm I just won my bajillionth random encounter by repeatedly pressing the x button, and good lord I'm still only on disc 2 this is gonna take forever and what the hell is up with this plot anyway is any of this supposed to be making sense and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......   Maybe one day I'll have the fortitude to force my way to the end so I can finally see "the sad part."  If only I didn't have to play through "the everything else part" to get there...

 

Super Puzzle Fighter is a game I wanted to buy but could never find.  It was a SF version of Tetris Attack for the SNES, so it wasn't exactly a new idea, but even a guy who doesn't like fighting games can admit that adding SF characters makes it cooler.  Even if they're all chibi and kawaii.  Alas, unable to find the game, I ended up getting the similar-in-gameplay Pokemon Puzzle League for the N64 instead.

 

Finally, TOMBA!,  the game so awesome the exclamation point is actually part of the title.  Excellent choice, even if it didn't make my list.  Tomba and Klonoa were the best 2D/2.5D platformers going outside of SOTN.  Which reminds me, I really need to download a copy of Tomba! 2 and see if it lives up to its predecessor.

 

 

 

[lepkeleh]

Couldn't have said it better myself. Now, inspired by such an off the wall choice, I feel like I can finally narrow down my list. Consider, some of these are deserving of a "best of" list as well, they were fantastic games, but about half of them, you may never have heard of, but they were MY favorites.

In no particular order:

-Vandal Hearts. I've mentioned it before on here, but as far as JRPG's go, it is brilliant in its brevity. It sticks to a path and narrative, and keeps you focused on it. Plus the game design is rather solid, like a game of chess in more ways than one. Unfortunately has yet to be released on digital platforms that I'm aware of, but definitely worth the buy if you want a ~20 hour example of a solid strategy game.

-Suikoden. It's an old story, but one that holds up quite well even in the modern age. Perhaps best to think of this one as the very best of the 16-bit RPG era, as far as polish goes. I've played through Suikoden at least half a dozen times, maybe more, and yet... it hasn't gotten old. Special mention for the music, every town has its own theme, every moment its mood, and they're all worth hearing. It is a relatively simple game, yet deep enough that even veterans of the genre will enjoy it. Plus, it led to Suikoden 2... both of which are available on PSN, so go pick them up.

-Tail of the Sun. Otherwise known as Wild Pure Simple Life, it is exactly that. You play as a caveman / cavewoman. What do cavemen do? They hunt and gather, explore, and procreate, to further ensure the survival of the tribe. Now, I'll be the first to admit, this game is ugly. It was an early 3d game, and it shows. Get past that though, and you'll find much to enjoy. In fact, I dare you to play this for an hour and say you found nothing to enjoy. The "goal" as far as gameplay is concerned, is to find mammoths and slaughter them for their tusks, so that your tribe can build a tower to reach the sun. Don't ask me why, caveman logic, I suppose. Unfortunately not on PSN that I am aware of.

-Metal Gear Solid. Most of you are familiar with this one, and with good reason. Let's look back at WHY we all love this game though... at the time, enemy AI was a simple thing, but MGS? The pursuit when you were spotted? Talk about being a hunted fox... the tension that created, the excitement, the thrill of fighting back only to see backup headed your way, it was great. That is, to say nothing of the goal of NOT being seen and the stress that arises from that. I think this is the first example of a slow paced game that has every bit of the excitement of the faster paced ones. Then, the characters, the voice acting, the music, the environments, the weapons, the plot twists... I'll say nothing to spoil it, but apart from Psycho Mantis, there was nothing really odd or impossibly unrealistic about the game. This... unfortunately got thrown out the window in the sequels, good as they were. The humor and education in the hours of codec conversations, this might have been the first game I played that fleshed out the characters to this much of an extent. It's a solid game, all around. Available on PSN.

-Final Fantasy 7. Another one on so many lists, and again, with good reason. It wasn't my first RPG (FF Adventure, FF Mystic Quest, Secret Of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden, and Vandal Hearts all came before), but at the time, this game was literally unlike anything else. For those that have forgotten, or never understood what all the hype was about, I HIGHLY recommend you read the LP on the Somethingawful archive by Elentor. I've played this game a LOT over the years, and Elentor's LP taught me things about it I never knew. To keep this short, FF7 was the first game that ever brought tears to my eyes. I had lost both my best friend and my grandma in the same year earlier in 1997, so there was some very close feelings about the theme of sudden loss in that game. Available on many digital platforms these days, and being remade as well.

-Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Not a PS1 exclusive, as most of the rest of the games on my list are, but a PS1 debut. I rented this one, and can't remember why. Perhaps it was the cover of issue # 2 of PSM, with its gorgeous artwork. Perhaps I remember the name from the NES days, I dunno. Whatever first got me to pick it up and play it for that first time... I'm grateful. Story? Almost non-existent. Atmosphere, music, gameplay, strategy, challenge, exploration, variety, and literally every other measure of a game? Fantastic. I never had an SNES, so I missed out on Super Metroid and the Castlevania games on there, so to me, SOTN is still the pinnacle of 2D gaming. Available on PSN and in the PSP game Dracula X Chronicles as an unlockable. Highly recommend it.

-Ridge Racer. Arguably, the later games (Rage, another one I forget the name of, R4) were better games for various reasons. This game was mind blowing in 1995 if you had not been to an arcade that had it. I lived in a small town until that summer in 95, so I may not have even played Cruisin' USA yet. RR was amazing for a home experience back then. The volume, the sense of speed (something you never had with racing games until then), the immersion and sense of space / distance (thank you massive polygons), the music, the precise control... all of it so good for an early PS1 game. Plus, you got to play a round of Galaxian while it loaded, that unlocked extra cars if you shot down all the alien ships? What about the time when you first discovered that you could pop the lid after the game loaded (oh yeah, no load times, sweeeeet...), and put in your own music discs? When you discovered that once you completed all the tracks, you got to play them all in reverse? Turns out (pun intended) that the tracks are very different backwards. Oh, and does anyone else remember the black Lamobrghini? I know, none of the cars were licensed, but we all know what it was meant to be. I very nearly beat that guy, ONCE. I made a very tiny error on one corner and that black monster of a car passed me on the very last stretch before the finish line. This was a race that required absolute perfection, or you lose. Yeah, there are some tough achievements and trophies in modern games, but let's face it, few would be as difficult as outrunning that black Lambo. Oh, and I still have my save file, all the way back from when I started it in 1995. Not sure if this is available digitally or not, but this is probably best left as a period game, as racing is one of those, like most other sports games, that get better with the latest version.

-Tekken... err... 2... no, 3. No wait, 2. NO! Tekken 3. Definitely Tekken 3. Hard to choose between those two... man. This is probably on a lot of lists, and understandably so. The control was spot on. The characters weren't all color swapped, minimally altered ninjas. The pre-rendered cut scenes and endings. The music (seriously, turn it up!). The impact of a solid blow. The accomplishment of executing a 10-hit combo in the heat of battle with a friend, hearing them mutter and scramble to counter to no avail... This is when multiplayer meant something, at least to me. Can't even begin to guess how many hundreds of matches I played with friends over the years. As far as polish goes on 3D fighting games, this one was among the very best. Pretty sure it's available on PSN, and if not, the series is still going and still good.

-Tomba. Never heard of it, you say? I'm not surprised, it's about a wild jungle boy with pink hair living life to the fullest until some evil pigs steal his grandpa's bracelet, his prized possession. Yeah, it's as silly as it sounds, but underneath it all, there is some VERY good gameplay, fun characters, a sense of progression and depth to the world you occupy. Exploration, puzzle solving, platforming, combat, new weapons and equipment, bosses to defeat... sound a bit like a Legend of Zelda game? Well, now that you mention it... the template may be similar, but the game is its very own. Made by a company called Whoopee Camp, whose only other game to date has been Tomba 2, it's a lesser known gem among a lot of other PS1 gems. Available on PSN, and I highly recommend it, fun for the whole family. Plus, it has a monkey named Charles in it. Say hi to Chuck for me.

-Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. I may be a puzzle addict. I love Sudoku, Tetris, Dr Mario, SPF2T, Critter Crunch, Bust a Move, pretty much anything that allows you to use your brain to make the best of a situation thrown at you. Now, I know there were some decent puzzle games of the 16-bit era, but nothing that was really an improvement on the groundwork that Dr Mario and Tetris laid out on the NES. Now when Puzzle Fighter came out (this was the only one, despite the "2" in the title, well played Capcom), it was a breath of fresh air. Here was a simplistic, easy to learn, difficult to master puzzle game, on a system that until this point, was pretty flush with 3D games and few 2D experiences to be had, fewer puzzle games still. It was flashy, it was in your face, it had chibi versions of our favorite Capcom fighting game stars. Yet, it was a very well polished challenge, worthy of Capcom's efforts to balance their fighting games, all that effort translated well into a puzzle game. Still holds up just fine, but there is an HD version that was released digitally a few years back on PSN and other platforms. Great party game...

-Resident Evil. I have to give my vote to the original, despite 2 and 3 being better games. The sequels built on what was started here (and what was started here was likely started by Sweet Home), but for pure freshness, despite the rotten smell of zombies and other nightmarish horrors, this was the one for me. Why, you ask? The gameplay was pretty awful, particularly the controls, the acting was sub par, and darn those fixed cameras, right? To be honest, none of that bothered me. The cameras, had they been any other way, the game would have not been able to look anywhere near as good as it did, due to hardware limitations. Consider how far graphics had come in just a short time. The year prior, we were playing Super FX chipped games, Virtua Racer, early PS1 games that had depth, but little in the way of pretty textures, that sort of thing. Now, we had an isolated mansion, a dark horror theme, monsters that you could often hear, but not see, no auto-aim (complicated by a lack of ammo), and very limited resources. The game turned us on our heads, where we were raised with a "kill everything" mentality from older games. Now, we had to be smart about when to fight, and when to run. Even some bosses could be ran from... To me though, this game was the first game that had such an immersive atmosphere. The music (creepy!) and sounds played the biggest role in that respect. Plus, the memory of a friend panicking at a certain early jump scare is a story that I will never forget. Available on PSN and on various other platforms, as well as a remade version that is still one of the prettiest games I've ever seen, 15 years later.

-Doom. What could the PS1 offer to a game that had already been on the market for 2 years? One very simple thing: monitor size. See, back in the early 90's, screens were small, bulky CRT things. A computer monitor was usually only in the 12-14" range when Doom was originally released on PC. Now I think my TV back in the 1995-96 era was either a 19" or 20" screen. That's ~130-150% the size of a typical monitor of the day. That one simple thing made Doom fresh all over again. Plus, the music was quite good, if I recall.

-Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit. It may not be a big deal now, but back then, cops in a video game? You know the thrill of getting chased in the GTA games? Yeah... that all started with NFS3, at least with 3D graphics anyway. The original GTA games weren't particularly thrilling (although they were fun), but the police chases that NFS3 managed to present were nothing short of exhilarating at the time.

-Treasures of the Deep. I don't remember this one all that well, but I do recall that exploring underwater worlds was a lot of fun at the time. One of those games that brought back a lot of what made Ecco the Dolphin a good experience. Consider this one a solid runner up, but probably best left as a period experience, I doubt it would hold up too well today.

Yeah, I know I went more than 10, but I had to leave off probably another 15 or 20 games to even get to this point... I tried, I promise!

Thanks for the great read

I also played Tekken 3 to death, it was the game that got me to buy the PlayStation at the time, every day me and my friends would play it. It was like everyone including their mother owned a PlayStation, I believe at the time here there wasn't a TV or new piece of expensive electronic sold that didn't include a free PlayStation with your purchase as part of promotions.

My fav character was Hwoarang

[te72]

 

Sorry, but I have to comment on your list because you have Vandal Hearts at the top, and it was my #1 game as well (I realize you aren't listing them in any order, but I choose to think you listed it first for a reason )

 

As for Doom, I've only ever played it on the PC, and it was never a favorite of mine, but that could be because I didn't play it until after it had already been surpassed by shooters with multi-level spaces and more interesting plots like Dark Forces.

 

Tail of the Sun and Treasures of the Deep were both on my radar back then but I don't think I ever saw them for sale.  I remember reading reviews that made them out to be so esoteric that it almost felt like they were daring me to enjoy them.  Which of course I was keen to try to do, only I never had the chance...

 

I own Suikoden, but like so many games I bought upon becoming a job-holding, paycheck-receiving "adult" in college, I never found the time to actually play it.  Never even removed the disc from the case, actually.

