In yet another community post, we bring a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the first Sony PlayStation, and we’re celebrating it by highlighting some of the best games on the system. But we’re not doing the picking here, instead all choices are left entirely up to you, the community!
We got some healthy variety here! Tons of different picks! It was quite exciting navigating through each and picking them out for the article.
So without further ado, let’s see what the RetroGameTalk community picked for their favorites!
“Oh man, it's hard to pick just one, but I'm gonna go with the original Resident Evil.
The gameplay is very tight and forces a lot of strategizing due to the fact that there's limited ammo, limited heals, limited inventory space, and limited saves. It's a survival horror game that above all emphasizes that "survival" aspect, more so than most games of the genre that came after, including later Resident Evil entries. Not to mention, it coined the term survival horror! The voice-acting and translations of lines are so bad that they're good, with the delivery and writing becoming hugely iconic. The whole game just has the vibe of a cheesy horror b-movie, and I love it, but still manages to be scary at times due to the stress that arises from its punishing mechanics.”
The grand-daddy of survival horror! Wonderfully written piece. Not much to add here, RE was one of the most unique games in an era already crammed with unique experimental games from top to bottom. We can only speculate if games Onimusha, Dead Rising and Dino Crisis would even exist at all without RE. Thanks for the submission!
“Mega Man Legends 2, I choose you!
MML2 takes everything good about its predecessor and improves upon it. The dungeon design is better, the gameplay in general is more varied, the plot doesn't meander and gets straight to the point, the graphics are improved, and the most important of all, the controls are good now. Unfortunately, the ending is a total cliffhanger that will never EVER be resolved.”
As scary as it is to be stranded on the moon, maybe Volnutt won’t have to worry about a certain mustached scientist doing something unspeakable to the moon because a silly cartoon hedgehog insulted him on X.
“Mine would be Tenchu Stealth Assassin.
the reason comes down to basically groundbreaking innovation of stealth mechanics in video games and the impact of it in the industry now, it is a shame that the last tenchu is trapped in the 360 to this day without a proper remaster to this day, the game was iconic, and it defined itself pretty well, inspired games like MGS and other down the road and more than that is all the hidden items and quirks in this game that felt more free and open from other games.”
Stealth action games were still in their infancy around this period so it’s quite fascinating how Tenchu chose to explore the genre. We need more ninja games in general, dammit!
"Dune 2000". Many consider it a bad port from PC, but for me, who at the time had no idea what a computer was, it was unique, not only for being able to build, but to build a military base to your liking with soldiers who go anywhere you say. I loved "Army Men" and "Spec Ops" games, but you could control one soldier, maximum two, but here you could control a whole group and expand it.”
Awesome niche pick! Military-based games were still taking off around this time. Interesting read, appreciate the insight!
“Xenogears, absolutely.
Amazing story, characters, soundtrack, general development, humanoid battles AND robot battles... It's just too bad they ran out of budget for the second disk, but still... “
If only we had the rest of the saga. Hey, at least this game had a unique 1v1 mode! Thanks for your submission!
“Vanguard Bandits!
Released (in Japan) between Final Fantasy Tactics and Front Mission 3, this game (from the developers of the Clock Tower horror series) manages to be a strange missing link between the gameplay of both titles. The setting is a quasi-feudal clash of kingdoms, where Sword and Sorcery has progressed to Warring Magic Mecha. For all that, the game is plenty silly, surprisingly difficult in places, and sports multiple paths to replay that change the story entirely. Also, the title screen theme song opens with a righteous guitar riff that told me right away, I was in good hands.”
Never heard of this one! Looks quite intriguing!
Editor’s note: PSP cover is used here because PSX cover was atrocious and I’m not putting that trash here on my article. BOF3 deserves better. Also play BOF3.
“Well since I can only choose one I’ll go with Breath of Fire 3.
Here’s the deal: back in the day when FF 7 was all the hype I felt like there’s got to be other good games out there. Don’t get me wrong, I don't hate FF 7. I played it and probably punished myself by finishing it without a guide or a walkthrough. On the other hand BoF 3 caught me with it’s beautiful 2d sprite in contrast to FF 7 3d polygons, to some it’s a step down but for me it’s a breather. Heck now that I thought about it these games are in contrast with each other. What really made me fall in love with this game is the story and its characters, a boy’s journey to self discovery and his place in the world while beating the living crap out of everybody along the way typical jrpg stuff.
