It's Almost 2023, and I'm STILL Playing these PS1 Games!

Here we are, wrapping up 2022, and I've found myself playing a lot of PS1 games lately. I replay Suikoden 2 every year in early fall, and with that I've headed back to play some of my favorites. Here's a list of 10 games on the original PlayStation that I keep coming back to.
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[@Trendleader863]

I can't get enough of Duke Nukem Time to Kill, 007 Tomorrow Never Dies, Syphon Filter, Jet Moto 3, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Fighting Force 1 & 2, Die Hard Trilogy, No Fear Downhill Mountain Bike Racing, Twisted Metal 2 & 4, The Mummy, Tomb Raider 2 & 3, Need For Speed 3 Hot Pursuit, Crash Bandicoot, and Smackdown 2 Know Your Role. I still play them all to this day

[@NeuroPulse]

Been playing some games from my childhood on an emulator and am SHOCKED by how good they still are!

[@warehousedave7937]

I love Rising Zan. Obscure fact: Charles Martinet (voice of Mario) was a voice actor in Rising Zan!

[@CorinianSalame]

My number one is Brave Fencer Musashi. Admittedly not the best game on PS1 but no other game puts a smile on my face and takes me to that special nostalgia place like Musashi. It’s a feel good cozy game for me

[@SquarePegs]

Musashi is 100% comfort food and was the last game cut from this list! Absolutely love that game!

[@yournightmare9999]

For me PlayStation1 is king this is begging of todays games

[@retrobroski2904]

Agree! Still my fav console ever!

[@yournightmare9999]

@@retrobroski2904 ile gier masz na ps1

[@solidwisdom8749]

This was the golden era of gaming. I replayed ape escape and ff9 , both ps1 games and ff9 was a little remastered but still, some ps1 games still can be fun but majority no

[@SquarePegs]

A lot don't hold up, it's true.

[@AJ-po6up]

Suikoden I & II and all the Final Fantasy games on the PS1 are my favorite games of all time, to me everything that Squaresoft made was an instant masterpiece back then and I will never stop coming back to them, and of course Konami and Capcom were great back then too. I love SoTN and the Mega Man Legends games as well as Mega Man 8, and the X games. I need to replay Tomba! I haven't played it in 20 years lol geez time really flies, and of course also check the other games specially Rival Schools, it looks rad.

[@justinontube88]

Wow thanks for this video. Most of my 90s faves are the racers like rollcage 2 or driver, collin mcrey ralley, ridge racer 4. And gran turismo 2! I had the originals too but traded them all eventually. Man if i could go back in time. 😂

[@moandaindesigns]

The PS1 was a great system and got me back into gaming back when it came out. Some of my Favorites are: Battle Hunter (but only with friends) Bloody Roar 1 and 2 SOTN Chrono Cross Einhander Elemental Gearbolt FFT Ghost in the Shell Grandia Intelligent Qube Mega Man X4 RayStorm Tecmo's Deception Great Video as always. Always love to see them.

[@SquarePegs]

Thank you so much! You've listed a load of games there that I didn't feature in this video that would absolutely be in another video down the road - it's such a magnificent library. Thank you for watching!

[@caifabe8050]

i find myself returning to Gran Turismo 2, Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Chrono Cross, WWF SmackDown! 2, Tekken 3, Ridge Racer Type 4, Jet Moto 2, and Hot Shots Golf 2 (one that you mentioned) very often

[@youtuber3328]

to be COMPLETELY honest i did do and/or PROBABLY will EQUALLY really LOVE the playstation discs ALMOST as much as i did do and will really really LOVE you tube

[@Richardkv2112]

Jackie Chan Stuntmaster and Yugioh Forbidden Memories

[@leonr1985]

I've played Castlevania Sotn on Ps1, PsP, Android and Pc. I don't consider it among my top 5 games right now but if i were to pick my top 3 classic games this will be my number 1. My God we are getting old it feels like yesterday when i was still playing on my Ps1 nonstop and that was 25 years ago back in the mid and late 90's

[@SquarePegs]

Sadly, we are indeed old...but our games sure are fantastic .:)

[@warehousedave7937]

Suikoden 2 is a great pic as a favorite. I remember back in the early 2000s it was the most expensive game I owned and knowing its rarity made it an extra special experience going into it and I was not let down! It's always been a special one to me. The one other game that gave me the same feels was Shining Force 2 on the Genesis.

