Best Playstation 1 Sports Games
The 25 best PS1 games of all time
The best PS1 games had a transformative bear on on the video game industry. When Sony entered the market in 1994, few could have predicted that the PlayStation would alter gaming forever. Looking dorsum at it today, information technology's incredible how diverse and varied the PS1's library of games really is. It has some of the greatest activeness, adventure, horror, racing, role-playing, and stealth games of best – formative experiences that shaped their respective genres and inspired countless generations of game developers.
That'due south why picking a list of the 25 best PS1 games is no piece of cake job, let alone ranking them! But for as massive as that library is, there are some games that stand up above the rest. There's truly something for everybody here, and it'due south easier than ever to play many of these classics thanks to the new PS Plus Premium games list – which is bringing PS1 titles to PS5 and PS4 via the reworked subscription service.
So, let'due south get into it: here is our choice of the 25 best PS1 games of all-time.
For more definitive rankings of Sony PlayStation games throughout the years:
| All-time PS2 Games | All-time PS3 Games | All-time PS4 Games | All-time PS5 Games | Best PSP Games | Best PS Vita Games |
Best PS1 games, ranked
25. Bishi Bashi Special
Programmer: Konami
Released: 1998
If y'all need a multiplayer game that anybody can selection up and play, this mini-game collection should definitely exist in your library. Bishi Bashi Special is a compilation of Super Bishi Bashi and Hyper Bishi Bashi, containing 85 different button-bashing challenges with a variety of baroque themes, ranging from kick mobsters to chucking custard pies at your hymeneals guests. Up to three controllers are supported at one time then you'll need a Multitap to get the virtually out of the game, but if you've got a larger session going on everybody can still get involved, as eight players can take role in the political party mode.
24. Street Fighter Alpha iii
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1998
The PlayStation version of the final game in the Street Fighter Alpha series felt replicated the excellent arcade original faithfully, though with some concessions to the console's express memory. If it had only done that, that would be one thing. Simply this version did so much more, adding new characters to consummate the inclusion of the Super Street Fighter II cast, besides equally a Earth Tour manner that immune players to customize their characters via fighting challenges. It felt absolutely stuffed with content back in 1999, and remains satisfying for both lonely players and those of a more than competitive nature.
23. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
Programmer: Acquire
Released: 1998
Is it fair to say that Tenchu was one of the first authentic ninja games ever? We think so. While the shadowy assassins had never been short of videogame representation, they had typically appeared in action games. By requiring the player to practise caution and stealthily assassinate targets, Tenchu really re-examined what ninja games should be, and played a function in the growing stealth-activity genre. The game offered a great deal of freedom in terms of carrying out your objectives, but was non for the impatient – ascertainment was key equally you tried to identify the perfect time to strike. Getting it right is even so a thrilling experience.
22. Spider-Human
Developer: Neversoft
Released: 2000
Neversoft's first try with your friendly neighborhood Spider-Homo really stood out from the oversupply, and not just because it was a peachy superhero game in an age when they were far from mutual. The combat and stage blueprint are solid regardless of the license, but the development squad actually nailed all the not bad things about Marvel's hero. Whether you lot're swinging between buildings, ensnaring bad guys with a web shot, or even just hearing Spidey's little quips when he handily defeats another grunt, Spider-Homo is a satisfying experience for both long-term fans of the grapheme and players who just desire a slap-up action-take a chance game.
