Top 5 PS1 Games.

Raskolnikov

For me anyway, the Playstation 1 gave the best games I've ever played. I can still remember first seeing Formula 1 and Destruction Derby and being blown away by just how much of an improvement the visuals were over my SNES. The Playstation 2 had a couple of good games, but never even came close to matching the Playstation 1 for sheer awe and playability of the games. Anyway, here are my favourites.

1. Resident Evil 2, from begining to end, an absolute pleasure to play. Filled with incredible atmoshpere, general creepiness and some huge scares! Loved it, loved it, loved it.
2. Final Fantasy 7, again, another game that was so enjoyable to play. Great story, huge depth and playability. I was completely gutted when I finished it because I knew this was a once in a lifetime kind of game.
3. Castlevania, Symphony of the Night, for a genre that was supposed to be dead (side-scrolling platformers), this game certainly proved there was life in the old dog yet. Again, it had huge depth with lots of cool weapons, skills, power ups to collect.
4. Silent Hill, the first game ever to really give me the chills. I don't think I've played a game with a better soundtrack since.
5. Blood Omen, Legacy of Kain, highly enjoyable RPG styled game where you play an unscrupulous vampire trying to avenge your death!

Honourable mentions, Suikoden, Allied/Panzer General, Rage Racer, Command and Conquer: Red Alert and a bunch of others I can't think of!

Slash/ED

Not even a mention of MGS? I never had a PS1, and so only played this after getting a PS2 and despite that was still blown away by it.

1huge1

Never had a ps1, N64 ftw

But I always liked Resident evil 1,2,3 (have em all on gamecube)
also have msg remake on the cube

and crash team racing was always a laugh

Retr0gamer

Much tougher than the PS2 top 5. Really need a top 10.

1. Suikoden 2: Fantastic RPG with by far the best story for a videogame ever. No other game has got me so involved in the story. Great characters as well from the tragic tale of the 3 main characters to the Luca Blight, the best videogame villian ever and evil bastard.

2. Final Fantasy VII: Flawed unfinished storyline and a battle system that is too sparse. I still enjoyed this game immensely. It has so much charm and will keep you playing right to the end.

3. Metal Gear Solid: Has to be in everybodies top 5. Fantastic piece of gaming combining wonderfully inventive gameplay with a decent storyline and high production values.

4. Resident Evil 2: Pinnacle of the series before Resi 4.

5. Castlevanis: Symphony of the Night: The next best thing to super metroid.

6. Einhander: Superb shmup from Squaresoft of all people. Wonderfully atmospheric, beautiful graphics, stunning soundtrack and insane boss battles.

7. Final Fantasy Tactics: Brilliant strategy RPG. Probably one of the hardest games I've ever played. Great storyline and soundtrack to boot.

8. R-type Delta: Another brilliant entry for the R-type series. Wonderful graphics combined with the classic R-type gameplay make this a must have.

9. Grandia: Brilliant RPG from Game Arts. Doesn't have the epic storyline of other RPGs but makes up for it with great characters and one of the best RPG battle systems ever.

10. Vagrant Story: Even a pretty rubbish battle system couldn't stop me enjoying this game. Excellent graphics and probably the best soundtrack from Hitoshi Sakimoto really give this game a great atmosphere. Storyline is particularly good and for once Squaresoft did an excellent job of the localisation.

Special mentions go to G-Darius, FFIX, Resi 1 and 3, Xenogears, the oddworld games and front mission 3.

Creature

Resident Evil 2 - A superb, atmopheric monster of game. Possibly the best intro ever too.

Silent Hill - Scary as **** in some places with that amazing soundtrack and some nightmarish visuals. Konami really made the genre their own with this.

Metal Gear solid - Just brilliant. Gaming perfection.

Vagrant Story - A super addcitive RPG with a clever weapon customisation system and some very memorable enemies.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 - World tour mode, single player mode, multi player mode, an excellent intricate gameplay system and the best roster of characters ever - Goodbye life!

Medal of Honour: Underground - Better than it's predecessor in every way adn you get to fight tanks!

Soul Blade - An excellent skillful fighting game with elements of an RPG thrown in.

5 was too little...

