15 Greatest PS1 Games of All Time [2023 Edition]

[drop-cap]A[/drop-cap]pproaching three decades since Sony entered the console market it’s easy to forget just how rich and diverse the PlayStation’s library was. It’s abundance of racing games, survival horrors, stealth-action, sports sims and beat ‘em ups ushered in a new era of 3D gaming, supported by a cast of iconic characters and mascots establishing themselves on the platform too. It’s darn-near impossible to pick a top 15 best of list, but here are 15 none-the-less who’s legacy shines bright. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back https://youtu.be/pRso4Q8tI_Q Alongside Solid Snake, Naughty Dog’s anthropomorphic marsupial is amongst the most iconic of the original PlayStation’s mascots. The first game’s tricky platforming and whimsical humour established Crash Bandicoot as synonymous with the platform and its sequel Cortex Strikes Back refined the experience further with graphical enhancements and more intuitive level designs. A handful of trial-and-error set pieces aside, Crash 2’s challenge was firm but fair, delivering a spinning romp through jungles, frozen tundra, and outer space which holds up as the best in the series. Metal Gear Solid Rightly remembered as boundary pushing, the third instalment in Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series ushered in a new era of cinematic storytelling with hybrid stealth action gameplay and 3D environments detailed to a point not yet seen on Sony’s debut console, all supported by a colourful cast of quirky characters and out-of-the-box (or should we say, inside-the-cardboard-box?) mission design. Video games haven’t been the same since Metal Gear Solid. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 It’s hard to overstate how seeped into the cultural zeitgeist Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was in the late 1990’s-early 2000s. Coming at a time when counterculture music and extreme sports were spilling into the mainstream, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and its sequel sold in their millions. Famous for its bouncing punk rock and ska soundtrack as much as it is for its approachable arcade-style action and vibrant skateparks influenced by real world locations, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 also added more tricks, more skaters, and a create your own skatepark feature which elevated this sequel to one of the most influential games of all time. Gran Turismo 2 There’re plenty who’d place GT2’s predecessor on this list, and whilst that title is golden in its own right its Gran Turismo 2’s unprecedented scale and scope which elevates this racing sim sequel to an unparallel level. With nearly 650 cars to scorch round 27 racetracks, there was plenty for car enthusiasts and non-racing fans alike to sink their teeth into. Despite the racing feeling largely the same as Gran Turismo, GT2 did refine its breaking mechanics meaning cars were much less likely to oversteer. The result was a much more enjoyable, approachable racing experience. WipEout 2097 Released in 1996, WipEout 2097 offered an exciting, believable glimpse into the future. Yes, this is anti-gravity racing, with fully loaded ships hurtling through stomach churning circuits at breakneck speed, but these racetracks were perfectly woven into the fabric of futuristic, lived-in cities; each team felt complete, with in-depth backstories alongside identifiable liveries. As the second title in the series, 2097 dramatically improves almost every aspect of its predecessor; controls, graphics, and gameplay were lightyears beyond the first game, and whilst WipEout 2097 released on multiple platforms the PlayStation version edges the competition by virtue of its licensed soundtrack featuring big beat stalwarts of the time such as The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. Tekken 3 Namco’s iconic fighting series feels right at home on PlayStation, and just like Street Fighter II in the arcades seven years prior Tekken managed to usher in a new generation of fighting game fanatics, this time beating opponents to a pulp from the comfort of their own home. The now legendary third entry in the series stands as one of the most seminal, celebrated fighting games of all time thanks to its flowing animations, cinematic presentation, and highly detailed, off the wall characters. Tekken 3 also pioneered the sideways dodge, adding an extra dimension to bruising bouts by allowing players to shift the action left or right. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Unlike previous Ridge Racer titles, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 was developed specifically for Sony’s home console, and as such eschews urgent arcade sensibilities for a much more freewheeling driving experience. Of course, the outlandish drift-heavy racing was maintained in two additive handling modes for players to get to grips with, but the sense this time around was things were more pastoral, more vibey, with an easy-going soundtrack shunning Ridge Racer’s usual rave music. Resident Evil 2 It’s remarkable how pioneering the first Resident Evil game was in forging the blueprint for tense survival horror, and for its follow up the developer smashed the template once again with Resident Evil 2, providing an experience much more chilling and desperate than its predecessor. This more action focused sequel was innovative too, with players able to alternative between protagonists’ Leon and Claire as they stalk through the labyrinthine Raccoon City Police Department, coming face to face with lurching zombies and the iconic horrifying wall scrambling lickers. Driver Get past the frightfully frustrating tutorial stage and Driver delivers one of the seminal driving centric games on the PlayStation, which is high praise given the smorgasbord of vehicular based titles on the platform. Driver wasn’t a typical racer however, more a chance to partake in 1970s inspired cop movie car chases through four real life city environments. The game’s breath-taking renditions of Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are innovatively open world too, releasing a full year before Rockstar made the formula their own with GTA III. PaRappa the Rapper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRso4Q8tI_Q Revisiting PaRappa the Rapper some twenty-seven years later feels like revisting a feverish childhood dream – it’s Saturday morning kids TV laced with the attitude and hedonism associated with the 1990s. In perhaps the first true rhythm game ever released the game’s wafer-thin dog PaRappa must battle his way past karate masters and driving instructors on his way to landing the affections of a flower-like girl. PaRappa the Rapper is stuffed with joyous musical earworms, it’s just a shame the game is only six stages long. Twisted Metal 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRso4Q8tI_Q Its pixelated graphics might not have aged terribly well, but Twisted Metal 2’s destruction derby action is still hella fun some twenty-seven years later. In this sequel, known as Twisted Metal: World Tour in Japan, real-world locations were translated into courses for ripe for death and destruction; battling over Big Apple rooftops, charging through LA’s crumbling ruins – ransacked from former Twisted Metal tournaments – or destroying the Eiffel tower over and again was always a blast. It was even better in couch co-op mode too. Spider-Man Movement is unquestionably the most important factor in delivering an authentic Spider-Man experience, and whilst Insomniac Games’ 2018 effort is rightly praised for its ground-breaking traversal, it’s Neversoft who absolutely nailed Spidey’s web slinging shenanigans some two decades earlier with the PS1’s Spider-Man. Catapulting between Big Apple skyrises, deftly running up walls, and acrobatically tying up enemies was a constant thrill. So good was Neversoft’s Spider-Man, it set the foundation for superhero games going forward. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins Alongside Metal Gear Solid and Thief: The Dark Project, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was instrumental in popularising the stealth-action video game in the 1990s. Playing Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was an exercise in patience, for assuming command of a shadow-lurking ninja was more than just donning dark clothing. No, players had to painstakingly observe enemy movements and strike at the most opportune time to survive the level undetected. Spyro the Dragon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRso4Q8tI_Q Spyro the Dragon released at a time when debate was raging whether PlayStation could muster a 3D platformer to compete with the N64’s Super Mario 64. Well, Spyro and his dragonfly mate Sparx’s journey through the Dragon Kingdom certainly gave Mario a run for his money, their adventure stuffed with charm and whimsy, with open-ended environments designed to encourage exploration. Originally set to be a darker, more challenging affair, Spyro the Dragon was switched to a light-hearted, easy-going style of game during development, and it’s all the better for it. Dino Crisis 2 Perhaps not receiving as much love as its predecessor, Dino Crisis 2 took the first game’s Resident Evil informed survival horror aesthetic and ramped up the action to produce something altogether more compelling and unique. Action set pieces were aplenty, with adrenaline fuelled encounters and a slew of carnivorous dinosaurs all underpinned by a surprisingly emotional story, meaning Dino Crisis 2 absolutely deserves to be held in as high regard as Dino Crisis.