10 of the Greatest PS1 Games of All Time
Published in Entertainment at April 19th, 2017 at 8:20 AM
Every console has those games that will define a generation of gamers, and the PlayStation 1 is no different. A ground braking console of its time, game developers were able to creative some truly memorable games for fans to emerge themselves into and get lost in their storylines and action. Here are 10 of the greatest PlayStation 1 Games of all time.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Now if you honestly want to talk about a swan song to an ever beloved Game Franchise, Look no further than Castlevania: Symphony of the night. What’s that? There were more Castlevania games after this one? Well yes that is true but in all fairness, Symphony of the Night is probably the last true Castlevania game to be released (With the exception of a few Nintendo DS titles such as Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin which were decent games in their own right).
But with the transition to 3D, The series lost a lot of what made the old NES and SNES games so damn good. The challenge and to some extent, the overall game’s atmosphere. Symphony of the Night not only encapsulates what the original NES/SNES titles had, But cranks it up to 11.
The gameplay is just on point as not only does it stick to it’s side scrolling roots but it also incorporates role playing elements such as swapping between different characters who have different abilities, but you are also able to level up your character’s abilities. Add that to some amazing visuals, intense boss fights and some of the most badass music to appear in a video game and you’re sure to have a hit video game.
Resident Evil 2
No many argue that Silent Hill 1 is better than Resident Evil 2, However it’s sort of a preference thing really. Personally speaking, Both games are as good as one another. With that out of the way, Resident Evil 2…...Oh dear god yes! This game is just the purest essence of survival horror. So building further off of the foundation of the first game, Resident Evil 2 not only uses the same formula of it’s predecessor, but manages to some how do it even better!
This time set in the middle of a city and inside of a now zombie infested police station, The player is tasked with hordes of the undead, figuring out several puzzles and having only a limited amount of supplies and ammunition to sustain you through your journey out of the police station and out of the city. Besides the gameplay being on point (Although being complicated at first for newcomers to the series) as well as having amazing visuals for the time and some of the best music you could expect from a survival horror video game.
The game also had so much replay value that you’d find yourself playing the game for days or even weeks after your first playthrough! Even to this day, Resident Evil 2 is being praised by fans and critics alike as the game still to this day holds up well. Hopefully we’ll hear some news on that imminent Resident Evil 2 remake any day now.
Metal Gear Solid
This list was incredibly difficult to make. The PlayStation 1 had plenty of classic titles that still hold up well to this day. Hell we had to miss a few off this list that we know we’re going to regret in the future. That being said however, We can’t forget the one PlayStation 1 game that has held up well after all these years after it’s release. Of course we’re talking about Metal Gear Solid.
Considered to be the Crown Jewel of the PlayStation 1, Metal Gear Solid is said to be Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus (Then again, you could probably say that about any of his games at this point in all fairness). The game, which followed the exploits of Solid Snake, was an action/adventure game that relied heavily on using stealth and had a presentation that was superior to anything else on the platform.
It not only lived up to the hype, it exceeded it in many ways. An espionage game of this magnitude hadn’t been seen on the market up until this point making it one of the most influential games to the stealth and action genre that we know and love today.
Final Fantasy 7
Now before we start with this portion of the list, We need to just say that we’re only doing 1 game per franchise with this list. If we did allow more that one game per franchise, half of this list would be taken up by Final Fantasy. Now it’s a preference thing with these games as it does tend to change its style up with each numerical release of each game. However we’ve decided to go with Final Fantasy 7 for this spot due to the sheer fact that it is the most beloved game in the franchise.
Very rarely will you hear anyone complain or criticise this game (Because if anyone did, you’d never hear from them again, thanks to its loyal fanbase!). Now this game is pretty damn flawless. I mean it has to be, It’s the seventh game in the franchise! With FF7's historic release on PlayStation in June of 1997, role-playing games were finally given the respect that they deserved and the RPG genre is now one of the most significant and defining on the system.
Following the story of Cloud Strife, gamers were taking on a fantastical journey that arched over three discs and included well over 40 hours worth of gameplay. Back then, That was impressive (And it’s still impressive now considering most games average at bloody 6 hours in this day and age). It’s incredibly easy to see why most people have this game as their personal greatest game of all time.
Crash Bandicoot Warped
Oh boy! You would not believe how close we were to putting all three games on this list. Hell we were incredibly close to including them all as one item on this list due to how consistent the series was back then. However we thought that would be cheating and decided to go for what is arguably the best game in the series, Crash Bandicoot Warped.
Now you could argue that the second game is better (And personally speaking, i do in fact prefer the second game most), however The third game not only uses the same formula as the second, but adds more gameplay styles. So you’ve got your standard 3D platforming segments that the Crash Bandicoot series is well known for thanks to it’s interesting level designs and responsive controls.
However Warped also includes new gameplay segments such as motorcycle races and dog fight segments. This is without a doubt, one of the best in the series.
Silent Hill
Back when Konami used to be cool. Released in February of 1999, This game was essentially Konami's answer to Capcom’s popular Resident Evil franchise, Silent Hill was its first in the survival horror genre and was critically praised. However, the game managed to distinguish itself from RE by concentrating on adventure style gameplay and a heavy emphasis on character and story-line.
Not to mention it allowed more camera freedom than the more cinematic and restrictive fixed camera angles presented in the Resident Evil games. It was commonly thought of as one of the scariest games on the system and had what was arguably one of the best stories on the system.
Tekken 2
So Tekken 1 has dated drastically. There is no question to that. However for it’s time, it was a competent fighting game and it did lay the groundwork for a fantastic sequel in the form of Tekken 2.
Unlike Tekken 1 which released 1 year earlier on PS1 (2 years earlier in arcades) Tekken 2’s fighting and presentation was polished to the point where it could be considered one of the system’s best fighting games.
Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey
Now we were really tempted to put Abe’s Exoddus on this list instead of Abe’s Oddysee for the simple fact that the game includes a save feature that the first game desperately needed, However the Story of Odyssee is far, FAR better that Exodus. Abe’s Oddysee is not only one of the best platform games the PlayStation has to offer with some people actually choosing this game over the likes of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot.
But it’s the style of the game that our attention with it’s dark, grisly atmosphere accompanied with one of the most charming characters the PlayStation 1 has to offer in the form of Abe.
Honestly, The Oddworld games are incredible. If you’re able to, Check them out!
Gran Turismo 2
Now for it’s time, The PlayStation 1 was groundbreaking with it’s graphical capabilities, However as time went on (And you can pretty much say this about any console), The games just look dated.
Well this game is no different, but man at the time, Gran Turismo looked like the most realistic game the system had to offer in both graphics and gameplay as the game wasn’t just another arcade style racing game, but more of a racing simulator that included the most realistic car controls you could imagine while also for the time presenting itself with the most realistic graphics that were on offer back in 1999.
What made this game even more impressive however is with how much content it had as the game featured well over 500 licensed vehicles, tons of tracks, and just provided what was a phenomenal racing experience. That’s like the equivalent of 3 whole season passes in today’s market. Hell probably even more thinking about it.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Starting the list off with something we’re sure will annoy a small minority of people but just hear us out. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 is a rare case of a video game. With most sports games it only seems to grab the attention of people who like that certain sport, However, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is a Sports game that manages to garner the attention of all audiences a like.
The reason for this is because it was just ridiculously over the top with it’s arcade style gameplay, fantastic level designs (Including an amazing Roswell level for all you alien enthusiasts), tight controls as well as having having a great selection of licensed music! And hey, this game is still among some of the most highest rated games ever as it’s only behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur and Grand Theft Auto 4 on Metacritic’s website. Now that is impressive!
