Summary
- Tomb Raider’s original beauty still holds up, with memorable levels and riveting gameplay.
- Silent Hill’s eerie atmosphere and top-notch 3D environment make it age like fine wine.
- Metal Gear Solid remains engrossing, visually appealing, and less confusing than its sequels.
The original PlayStation was not only the first console to bring 3D games to the mainstream, but also to make them the mainstream. Still, being a trailblazer, it often trailed by being the first of its generation to feel dated, and many of the PlayStation 1’s games really haven’t aged that well, especially when compared to the Nintendo 64’s catalog.
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That said, there are a bunch of PS1 video games that anyone of any age can try out today to get completely floored. Let’s look at the PlayStation 1 games that have aged the best.
10 Tomb Raider
The First Great PlayStation Game
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Animated Blood, Violence
- It’s not entirely janky, and it only feels janky for a short while.
- It features some of the most memorable levels in gaming.
Nothing did more for the PlayStation than the vast and well-thought-out game worlds of its games, and there’s no better example of that than the original Tomb Raider. While it’s true that its tank controls might feel janky for newer players at first, it will only take them some time getting used to their beauty, like an American trying to drive stick.
The original Tomb Raider remains riveting, fun, interesting, and, surprisingly, just as scary as a great horror game in its later parts. This game has always had it all and will never stop having it. The remasters are great, but one of the best things about them is that they also give players the chance to play the game just as it was upon release, and it’s still awesome.
9 Silent Hill
Old Horror That Only Grows On Players
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- It’s possibly even scarier than it was back then.
- The vibes remain pristine.
The original Silent Hill just looks strange nowadays. Its character models, enemy designs, and the town’s overall visuals are just eerier than they’ve ever been—and that works wonders for it. The game doesn’t look bad, by any means, just odd—like a Polaroid photo of someone using an iPad.
The original Silent Hill was one of the best-looking games of its era, so now, instead of looking bad, it just looks unwelcoming in a way that actually helps its atmosphere and immersion. It also features a fully 3D environment, meaning that the overall gameplay still feels way more modern than any other survival horror title of its time.
8 Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
Wildest Of The Bunch
- The most varied Crash game to date.
- Remains incredibly fun (and funny) to play.
Before venturing any further, it’s important to note that Crash Bandicoot 4 is good. Why is it good? It’s the post-Crash 3 game that best captures the spirit and the gameplay of the original trilogy.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped is a fantastic title because it improves upon the already great platforming sections of the previous games and even adds a bunch of game modes, all of them highly enjoyable and well-thought-out. It’s a shame this series all but mostly dead for a very long time, but it’s great to see that many developers and players still understand just how fun Crash Bandicoot: Warped remains.
7 Silent Bomber
Silent But Serious Contender
Silent Bomber
- One of the best action titles on the PS1.
- Likely the most underrated as well.
Silent Bomber is likely the least-known title on this list. That was probably due to poor marketing, as this is not only one of the action games that holds up the best, but also one of the most impressive titles at the time of its release.
Bomberman, this was not. Silent Bomber was all about high-octane action where the main character ran and dashed through various environments to place bombs on various mech-like enemies to detonate them and blow the players’ minds later.
6 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
900 No-Scope
- Still as fun as it has always been.
- Still has one of the best OSTs of all time.
There’s a reason why all skateboarding games lost a lot of steam even before the 2010s, and that’s because, well, they came very close to perfection right there on the PS1. Sure, the original version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 for the PS2 is even more amazing than the PS1’s, but the old(er) tech counterpart is no slouch either.
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The gameplay remains fluid and fun with a wide assortment of fantastic maps, and its soundtrack remains as legendary as any game’s OST ever. A wild selection of skaters and a bevvy of over-the-top challenges on each map made this one of the best sports games of its era. There’s a reason why the series is getting a slew of remakes in the modern era.
5 Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver
How To Tell A Story
- One of the bleakest tales in gaming, masterfully written and told.
- It will still send shivers down anyone’s spine.
If the original Tomb Raider cemented 3D exploration and puzzle-solving games as one of the most popular genres of its time, then Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver perfected it. Though the tank controls of the original Tomb Raider titles remain endearing, Soul Reaver just does movement much better, as it does everything else.
Soul Reaver also ensured it would age like wine by featuring spectacular writing and voice acting—an absolute rarity at that time. The remasters of the original two games are great, but there’s nothing really wrong with diving into the PS1 version, either.
4 Vagrant Story
The Best PS1 RPG?
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Animated Violence
- It might be even better today than it was upon release.
- SquareSoft’s secret crowning achievement.
Vagrant Story isn’t just an original game—it’s an original game that pulled off every single revolutionary step it took. The fantastic proximity-based combat mechanics, where players choose which nearby limb of the opponent to hit, remain modern, which is likely why players can see something so similar in the newest games in the Fallout series.
Vagrant Story boasts some of the best graphics in the history of the PlayStation era, both in a technological and artistic sense. Sadly, the game ended up not selling as well as anything with the words “Final” or “Fantasy” in its title, so it never got the sequel it so deserved.
3 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Eternal Night
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- 2D games don’t get much better than this.
- Nor do they sound much better than this.
At first, it might seem strange to have a 2D game inaugurating the podium, but most PS1 fans are well aware of this game’s prowess. Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night made excellent use of the PlayStation 1’s capabilities to bring players the Castlevania game with the best graphics, animation, soundtrack, and even fluidity.
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Even nearly 30 years later, Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night remains the best game in the series for many, and is pretty damn fine to play even in its original format. As a progenitor of the Metroidvania genre, it still stands as one of the genre’s best, which is impressive when considering the decades of innovation it directly inspired.
2 Alien Resurrection
Unlike The Film
Alien Resurrection
Systems
- Released
- October 10, 2000
- ESRB
- M // Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Fox Interactive
- Scary and tense gameplay.
- Even the controls hold up.
Upon release, famous review outlets complained about Alien Resurrection’s “bizarre” control scheme, which required players to move around with their left analog stick and aim with their right one. Little did they know that this would become the prevailing schematic norm in console FPS games to come, at least as of this writing.
Moreover, Alien Resurrection is a damn good shooter, and a really challenging one. It’s very different from the more recent Alien: Isolation, with its focus on gameplay over stealth, but players really shouldn’t go in expecting an easy fight against the Xenomorphs. Games based on movies tend to suck—especially when they’re based on bad movies to begin with—but Alien Resurrection achieved an absolute miracle by becoming a great game based on a terrible movie.
Reinvented The Wheel That’s Still Rolling
Metal Gear Solid
- Released
- October 20, 1998
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- As engrossing as ever.
- Still looks great, and is less confusing than its sequels.
Whether or not Metal Gear Solid is the best PlayStation 1 game ever made is up for debate, but most know it’s the greatest PlayStation game ever made. It not only introduced a bunch of new gameplay elements that remain popular in many massive hits, but it still makes them work.
Sneaking in games has evolved ever since the original Metal Gear Solid came out, but the original 3D version is still fun, as are the game’s bosses. The story and characters remain fantastic and are definitely the most solid in the series. Anyone looking to get into the MGS series should use this as their entry point, and not the GameCube’s Twin Snakes remake.
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