As you know, Sony recently threw its hat into the plug and play consoles ring with the upcoming Playstation Classic. Earlier this week they released the full list of games for it. I’m not particularly impressed.
• Battle Arena Toshinden
• Cool Boarders 2
• Destruction Derby
• Final Fantasy VII
• Grand Theft Auto
• Intelligent Qube
• Jumping Flash
• Metal Gear Solid
• Mr Driller
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
• Rayman
• Resident Evil Director’s Cut
• Revelations: Persona
• Ridge Racer Type 4
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
• Syphon Filter
• Tekken 3
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
• Twisted Metal
• Wild Arms
It’s interesting to see Battle Arena Toshinden on here, but when it first launched, it was to the Playstation what Virtua Fighter 2 was to the Sega Saturn, and was actually a fairly solid fighting game for its time. Resident Evil Director’s Cut, FFVII, Tekken 3, Oddworld, and Metal Gear Solid are great third party choices. I’m surprised at seeing Wild Arms, Coolboarders, and Revelations: Persona on the list. Syphon Filter, Intelligent Qube, Destruction Derby, and Jumping Flash are also fine choices. Grand Theft Auto on the other hand was a bit of a niche title on the PS1 and it didn’t really take off until GTA3 on PS2. Rainbow Six on the PS1 was never that popular, especially compared to other PS1 shooters like Medal of Honor and Disruptor. R4 is cool, but I would have went with one of the earlier Ridge Racer games. Then again if the PS Classic port of R4 contains the 60 FPS Ridge Racer bonus disc.
My real beef, and yours too most likely is with the games that were omitted. Twisted Metal is nice, but Twisted Metal 2 was the one everyone loved. Also, where are classic third party games like Symphony of the Night, Resident Evil 2, and Tomb Raider? Better yet, where are games like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon? At one time, those were to Sony what Mario and Zelda were to Nintendo. There isn’t much in the way of sports games either, but needless to say Licensing issues would prevent anything such as Madden 98 or Gameday appearing on the mini-console.
With this in mind, I decided to come up with my own list for my ideal Playstation Classic. I’m gonna up the amount of games to 30, 15 being first party (or at least first party at the time) titles, and the rest being third party titles.
1, 2, and 3 – Crash Bandicoot Trilogy
Yes, I know they just re-released this on current systems, but at one time, Crash Bandicoot was the big mascot for the Playstation. It had that simple-to-play yet hard to master gameplay that Mario and Sonic made famous, and it had its own share of memorable levels.
4 – Spyro the Dragon
This series too is owned by activision, but Spyro the Dragon was another solid platformer for the PS1. The first three games in the series were developed by Insomniac, who recently bought you the PS4 Spider-Man game. The Spyro games were excellent 3D platformers in the style of Mario 64, and were able to blossom off into a huge franchise of its own.
5 – Twisted Metal 2 – It’s bewildering that the original Twisted Metal is on here, yet not TM2, which is clearly the more famous entry in the series. In fact, most players ignore pretty much any installment in the series after it until TM: Black was released on PS2.
6 – Jumping Flash – I confess I never played this title, but it was one of the more unique titles for the PS1, so I’ll keep it here.
7 – Battle Arena Toshinden – Most players today probably either forgot or never heard of this series, as the last entry in the franchise was never released in America. However, when the Playstation was first released, BAT was the go-to fighting game for the system. It was to the PS1 what Virtua Fighter 2 was to the Sega Saturn.
8 – Cool Boarders 2 – Again, a game I never played, but there are too few sports titles on the system, and this was one of the best from what I hear.
9 – Intelligent Qube – This was one of the more unique puzzle games that came out on the system, so I’ll keep it.
10 – Gran Turismo 2 – There might be some issues with licensing as far as the soundtrack goes, but GT2 was one of the deepest racers of the 32-bit era. There are over 600 cars available, and you actually have to earn a driver’s licence in order to compete in various races.
11, 12, 13 – Syphon Filter 1, 2, and 3 -This was an excellent espionage thriller franchise, even if it’s gameplay hasn’t aged well. The story kept players hooked, and there was a fun multiplayer component when you got bored. Also, it was pretty fun to use the super taser of death to shock someone until they burst into flames.
