Best PlayStation Console? How would you rank them?

[stealthRUSH]

The original Sony PlayStation (1994)

 

[HexGramarye]

I'm going in an unexpected direction and say Vita. Love my Vita. I think it's a lot more versatile than one might expect, especially these days. It can play all the best PS1 and PSP games (or the whole library if you go the homebrew route), and there's some great ports of PS2, PS3 and PS4 games.

I also think it's just as great of a cozy handheld as the Switch, with an even more comfortable form factor thanks to the smaller screen. Handhelds keep getting bigger and bigger, so I love how easily the Vita slips into a pocket or purse. It's got a good amount of the other pre-indiepocalypse indie games, and you can fill in pretty much all the gaps in the Vita's library with PS4 Remote play. Stardew Valley, Flower, Undertale, Binding of Isaac, Night in the Woods, Coffee Talk, Super Meat Boy, Celeste, all the heavy hitters are there in one way or another. I recently played Crow Country on Vita with Remote Play and had a blast. So, in a very indirect sense, the Vita's still thriving! (Or maybe PS4 is the real winner xD)

The homebrew community and all the ports they've done is amazing too. Where else can I play both Fallout 2 and Final Fantasy Dimensions on a handheld with buttons?

I also still use my Vita's MP3 player lol. The UI wasn't as cool as the PSP, but it gets the job done. I'm super nostalgic for that era when game consoles were also multimedia devices.

 

[Tsetskhli776]

I like everything up 'till the PS3/Vita, became detached to it PS4 onwards, maybe because i got old i dunno lol.
But if i had to pick one, it would definitely be the PS2, it's the most sold console of all time for a reason.

 

[RetroCasual]

Hi everybody, I'm new to this forum and I'd like to share my experience with the PlayStation consoles I've had.

In my opinion, I think that any PlayStation console could be anyone's favourite system, except for the actual generation (PS5) and some Sony's epic fails such as the PocketStation, PSP Go, PSVita, PSVR 1 & 2, PS Portal...

As far as I can remember by now, I enjoyed most of PS1's Namco's gems (Tekken, Ridge Racer, Ace Combat, Soul Edge, Time Crisis...), my first ever RPG Final Fantasy VII, the Resident Evil series, excellent racing games such as Gran Turismo, Colin McRae or TOCA, rare titles such Ape Escape and the best title of the console in my opinion, Metal Gear Solid.

With PS2 I spent lots of hours in the PES saga making tourneys with friends, same with Dragon Ball Budokai and Tenkaichi series, got very surprised with the Burnout saga (specially the third one, TakeDown), Gran Turismo 4, and pecked some of his huge catalog of great titles which seems infinite to me until today.

Even I'm not a fan of portable consoles, I must admit that PSP was a really good machine, a beast in its time, and had lots of excellent games such as Metal Gear Peace Walker, OutRun 2006, MotorStorm Artic Edge, etc. which seemed perfect ports from a PS2. Maybe if it had a better screen I could actually recomend it for retrogaming.

I knew PS2 had some kind of online gaming from that I never took profit, but after that with my PS3 I joined the Internet era for the game consoles and it blew my mind with the possibility of acquiring via download the games in the Store, and it got me trapped in lots of multiplayer games such as GOW Ascension, Soul Calibur V, Tekken Tag 2, Dirt 2 or the extinct PS Home... So I consider the PS3 system the most blowing mind of Sony's them all, and its catalog is not to be left behind, with wonders such as the Uncharted, Batman Arkham or Street Fighter IV series, The Last Of Us, etc.

And finally, with PS4 we got a system with lots of enjoyable games now in true fullHD (Uncharted 4, Spider-Man, Ghost Of Tsushima, GTA V, Devil May Cry 4 & 5, remakes of the Resident Evil series, etc.) plus we can enjoy the 75% or more of the catalog of the actual generation. So I still think that PS4 is actually a better recommended system than his expensive and almost desertic successor.
In fact, I just love playing PS5 because of the excellent ergonomy of the DualSense and I just really like a few exclusive titles wich can be counted with the fingers of a single hand... Sony needs to wake up and start to do things right again by thinking much more about the players, seriously...