[@Sayzee_YFRWN]

Parasite eve, thrasher skate and destroy, bushido blade, legend of legaia, so many good games

[@SquarePegs]

Bangers, all of them! Great list!

[@ecmyersvids]

Thanks for sharing these! I have a bunch of them loaded on my PS Classic but have yet to play them -- needed a good reminder to check them out. I love your review style and presentation, I can tell how enthusiastic you are about these games and excited to introduced them to more people. BTW, check out Vampire Killer for the MSX, it's basically the first Castlevania NES game as an exploration game; not quite a Metroidvania, but the DNA is there. It's unfairly difficult and a little rough around the edges compared to the NES game (no screen scrolling for one), but such a fascinating, overlooked entry in the series.

[@SquarePegs]

Thank you so much, Eugene! I really appreciate the kind words - and I will definitely check out Vampire Killer!!

[@sfbsfb]

Fantastic video and great picks Jay! There really were some fun and memorable games on the PS1. Early on, I enjoyed the first Wipeout and Ridge Racer games. Then there was so much more, hard to even fathom. Lots of creative directions in games during that period as well. I recall enjoying the first Monster Rancher game, plus some unusual ArtDink games like Tail of the Sun. Undeniably janky, but massively ahead of its time. And that game where you had to actually program robots to fight. Almost like a second coming of the early arcade era in the late 70s and early 80s.

[@shazam2022]

Dude is amazing playing ps1 games sadly I don’t have one also my eyes can’t handle it I did play a bit of spyro 3 for the ps1 and I have played ff1 and ff6 that were on ps1 and I played scooby soo game and crash bandicoot

[@SEGAblocks]

Jay! Dude. DUUUDE! I’m convinced this specific video was made for me! Every single pick here is just 🔥! I don’t even have to tell you why I’m freaking out right now. You know. YOU KNOW!!! Haha Amazing video brother! STAY AWESOME! 🤘❤️

[@SquarePegs]

[@anon_y_mousse]

I'm shocked every time I see FFT on anyone's favorite or best of list because for years I was the only one I knew that played it. I keep playing it at least once every year or two. Sometimes it takes me two years to get through a playthrough, because I still haven't found the perfect squad yet. Past three times I've played through I've done the Zeklaus desert degenerator trap level up trick. I've gotten my main guy, obviously not Ramza for this trick, to 900+ for his HP with the best equipment on. He's basically a one-hit beast by the time I get to chapter 2, but then I give him two swords ability. As for other games on the list, Armored Core is definitely in the top ten, but you have to play it in an emulator in which you can reconfigure the controls so you can use the joysticks for movement. It makes it so much better of a game than you can know. All the other FF's, of course, Spyro, TPM, Tenchu and probably more I'm forgetting would also make the top ten.

[@boulderpunch96]

Glad to discover your Chanel I love the ps1&ps2

[@SquarePegs]

I'm glad you discovered it, too! I'm doing a PS2 version of this series in March, I hope you enjoy!

[@EuSouRCS]

Another great list! Awesome video as always,thank you very much,Jay! If I can pick just one game to come back to PS1 again and again,surely this game must be Jackie Chan Stuntmaster,such a Fun and challenging Masterpiece!

[@TotalLevelYT]

Really neat list! I still go back and play many of the FF games, especially Tactics for sure. For me, I go back and play lots of Jade Cocoon I love that game. It's funny I have the digital versions of Suikoden 1-4 on PS3 (physicals of those games are too expensive for me to get) but haven't played them yet, still on the list. I know I need to play them. Looking forward to the spiritual successor Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes though and when the HD versions of Suikoden 1&2 are out, maybe I'll finally get around to it lol

[@SquarePegs]

I picked up the Eiyuden Chronicle sidequest thing that got dropped earlier this year and it's a LOT of fun! I can't wait for the full game - and I'll check out Jade Cocoon - I've never played that, but heard good things. Thanks for watching!