14- Wild Arms – the PS1 was a hotbed for RPG Games, and Wild Arms was one of the best original franchises to come out of the 32 bit era. The western meets fantasy aesthetic was something new in RPGS, and the story kept players engaged.
15 – Ape Escape – First of all, we’ll make the controllers on my PS1 classic dual shocks. No reason not to. This game alone made you want to buy them. The level of control you had over your characters was unprecedented, and the game was pretty fun too.
16 – Final Fantasy VII – This game needs little justification for being on this list. It was a game changer, not only for the series, but for the genre, and perhaps gaming itself.
17 – Metal Gear Solid – Same goes for this title. Hideo Kojima’s 1998 Masterpiece took story telling to a whole new level when it was released 20 years ago. Even though Konami might have taken a dump all over it, it’s nice to remember the good times.
18 and 19 – Resident Evil and RE2 – The Resident Evil series got its start on the PS1 and took survival horror to a new level. Many fans will agree that these two games were where the franchise was at its peak, and playing through them, it is easy to see why. BTW< these are the dual shock versions of both games, which not only feature Dual shock support, but new content.
20 – Tomb Raider – Another series that began on the PS1. It’s a shock that the game that introduced us to Lara Croft is not on the mini-console. Although the gameplay might not have aged well, it’s still one of the best exploration games this side of Indiana Jones.
21 – Tekken 3 – Why not? The biggest and best of the original PS1 Tekken games. SO many characters and modes kept players brawling with each other for years to come.
22 – R4 – Again, another solid title, and lets include the special Ridge Racer 60 fps bonus disc too. R4 was at the time the deepest of the Ridge Racer titles, with dozens of cars to collect and a story mode. Also its arcade style racing is an excellent counter to Gran Turismo’s simulation heavy gameplay.
23 – Revelations: Persona – This was the first time that the Shin Megami Tensai series made it to U.S. shores, and it’s surprising to see it on the list, even if it has had various elements changed for American audiences. What made this game unique was its setting. While other RPGS utilized a fantasy setting, this series took place in modern day Japan. It’s combat system was also unique, as players could either battle with swords and guns, or try to talk to the enemy and recruit them to your party. This is another one I’ll keep.
24 – Suikoden II – Konami’s Suikoden was another RPG series that got its start on the PS1, and the second entry is widely regarded as having one of the best storylines in gaming. Not only that, the Suikoden games were known for having some of the biggest casts of playable characters in the RPG genre, and every one of them has their own abilities and background.
25 – Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – Speaking of Konami, this game bought classic 2D action to the Playstation and gave it a Metroid-inspired twist. Playing as Alucard, players explored a huge open castle in an attempt to stop Dracula. with a twist midway through the game that threw everything literally upside down, SOTN remains a high spot in both the Playstation library and the series itself. It’s criminal that this game wasn’t included in the original lineup.
26 – Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee – Oddworld was another unique game that got its start on the PS1 series. It went against the grain with its hero, graphical style, and gameplay. The developers did a great job of world building, and they took all new and different directions with its sequels and spinoffs.
27 – Rayman – The original Rayman was a graphical masterpiece, and its graphics and animation were unrivaled. The game was the start of a new platforming franchise, one that would prove its worth overtime. The first game’s popularity on the PS1 showed gamers that the Playstation could handle classic 2D platforming as well as it did 3D graphics. 28 – Soul Edge – The home version of Namco’s weapon fighter added a ton of new features. It also marked a turning point between arcade and home ports of fighting games, as not only were the home versions of fighting games equal to their arcade counterparts, but they could surpass them. Not to mention that Soul Edge was the start of the popular Soul Calibur franchise, which recently received its seventh mainline entry in Soul Calibur 6.
29 – Final Fantasy VIII – While opinions about this game are more mixed than they were with FFVII, to me, this was hands down one of the best RPGS on the original PS1. While the game’s combat system took some getting used to, the game’s plot, characters, and music kept players hooked throughout the whole game.
30 – Silent Hill – Alongside Resident Evil, Silent Hill was another Survival Horror franchise which was born on the PS1. Unlike RE, Silent Hill dove deep into the supernatural to deliver its scares. Playing as Harry Mason, you enter the fog filled city of Silent Hill to find your daughter Cheryl. The game was chock full of secrets, multiple endings, and scares, making it the start of one of the most endearing horror franchises in gaming.
So this is my list. Tell me what you think and tell me what games you would add on here.
