Good Playstation 1 games?

A new games shop has opened up in town, and they have a massive PS1 section. Biggest I've seen in years. I didn't have a PS1, so I missed a lot of good games; I also don't know much about which games were good. Those which I did know about I picked up shortly after I got my PS2.

My little PS1 collection consists of:
All the Final Fantasies.
Vagrant Story
Grandia
Saga Frontier
Breath of fire 3/4
Ape Escape.

I have Metal Gear Solid's PC port.

I primarily want the good RPGs everyone always said the PS1 had, and other games with a strong story, but I don't mind other game types so long as they are not the Resident Evil series, fighting games, or racing games.

Talk about back in the day. The only ones I can remember, that you haven't mentioned aren't actually RPGs, at least not in the traditional FF sense. Anyways, here it goes:

Silent Hill This game doesn't have very good graphics, but it leads to part of the appeal. The graphics aid in setting the games mood and atmosphere, one of abject fear. The first time I played this game it scared the poop out of me. I made up a series of rules like, I wouldn't play it by myself at night. The game plays out like a horror movie and it has tons of creepy, disturbing, and scary parts. Not a RPG. More like an adventure game. There are lots of puzzles, etc. The first one is the only really good one in the whole franchise.

Monster Rancher Also not a RPG, unless you consider raising a fierce fighting monster that you train and possibly looks like the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. If your familiar with the franchise then an explaination is not necessary. It has a storyline of sorts and is fun in its own quirky sort of way.

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature(?) This is a RPG of sorts. You've inherited a farm and have to make it profitable, and did I mention get married? Don't laugh, its very addictive.

Now the feeble list of RPGs that I can drudge up as having played or are infamously known for being good.

Parasite Eve. Not sure if this is a RPG but I liked it alot.

Star Ocean: The Second Story. Have been trying to borrow this from a friend for years who still won't give it up, and I cant find it anywhere. Heard that its one of the best.

Xenogears. See above.

That's all my feeble brain can drudge up and it just barely matches the question so I am going to stop before my brain explodes.

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Originally Posted by Sensei Warrior

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature(?) This is a RPG of sorts. You've inherited a farm and have to make it profitable, and did I mention get married? Don't laugh, its very addictive.

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From whence I came, that one used to be a fad, alright :)

Man, I missed Dokapon. It was a simple board game/RPG-type thing with a generic storyline (not that I know, god forbid I could read Japanese at 6 :dizzy2: ) but was extremely fun playing with my big brother and my cousin. We competed for the bosses and the towns and sometimes helped each other gang up on the last of the 4 playable characters played by the AI as we leveled up hunted for some purple demon thing.

Ah, nostalgia.

[/abusing the thread]

My fave ps1 game ever was Crash Bandicoot 2 :beam:

(bear in mind I had a ps1 like 10 years ago lol)

I liked the Crash Bandicoot games too.

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Originally Posted by Froggie Games

I have Metal Gear Solid's PC port

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good game.I played it in ps1.7 hours and i finished it.

Crash Bash is good too

Soul Reaver 1 and Blood Omen 1.

MGS1 is a DAMN good game :2thumbsup:

By fighting games I'd assume you really mean kung fu-like stuff and such, and not shooters and the likes, arcade stuff? If so, I'd recommend the Megaman X games. They have very good gameplay, still by its time nowadays, even if old.

I wonder why you don't want Resident Evil. Afraid of horror games? Heh heh :beam:

Anyway, I've played my favorite RPG - Chrono Trigger - on a SNES emulator (I should get an original copy somewhere) and this game is REALLY good. It's arguably one of the best RPGs ever in existence. But if I'm not mistaken they also made a PS1 version. If you like RPGs (and from the looks of it you like it), then you'd sure like Chrono Trigger, I tell you :) I'd even put my money on it, that you'd like it :laugh4:

More recommendations:
-Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
-Tomb Raider?
-Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

That's all I can think of now.

Thanks. There's some titles there I'll look up. Parasite Eve especially; the name is one I've been trying to remember.

IIRC there were some sequels to Soul Reaver 1 and Blood Omen 1 on the PS2. The plot is meant to be excellent, but requires you to play all the games in the correct order to get the most from it. True? I do like a good plot ...

