Final Fantasy Tactics and Front Mission 3
this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2025
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Grandia.
And Ridge Racer has been mentioned, but I would go with Ridge Racer 4 which is arguably the pinnacle of the series.
I wasn’t a PlayStation guy. I quit consoles when the Mega Drive went end of life and I didn’t like what Sony or Nintendo were bringing to the party. But I have played some PS1 and there are a few I always like to put into my retro systems.
Symphony of the Night
Tony Hawk 2
Disney’s Hercules
Blood Omen
Hot Pursuit
Wipeout 2097
Not seeing much love for Wipeout 3: Special Edition (it has double the number of tracks as the standard edition)
Nobody said GTA 2 yet. Lost so many hours to that one. The last top down GTA I think.
Also of course MGS, FFVII, FF Tactics, FFIX, THPS2. DDR konamix was decent. Oh and tekken. I had tekken 2 but I think 3 might've been on PS1 as well. Yoshimitsu was always my favorite and I was stoked when he was put into soul calibur with his moveset intact.
Not quite the last - we also had Chinatown Wars for DS, in I think 2008?
Siphon Filter
Parappa the Rapper
Gex
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Final Fantasy VII/IX (not VIII)
- Tales of Phantasia (has a PSP remake with a lot of extra content but that's JP-only...)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1/2
But have you considered FFVIII, the best of the PS1 RPGs?
IX over VIII, my brother/sister
I'm currently replaying all of them via emulator the last few weeks, and I have to say I respectfully disagree.
IX's combat system just feels simplified compared to the depth that VIII had.
Could you absolutely cheese the draw system...of course. But if you avoided the temptation, the almost limitless mechanics of stat pairing was fun to play around with when taking on different enemies.
Legend of Legia is my goat PS1 game that rarely gets the love it deserves. I loved the combat/combo system that allowed you to use the end part of one art into the beginning of another art was so awesome. The story was great and the characters were wonderful. It was such a fun unique take on jrpgs of the day
I came here to post this. I played the first few hours of it 30x+ because I didn’t have a memory card at the time but made it further each time.
Time for bed = pop the lid on the console so the disc would stop spinning then resume in the morning.
Dance Dance Revolution. It was unique, healthy, a lot of fun, and popularized a new genre: rhythm games.
Not sure if I would recommend the PS1 versions specifically, especially with the cheap foam pads they came with.
The actual konami dance mats are fantastic. Some minor issues if they bunched up in storage but they flatten well. Had bad luck with third party mats, especially the foam filled ones. They should have been amazing but the buttons didn't always work right and the heavier plastic material ripped easier than the soft stuff
Some pretty good stuff already but no one has mentioned Xenogears.
Definitely one of my essentials. I think the gameplay is bit meh, but it's still the best story in the genre.
Aside from the more well-known greats people have already mentioned, I have to nominate Herc's Adventures and MediEvil 1 and 2.
How we haven't seen a new MediEvil game in the age of souls likes baffles me. Souls combat with Dan's goofy comedy in an open, interconnected Gallowmere? Please take my money.
I also wouldn't mind seeing a new game in that style LucasArts used for Herc, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and Ghoul patrol. But with them under the mouse, it's probably as likely as another Monkey Island.
Threadz of Fate. There’s something so charming and comfy about this game with the intertwined dual storyline, the fun combat system, and the great music.
My personal top pick (due to lack of playing psx in a long time) is Devil Dice (also known as XI in Japan if I remember correctly). I personally just play the arcade mode, though, since the other modes aren't as fun in my opinion.
It's nice to see some recognition for Devil Dice :)
The only one I have that hasn't been mentioned yet is Suikoden II. Gorgeous sprite art, and it's also just a solid game. Ironically, it's getting a remaster very soon which is sure to clean up its biggest weakness (the English localization), though we don't know how the rest of it will shake out.
I consider the fifth gen to be a lost generation for sprite-based games, this is one of those on the console that make the case for an interesting "what could have been" scenario (Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Valkyrie Profile also being sprite-based standouts).
Gex
There are so many! I haven't seen these mentioned yet.
Future Cop LAPD Jackie Chan Stuntmaster Colin McRae 2.0 Abes Oddysee/Exodus
Couple I haven't seen yet:
- Vib-Ribbon, a fun little rhythm game which also allows you to play with your own CDs
- Team Buddies, a really unique action / strategy game that I've never seen replicated. Sort of a proto-MOBA.
Hear me out:
Monsters, Inc. Scream Team.
For a PS1 game it was ahead of its time. Fleshed out 3D levels that are actually navigable, decent camera angles, solid platforming + puzzles, and level revisiting that does not feel excessively repetitive. The difficulty is also not a god-awful sudden cliff like some PS1/2 games of the era. It’s one of the few, maybe the only PS1 game I’ve played multiple times through.
As a plus the soundtrack is banger.
Not a common suggestion, but the Scrabble PS1 port holds up surprisingly well, all the more so for how few Scrabble video games there are.
Breath of Fire 3
A classical JRPG. I still like it quite a lot.
Final Fantasy IX, one of the last classical FF experiences. Quite hard though.
Final Fantasy Tactics, a very enjoyable strategy game.
Mega Man Legends, this was one of my favorites but the CD was damaged so I couldn't finish the game.
Besides Metal Gear Solid?
Dino Crisis.
Both Brightis and Love & Destroy are good if you can read Japanese.
No one mentioned it yet, so:
Die Hard Trilogy
Toy Story 2
Final Fantasy VII
Kingsley's Adventure
Gran Turismo 2
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
Rugrats: Search For Reptar
Tomba
Tekken 3
Rayman 2
R4 Ridge Racer
Soul Blade
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
Final Fantasy Tactics
Spyro The Dragon
Digimon World 2003
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tomb Raider 3
Guardians Crusade
Metal Gear Solid
Crash Team Racing
Spider-Man
Dead Or Alive
Ape Escape
Mega Man Legends
I know you said you didn't want a full list but thought it'd be an interesting exercise for me to do one anyway. If these were the only PS1 games I could play, I'd still be very happy with few that I'd truly miss that's not on here (which would mostly be games from series that I put here, spyro etc.)
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Hugo
Metal Gear Solid
Final Fantasy 7 and 9
Resident Evil series
Dino Crisis
Silent Hill
Ape Escape
Intelligent Qube
Grand Theft Auto 2
Uh... I'm gonna have to dig out my CD book from my closet. I still have all the best (IMO) PS1 games and I can't remember them all off the top of my head. It had hella bangers.