Retr0gamer

Creature wrote:

Medal of Honour: Underground - Better than it's predecessor in every way adn you get to fight tanks!

Always found the first game to be much better. Atmosphere was a lot better.

Dont be at yourself

Metal Gear Solid is without a doubt the best game on the PSOne, for me.

After that:

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Bushido Blade, Resident Evil 2, Ridge Racer Type 4.

johnny_ultimate

I'm just waiting for the thread: Top 5 PS3 games.

But anyway, my PS1 days were in effect my gaming youth (and my actual youth at that) so alot of my collection consists of absolute rubbish. But I have fond memories of:

FF7 - still easily one of my favourite games of all time, if not my favourite. None of the sequels have lived up to it IMO. It had everything : a proper Chocobo quest, best soundtrack ever, drama, the Gold Saucer, extremely solid battle system, and the most emotional moment in a game ever (except for that cliff bit in SotC ).

MGS - never owned this wonderful game, but despite it's short length, I was extremely impressed by it when I got a lends off a friend of mine. It has been bettered by it's two superb sequels, but MGS is one hell of a game, and kick started an entire stealth-em-up genre that has blessed us with some of the finest games in town.

Tony Hawks 2 - my first entry into the series, and a great one at that. Perhaps 3 was the pinnacle of the series, but 2 was a great stepping stone towards that lofty goal, even if it has been rendered almost unplayable today.

Medal of Honour - Don't know if I could go back to it today, but for a while it was one of the finest console shooters and was quite an original idea back in the day. Unfortunately, legions of sub-par sequels (Frontline I'm looking at you) and copy-cat killers have ruined it's rep.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - Again, wouldn't know how this would play in 2007, but I remember being dazzled by it's quite epic run time, hyper stylisation, and excellent combat. The game Tomb Raider should have been.

Looking at my quite embarrasing collection can't think others, despite maybe the later FF entries.

Basq

No mention of Crash Bandicoot? The ultimate platformer which got me back into gaming!

FranchisePlayer

There is no mention of saga frontier 2 a great rpg made by squaresoft. Same opinion as the rest of you on mgs1 brilliant game:D

Retr0gamer

basquille wrote:

No mention of Crash Bandicoot? The ultimate platformer which got me back into gaming!

It was meh. Nothing compared to the marios and Sonics of the time. Ultimate PS1 platformer? Try the excelllent and overlooked Klonoa.

FranchisePlayer wrote:

There is no mention of saga frontier 2 a great rpg made by squaresoft

It was awful.

FranchisePlayer

Retr0gamer wrote:

It was awful.

by what means?

Retr0gamer

Poor story. The game revolves around it's combat system which is very poor and since this takes up so much of the game it gets really dull very quickly. It's also very unbalanced requiring you to level up in even more boring combat. Awful stuff altogether. In case anyone is wondering this game spawned the equally terrible Unlimited Saga.

Some people seem to like the Saga games. The vast majority of RPG players know it's cack.

steviec

1) Final Fantasy VII - I can't add anything that hasn't already been said. Redefined what I believed a computer game could be.

2) Suikoden 2 - brilliant story, as good as FFVII but without the incredible cinematics and soundtrack. Excellent sidequests too trying to gather every character.

3) Little Big Adventure - quirky adventure game with some great dialogue and unique gameplay. Criminally overlooked.

4) Metal Gear Solid - brilliant game, although the PS2 versions took the concept much further with better controls and gameplay options, if not story

5) Syndicate Wars - I know most people prefer to play with a mouse, but I grew up with Syndicate on Megadrive and then the sequel on Playstation and to me the controls are perfect. Wonderful game, great co-op play.

I also want to mention Vandal Hearts, Legacy of Kain, Broken Sword, Carnage Heart, Gran Turismo, Bushido Blade, FFVIII, Driver, Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey and F1 '97.

Very hard to just list five games.

