What Are The Best PS1 Games For Today?

[racketboy]

Ok, I've done similar features on the Dreamcast and Saturn...
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2006/10/ ... y-top.html
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2007/01/ ... y-top.html

Since I'm not exactly a PS1 expert, I thought I would rely more on you guys.
What PS1 games would you think are still most relevant today?

What I'm looking for are games that haven't been made obsolete by newer sequels, remakes, or drastic innovations in the genre. Many of these games may be ones with unique stories or gameplay mechanics that haven't been replicated.

Another way to think of it... If you had every console and every game for those consoles, what PS1 games would you still play?

Castlevania Symphony of the Night would be an obvious choice since it is still regarded as the best game in the series. Final Fantasy Tactics may be another as, from what I hear, the remakes/spinoffs haven't lived up to the original.

There may be other "big name" games that fall into this category, but there may be other gems that could qualify as well:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2007/01/ ... 1-psx.html

I'm sure you can think of others.

[Mozgus]

I'll start off the Square wagon.

Einhander - The most unique shmup I know of.
Ehrgeiz - Fighting system feels very original still. Similar to PowerStone I suppose.
Vagrant Story - Best single character RPG on a console.
Chrono Cross - Polished in every single area. It's timeless. FF-style RPGing perfected.
Parasite Eve 1 and 2 - The only survival horror RPG crossover series I know of.
Front Mission 3 - Most people consider this the peak of the series.
Bushido Blade - There aren't a lot of fighters out there that have this degree of deadly realism.
Legend of Mana - Perfectly captured the "exagerated fantasy" visual style in 2D.

[philipofmacedon]

I'd vote for Megaman X4-6. X4 was the best of the three but I still enjoyed them all. My roommates in college were immensly amused by watching me beat all six X games in sucession. Once the games went all 3-D I just stopped buying them. There's nothing quite like the formula of beating 8 robots and taking their weapons. Especially with names like Spark Mandrill. Also I appreciated just how good Sigma was at avoiding being killed off.

I know that there were some Megaman Zero games for the GBA but you can never have too much 2-D platforming action. Although maybe the recent compilation packs might exclude these from the list.

[Ender]

Trying to stick to what Racketboy wants I'd suggest as well Vagrant Story since it's unique game mode and his awesome storyline has yet to be matched by other similar RPG's.

It's nice to see how Squaresoft people could in the past develop FF games and this gems at the same time while today they offer tons of mediocre games for any system mankind eyes have seen.

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[marurun]

Maybe I'm the odd man out, here, but I found Vagrant Story very frustrating. The combat combo system really bothered me as did the over-focus on item creation. Seemed like a good idea that was ruined by over-doing the game mechanics.

[Gamerforlife]

Megaman X 4 is, in my opinion, the ONLY great MMX game to come out after the original S-NES trilogy, all others ranged from decent(MMX 5 and MMX8) to crappy(MMX 6 and 7). I'd question whether to put it in this topic though, given there's a Saturn version. Here are my picks:


Strider 2 is a classic 2-d action game. I think it's still relevant because we've never had another Strider game since, and Strider just has a unique style to it.

Crash Bandicoot Warped is a perfect platform game. It still holds up because it just did everything well. This was the last great traditional Crash game before the mediocre ones that were NOT made by Naughty Dog. It's worth mentioning that the over hyped Jak 2 was not even as good as this earlier effort by Naughty Dog

Tecmo's Deception 2 and 3. I've yet to play another console game quite like these, and the fourth installment on the PS 2 added little to the formula and was pretty much ignored by most gamers. These games stand the test of time much better than the first game. Aside from the unique trap based gameplay, I loved the moral grey area in the stories

PaRappa and Bust a Groove-Not as in depth as other rhythm games, but they had a unique style and are still fun now. Plus, the humor and music are timeless. Their sequels didn't seem to get as much attention as the originals. I think bemani games(did I spell that right) started with these two games if I'm not mistaken

ANY Capcom fighter. The PS 1 had good ports of Darkstalkers 3 and the Street Fighter Alpha games. Capcom had already perfected 2-d gaming back then and these games still hold up today

Dino Crisis 2-Aside from Resident Evil 4 and maybe Eternal Darkness, I can't think of many action oriented survival horror games. This game would foreshadow where Capcom would eventually go with Resident Evil 4. It's worth mentioning that this was the last GOOD Dino Crisis game

Grandia-Though not as good as the Saturn version, this one is in english. STILL one of the best rpg combat systems ever, and none of the other Grandia games had this one's charm.

Klonoa-Such a unique platformer to this day, matched only by its overlooked PS 2 sequel.

MDK-Graphically dated(especially compared to the PC version), but still unique and fun. No other game like it other than its sequel, which is far more harsh and unforgiving. The original is easier for people to get into

Wild 9-Another fun game in the vein of MDK with a unique gameplay mechanic. I don't know of any other 2-d game that requires torture techniques to progress through a stage. This and MDK were probably the only PS 1 games to give Earthworm Jim fans something with a similar style

Metal Gear Solid-The game was already ahead of its time and still holds up. Especially considering the PS2 sequel wasn't as good. This game is so classic, it was worthy of a remake. Though the original still holds up

The Oddworld games-Nothing like them out there, and the only REAL successor to these games was Munch's Odyssey on the Xbox(not that mediocre third person shooter Stranger's Wrath). The PS 1 games are still significant though for being in 2-d, so the gameplay is different from Munch's Odyssey and some might say better

Valkyrie Profile-No other rpg like this one, not even its bigger, beefier PS 2 sequel matched the original's charm and quality

Xenogears-Only the Xenosaga games are similar, and it's actually better in some ways. Combat system was better, and it had a nice, classic anime-ish sprite based look. The story and characters still hold up.

Medieval-Before we got Maximo on the PS 2, this was it for someone looking for a Ghouls and Ghosts style game. The Tim Burtonesque atmosphere and humor help this one stand the test of time

[Gamerforlife]

Oh, and Suikoden II. I still hear people say it's the best one

[extrarice]

Final Fantasy Tactics - sure, there have been chess-like tactical RPGs before (Front Mission, Tactics Ogre), but the music and style of FFT was amazing.

I would actually disagree on Chrono Cross, except the battle and experience system is unique and innovative.

R-Type Delta - first pseudo 3D, polygon based entry of that Shmup series.

Valkyrie Profile - awesome combat system.

[marurun]

Gamerforlife, I'm not sure there are any Capcom 2D fighters that should be on the PS1 list considering the Saturn usually trumped them with better versions. And Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior) was mutilated on the PS1. MUCH animation was cut. No, the PS1 has much better 2D games.

I vote for Raiden Project. These 2 arcade shooters hold up incredibly well even now and the PSX ports were quite excellent.

[racketboy]

Gamerforlife, I'm not sure there are any Capcom 2D fighters that should be on the PS1 list considering the Saturn usually trumped them with better versions. And Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior) was mutilated on the PS1. MUCH animation was cut. No, the PS1 has much better 2D games.

I vote for Raiden Project. These 2 arcade shooters hold up incredibly well even now and the PSX ports were quite excellent.

The port of Street Fighter Alpha 3 was really good on the Playstation, much more than you might expect. The rest were more on the lowsy side -- especially the VS ones.