The PS1 turns thirty years old in North America in 2025, following its 1995 debut, a year after its release in Japan. No one thought Sony could disrupt the console wars, but they proved everyone wrong. There are many games that still hold up on the PS1 and remain easily playable through ports and remasters, e.g. Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil 2and Parappa the Rapper.
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Then there are games that are almost impossible to play without the original disc. However, if players can get involved in the full setup with these games, they don't want to. Thanks to poor controls or unclear design choices, these PS1 games don't exactly show off the best aspects of the console.
Alone in the Dark: Revenge of One-Eyed Jack
Important, but a difficult horror game
In 1996, PS1 players were enjoying a new era of survival horror Resident EvilA game that is a bit clunky now but still solid. Alone in the Dark: Revenge of One-Eyed Jack A 1996 North American PS1 re-release of the 1993 game, Alone in the Dark 2. Don't stand by Resident Evil Then, and it can't now.
Playing this PS1 port today is pretty bad, even on the PS5, which has it available. The controls don't respond well, the menu system is too complicated, and not explained much. Beyond the history, the weapon selection can also be appreciated as many games don't offer players Tommy Guns to instantly blast zombies.
beyond beyond
Origin of the Golden Age
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Developer: Camelot Software Plans
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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
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Platform: PS1
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Released: September 11, 1996 (NA)
beyond beyond Camelot was developed by Software Planning, which made a name for itself first shining series for Sega, and later, golden sun series for Nintendo. Large sprites and energetic combat animations feel right at home golden sunAnd they still look incredible for a PS1 game in 2025.
Default active elements of the battle system Super Mario RPG: The Story of the Seven StarsWhich is a fun bit of history. Combat system aside, the rest of the game is hard to get into. The story is weak, the encounter rate and difficulty are high from the start, and it doesn't hold a candle to the best RPGs on the PS1. Also, without disk or emulation, beyond beyond Today it is almost impossible to play easily.
Blasto
God bless Phil Hartman
Blasto
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June 1, 1998
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t
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Sony Interactive Studios America
Blasto It was developed in-house within Sony Interactive Studios America, so it was a high-profile action platformer at the time. It was released in 1998, it's still exclusive to the PS1, and it's officially another challenging game running today. Although it was an official Sony game, the gameplay wasn't exciting at the time, thanks to uneven platforms and imprecise targeting, which has gotten worse now.
Memories are only with PS1 kids
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One redeeming quality then and now is its star. title Blasto Voiced by Phil Hartman and the fans SNL and Simpson His face and voice are well known. He added a charm to the game, which is still infectious to this day. It was unfortunately one of her last performances after Hartmann's death a month later Blasto started
barrier
Insomniac's debut
barrier It was released exclusively for the PS1 in 1996, where it has remained. It has the distinct honor of being the first title developed by Insomniac Games, which would surpass this game for the first time. Spyro Entered in 1998. barrier It was a futuristic first-person shooter with weird guns and psychic powers, including the ability to zap enemies with electricity.
Like many console shooters at the time, it was doing its best, but later Halo: Combat Evolved Debuted for the Xbox in 2001 and reinvented what shooters could be, making all previous games obsolete. barrier Not the worst shooter on the PS1, as the powers were a nice touch, and the level design was at least open, but it's far from a classic PS1 game thanks to dated controls and uneven shooting.
Medal of Honor
Will the fighting Nazis ever get old?
The Medal of Honor The series launched as a PS1 exclusive in 1999, and while it didn't exactly hold up as a first-person shooter, it was clearly a better game than that. barrier. EA put everything they had into making World War 2 a memorable game, and they were successful enough to create a huge franchise.
Its authenticity is admirable, but after completing a level, even apathetic fans will put it down, as they cannot easily find and play today. With a limited number of buttons, the PS1 wasn't set up as a great first-person console, and Medal of Honor It hurts for that.
Siphon filter
Cool taser, bro
Siphon filter Sony had an internal answer Metal Gear SolidAnd the first game was released in 1999. As special agents, players are assigned to a task force to prevent the spread of a deadly disease. It's a spy game at its core, but not all the gadgets and stealth options are great.
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It's easy to get caught up, and the mission restrictions are high, making for some frustrating retries. While the stealth-based gameplay is weak, it's fun to shoot enemies as the auto-aim system is generous. Also, the Air Taser is a thing of beauty. The Siphon filter Sequels are even better, especially in the PSP era, but anyone curious can check out this first game on PS5.
Tomb Raider
Indi-Anna Jones
Tomb Raider It was actually first released in Europe in 1996 on the Sega Saturn, but PS1 fans received it in North America within a few weeks. Lara Croft, as the star, couldn't have been a bigger icon for gaming in the 90s, and the original concept of a more action-heavy and female-led Indiana Jones-type adventure was brilliant. The game, and not just the craft itself, looked cutting edge. The thing is, players really had to like the game to stick with the controls, which were based on tanks.
for the Resident EvilTank-based controls were fine because movement was simple. Jumping in at a bad time is missing the jump Tomb Raider was a different story, as the tank-based gameplay was nowhere near that of a platformer. There are better ways to experience the game now, e.g Tomb Raider: Anniversaryor better yet, Tomb Raider: Legacy of AtlantisThe upcoming full remake is slated for June 2026.
cheese chaos
Twisted metal Another great early game for the PS1, as it was released in 1995, not long after the North American launch. The game featured a cavalcade of drivers who were all competing against a mysterious man, Calypso, who promised them good luck. The game at its core was like a destruction derby, with players able to arm their vehicles with missile launchers and machine guns.
Today driving and shooting is enough, because there are many bad clones of this era, but first Twisted metal Lacks the camp and energy that sequels would lean on hard. For those curious, it's also playable on PS5, but it's not a high recommendation.
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