Support NeoGAF

[yewles1]

Jumping Flash series for those who want a mix of 3D platforming and FPS.

Philosoma if you want to see where Sony's cinematic gaming aspirations came from.

Suikoden 1 doesn't get as much love as 2, but it's fantastic in its own right.

Legacy of Kain games are storyline wonders.

Arc the Lad trilogy is RPG fun.

Battle Arena Toshinden makes for a nice historical piece.

Brave Fencer Musashi is a must for Square fans.

Street Fighter Alpha 1 is still good compared to the later two entries.

Descent games never get enough love anymore.

Nor does Forsaken for that matter.

Tobal series are decent fighters.

Ehrgeiz too.

 

[Pallas]

Kartia, a rare PS1 tactical RPG published by Atlus, it even had a two player duel mode where you could fight your friend.

 

[kingbean]

I have just the game for you.

Don't read or look up anything about it. Just play.

Then play MDK 2.

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

 

[Yoshi]

There are two more obscure PS1 titles I have a high opinion of:

Croc Legend of Gobbos is a great platforming game with the best 3d platforming level design on the whole platform. Its only weakness are its controls, which are tank controls and suck. Still the game is awesome overall.

The second one is an unofficial Fire Emblem game by the series creator, TearRing Saga. It only released in Japan but it has a competent English fan translation. It is not the best Fire Emblem, but also not the worst. It is a good one. IMO the best SRPG on PS1.

 

[Meted]

If you fall into the niche group that likes this kind of game it's the only one of it's kind and is great

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Believe it or not, the PS1 version of Diablo was great. It controlled well using the gamepad and I thought it looked better.

Diablo 1 is actually a terrible game looking back, but PS did get a solid port.

 

[EightBit Man]

 

[Alexios]

^ can't recommend PS1 Exhumed when Saturn Exhumed exists and everyone's gonna be emulating it these days anyway, might as well go for the best version. Would have been great if Doom Eternal with all its platforming and secret hunting tried to take this formula to maximize the effect without diminishing combat (eep, similarly for the likes of legendary games like Quake II, Myst, etc., how are those "hidden" and why recommend them for PS1 nowadays outside "wow they ported it" or "of course they ported it, it's the most ported game ever after Doom or something").

 

[EightBit Man]

 

[EightBit Man]

I could go on for hours, but I leave it at that.

 

[teezzy]

it's not so hidden but still I feel like most people haven't played it. It was the first game to require dualshock analog control and imo still one of the best/creative uses for them (along side Katamari Damacy & Space Fisherman) and is easily in the top rankings for best 3D platformer on the system. I grew up on Crash and Spyro and only got to Ape Escape in my 20s. WHAT A SHAME!!

While I prefer the PS2 sequels, the best part about Ape Escape is just how well the original holds up.

As a kid I remember my older cousin taunting me for wanting to play "the stupid monkey game" when we were renting from the video store.

Once home with both his selection and my own, we were both glued to Ape Escape like no other while whatever dumb game he chose received very little play whatsoever.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Panzer Front

 

[Whitesnake]

RC de GO!

Vib-Ribbon

Air Combat

No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!

Special shoutout to Saltwater Sportfishing by T2, it was about as fun as a fishing game can get (by which I mean it's kinda fun, but not really worthy of being called a "gem") but it had a DAMN good soundtrack for a fishing game.

 

[Sub_Level]

This whole thread

 

[EightBit Man]

 

[EightBit Man]

Looking back, maybe the PlayStation is my favorite console ever...so many great games, unbelievable.

 

[Impotaku]

Pepsiman
70's robot anime geppy x
Suzuki bakuhatsu
Ore no ryouri
Martial beat
Zanac x zanac
Twinbee yahoo
Segare ijiri
Kowai shashin
Cho aniki
Bokan desu yo
Oh No!

Theres loads of hidden weird & cool games a lot of them reside in my collection PS1 is one of of my fave consoles.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

Breath of Fire IV is a fantastic JRPG. I don't see it mentioned as often as Legend of Dragoon or Vagrant Story so I think it fits the bill.

 

[mortal]

Breath of Fire IV is a fantastic JRPG. I don't see it mentioned as often as Legend of Dragoon or Vagrant Story so I think it fits the bill.