- Best Spider-Man games
21. Einhander
Developer: Foursquare
Released: 1997
Shoot-'em-ups are definitely outside of Square's RPG comfort zone, merely that didn't end it from making a real impact in the genre. Einhänder is a incomparably conventional shoot-'em-up, but ane that has been produced to a very high quality with great visuals and strong game blueprint enhanced by the combo-based score system and modular Gunpod power-ups, useful for taking down the big bosses. At that place are some really great shoot-'em-ups on the PlayStation – R-Type Delta, One thousand-Darius and Gradius Gaiden to name a few – merely we've highlighted Einhander because information technology'due south wholly original, rather than developing on the legacy of an existing series.
twenty. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Developer: Namco
Released: 1998
The original Ridge Racer was emblematic of early Nineties arcade backlog and was a major striking at the PlayStation's launch. Actor expectations had changed by the late Nineties though, so Namco shifted its approach to the series to match. Where the original was a loud, colorful game that you played for a skilful time, not a long fourth dimension, Ridge Racer Type 4 offered a relaxing contrast with pastel-colored skies and a more relaxed soundtrack. The fantabulous drift-heavy racing remained though, and the game had some fun stories, plus more cars and tracks to play with than any of its predecessors.
- All-time racing games
19. Final Fantasy Tactics
Developer: Square
Released: 1997
As ane of the biggest names in the Japanese RPG landscape, Final Fantasy's foray into strategy RPG territory was hotly anticipated, and it didn't disappoint. This one dispenses with the high upkeep 3D spectacle and sci-fi leanings of mainline PlayStation counterparts like Final Fantasy Seven and VIII, instead offering upwardly more than complex battles featuring 2D characters on isometric 3D stages, with job classes that call dorsum to the more traditional fantasy roots of the series. Though combat is a big deal here the plot hasn't been skimped on, with a depth and maturity that belies the cuteness of the character designs.
- Best Strategy Games
Developer: SingleTrac
Released: 1996
Whether you were speeding through Hong Kong'southward railway tunnels or blowing up the Eiffel Tower, there was no dubiety that expanding the auto combat to a global scale was a swell motion for the Twisted Metal series. Equally well as these more complex and expansive arenas, the second game in the series introduced some iconic vehicles such as Axel and Mr Slam, as well every bit a co-op mode that allowed players to tackle the tournament together. The but downside was missing out on the endings, which could only be viewed by solo combatants – they remain memorably, deliciously evil today.
17. Time Crunch
Developer: Namco
Released: 1997
If yous were being shot at past a horde of really angry people, you'd desire to hide behind something for a flake of protection. It seems and then obvious, and yet calorie-free gun games just didn't let you practice it until Namco literally changed the game by introducing the cover pedal in Fourth dimension Crisis. This PlayStation version is an excellent likeness for the arcade classic, but what actually puts it over the elevation is the inclusion of a totally original 2nd scenario set in a hotel, which is sectional to this version. It justifies the purchase of a G-Con gun by itself.
16. Driver: You Are the Wheelman
Programmer: Reflections Interactive
Released: 2000
Reflections might have accidentally created 1 of the hardest tutorial stages always, but getting by information technology was well worth it. Inspired by the swell car chase movies of the Seventies, Driver gives y'all plenty of different driving missions to take on as an secret cop, from getaways to tailing other cars. What makes Driver unique on the PlayStation is that its iv metropolis environments – Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York – are proper open worlds with enough of freedom to choose your ain route, which is crucial to making your evasion of the cops feel organic and satisfying.
15. Vagrant Story
Programmer: Square
Released: 2000
Square had fully mastered the PlayStation hardware past the time Vagrant Story arrived, and the game is absolutely stunning when you lot consider what the developers were working with. While the cutscenes are breathtaking to behold, they're non the central focus here – in fact, Vagrant Story is a surprisingly streamlined have on its genre, with action and adventure taking priority instead of the usual RPG fetch quests and NPC interactions. In that location'due south some real depth to the combat, likewise – yous tin can even target the private limbs of enemies, in order to strategically break them downwards and reduce their ability to office.
14. Spyro the Dragon
Developer: Insomniac Games
Released: 1998
It seems like a silly question looking back, but in that location was once a existent debate over whether or non the PlayStation could actually do a 3D platform game – a proper one, with big open up stages, not the corridors and caverns of Crash Bandicoot and Croc. Spyro The Dragon was the emphatic answer to that question. Non merely could the PlayStation do a 3D platform game, but it could do ane very well indeed. It's not the hardest PlayStation game you'll play, but the locations are wonderful to explore, and controlling Spyro feels dandy, so yous'll enjoy breezing through to the end.