 

As for FFVII, I remember the hype building up to its launch and how it somehow actually lived up to the hype and was so awesome and cyber-punky and badass and the writing wasn't very good but it didn't matter because oh my god are you seeing these cut-scenes, they're freaking amazing and wow, four discs of gameplay - that'll sure give you your money's worth, but gee this whole materia system isn't all that interesting and hmm I just won my bajillionth random encounter by repeatedly pressing the x button, and good lord I'm still only on disc 2 this is gonna take forever and what the hell is up with this plot anyway is any of this supposed to be making sense and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......   Maybe one day I'll have the fortitude to force my way to the end so I can finally see "the sad part."  If only I didn't have to play through "the everything else part" to get there...

 

Super Puzzle Fighter is a game I wanted to buy but could never find.  It was a SF version of Tetris Attack for the SNES, so it wasn't exactly a new idea, but even a guy who doesn't like fighting games can admit that adding SF characters makes it cooler.  Even if they're all chibi and kawaii.  Alas, unable to find the game, I ended up getting the similar-in-gameplay Pokemon Puzzle League for the N64 instead.

 

Finally, TOMBA!,  the game so awesome the exclamation point is actually part of the title.  Excellent choice, even if it didn't make my list.  Tomba and Klonoa were the best 2D/2.5D platformers going outside of SOTN.  Which reminds me, I really need to download a copy of Tomba! 2 and see if it lives up to its predecessor.

 

Vandal Hearts was just the first thing that popped into my head when I started writing down a list of the first 10 that came to mind. I wanted to focus on less obvious games, the ones that had stories for ME in my personal life, but some games just surpass that self imposed mandate.

 

Your aversion to Doom could be similar to mine for shooters that came before COD4. Much as I wanted to play Half Life 2, the control in a post-COD4 world just wasn't something I could adapt to at the time. There really is no good reason that every game (particularly shooters) can't have every control custom mapped to whatever button you prefer...

 

You know, I would suggest you find both Tail of the Sun and Treasures of the Deep somehow, and give both at least an hour of your time, more if you enjoy them. I really don't know how well they would hold up for a first time player 20 years later.

 

As for Suikoden, I understand the paradox of the life of an adult gamer. As a kid, all the time, none of the money. As an adult, all the money, none of the time. It's a cruel reality, isn't it? Then again, we choose what we do with our time, as adults, even if free time is limited. I've learned to focus where I want to spend that time, which is a difficult thing sometimes. If you have a sealed copy of Suikoden, it might be worth a bit, at this point. Anyway, I'd be willing to paypal you the money to play the PSN version, if you like. It's worth playing...

 

FF7... Funny as it may sound to say this, I don't think playing it is the best approach for everybody. I genuinely believe that reading Elentor's LP would give you much of the experience, without all the fluff that comes with a 90's JRPG. Most of the random battles don't come up, and you get to watch a guy toy with the battle system when it comes to bosses. Although it is a long LP (it's a fairly long game), it's a lot quicker to read than to actually play. Seriously, read, say... the first five chapters of the LP, and decide from there. There are a little over 100 chapters, so that should give you an idea of the time investment. I have a bit of a short attention span, so reading the LP helped me make better sense of the story, due to its pacing.

 

Had no idea there was a Pokemon puzzle game similar in nature to Puzzle Fighter, that's cool! I didn't get an N64 until something like 1999, or whenever it was that Donkey Kong 64 came out, so I missed out on a lot of its library.

 

Tomba, obviously one of my favorites. I try to enlighten people to play it whenever I can. Have only briefly played the sequel, but intend to play it again one of these days. Also have Klonoa, but have yet to play it.

 

Thanks for the great read

I also played Tekken 3 to death, it was the game that got me to buy the PlayStation at the time, every day me and my friends would play it. It was like everyone including their mother owned a PlayStation, I believe at the time here there wasn't a TV or new piece of expensive electronic sold that didn't include a free PlayStation with your purchase as part of promotions.

My fav character was Hwoarang

Glad you enjoyed it. I figure these sorts of threads would be way more interesting with a little something beyond the basic list.