 

[RashFaustinho]

Peak Tier:
Playstation 2, Playstation 4

High Tier:
Playstation 1, Playstation Portable

Mid Tier:
Playstation 3, Playstation VITA (but it's much higher in my heart)

Bottom Tier:
Playstation 5

 

[Num]

Factually, its the PS2, but IMO, the PS3 and the PSP had this sort of connected "feel" that the newer consoles lack, especially with PS Home. If only Sony would make a new one (although, one of the dev studios did make their own "PS Home" on mobile, Avakin Life. It's very similar but also riddled with MTX and money-only currencies, you can barely do anything)

playstation home was also riddled with micro transactions too. as a free to play player all you could do was practically just walk around places talking to people but that was the point of it anyways. i remember playstation home houses selling for thousands of dollars on there probably the first time my mind was boggled by that kind of thing. there was an unironic social heiarchy in that game based on financial status, like you wouldnt get invited to those exotic parties because they refused anyone poor it was kind of funny how much it really reflected real life. i spent quite a bit of money on it but i still got made fun of from the upper class because my assets were too cheap

 

[ifelloffmybike]

Really is disappointing to see the PS5 usually not near the top of most people here's lists. Not disappointed in people, but in this console generation in general. The Xbox Series and PS5 lines have just been so dull. Okay games, okay UI, okay whatever. The ups aren't that up and the downs aren't even that down compared to last generation or anything. A lot of 'pizazz' just feels gone? Like yeah, the PS5 can produce extremely good graphics, but all new games focus on is utilizing that to make super ultra realistic games. Realism can be cool but when it's all the time it gets extremely boring.

It feels like there's three genres on newest hardware, Anime, Realistic, and Futuristic. Futuristic being something like a large natural untamed looking world broken up by giant metal obelisks and all the characters wearing sharp very defined armor with glowing bits on it. I want to like the PS5 and the Xbox Series and the newer games, but i feel like i have to go backwards to really get the creativity and fun focus! Didn't really mean to just rant but that's what it turned into. This was sparked by replaying a bit of Ape Escape 3 by the way lol.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

PS2 since PS1 and PS2 has the best game library.

 

[Actinid23]

I grew up with the PS1, I was in love with Gran Turismo 2 (and still play it nowadays XD).
The PS2 came out while I was 11, I played it a lot, even when the next gen arrived.
Then I switched to PC and Casual gaming on Wii.
I own a PS3 since last year but I don't feel so enthusiast about it. Don't talk about PS4/5 to me ^^
Long story short, the PS1 & 2 equally have my heart.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

I have never been an explicit sony fan. I had a PS1 when i was very small but it was never my favorite. I only ever played one of the four games we had which was Crash Bandicoot 2. (The best OG crash by the way.) In the general retro gaming space i feel like a lot of people praise the PS2 as the holy grail of all consoles. And yeah, there's some solid reasons why, but it's just never captured me like the original Xbox, Gamecube, Dreamcast or the Wii have.

So i'm interested to hear other people's favorites and their reasoning for it. Handhelds do count for this if you wanted to chose the PSP, PS Vita, or the PocketStation... if you're super niche lol.

Anything that's not the PS5 with it's endless desert of games.

 

[Antihero]

Overall I would say Ps2

 

[Ian Naxieas]

Hmm, depends. If we're talking about a console in a void, I'd go with PS1. If not, launch PS3. Can play PS1 and PS2 games, plus has a decent enough library, though it didn't match the 360's.

 

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

If you count backwards compatibility, I'd have to say PS2 by default. Otherwise... PS1. By far PS3 is my least favorite, but I'm not a fan of that generation in general.

 

[Nidstang]

As much as I want to say PS2, as it's tied with the Switch for my favorite console, I have to say the PS3 was the best Playstation console. Especially the launch PS3.

Both consoles had amazing libraries, both first and third party, but the PS3 has the best console UI ever designed, especially the launch UI and launch store, web browser, custom themes, plus free online, and experimental games like Home. All PS3s can play PS1 games, and original 60GB PS3s can play PS2 games, giving players access to nearly the entire PS library up to that point.