Retr0gamer

I much preferred Suikoden 2's story to FFVII. It was much more human. FFVII was a decent fantasy story mixed with sci-fi elements. There were very few fantasy elements affecting the story of Suikoden 2, the main theme was how war affects lives and can destroy them. Most of the events in the game were based off actual battles and literature from China. Even the characters were much better especially the bad guys, you could understand Luca's genocidal massacre but it's had to figure out what motivated sephiroth or jenova. IMO Luca Blight was a much better bad guy than Sephiroth and the assault on Matilda and the ending were far more emotional than 'that part' of FFVII.

steviec

Retr0gamer wrote:

I much preferred Suikoden 2's story to FFVII. It was much more human. FFVII was a decent fantasy story mixed with sci-fi elements. There were very few fantasy elements affecting the story of Suikoden 2, the main theme was how war affects lives and can destroy them. Most of the events in the game were based off actual battles and literature from China. Even the characters were much better especially the bad guys, you could understand Luca's genocidal massacre but it's had to figure out what motivated sephiroth or jenova. IMO Luca Blight was a much better bad guy than Sephiroth and the assault on Matilda and the ending were far more emotional than 'that part' of FFVII.

I can't really disagree with you on any of those points, but for whatever reason FFVII just struck a chord with me more. A large part of that may have been the perfect music score. Maybe the FMVs contributed too. Maybe it was just the fact it was a longer game so I spent more time getting to know the characters.

When the main character in Suikoden 2 lost someone dear to him, I simply didn't feel like I shared that loss, I was shocked but it was nowhere near as emotional as FFVII. I can't really say why but that's just my view.

FFVII did cover a lot of themes that weren't rooted in Fantasy too though, and in particular a lot of the character's back stories were way beyond anything in Suikoden. From the desperation of the coal miners of Barret's home town to Cid's shattered dreams that he blamed on his wife, there's a lot to relate to in what was a very believable world.

Both wonderful games though.

Retr0gamer

Might have been a little harsh on the characters on FFVII. Really thought they were excellent as well. I love what Hironobu Sakaguchi did where you didn't really know the characters until the story was explored. There were huge contrasts to how we preceived the characters and what their true personality was. As an example, Aeris seemed weak and fragile but we learn that she is the bravest of all the characters and not afraid to tell us her feelings while Tifa was a kick ass martial arts expert yet was never really brave enough to tell Cloud her true feelings about him. I suppose FFVII explored all it's characters in detail while Suikoden 2 only really explored the past of the the 3 friends, Luca and Sara Blight.

However when it comes to Sephiroth versus Luca there's only one winner. I still remember the scene when Luca told the peasant after burning the whole village down that he would spare her life if she acted like a pig and then cut her down while screaming 'Die Pig!'. No matter what I always felt sorry for him. I just had nothing but hatred for Sephiroth after disc 1

johnny_ultimate

Have to throw in a mention for Tombi as well - what an odd little game

Retr0gamer

johnny_ultimate wrote:

Have to throw in a mention for Tombi as well - what an odd little game

From the creator of Gn'G I believe. Tombi! 1 and 2 were both great games. I'll have to give them a blast since I never really gave them much of a go.

Reganio 2

Right in no particular order (because I couldnt decide) I have gone with

Resident Evil1/2 - I couldnt decide between these two I still have Resi 2 but I always remeber 1 when that zombie turns around at the start and stares straight into the camera frightend the s**t out of me.

MGS - I cant remeber which one but at the end you fight a great big robot that one was brilliant I think it was 1 though.

Silent Hill - I dont know why I loved these type of games cause I always got frightend and couldn't play on anymore.

Tomb Raider - Just brings back great memories of sitting there all day playing trying to get by the levels.

Broken Sword - Recently bought this on the PC but I originally played it on the PS. I've never trusted clowns since.

God that was hard.

madrab

Twisrted metal 2
Doom
tomb raider 1
Blood Omen
syndicate wars

Sparky

basquille wrote:

No mention of Crash Bandicoot? The ultimate platformer which got me back into gaming!

Oh the memories

Raskolnikov

madrab wrote:

tomb raider 1

I was actually going to mention Tomb Raider, only because I thought it was the most overrated game in existance. I just found it too frustrating and sluggish, far too many leaps of faith and timing jumps to perfection otherwise die and restart the level again capper.

As for the worst ever game? Aquanauts Holiday, nonsensical Japanese rubbish that no one I lent the game even had a clue how to play. I hadn't been that frustrated by trying to even figure a game out since Raiders of the Lost Ark on the Atari 2600.