13. Tomb Raider
Programmer: Cadre Design
Released: 1996
While there are five PlayStation games to choose from, it's Lara Croft's kickoff risk that really does the trick for united states of america. In that location was simply zero quite similar Tomb Raider when it outset launched in 1996 – that combination of exploration, puzzle-solving, and gunplay in a 3D environment was wholly unique. It'due south as well quite a dissimilar experience from its successors. Though it features memorable set pieces like the famous dinosaur encounter, the original Tomb Raider is more reliant on mental challenges than action, and sticks closely to the theme of tomb raiding rather than venturing out into the open air.
- Best Action Games
12. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants
Released: 1997
The very first Oddworld game put y'all in the role of Abe, a poor meat factory worker who accidentally discovers that he and his Mudokon buddies are about to exist turned into tasty treats. Your job is to liberate every bit many of your young man enslaved Mudokons as yous can, by ordering them about, telepathically decision-making dangerous enemies, throwing grenades around, and more. It'due south something of a hybrid puzzle platformer, with the cinematic ambition of Another Globe and the character direction of Lemmings, just with the added bonus of some splendid pre-rendered visuals and rather dark humor. Also, Abe can fart.
xi. WipEout 2097
Developer: Psygnosis
Released: 1996
The original WipEout had done a lot to found the PlayStation equally a cool panel, and the fast futuristic racing action was simply equally exciting the second time around. WipEout 2097 was far easier to get into thanks to more forgiving collisions and the new Vector speed class, a slower standard to ease people in. Only the claiming hadn't been stripped away – you could now destroy your rivals with new weapons like the iconic Quake Disruptor, and the Phantom speed course and secret Piranha team awaited master racers. Licensed music from The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers just sweetened the bargain.
ten. PaRappa The Rapper
Developer: NanaOn-Sha
Released: 1996
Apart from being a brilliant source of canine rhymes, PaRappa The Rapper is a poster child for the creative, whimsical side of the PlayStation. Likewise as being a whole generation's introduction to the concept of music games, the colorful drawing graphics, strange paper-thin characters and bizarre situations that PaRappa gets into are a world apart from annihilation else on the system. Plus, PaRappa himself is perhaps the nigh relatable graphic symbol ever to star in a videogame – afterward all, his main concerns are getting a cute partner, learning how to drive, and having a desperately needed poo. We've all been there.
- Best Rhythm Games
ix. Silent Loma
Developer: Squad Silent
Released: 1999
Other survival horror games might have been bloody and fifty-fifty tense, merely Silent Hill was one of the very starting time to be genuinely unsettling. A lot of that was downward to the psychological horror arroyo adopted by Konami's developers, just as, they did a lot to make the small things matter. Sure, Silent Loma might be using fog to cover up a limited draw distance like then many other games of the era, only few of them incorporated it as an atmospheric touch in quite the same mode. And that Dual Shock heartbeat when you're low on health? Brrr.
- Best Survival Horror Games
8. Gran Turismo 2
Developer: Polys Entertainment
Released: 1997
Dorsum in the belatedly Nineties, it was difficult to imagine how Polyphony Digital could have peradventure improved upon the original Gran Turismo. The game was past far the biggest and most realistic racing game available on not only the PlayStation, only whatever console, and players had gone wild for it. The uncomplicated solution was to only accept more of everything. While the racing felt pretty like and the phenomenal graphics remained, Gran Turismo 2 features more cars and more tracks to race them on – including the make new inclusion of rally tracks, introducing off-road competition to the serial.
seven. Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Developer: Naughty Dog
Released: 1998
As the unofficial mascot of the PlayStation, you just knew the bonkers bandicoot would show up here. The first two games became famous for their high-quality platforming, across 3D into-the-screen sections as well equally more traditional 2.5D areas. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, this 3rd game just adds heaps of extra stuff to exercise. The game offers motorbike rides, jetski sections, underwater adventures, and more, all with the same first-class presentation you'd look. That'south all not bad for newcomers, and the challenge is withal there for fanatics, with some truly testing time trials to tackle for 100% completion.