 

I remember some of the promotions that electronics stores had back in those days. The PS1 was quite the big deal back then, that's for sure. For what it's worth, I am pretty sure I only knew one kid who went the N64 only route. Most eventually had both, or only a PS1.

 

As for my favorites on Tekken 3, I was a huge fan of Gon. Still am, but who didn't love a tiny dinosaur with a devastating fart attack?    In seriousness, I had a lot of free time back then, so I got good with quite a few characters. Specifically, I could wreck just about anyone's day with Paul, Bryan, Hwoarang, King, Xaiyou, Jin, or Yoshimitsu. Was pretty solid with most any character though...

[kitsunebi]

Your aversion to Doom could be similar to mine for shooters that came before COD4. Much as I wanted to play Half Life 2, the control in a post-COD4 world just wasn't something I could adapt to at the time. There really is no good reason that every game (particularly shooters) can't have every control custom mapped to whatever button you prefer...

 

Oh I played through every level of Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, etc. (I went through a phase where I was determined to do a chronological playthrough of all 3D shooters, although I think I gave up somewhere in 1996 lol.)  But only sheer stubbornness can force a person to play hundreds of levels of Doom.  There are NO plot developments to hold your interest and every level is just an exercise in finding the key to move to the next one so you can do the same. I mentioned Dark Forces before because I feel it was the first 3D shooter that felt like you had an actual purpose for playing each level, and the more advanced engine made for more interesting maps.

 

 

Anyway, I'd be willing to paypal you the money to play the PSN version, if you like. It's worth playing...

 

LOL, no worries.  I left all my consoles behind when I moved to Japan in 2008 (save for my DS), so I don't play anything that isn't on my PC these days.  That said, cry no tears for me.  I've never encountered a PSX game that can't be emulated, so Suikoden is readily available to me if I ever find the time.

[te72]

Oh I played through every level of Doom, Doom II, Final Doom, etc. (I went through a phase where I was determined to do a chronological playthrough of all 3D shooters, although I think I gave up somewhere in 1996 lol.)  But only sheer stubbornness can force a person to play hundreds of levels of Doom.  There are NO plot developments to hold your interest and every level is just an exercise in finding the key to move to the next one so you can do the same. I mentioned Dark Forces before because I feel it was the first 3D shooter that felt like you had an actual purpose for playing each level, and the more advanced engine made for more interesting maps.

 

 

LOL, no worries.  I left all my consoles behind when I moved to Japan in 2008 (save for my DS), so I don't play anything that isn't on my PC these days.  That said, cry no tears for me.  I've never encountered a PSX game that can't be emulated, so Suikoden is readily available to me if I ever find the time.

I dunno what it is about Doom then. You're right, the plot is barely there, and what you do get is just silly. Must just be the satisfaction of overcoming the odds and gibbing imps left and right. Dark Forces was a great game at the time, but back then most Lucasarts games were pretty good. Quite a difficult game though, in that I seem to recall your goals weren't always entirely clear.

 

As for Suikoden, one would be able to play through it in about 20 hours if you avoid the grind. Maybe 30 for a first time player, give or take. No shame in using a walkthrough if you want the better ending.

[orthicviper]

Castlevania: SotN is over-rated! Way too easy game that made all the cool new armor, weapons and abilities you'd find no fun at all to use because you'd actually want to use weaker items so the game would be too easy instead of brain-dead easy.

[te72]

Castlevania: SotN is over-rated! Way too easy game that made all the cool new armor, weapons and abilities you'd find no fun at all to use because you'd actually want to use weaker items so the game would be too easy instead of brain-dead easy.

Considering how difficult prior games were in the series, I would say that SOTN has a better balanced difficulty. If it were as hard as the earlier games, I sincerely doubt it would be on so many "best of" lists... Plus, as you point out, there are numerous ways of making the game more difficult. Richter mode, axe knight mode, equipment restrictions, etc. I seem to recall there being an armor or item that prevented you from leveling up, but I could be mistaken, it has been quite some time since I last played it.

 

Here's a challenge for you, as I suspect you're up for the challenge: No save mode. Play through the whole game in one sitting. Want to make it even more difficult? Use no armor. That should provide a challenge for a player of your skill level.