I loved the 2.5D isometric look of PS1 era games.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

M mortal These gif images are giving me nostalgia chills. I loved the sections where you play as the antagonist, more games should do this.

 

[UnNamed]

Some racing games:

VRally 2... no seriously.

Can't find any footage, but its four player splitscreen mode is the best on PS1, even better than CRT and Quake 2. Good graphics even in 4 splitscreen with fluid framerate, and in this mode you can have an entire career instead of one or few tracks like many other games (this was the biggest mistake in many F1 games where you can race in just one track or even one vs one without opponents).

Vanishing Point

This is... controverse. I admit controls feels like cars are over sliding, but if you can cope with this, what you have is a game with an incredible graphics, 8 detailed cars at the same time on screen, beautiful track design, no slowdown, and no polygons popup whatsoever. DC version was heavily criticized cause is just the PSone version with higher resolution e texture filtering.

 

[93xfan]

Jumping Flash 2!

So highly recommended. Sony should remaster this game and maybe make it VR

 

[EightBit Man]

DIe Hard Trilogy. Its a stupid fun game.

I've made a thread about this undeniable classic.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

LSD Dream Simulator is probably the first thing that comes to mind for PS One hidden gems. It's quirky and experimental and I often tend to gravitate towards that, especially where imports are involved. Definitely a product of the experimental Generation 5, and I do wish Sony would finally get around to reissuing it here in the USA, complete with the dream journal, of course.





Tempest X3 is a fairly loose translation of Jeff Minter's Atari Jaguar masterpiece. This was one of the very few Playstation games that I owned circa 1997. I know Yak hates this version because it completely wrecked the A.I. Droid, which is supposed to fight enemies on his own and not merely follow you. The visuals are given an extra hit of acid and color, with lots of wild effects. I do strongly advise not to play this videogame if you're seriously drunk, because it will send you to the toilet. At least, it did for me.





Tail of the Sun is another weird and unique game that got little attention. Next Generation Magazine raved about it. You play a caveman who wanders around a vast world, fights animals, hunts for food, seeks to build a tower of mammoth tusks to the sun, and occasionally takes a nap. It's very open-ended and freeform and probably appeals best to kids who grew up playing the 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of the 1980s.





Baroque is apocalyptic, scary as hell, packed with ominous atmosphere and one of the greatest horror games ever made. It's a Roguelike RPG where you explore a giant tower, battle gruesome monsters and search for answers. This 1999 PSX adaptation of the 1998 Saturn classic includes a number of gameplay additions, including new characters, stages and movie clips.





Vib Ribbon...c'mon what's not to like? It's Vib Freakin' Ribbon!

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

Believe it or not, the PS1 version of Diablo was great. It controlled well using the gamepad and I thought it looked better.

Diablo 1 is actually a terrible game looking back, but PS did get a solid port.

Command & Conquer & Red Alert was also pretty decent on the PSX at the time!

 

[Shantae]

Apparently they were obsessed with lots of "legends" back then

Not as much as Josh is

 

[Soodanim]

I'd like to co-sign Croc and Klonoa, as the former was the game that made me want a PS1 in my little life, and Klonoa was a great game too.

I don't think has been mentioned yet. Depending on where you live, it's either T.R.A.G or the much better Hard Edge. It's Resident Evil with melee attacks and you're an anti terrorist group in the future so there's robots as well. You start with two characters, and pick up two more as the game progresses. One uses a gun, one a knife, one tonfa and one bare fist. The only version known these days is the HK PS3 store version, which only has English VA but it's enough to get by.

 

[stranno]

I love the "3D mode" of Transport Tycoon. In my opinion the best console exclusive 3D mode of any strategy game, even better than Sim City 64 (Playstation's Sim City "3D mode" is TERRIBLE, like an awful version of Streets of Sim City).

The Japanese version was called Transport Tycoon 3D and the cover was really cool, emphasizing the 3D thing. Unfortunately the damn Ocean just called it Transport Tycoon in Europe, with an stupidly generic cover with inverted colors over the original PC cover. So most people dont even know it is in 3D..