Star Ocean I'd love to get, along with Castlevania and Suikoden II. Alas they are rare, and cost upwards of £60 each. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross don't seem to have had PAL releases, so I can't get them either. ~:mecry:

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Originally Posted by Bijo

I wonder why you don't want Resident Evil. Afraid of horror games?

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Scared? One of my schoolfriends was a resi addict. She made me look at the games many times. Each time I ended up laughing myself silly. I have seldom seem games so unintentionally comical, or so far from scary. [deadpan male voice] "What. Is. It?"[/voice] Hehe!

:cough: Plus they have the annoying control aspects like 'turn on the spot and then walk' thing, the endless loading with silly door animation, the bad voice acting, and there's remakes of them all available on the gamecube with far, far better graphics :cough: :gring:

By fighting I was primarily thinking of the likes of Tekken.

I definitely recommend Parasite Eve. It was one of my favorite games on the PSX. It's a great RPG, and uses an early form of combat found in FFXII.

I'd recommend Resident Evil 4, but it's for the PS2 and GC. It doesnt have the crappy voice acting of the previous games, and the controls and camera are FAR better. I truely recommend the PS2 version far more than the GC, because it gives you a more action-oriented unlockable game mode called Mercenaries (kill as many enemies as you can), AND you can unlock Seperate Ways, where you can play as Ada Wong.

You may not like fighting games, but I suggest you take a look into Bushido Blade. It's the only fighting game where a single hit can kill you. AND you have to follow the Code of Bushido while fighting.

Another game I played extensively was Einhander. It's a side-scrolling space shooter in the same vein as Gradius, but a lot more enjoyable.

But honestly, there werent very many PSX games that were memorable except for the ones previously listed.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Star Ocean I'd love to get, along with Castlevania and Suikoden II. Alas they are rare, and cost upwards of £60 each. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross don't seem to have had PAL releases, so I can't get them either. ~:mecry:

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I have Star Ocean 2 but never got far into it, it just didn't grab me as other RPGs have, I wouldn't recommend it. Castlevania: SOTN is possibly the greatest game ever made.

I forgot all about Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. That was a great game, very, very Ninja-like. The others that followed in the Series seemed to step away from the Stealth aspects of the first (there seemed to be alot more 'bosses' that you were forced into fighting).

But the 1st one made the Stealth aspects of MGS or the Siphon Filter series seem silly by comparison.

Tenchu is my fav games for the PS.

Another one I just thought of which was easy, but fun was Warzone:2100
a post-apocalyptic war strategy game. You are the leader of a military organization that survived a nuclear war. You are in a race with other groups to research mil-tech. Timed missions, componet unit building for lots of variation. Its not hard to beat, but its fun to replay trying various combos of troops/vehicles/planes etc. It's been compared to being similar to Command and Conquer, but I've never played that.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Thanks. There's some titles there I'll look up. Parasite Eve especially; the name is one I've been trying to remember.

IIRC there were some sequels to Soul Reaver 1 and Blood Omen 1 on the PS2. The plot is meant to be excellent, but requires you to play all the games in the correct order to get the most from it. True? I do like a good plot ...

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The order of release was Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PS1), Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1), Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver2 (PS2), Legacy of Kain Series: Blood Omen 2 (PS2/Xbox), Legacy of Kain Series: Defiance (PS2/Xbox). I've played through them all. But never beat Blood Omen 2. It also makes the most sense plot wise that way. As Blood Omen 2 is plot in-filling between BO1 and SR1. And the last game, Defiance, bring BO and SR together and clears up the Byzantine plot a lot.

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Originally Posted by forgbeastegg

By fighting I was primarily thinking of the likes of Tekken.

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The first Dynasty Warriors game is a fighter.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Scared? One of my schoolfriends was a resi addict. She made me look at the games many times. Each time I ended up laughing myself silly. I have seldom seem games so unintentionally comical, or so far from scary. [deadpan male voice] "What. Is. It?"[/voice] Hehe!

:cough: Plus they have the annoying control aspects like 'turn on the spot and then walk' thing, the endless loading with silly door animation, the bad voice acting, and there's remakes of them all available on the gamecube with far, far better graphics :cough: :gring:

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:laugh4:

O, the controls are messed up, yeah. I think I still have Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut for PC laying around here somewhere just to try it out for the heck of it a while ago (first time SH). The controls made me uninstall it as quickly as possible. Though the presentation was interesting enough.