Retr0gamer

Loved Tomb Raider 1. Played it on the PC with my Power VR graphics accelerator . It really felt like an indiana jones film. The atmosphere was perfect. They really ruined the series with the rest of the series. Tomb Raider 3 was half decent and the 4th game was rather good but couldn't match the original. Legend is a step in the right direction but is out classed by the likes of PoP. Can't wait for the TR1 remake.

0ubliette

Raskolnikov wrote:

5. Blood Omen, Legacy of Kain, highly enjoyable RPG styled game where you play an unscrupulous vampire trying to avenge your death!

LOK was f*ckin awesome. It was like Zelda if it had been designed by satanists.
I still remember being shocked by the chained prisoners in the dungerons going 'please help me kind sir!' and kain laughing evilly when youd kill them and drink their blood
They were easily one of the best acted games of all time. The voice acting in all the lok games was easily on a par if not better than any MGS game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5BRglejVCs

LOK:soul reaver 2 intro..still one of my fav intros of all time.

tman

Metal Gear Solid - took months before I bothered playing past the opening scene, but once I got as far as the elevator, I was utterly hooked until the end credits rolled. fantastic stuff!
Dino Crisis 2 - a criminally overlooked game, and one that I always seem to be alone in loving... a more action based gameplay formula than the first, and a far better game for it imo.
Resident Evil 3 - Most people seem to view this as the weakest of the series on the PS1, but for me it had everything that I wanted from a Resi game.
Street Fighter Alpha III - I played it until my left thumb had sores... then played it some more. my fave 2D beat em up of all time. (shame that the PS1's terrible D-pad wasn't really suited to it)
Silent Hill - One of the most terrifying gaming experiences ever, that moment when you come down from the clock tower in the school will stay with me forever!

And yep, I've still got to play through SotN....
and honorable mentions to the 2 Legacy of Kain games, but I played both of those games on the pc.

Retr0gamer

tman wrote:

Dino Crisis 2 - a criminally overlooked game, and one that I always seem to be alone in loving... a more action based gameplay formula than the first, and a far better game for it imo.

I'll have to give this a go since I've heard so many people tell me how good it was. I heard it's more like a mix of Devil May Cry and Resi, more so the former.

TechnoFreek

Impossible to pick a PS1 Top 5 but here are 5 of my many favourites.

Wipeout 2097
Probably my all time favourite game on the PS1. Crazy speed with a nice difficulty curve. And a licensed soundtrack second to none. I still think no other licensed game soundtrack comes close in terms of quality or appropriateness.

Final Fantasy 7
Amazing game with stunning CG sequences for the time. I've even started playing it again on the psp, almost 10 years later!

Resident Evil 2
No explanation needed! I think this has been covered well enough by everyone else already!

Tekken 2
Expanded on the original and improved on every area. Very tight and complete package

Metal Gear Solid
Engaging gameplay and direction - classic

justfortherecor

1. Metal Gear Solid - One of the first games to keep me absolutely absorbed, still go back to play it every once in a while.

2. Formula One '97 - This was my first game on the PS1 and it was also one of my favourites. Good graphics, perfect gameplay and its successors have yet to supercede it IMO. Fantastic.

3. Tomb Raider - Simply loved it, brilliantly executed game.

4. Intelligent Qube - Played this on a demo which came with the PS1, got addicted and eventually invested in the full game. I played this one for absolutely ages. (Abe's Oddysee is another classic from that demo disc, and also that pirate ship game whose name I always forget.)

5. GTA - despite the extremely crude graphics I still found this game unbelievably fun.

SeantheMan

In no particular order

Metal Gear Solid

Final Fantasy 7/8

Resident Evil 3 - I enjoyed this more than the other 2 :eek:

Tenchu - LOVED that game

Gran Turismo 2 - Feckin amazing..suprised noone else has mentioned it:rolleyes:

super_furry

Most of my favourites have already been mentioned but I'd throw in Azure Dreams. It was the ultimate dungeon crawler with some brilliant town building and a strange near dating-sim aspect to it. Very addictive and slightly off the wall.