[orthicviper]

nah man i remember playing that game using the name entry trick to reduce your stats, and not using the good items i'd find, and still found it too easy as i'd start leveling up but i made a bit of an effort to avoid attacking enemies so as not to level up. It was just too hard to make the game hard. :/

I heard Circle of the Moon on GBA was considered a bit too hard but I found the difficulty about perfect. I'm just around an average gamer's skill level I think I mean i can't beat gradius 3 or anything.

[te72]

Fair enough I suppose, but I still suspect you're a more skilled gamer than most if you had difficulty making SOTN a challenge. Could always attempt to attack NO normal enemies, treating the game like a drawn out boss rush, and only fight the bosses. Or use only your fists to attack. Plenty of ways to make things more difficult. Personally, I enjoy breaking games, figuring out the things that make the game system work and exploiting it for laughs. SOTN with two Crissaegram swords is an absolute riot, but like you point out, makes things a bit easy...

 

As for me, I figure my only skill in gaming that is worth mentioning is my habit of getting all golds on the license tests on Gran Turismo games. Even that skill tends to fall off once I get to the S-class tests though.

[kitsunebi]

Not everyone has to like the same games, but it isn't really fair to call something overrated just because it doesn't suit your own tastes. I can think of any number of "best games of all time" that do absolutely nothing for me, but I'm not gonna tell other people they're wrong for putting it on their lists.

It IS an interesting dilemma to have these days if you dislike easy games, though, as I feel nearly all popular games are much easier than the ones from a decade or two (or three) ago. That's why things like achievements came about - to give people something to do after finishing the easy main game.

[te72]

You know what I miss from the PS1 days? Cheats. They made the game infinitely more entertaining than a little notification of some arbitrary outcome. Yes, yes, I realize that the internet ruined gaming in that sense, but it really is an overall loss. I don't play video games to develop skills, I play them for entertainment. If I wanted skill or a challenge, I would go learn something. Literally anything that I can do with my hands is going to be more useful than any achievement that anyone has ever earned in a game.

[kitsunebi]

You know what I miss from the PS1 days? Cheats. They made the game infinitely more entertaining than a little notification of some arbitrary outcome. Yes, yes, I realize that the internet ruined gaming in that sense, but it really is an overall loss. I don't play video games to develop skills, I play them for entertainment. If I wanted skill or a challenge, I would go learn something. Literally anything that I can do with my hands is going to be more useful than any achievement that anyone has ever earned in a game.

 

I agree although I feel it started in the NES days (even if this is a PS1 thread).  There was definitely something exciting about learning of a new code for a game you owned, particularly if it was a game you'd gotten stuck on, unable to make further progress.  And though I never owned one myself, cheat devices like the Game Genie opened up even more possibilities to extend the life of a game that might have otherwise grown stale, so long as you didn't abuse it and just breeze your way through every game with invincibility turned on.

[te72]

Not gonna lie, there are plenty of games I had a lot of trouble with back in the day, simply because I never really figured out how they worked. That said, cheats enabled me to enjoy the worlds those games had to offer, without driving me crazy with constant deaths and game overs. Doom and Resident Evil are probably the two games I cheated on the most.

 

Worth noting, I learned a good deal about how hexadecimal coding works because of Game Shark. I've even considered getting "FFFF" or "65535" as a vanity license plate for my Supra.

 

You know another solid runner up that I forgot to mention? Jumping Flash. I can't tell you how many hours I played the demo for that game. Wanna talk about fresh experiences? Jumping Flash would probably hold up nicely today, especially with all these VR setups coming around or already on the market.

 

Another couple series that I think would do well on modern hardware? Cool Boarders (someone mentioned that one I do believe), and Jet Moto. Come on, Sony... you know you want to. I'll even bring the Doritos and Mountain Dew.

[daven000]

 1. Metal Gear Solid
 2. Final Fantasy VII
 3. Breath of Fire III
 4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
 4. Grandia
 5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
 6. Grand Theft Auto
 7. Omega Boost
 8. Tomb Raider
 9. Medal of Honor
10. Driver

RPGs totally dominated most of what I played on the PSX back in the day, so I'll rate those as well.