Compare the covers: WTF Ocean?​

The game takes almost an entire Memory Card to save. But, at least, it offers a few slots.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

I loved the 2.5D isometric look of PS1 era games.

I could replay the entire game just of the strength of those pastels. BoF IV is a really under appreciated RPG.

 

[Collin]

Legend of Dragoon and Legend of Legia.

The former gets decent praise for being an underrated gem on places like this but the latter I don't see as much love for.

 

[Slateee]

I loved the 2.5D isometric look of PS1 era games.

I can never ever get enough of the combination of 3D models and 2D sprites/backgrounds that came from this time sandwhich between 2 eras of gaming! imo that last gif is a piece of fine modern art. Do you think we'll see the day there is playable original hardware in a museum somewhere?

 

[Queso de Grande]

Edit: I love this game. You might like it too.

I love Azure Dreams. Part mystery dungeon, part city builder, and part Pokémon.

 

[teezzy]

I loved the 2.5D isometric look of PS1 era games.

Hot damn BoF4 looks like a straight banger. Time to slave over Ebay

 

[Slateee]

if you're a big fan of the original Playstation you've probably heard of Klonoa. but if you've been putting off playing it , please reconsider! especially if you like platformers. it's surprisingly fun. of the 10 games I've burned to play on my PSX, it's the one I find myself with the incessant urge to keep coming back to.
Umihara Kawase Shin is another fantastic platformer I keep putting in. although it doesn't have the same return value since, much like games of older consoles, you start from the beginning every time. Tho the levels are designed such that those who try hard and explore further upwards find doors that skip to later levels!!
I saw it mentioned in this thread once before so I played it and now I feel obligated to reinstate that this is a gem.

 

[buizel]

Black Ops Entertainment's (Treasures of the Deep guys) Agile Warrior: F-111X. Not a great flight combat sim but it features 2-players cooperative play, one player being the gunner and other the pilot (ala Star Fox Zero).

Vivid Image's Street Racer. A Mario Kart Clone. Saturn and Playstation versions were the only 8-players split-screen games ever developed until the Virtua Racing remaster for Switch. And every single version of the game uses a different technical approach. The Genesis version was a regular raster-effect road game (ala OutRun). The Super Nintendo version was a Mode 7 game. The Saturn version was a more advance Mode 7 game. And the Playstation version featured a fully polygonal road. This version probably has the shortest rendering distance i've ever seen on Playstation, playing the 8-players split-screen (even shorter than Driver 2).




It has an unofficial translation but, afaik, it is not 100% stable.

The Spanish translation is perfectly playable. I already finished it three times and yes, it is an amazing game.

I played the English translation on PSP. It's incomplete and kinda buggy, you can run around and get a bit of the storye. Id love to play the full one

 

[Clarissa]

Brigandine.

Langrisser 4 and 5. Its Japanese only though. If you love tactical srpgs you'll love the games.

 

[dacuk]

Front Mission 3

 

[Comfortgel]

Pepsiman, obviously.

 

[stranno]

I played the English translation on PSP. It's incomplete and kinda buggy, you can run around and get a bit of the storye. Id love to play the full one

According to the original post on Romhacking, all the dialogue has been translated.

Mizzurna Falls

Mizzurna Falls was one of the first 3D open world games. It was released a month before Silent Hill,

web.archive.org

I havent played it tho.

 

[4EZCOOLDART]

Suikoden 2 is my all time favorite rpg. I need to replay, I'm not sure how well it has held up. Even Final Fantasy Tactics was a little rough on my phone.

 

[Longcat]

Believe it or not, the PS1 version of Diablo was great. It controlled well using the gamepad and I thought it looked better.

Diablo 1 is actually a terrible game looking back, but PS did get a solid port.

Yes! It plays so much better than you'd imagine coming from the PC version. My favorite thing is that it has dedicated potion buttons that even burn through the potions that are in the inventory and go through the belt last so you can see when you're running out. Every time I play through Diablo 2 I get annoyed that they didn't take that feature from PS D1. Stopping to mess with the potions all the time is so annoying.


Anyway, I wanted to talk about a super weird game that I never see mentioned anywhere.
And to be honest, maybe there's a reason for that. Say hello to Sentient by Psygnosis.