It's a shame they janked up the PS3 store. But I still believe the UI is the best of all time.

Edit: the Dualshock 2 and 3 are also still the best PS controllers

 

[VampireLord1024VampireLord1024's icon]

Maybe the PS2?

 

[aru.aru]

Gotta be the PS2, I mean that thing plays DVDs!!

Have you ever heard of such a thing?!

 

[Actinid23]

Gotta be the PS2, I mean that thing plays DVDs!!

Have you ever heard of such a thing?!

Haha, you're right, and it runs PS1 games too. But i love the look of the OG PS1 hardware.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

It’s a tie between the psx and ps2 for me. Probably the two consoles I still buy the most games for. In second place surprisingly enough, I’d put the PS4. There’s a lot that’s wrong with modern gaming but I got it roughly three years ago and I’ve been having a total blast with its library. I enjoyed the psp too. Fantastic selection of exclusives and for many years my go to console for emulators, but it always gives me cramps when I’m playing a game that is more demanding than a turn-based rpg so I’ve retired it in favor of retroarch on my phone.
I have a hard time mustering up any nostalgia for the ps3. There’s a couple of must play games for sure but I don’t know man, that whole hardware generation was when I checked out of gaming for close to a decade and whenever I boot it up again once in a blue moon I can feel exactly why I did that. It’s been getting a bit more use lately because ps3 games have become crazy cheap at second hand stores in Japan.
I really have no opinion on the ps5 and vita because I haven’t played either yet to my knowledge. From what I can tell the vita was actually pretty damn good but just never got the support it deserved whereas the ps5‘s main function seems to be losing money for Sony, like they’re running some kind of The Producers kind of scam. I may eventually get one should my ps4 break down but to me it doesn’t make sense to own both.

 

[Denmdm]

Pretty much tied between PS2 and PS3 for me, hardware was great and there was good catalogue in both but I would say PS2 is the best because of how advanced the hacking and modding community is for the PS2 and its games. Great tools like the media player and OPL, plus getting to play great hacks on original hardware is pretty cool.

 

[Kid Dynamite]

I'm inclined to say the PS3. The one I owned was the 60GB which was backwards compatible. There are many titles I enjoyed for that console. One being The Godfather: Don's Edition and so many others.

 

[Bomberman]

For me it’s psx/ps1> ps2>ps3>ps5>ps4

With handhelds included

Ps1>ps2>psp>ps3>vita>ps5>ps4

PS4 was such a small leap from ps3 imo and the reason I ranked ps5 higher is the ssd and atleast it was backwards compatible for the most part.

Psx/ps1 is the goat library imo with unparalleled JRPG goodness and a wide variety of games as well.

Ps2 lacked as many jrpgs but had more robust games of other genres

PSP could play ps1 games on the go, had solid ports and its own variety of unique games I put this over ps3 by a hair because I got a ps3 in 2013

PS3 excellent graphics, Tales of Xillia is amazing, last of us cool, lots of cool hd ports

Vita had some really high highs with wipeout 2048, gravity rush, Killzone Mercenary, etc but ultimately was not supported enough by sony

Ps5 really the main reason this is over ps4 is astrobot, FFXVI, and the ssd

PS4- Sonys worst console imo. Recharged ps3 owners for 1080p upscales, was not backwards compatible with even ps1 games. Etc.

 

[bjork]

This PS2 is #1, then the Hannah Montana PSP.
Oh, functionality? PS1> PS2> Vita = PSP and I don't have enough experience with the others to say.

 

[FrayGuillermo]

according mostly to games released in their period:

ps2 > ps4 > psx > ps5, not ranking ps3 because I skipped that gen almost entirely

 

[AncientBehemoth]

1st place. PS one PS 2 and PSP
2nd place. The rest.

 

[CheelaCheela's icon]

PS2>PSP>PS1>PSVITA>PS3>PS5>PS4

with my limited knowledge of modern ps consoles. The ps4 is worthless now, but the ps5 isn't that great of a deal, maybe in a few years.

Yes, i put the psvita there, for its modding potential,but i love my psp soo much that is going adobe all, with the exception of the GOAT ps2