 1. Final Fantasy VII
 2. Breath of Fire III
 3. Grandia
 4. Chrono Cross
 5. Dragon Warrior VII
 6. Xenogears
 7. Wild Arms
 8. Alundra
 9. Jade Cocoon
10. Star Ocean: The Second Story

[Areala]

 

You know another solid runner up that I forgot to mention? Jumping Flash. I can't tell you how many hours I played the demo for that game. Wanna talk about fresh experiences? Jumping Flash would probably hold up nicely today, especially with all these VR setups coming around or already on the market.

 

The idea of playing Jumping Flash on a VR headset is simultaneously epic and nausea-inducing to me. Make this happen!

 

*huggles*

Areala

[KiwiArcader]

I didn't have much time for my PSX but a few games did get a thrashing including:

• Gran Turismo (the original version)
• Rollcage
• Raystorm
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo 
• Soul Blade
• Colony Wars

Additionally, the youngsters liked a couple of Mario wannabee titles:

• Spyro the Dragon
• Medieval 
• Army Men

[te72]

The idea of playing Jumping Flash on a VR headset is simultaneously epic and nausea-inducing to me. Make this happen!

 

*huggles*

Areala

Oh how I wish I could. Even staring at the TV when this game came out was almost enough to make you nauseous. Perhaps that is a good thing though, that it felt natural enough to elicit motion sickness...

 

 7. Omega Boost

 10. Driver

RPGs totally dominated most of what I played on the PSX back in the day, so I'll rate those as well.

 1. Final Fantasy VII

 2. Breath of Fire III

 3. Grandia

 4. Chrono Cross

 5. Dragon Warrior VII

 6. Xenogears

 7. Wild Arms

 8. Alundra

 9. Jade Cocoon

10. Star Ocean: The Second Story

Had to look up Omega Boost. Was not aware that it was made by Polyphony Digital... makes it from what I understand, to be the only non-racing game they made. Also, Driver was one heck of a game, the thrill of being involved in a heist with solid driving mechanics, I loved it. The follow up series, Stuntman, however, can go jump off a cliff. There's hard, then there's Dark Souls. Then, over in the corner, picking on Dark Souls for being such a softy, is Stuntman. I swear, most difficult game I've ever played that was legitimately fair at the same time.

 

As for your RPG list, very solid... played half of them, aware of the other half. I have Alundra, but never got around to playing it. It's 2d PS1, so I assume it holds up nicely?

 

 

I didn't have much time for my PSX but a few games did get a thrashing including:

• Gran Turismo (the original version)
• Rollcage
• Raystorm
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo 
• Soul Blade
• Colony Wars

Rollcage sounded familiar, but I had to look it up. Thought at first that it looked kinda like Wipeout... then I saw who developed it. Makes sense haha. I seem to recall playing it, I think my friend Bryon rented it once.

 

Kinda surprised that Colony Wars never made it past the PS1, there was some serious potential there, and they were well made games.

 

 

 

On a note of personal reflection, I realized the other day why the PS1 era means so much to me. Not just the games, but the TV of the time, the magazines, the music, the mid to late 90's culture in general... I know now why that time holds such a special place in my heart. I was dealing with some pretty serious depression back then. Moved 1000 miles from home, leaving all my friends and familiar places behind, to a new school, home, and state, it all threw me off. On top of that, being in that elementary to middle school to high school transition and the awkwardness that comes of growing up... and mixed in with all that? I lost my best friend to a hit and run accident, and my grandma to a short bout with cancer, all within a couple months of each other.

 

That era's gaming, music, and tv culture sticks with me so much today, because it helped me cope with all the rough times that life threw my way back then.

 

I find it interesting now then, to weed out what was truly good about that era of our culture, from the "had to be there" sort of stuff. Sharing games that hold up with people who never had the chance to play them is a lot of fun for me... guess that probably explains a good part of why I'm here, on this forum, doesn't it?

[daven000]

As for your RPG list, very solid... played half of them, aware of the other half. I have Alundra, but never got around to playing it. It's 2d PS1, so I assume it holds up nicely?