[@davicavalcante5902]

I’ll try this golf game. Looks great 👍

[@RetroRivals]

SOTN is everything! It’s one of my favorite games of all time. So epic, we had to buy the vinyl. Hot Shots everything, yes! Loved this one too! We want Rising Zan so bad just for the cheese alone 😂 Remake needed maybe? Haven’t had the pleasure of playing Tron Bonne but I’m not at all against emulating. Suikoden II looks beautiful, wow! And the fact that it’s your all time favorite says a lot. Scott will get around to it eventually. Is 1 necessary to play before the 2nd? Great list Jay :) You know I’d have add a survival horror and put Resident Evil 2. Scott would be 100% on Parasite Eve

[@SquarePegs]

Parasite Eve is in the mix for a future video! I actually like that one. 🤣 And nope, no need to play Suikoden I to play II! There's some characters that cross over between the two, but you get all the backstory you need in dialogue. :)

[@JustTheGems]

This is a really strong list - as for me, I'd put most of the Square pantheon on there: Chrono Cross and Xenogears primarily, but all the FFs, too. So many games on PS1 deserve a fresh chance with people today. I'm super glad Suikoden is getting that chance. Some others could also do with a fresh coat of paint. I personally am into the low-fi polygon aesthetic of the PS1 era, but I know a lot of newer gamers aren't, and it's a shame that an issue like graphics might keep folks from playing so many awesome games.

[@SquarePegs]

With me, the thing that always hamstrings the PS1 is controls - I can look beyond the graphics, but there's a lot of PS1 games where the control scheme is just a massive hurdle to get past. If I can't have fun playing, why play? As for the Square pantheon: I could have easily just done a list of Square games and called it a day. But I gotta leave content for future iterations. ;) Thanks so much for watching!

[@jean-francoispoulin3647]

I still love the first Hot Shots Golf with its Mini Golf which is outstanding! Can't Forget about some imports though like Fire Pro and Touken Retsuden 3 and honorable mention to Champion Wrestler that has the sickest dives I have ever seen in a wrestling game like...ever!

[@paulchester4240]

Looking forward to the Suikoden Collection as well!

[@SquarePegs]

Ya'll aren't gonna hear from me for a week when it releases just because I'm gonna be on an emotional high. 😂

[@silverserpentor6710]

Like you, I sold off most of my PS1 games way back (and now regret that along with many other older games and systems I got rid of in my 20s), but still comeback to Bust a Move 2 all the time

[@SquarePegs]

B-A-M 2 is AWESOME!!

[@reddogg3118]

Just finished SOTN a month ago for the first time. Amazing game. I still play soviet strike and nuclear strike all the time. Would love a strike collection from EA but I don't see that happening.

[@sorinavila5073]

Soviet & Nuclear yeah! I have both originals My fellow gamer.!

[@TJacks23]

Tomba 2 my favorite game of all time. Great video love all these games homie! Great 3d fighting games as well! 🤙🏾

[@SquarePegs]

Thank you my friend!

[@Starfish_RPD]

Dude I still play ps1 weekly! Great vid!

[@SquarePegs]

Thank you so much!!

[@Lordinhame]

Man, you the first I saw who share this deep love of suikoden 2, it's the greatest rpg ever made and my all time favorite ps1 game.

[@SquarePegs]

Mine too!

[@loveistruth5713]

I remember Hot Shots Golf I just loved the characters and the controls how many hours of golf now I play WGT Golf and golf Clash on my phone😂😂

[@MortsGarage]

Great choices and excellent commentary! Rival Schools would be my favorite fighting game, were it not for its fantastic sequel.

[@SquarePegs]

Thank you so much, Mort! Project Justice is, truly, a diamond gem from Capcom that sadly got forgotten. I really hope we get a Fighting Collection V2 and both Rival Schools and Project Justice are in the mix. Thanks so much for watching!

[@MortsGarage]

@@SquarePegs My pleasure!

[@ColdSteelKid]

Nice list. I got into console gaming in the PS2 era so I don't have much for the PS1. I do love Final Fantasy Tactics but end up playing the GBA release more. Similar to that I do love playing the Front Mission 3. I did pick up the Suikoden games digitally but haven't had a chance to play them yet. I really need to fix that.

[@SquarePegs]

Be prepared for the Suikoden games being a MASSIVE time investment. There's a lot going on there - but it's SO worth it. Happy New Year, my friend! All the best to you, the Mrs, and your family!