So that’s all I can say about my morning breath, er I mean Breath of Fire 3.”
Waoh, BoF3! That’s a real all-time classic there! Unfortunately, this author may have to hold their gushing session for Breath of Fire until a later time but we urge everyone to give this game a shot as possible! Pinky promises it’ll blow your mind! There’s still quite nothing like it. Thanks for the submission!
“I love Castlevania Symphony of the Night, definitely my favorite Castlevania game. Incredible gameplay and level design, magnificent atmosphere and art direction, jaw-dropping soundtrack and a memorable story.”
Iconic! Yet another showcase of the PSX’s genre defining library! Admittedly, this author still got a slight bias towards the classicvanias ALA your Dracula Curses and Rondo of Blood but it still never hurts to replay a Symphonyvania when the urge arises. They’re still excellently crafted games! Thanks for your submission!
“The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
It's a Goofy, Weird Funny as Hell 3d Funtime, that always gets a Chuckle outta me”
Iconic! Tron is really cute so we can’t object to her inclusion here. Shoutout to her lab-coat fit.
“Gran Turismo was a truly revolutionary moment in console gaming whether you like it or not. Never before had a racing game been so ambitious and I don't know if we will ever see another revolution in console racing games like the one from before and after Gran Turismo one. It can be fairly arcade-y, but also it's a full fledged racing sim that you can edit so many small details and the game reacts very nicely to the edits.”
Possibly the biggest simcady racer! Rivaled only by the green brand’s own. Truth be told, this author remains intimidated by the genre and stuck replaying the Midnight Club games but this could persuade a change of heart. Thanks for your submission! And please stop pushing people over cliffs!
“SD Gundam G Generation F
Sadly untranslated.
It is a tactics game, similar to Super Robot Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. What made it stand out is that it boasts more than a dozen Gundam storylines in its campaign mode, consisting of nearly a dozen anime series including Gundam Wing, G Gundam and Gundam X and various manga and video game side stories.
If you understand japanese, you won't need to watch a season or 2 of episodes to understand a series, just play through a campaign of less than 12 stages. This game has never been matched by any of its sequels (the closest one, G Generation SPIRITS, only included Universal Century series while most of the others were a mishmash of storylines).”
Great shout. It is tragic how many Gundam games remain untranslated, but that’s to be expected when there’s a whopping 250+! Here’s hoping the remaining dynasty warriors gundam titles get an English patch especially for vita owners!
“I'd say Crash Team Racing. I love the gameplay. I think it's the best Kart Racer. The idea that you have to keep up your boost and learn the routes on the track so you can get through faster always intrigued me more than say Mario Kart. I feel like it rewards you for actually trying instead of just hoping you get a good power up. In CTR if someone is good enough you probably won't be able to pass them unless you have tricks of your own up your sleeve.”
CTR is one of the most important racers out there. Much more significant than the plumber’s own series in this author’s humble opinion. Acted as the real template for more unique and unorthodox kart racers such as Pac-Man World Rally and Sega All Stars Racing.
“My favorite PSX game is 70's Robot Anime Geppy-X, it's a 2d shooter game. I absolutely love everything about this game, the art, the gameplay, and the music. This game is a love letter to all mecha anime.”
Awesome pick! Looks quite unique aesthetically, worth a look for sure. The PSX was a real haven for mecha games and it feels we need them now more than ever. Perhaps the Armored Core revival could hint Konami to bring back Zone of the Enders too?
“Tomb Raider 1. I know there's a ton of PS1 games that deserve a mention, it really has a vast library that I love so when I pick Tomb Raider 1 it's reluctant and out of a deep nostalgia. There are revolutionary games, games that pushed the medium forward and did really intelligent stuff, and I'm not saying that Tomb Raider 1 deserves to be ahead of them, I just feel like it has everything at a time when a lot of games simply didn't. A good OST, atmosphere, fun platforming, action, CGI cinematics, puzzles and controls that became deft once you mastered them. Lara has always felt like one of the playstation icons to me!
What's more impressive to me is the size of the original team, small even by the standards of the time in my opinion.”
Hey now! That’s still an iconic pick! Tomb Raider remains an important cornerstone in gaming an iconic third-party member of the PlayStation brand!
Thanks to everyone who contributed. We hope you all enjoyed this read! Hopefully we get to do this again and happy 30th anniversary to the PSX! But what about you? What’s your favorite PSX game? Comment below!
Sayonara!