Alundra's puzzles can be insanely difficult if you're not prepared for it. The main problem is that they can be fairly counter-intuitive on your first playthrough. A lot of times you'll actually correctly guess the solution to a given situation, but you don't try it because you assume that it would never work. Example: one such puzzle has you climbing up past several falling spiked boulder traps by slowly shimmying along a near 1 pixel edge of the tile where the spiked boulders don't touch. It's made especially bad by the less-than-perfect hitbox around your character where sometimes it can be difficult to tell when an attack connects or not. The idea to give it a try may occur to you, but you dismiss it initially as nonsense because it looks like what in other games would be a glitch to exploit. Picture if Metroid required you to do sequence-breaking tricks and glitches like the wallkick and bomb jump in order to beat the game and you get the picture. Once you get the hang of it though then the game is pretty cool. It's a flawed game, but if you hunger for more 2D Zeldalikes that aren't ridiculously easy to beat then it's a real treat. The graphics are also some of the best 2D pixel art outside of maybe the arcades.

[Areala]

On a note of personal reflection, I realized the other day why the PS1 era means so much to me. Not just the games, but the TV of the time, the magazines, the music, the mid to late 90's culture in general... I know now why that time holds such a special place in my heart. I was dealing with some pretty serious depression back then. Moved 1000 miles from home, leaving all my friends and familiar places behind, to a new school, home, and state, it all threw me off. On top of that, being in that elementary to middle school to high school transition and the awkwardness that comes of growing up... and mixed in with all that? I lost my best friend to a hit and run accident, and my grandma to a short bout with cancer, all within a couple months of each other.

 

That era's gaming, music, and tv culture sticks with me so much today, because it helped me cope with all the rough times that life threw my way back then.

 

I find it interesting now then, to weed out what was truly good about that era of our culture, from the "had to be there" sort of stuff. Sharing games that hold up with people who never had the chance to play them is a lot of fun for me... guess that probably explains a good part of why I'm here, on this forum, doesn't it?

 

There are plenty of great games from the modern era, but the 90's is totally when video games came into their own. So many studios were taking so many chances at trying new things that we saw the births of whole new genres (rhythm, survival horror, etc...). The leap in storage capacity from ROM chips to optical media opened tons of new avenues, and the last time we saw such a "try anything" attitude with regards to game development was the pre-crash Atari era.

 

Games usually don't affect me with regards to motion sickness or anything like that, but I tell you what, the first few times I fell off a building in Mirror's Edge my heart jumped into my throat from vertigo. That's when I knew it was well worth the pre-order.

 

*huggles*

Areala

[te72]

Alundra's puzzles can be insanely difficult if you're not prepared for it....

Thanks, I appreciate the heads up. I think I could probably manage with that then, and I don't mind a challenge now and then.

 

There are plenty of great games from the modern era, but the 90's is totally when video games came into their own. So many studios were taking so many chances at trying new things that we saw the births of whole new genres (rhythm, survival horror, etc...). The leap in storage capacity from ROM chips to optical media opened tons of new avenues, and the last time we saw such a "try anything" attitude with regards to game development was the pre-crash Atari era.

 

Games usually don't affect me with regards to motion sickness or anything like that, but I tell you what, the first few times I fell off a building in Mirror's Edge my heart jumped into my throat from vertigo. That's when I knew it was well worth the pre-order.

 

*huggles*

Areala

On the one hand, I would say that you have a really good point about the adventuresome spirit that developers used to have, I think we're starting to see that once again. Modern indie games can be quite a lot of fun. I would point to the Batman Arkham games as a good example of bringing some fresh ideas to the gaming world, and taking a big chance to do so.

 

Mirror's Edge, while beautiful to watch someone else play, was kinda frustrating for me. Just something about first person platforming that never sat well with me. Ironic then, that the Portal series are a couple of my favorite games...

[greenfoot2001]

I only need 2, 
Resident Evil and Castlevania SOTN

[danielgfm]

For me i think was these here:

 

1 - Gran Turismo 2

2 - Final Fantasy 8

3 - Breath of Fire III

4 - Silent Hill

5 - Final Fantasy IX

6 - Tekken 3

7 - Final Fantasy Tactics

8 - Parasite Eve

9 - Road Rash

10 - Need for Speed III

[coolisami]

1- Final Fantasy VIII

2- Metal Gear Solid

3- Resident Evil

4- Silent Hill

5- Crash Bandicoot 2

6- Spyro trilogy 

7- Tomb Raider 2

8- Syphon Filter 2

9- Tekken 2 

10- Driver

 

The PS1 is such an awesome console.