- Best Take chances Games
6. Tekken iii
Developer: Namco
Released: 1998
The Tekken series was the premier 3D fighting franchise on Sony's console from the moment information technology arrived, and the third installment was hands the superlative of Namco's achievements with the series in that era. The core fighting action was refined, with animations that more naturally flowed into one another, and the visuals were better thanks to the high-resolution mode and more solid character models. That wasn't all though, equally Tekken 3 was packed with things to do. There were plenty of unlockables from bizarre characters like Gon to odd modes similar Tekken Ball, plus the scrolling beat-'em-up Tekken Force game.
- All-time Fighting Games
5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Developer: Neversoft
Released: 2000
The original Tony Hawk'southward Pro Skater was an unexpected success thanks to its unique platform game-inspired take on extreme sports, and there were high expectations for the sequel. Neversoft knocked it out of the park, creating classic stages that are still amongst the all-time the series has always had, and filling them with twice as many goals. The introduction of the transmission massively increased the scope of the combos you could string together, and if you always got bored you could just create your ain park. Go along – crank upward When Worlds Collide and feel that musculus retentivity returning.
- Best Sports Games
4. Resident Evil two
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1998
Resident Evil 2 is to Resident Evil what Aliens was to Alien. Don't believe us? Think about the tension of that first game, how information technology built up to that first zombie meet. Resident Evil 2 has more than than that on the very offset screen, marking it out as the bigger budget, more action-packed sequel. But every bit y'all take Leon and Claire through Raccoon City, at that place are still enough of scary moments – the gun store nightmare and that showtime fleeting sight of the Licker stand out. Plus, the innovative game design meant that your first play might even affect a subsequent run.
- Best Horror Games
iii. Final Fantasy 7
Programmer: Square
Released: 1997
Information technology'south then easy to talk near Terminal Fantasy 7'south product values, and they practise deserve recognition. It had beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds, stunning existent-time spell animations, and a soundtrack that is up there with the best ever. But the tale of Deject, Sephiroth, and the fate of the planet is an epic ane, and it's oft disregarded for featuring some real warmth. For every dramatic moment, you'll run into something like the party complaining about endless staircases, a scene with the Turks, or fifty-fifty a sighting of a mad scientist relaxing on the beach, making it easy to become invested in their plight.
- Best RPG games
ii. Castlevania: Symphony Of The Nighttime
Developer: Konami
Released: 1997
At a fourth dimension when the world was obsessed with the move to 3D, this 2nd masterpiece was a timely reminder that chasing graphical trends was no substitute for superb game design. The game dispensed with the linear progression of past Castlevania games, instead allowing yous to explore a sprawling castle that opens upwardly steadily every bit Alucard gains new abilities. The RPG elements are well integrated, the graphics have aged with grace and the soundtrack is truly excellent too. To understand this game's impact, simply consider this – this game is l% responsible for naming the "Metroidvania" subgenre of exploratory platform games.
- All-time Metroidvania Games
Programmer: Konami
Released: 1998
What can you say about Konami's classic? Few PlayStation games have such impressive 3D environments, nor such cinematic appetite. Many games owe a debt to Metal Gear Solid'south elementary but effective take on stealth. But what actually sticks out to us all these years later is just how inventive the game was. Whether it was hiding crucial information on the game's physical packaging or giving y'all some ketchup to let you fake an injury – not to mention that dominate fight with Psycho Mantis – Metal Gear Solid had enough of out-of-the-box ideas, and rewarded players for having them also.
- All-time Stealth Games
If y'all're passionate about retro gaming or just want to learn more about it, and so you should check out Retro Gamer . Retro Gamer is the world'southward longest-running magazine dedicated to classic games, and yous tin find out more about information technology at at Magazines Direct (opens in new tab)
Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/best-psx-games/
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