About Chrono Trigger: you can always check out emulation (for SNES, or even PS1). I'd recommend the SNES 'cause it's original. I'd even go as far as recommending to get yourself an old SNES console and an old cartridge 'cause it's that much better :)

More titles:
-Grandia
-Star Ocean
-Die Hard Trilogy
-R-Type Delta
-Grand Theft Auto :P
-Rayman
-Worms Armageddon

Try Parasite Eve I and II. I've never played 1, but people say that it's quite the superior of 2.

And you must try Dragon Warrior VII. It's an RPG, and from what I know it has sequels in the PS2.This is the LONGEST game that I've ever played. I spent over 50 hrs. on the first disk alone and another 50 hrs. on the second. I haven't unlocked everything though, as that would take me a further 100 hrs... :)

Thanks, lars573. I'll keep a copy of that list in a safe place. Blood Omen appears to be quite rare; it was still the same price as a brand new expensive PS2 game. Soul Reaver has no such problem; I snagged a copy in excellent condition for a couple of pounds.

It seems Parasite Eve I never had a PAL release. Eve II was on the shelves used but in good condition for a tenner; I got one. Dragon Quest VII also didn't receive a PAL release. It's a reminder that, however bad it is to be missing several good games and waiting months for releases, the PAL situation is not nearly as bad as it used to be.

No sign of any of the others, but they have only just opened and will likely get more soon.

So many good Playstation games out theres, since most of the usual RPGs have been covered i'll suggest my favorite Strategy RPGs on the PSX and one fighting game.

First off is Front Mission 3. Its a Strategy/RPG combo as I said and has turn-based battles with the story progressing depending on choices in and out of battle. The theme for the game is set in the future with "wanzers"(mechs, piloted robots, whatever ya wanna call them) being the weapon of choice. Then of course someone has to come along and invent a new superweapon and stir up trouble. Combat is pretty good, lots of variety available and your wanzers are customizable to an extent. The game also has multiple endings and pretty good cinematics to compliment its story.

Next is Final Fantasy Tactics, it too is a Strategy/RPG combo. Except this time you're controlling people, not people and mechs. Its a medieval fantasy setting and it has a complex job system that lets you progress your characters along and ensures good variety. The story is pretty good and true to the Final Fantasy name the gameplay is as well.

Finally theres Brigandine, which would probably be the hardest of these three to find. Its a Strategy/RPG, less emphasis on the RPG and more on the strategy this time. Its a fantasy themed game where you control a kingdom and try to conquer everyone else or fulfill certain objectives. Combat is turn based and mainly based around using monsters you summon at your cities. The game isn't as hard as it could be, but theres variety available in your leaders and monsters you use, as well as the various kingdoms you can choose to play.


Oh, and I know you said you didn't like fighting games, but i'd also recommend Bushido Blade. Its a ninja/samurai-themed fighting game with more emphasis on realism. There are no health bars. One blow can be fatal or at the very least crippling. Fights in it are probably the best i've found in a fighting game. Each of the characters available have various strengths and all can choose from a variety of weapons to use. From rapiers to katanas to sledgehammers and nodachis.

The games I have and liked best on PS1 are:

Test Drive 5 - My favorite arcade racer. I recently dug it out of the cabinet and fired it up again. Brings back some good memories. It has a decent selection of cars and tracks. For PS1 I thought the graphics were pretty good. There is also a cop mode where you are the cop.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and High Stakes - My favorite games out of the whole series (plus NFS 2 Special Edition for PC). They both have a good selection of cars and tracks. Even though HS has a mode where you can be the cop, I kind of like HP better.

Gran Turismo 2 - Possibly the best racer on PS1. Many tracks and tons of cars (over 500). You can highly customize each car and there are plenty of races to keep you busy for quite a while.

Dino Crisis 1 and 2 - DC2 is more of an arcade shooter than DC1. I think DC1 is better because the suspense is there. I always liked the DC games better than the Resident Evil games. The dinos present more of a challenge than a slowly moving zombie. DC1 is definately a game where you don't want to aimlessly go around shooting. Ammo can be very scarce. Plus, I like the puzzles in DC1 better. In DC2 they are pretty much non-existant. In DC2 there are stations scattered throughout the game where you can buy extra weapons and ammo with the points you rack up through killing dinos.