[@hirschlord341]

Castlevania symphony is also one of my favorite games ! Its so snes like but with more content . 👍🏻

[@coopleofnerds]

Interesting list. Some titles ive never heard of. Symphony of the night is fantastic. Suikoden ii is in the black log. I know i suck hahaha

[@SquarePegs]

No one sucks for items being in the backlog! It's not being late to play the game, it's building the anticipation of when you get to finally play it! 😁

[@SCHINKI21]

It's 2024 and I am still playing games on the ps1

[@SquarePegs]

That is the general idea of the video, yep. :)

[@ThomasSmith-od5jq]

Such a solid list a few I always revisit are twisted metal 2,3 ,ray man tombs is a must play the army men games we’re definitely my jam

[@SquarePegs]

The Army Men games were so much fun!!

[@lTinyl]

From PS1 that I got the best memories and would if I could, would be Micromachines V3, me and my friends, we had 2 adaptors to play with 8 players... epic tournaments ! CoolBoarders 3 was so much fun! Quake 2, we used to play with 4 ppl... also tournaments lol... we used to do a 3x1 to practice for hours... Aaaaaand one that I still play, but on different platform is Super Street Puzzle Fighter II Turbo... got it on Steam - Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium... love that game!!

[@SquarePegs]

SPF2 Turbo was one of the last games cut for this list! It'll definitely be featured in a future version. And I'll need to checkout Micro Machines V3! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@lTinyl]

@@SquarePegs It’s much more fun with friends… cause the tournament mode is perfect!

[@deerush9088]

SOTN & TOMBA! Yes 💯💯💯

[@jrpggamer93]

Dude cool borders 3 was amazing I got the PlayStation for Christmas 1998 when I was 5 my first console ever it came with gexs but I went to toys r Us got Tony hawk ps 1 an cool boarders 3 it's great . Great memories of Me my brother an dad playing the big air on it .PS1 Wii always be the most meaningful to me . An GameCube bc my dad games with us back then crash Sunshine Mario starfox adventure great times

[@sorinavila5073]

Jay..i now know i'm not alone and definitely not a vg nerd. I have two grey Ps and one PsOne with its screen. All in excellent condition. I play almost every day some games on them, try X² yes that's the name: X² it's a shooter. I'll put a list later

[@SquarePegs]

I look forward to your list!

[@thejmr]

Suikoden 2 is my all time favorite game finished it more than 12 times and never get tired of it

[@misteryolo7248]

Is the first one any good?

[@SquarePegs]

It is! It's decidedly not as excellent as the second game, but it's still really fun!

[@BillB808]

Do you know about: Easy come, easy Golf on switch? If not now you do...i am partial to a bit of Gradius gaiden, Salamander deluxe pack, and Zanac X Zanac on ps1 (via emulation)

[@SquarePegs]

I haven't heard of Easy Come, Easy Golf - but I'll check it out! Thank you for the suggestion!!

[@sfbsfb]

@@SquarePegs I also was going to comment about Easy Come Easy Golf. I am not 100% sure, but I *think* it is the same developer as the early Hot Shots Golf titles. Back then the studio was called Camelot, and they also did one or two Mario Golf games under that name. But I believe they later changed the studio name to Clap Hanz. Anyway, Easy Come Easy Golf is another good title by them - feels similar to the other gold games , but with a few different twists.

[@CCGamesceo]

Love the videos but I have to correct you on one thing. Castlevania sotn was a sequel to rondo of blood. The metroidvania term started with rondo. Keep up the good work.

[@SquarePegs]

Thanks so much! I guess by the letter of the definition yes, Rondo would be a Metroidvania, but to me it felt more like Castlevania 3, with branching paths rather than revisiting areas to re-explore them - I was referring more towards something like _Dead Cells, Super Metroid,_ or _Shadow Complex._ But your point stands - thanks for watching! :)

[@jacquelynsaenz2111]

I never played PlayStation one I only played PlayStation 2 3 and 4 and then five but I will buy it online and see how great the games are I bet they're fun I enjoyed the games today but I miss the old games from way back like how they were like fun and great and you know all that it's never too late to get what you like on these machines let's just say it's part of your collection

[@domymbd]

My top 5 PS1 games: Resident Evil Director's Cut Final Fantasy 8 Metal Gear Solid Final Fantasy 7 Spyro the Dragon (tie with Crash 3 Warped)

[@smashmaster13]

I love steep I got it free on ps+ and ignored it when I finally tried it I realized I shoulda been playing it from day 1

[@SquarePegs]

I think Steep (and Riders Republic) were both games that did that for a lot of people. Folks overlooked them for so long and they are SO MUCH fun.

