The best PS1 games of all time
11.01.2024 - 17:21
/ radiotimes.com
/ Sam Raimi
/ Steven Spielberg
/ Best
Sony's first PlayStation – released in 1994 — not only moved 3D graphics from the fringe into everyone's living room, but it dispensed with cartridges in favour of the optical disks that many players still use today. It really was ahead of its time.
But we don't remember the PS1 just for its groundbreaking hardware. It wouldn't have made Sony such a contender in the console wars without its vast, stunning, and eclectic titles. But what are the very best PS1 games of all time?
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From first person shooters, to fantasy epics, to horrors that even now make our blood run cold, whittling the thousands of PlayStation 1 games into a small list was never going to be easy. But, always up for a challenge, we thought we'd give it a try.
We'll do our best to make this a varied list that showcases the diverse games that appeared on that iconic grey console.
Note that many of these games can only be bought second-hand at this point, unless they've been re-released on recent platforms, because the PS1 does not have an in-built online store for digital downloads. There was only ever a finite number of discs.
In no particular order, here are the best PS1 games in our humble opinion!
The first Metal Gear Solid is technically the third title in the Snake saga, but this is where the Kojima methodology we know today was born. Long cutscenes, longer conversations, spine tingling music, eclectic boss fights, a stealth mission to save the world that isn't what it seems, and – of course – more fourth wall breaks than Deadpool could dream of.
But it's the moody atmosphere of Shadow Moses island that lingers in your memory for years after you finish playing. We can still hear Snake's footsteps in the snow, the bang of a chaff grenade, the ring of the codec, the howl of the wolves.
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Back in the days when first person shooters were labelled «Doom clones» and written off, EA released a title that showed what else the genre could do. Medal of Honor was a passion project of filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who came up with the idea while filming Saving Private Ryan.
With real historical footage for cutscenes, and veteran Dale Dye as military advisor, it proved that games could be both fun and respectful of heavy subject matter.
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Introducing a generation of gamers to the web-slinging hero before Sam Raimi's films, 2000's Spider-Man finally translated the comics into a video game. It was difficult before the 3D era, but here we could fight, swing over to another building and climb any wall or ceiling in sight. This freedom made us feel like a superhero ourselves.
It's still worth playing today for its zany