Gameplay starts at 11:40.

A bit of story from Wikipedia:
"There has been a breakout of radiation sickness on Space Station Icarus, and Garritt Sherova has been sent to investigate. After arriving at the station, it becomes apparent that radiation is only one of many problems; the captain is dead and a power struggle has ensued. To make matters worse, Icarus is on a collision course with the Sun and nobody is able to correct the station's course.

Sentient takes place in real-time. The player's actions in the early part of the game determine which path they will travel through later on. Which members of the crew are spoken to and what they are told plays a strong part in the plot's development. The player's performance through the game determines which of the nine endings they receive."

So it's up to you to take care of this mess, or you'll eventually crash into the sun and it's game over. As you can see in the video, you talk to people by constructing sentences with topics you have picked up along the way, almost like a point&click adventure. It's a big space station with loads of NPCs that have routines that they follow, so they wander around and have places to be and even have conversations with each other. It kind of feels like an early (or maybe even better) version of Radiant AI that Bethesda made for Oblivion. It's surprisingly complex for the time and if you are into these weird games, definitely give it a go. Just be prepared to get lost soemtimes and don't expect to beat it on your first try.

Oh, and the best/worst thing about the game are the NPC faces. Some look decent, but most of them are either hilarious or absolutely terrifying. Just scroll through the video and you'll see what I mean.

 

[buizel]

According to the original post on Romhacking, all the dialogue has been translated.

Mizzurna Falls

Mizzurna Falls was one of the first 3D open world games. It was released a month before Silent Hill,

web.archive.org

I havent played it tho.

Yeah, i dunno maybe its the PSP but I heard others say it was a bit dodgy.. I played a couple hours. Could drive around but the Diner didnt have the Menu Items translated for example. Loved the atmosphere and what I played... so much

 

[Cato]

Not a hidden or unknown gem but I really still enjoy

LOADED

Just some mindless run and gun.

 

[Cravis]

I enjoyed Future Cop but man I would have loved to seen Future Strike. I remember I was so pumped after the teaser at the end of Nuclear Strike.

The reporter and mercenary would become villains. Maybe one day details will leak out of what could have been.

 

[Urprobablyright]

Front Mission 3.

Turn based mech combat in the Final Fantasy Tactics/X-COM mold, had superb graphics, great visual style, fantastic presentation, a pretty good story, fun menu systems, great customisation for your mechs... All in all, it is just one of those games that's so comfortable in its own skin that it hasn't seemed to have aged/degraded at all.

 

[Slateee]

No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!

Special shoutout to Saltwater Sportfishing by T2, it was about as fun as a fishing game can get (by which I mean it's kinda fun, but not really worthy of being called a "gem") but it had a DAMN good soundtrack for a fishing game.

Mr Domino is another game going on my list since I keep seeing praise for... I've never heard of the game until recently but since then I've only heard positive things about it.

I've always been intrigued at how fishing games are either boring as shit or really fantastic. When they're fantastic, it's usually the atmosphere that they get right, so that whatever the gameplay is, you're willing to spend a lot of time doing it. Seldom does a fishing game nail down atmosephere/aesthetic AND exciting gameplay. That being said, if this thread wasn't solely for PS1 games, I'd HAVE to mention Space Fishermen... but it IS solely for PS1 games so I digress :/

 

[Cato]

Front Mission 3.

Turn based mech combat in the Final Fantasy Tactics/X-COM mold, had superb graphics, great visual style, fantastic presentation, a pretty good story, fun menu systems, great customisation for your mechs... All in all, it is just one of those games that's so comfortable in its own skin that it hasn't seemed to have aged/degraded at all.

Thankyou.
I never heard about this game before and by reading up about it now I think I will love it!

 

[alienator]

This is a hidden gem for sure, .. Gamera 2000 ! Basically the psx's Panzer Dragoon but with gamera and ultra cheesy cutscenes, i just love this game

 

[Plies]

Thankyou.
I never heard about this game before and by reading up about it now I think I will love it!

Yeah , the Front Mission series is greatly underrated as a whole. And unfortunately, some of the most intriguing titles (Front Mission 2 & 5) never got official English releases.