[@cynicalaries6201]

I recently got back into playing PS1. About to play Tenchu again.

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Mid 2024 and I still play more ps1 and ps2 games than anything on my ps5 or series lol

[@OCDRex11]

May I ask two questions,...............? How do you currently play a PSX on a physical TV? I no longer have older CRT's and have to use an Amazon HDMI converter. Looks like garbage. How do you emulate? I am versed in Pi's and have PSX emulation on a 4, but I hate the controllers. Do you do PC and use HDMI? Great video and a few games I have not seen in forever!!!

[@SquarePegs]

First off - thank you so much for taking the time to watch, I really appreciate it! And of course - you absolutely can ask as many questions as you'd like! :) 1) I run all of my retro consoles through a Retro Tink 5x. It won't be for everyone, but it was something I looked at as a necessity for my channels success. It's an investment at over $300, but it upscales everything you input into it 5 times and outputs it in 1080p. It's a fantastic piece of kit and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 2) This one's fun - I emulate everything via the PlayStation Classic mini console that released a few years back. As a mini console, it's legitimately useless - but as an emulation machine? Pure magic. You can find out how to mod it via a USB thumb drive online to run EmulationStation/RetroArch. It's honestly one of my all-time favorite emulation devices because of how versatile it is. It recognizes nearly every controller you can imagine, so I just tend to run a generic MadCatz Xbox 360 controller, but I've also had success with USB PlayStation 2 clone controllers. Let me know if there's anything else I can answer for you!

[@OCDRex11]

@@SquarePegs Thank you for replying! I will look into the Retro Tink 5. I will also look into a PS Classic. I knew you could mod them but didn't know that it was a preferred choice over everything else (for you). When you use the PS Classic are the graphics on par with an OE PSX or are they emulated and run through an HDMI? I will check of course. I just want to play PSX with a PSX Dual and not have weird graphics is all. I never thought I'd hate owning 6 HD tv's! lol

[@SquarePegs]

I'll be honest - I'm not sure on the graphics. I haven't played on a CRT in almost 10 years - and that white beard I've got shows how fuzzy my memory can be. :D I will say that it looks good, though, and I haven't had any issues with graphical appearance in anything I've played. :)

[@OCDRex11]

@@SquarePegs 45 this month and I am sure I have ya beat! lol. But, we are all kids at heart. I'll snag a Classic and mod it to see. Emulation on this is better than a Pi 4 4GB ya think? I have constant issues with my Pi lagging and sound, etc. Might be the ROMS?

[@SquarePegs]

Definitely a better experience overall than my Pi 4 4GB, without question.

[@XBC3-4GOTY]

PS1 is my Favorite Console of All Time

[@SquarePegs]

You have excellent taste!

[@Alejandro-Luna]

Snes and psx are my golden age of videogames. It was more about fun, and less of an industry.

[@ortega5064]

Awesome list, for me PlayStation is synonymous with Tekken, Tekken 3 being particular highlight.

[@SquarePegs]

Tekken 3 will DEFINITELY be in a future iteration of this video!

[@RavenblackWood-fk8hm]

Play on the original PlayStation with Spider-Man 2000 and I'm planning on playing resident evil from original PlayStation on my original PlayStation

[@hirschlord341]

Rival schools is fun 👍🏻

[@notyetskeletal4809]

I cant even play PS3. Let alone PS5. I'm still obsessed with PS1.

[@goblinmob]

can you do a genesis football ranking video please?🙏

[@SquarePegs]

Sure thing! Look for it next month - they take awhile to film and script. :)

[@goblinmob]

@@SquarePegs awesome thank you!

[@sehrisharsalan3934]

Ps1 to ps5

[@Marco213s.mexicanpower]

Ima buy one for 30

[@SquarePegs]

You do you, boo.

[@Marco213s.mexicanpower]

@@SquarePegs Yeah before the prices go high

[@seanthegamer5552]

Cool list. But I'm not a golfer. I'm not a fan of golfing games even though I own hot shots golf 2.

[@SquarePegs]

I'm also not a golfer, I just like good games. :) But if golf games aren't something you dig, I can understand why HSG2 wouldn't be in your wheelhouse. Thanks for watching!

[@eelcosnijders4462]

ps1 console have it in my packed weekend bag for when the cops come. playstation one is allowed in prison haha.