Driver 2 - Some people may love it. Some people may hate it. It is that type of game. I loved it back in the day. I think it is the game that started the 3d sandbox style car jacking genre. Before then GTA has always been 2d. Anyway, there are plenty of missions to do. The game spans four different cities. You can free drive in any city anytime you want to. Some of the missions do need polishing as they can be unbalanced sometimes.

Final fantasy VII
Tenchu-stealth assasins
I Love em.

Xenogears all the way ! IMHO, best scenario in a RPG ever (until the last 10 min of the game)
You'll get hooked into the plot for at least 70 hours.

Einhander, great music and great replayability (sp?) since you can unlock new weapons once you've found them ingame.

Castlevania SOTN, Top 3 best music on PS1, composers are still making remixes.

Final Fantasy Tactics, must have. A life waster !

Tenchu Remix haven't age well, I really enjoyed it though.

Parasite Eve great game but so short lived, only the 1st PE is worth mentioning.

Grandia 1 a bit childish, really easy in the beginning but you'll learn what "exploring a dungeon" means in the end.
oups you have it don't you ?

Suikoden 1 AND 2 oh yeah, I still play those.

Valkyrie Profile "I am he who has entrusted his soul to the eternal vortex of time !..."
With this game, the developpers got the best out of a PS1.

Resident Evil 3 Nemesis The time attack mode you unlock after finishing the game is my favorite part

Silent Hill I won't play it, too scary for me.

I can't find other games to mention.

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Originally Posted by ChaosLord

So many good Playstation games out theres, since most of the usual RPGs have been covered i'll suggest my favorite Strategy RPGs on the PSX and one fighting game.

First off is Front Mission 3. Its a Strategy/RPG combo as I said and has turn-based battles with the story progressing depending on choices in and out of battle. The theme for the game is set in the future with "wanzers"(mechs, piloted robots, whatever ya wanna call them) being the weapon of choice. Then of course someone has to come along and invent a new superweapon and stir up trouble. Combat is pretty good, lots of variety available and your wanzers are customizable to an extent. The game also has multiple endings and pretty good cinematics to compliment its story.

Next is Final Fantasy Tactics, it too is a Strategy/RPG combo. Except this time you're controlling people, not people and mechs. Its a medieval fantasy setting and it has a complex job system that lets you progress your characters along and ensures good variety. The story is pretty good and true to the Final Fantasy name the gameplay is as well.

Finally theres Brigandine, which would probably be the hardest of these three to find. Its a Strategy/RPG, less emphasis on the RPG and more on the strategy this time. Its a fantasy themed game where you control a kingdom and try to conquer everyone else or fulfill certain objectives. Combat is turn based and mainly based around using monsters you summon at your cities. The game isn't as hard as it could be, but theres variety available in your leaders and monsters you use, as well as the various kingdoms you can choose to play.


Oh, and I know you said you didn't like fighting games, but i'd also recommend Bushido Blade. Its a ninja/samurai-themed fighting game with more emphasis on realism. There are no health bars. One blow can be fatal or at the very least crippling. Fights in it are probably the best i've found in a fighting game. Each of the characters available have various strengths and all can choose from a variety of weapons to use. From rapiers to katanas to sledgehammers and nodachis.

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This I agree with completely:2thumbsup:

Lots more good games which didn't come out in PAL lands ~:mecry: The small consolation is that a Final Fantasy Tactics remake is coming to the PSP. Maybe there will be some sort of Sony virtual console in the future? Since they are making it possible to play PS1 games on the PSP. I can't imagine them limiting that to games which people own the disc for, else relatively few people would be able to use it. :dreams of being able to play the likes of Castlevania and suikoden II without having to spend £60, and at games like Star Ocean: Second Story being within her grasp: :loveg:

I did find Tenchu this morning.

I tested Soul Reaver out a bit, and it was so impressive I ordered a copy of Blood Omen off the net so I can play the series in order. Damned good voice acting, intriguing story intro, and it plays and looks well. The whole material/spiritual plane idea is refreshing.

Tenchu got a quick few minutes too. I suspect this one is going to be hard to get into; the controls were not to my liking. A few hours and I'll either have settled in or given up.

Did anyone play Koudelka? It's a RPG. I recently finished its unofficial sequel, Shaodw Hearts. I hear the two play nothing alike. The snippets of Koudelka's plot revealed in Shadow Hearts were sufficiently interesting I wouldn't mind playing through and finding out the whole story ... if the game is good. It's not one which seems to get remembered.