PS1 Games That Aged BEAUTIFULLY

Truly great games never fully lose what made them great. Time may age the graphics and controls to some degree, but if you’re the sort of person who can appreciate a classic in the context of its era, the PS1 is still an awesome place to spend your free time.
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00:00 Intro
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12:28 Outro
👉Want to see what consoles have to offer in terms of their best games? Here's our complete playlist: • 20 BEST Game Boy Color...
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Cultured Vultures is a good KZbin channel with very good content and it would even gooder if you would sub. We cover retro games, all things PlayStation and much, much more with our gaming lists and guides
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#PS1 #sony #retrogaming

[@CulturedVultures]

Did YOU know that the PS1 had a Power Glove? Check out that and more PS1 facts here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnO7mX5jaqd2raM

[@mjdf122]

PS1 RPGs have aged gracefully

[@El3ctr0Lun4]

Suikoden I is pretty good too. I’m currently playing it for the first time, and afterwards I’m playing II. There are a few more 2D and 2.5D PS1 RPGs lined up (e.g. Wild Arms).

[@Khwerz]

Except ff7. Ff8 is passable.

[@Aaron-mj9ie]

Many indie rpgs are trying to capture the magic of ps1 jrpgs. The only issue I foresee is that I'm someone that plays retro games almost exclusively, so I feel like I have played most of the well known ones.

[@roxane1237]

Wild arms! 2D doesn't age. Also the music is beautiful and the western feel is very unique in a jrpg. I would recommend it to any fan of jrpg

[@ninjanizzle]

@@El3ctr0Lun4 Wild Arms looks horrible now lol.

[@elr492]

Final Fantasy Tactics. Modern strategy RPG basically look the same and play with the same principles. Their stories are as mature as FFT's was. So basically, developers are basically making the same game 27 years later.

[@luisb9862]

and still unrivaled in my opinion

[@Nightamose]

Between Triangle Strategy and Final Fantasy Tactics, in my opinion, there was definitely a lot more nuance and depth to Final Fantasy Tactics.

[@Honethite]

Oddworld Abe's Oddyssey/Exoddus and Heart of Darkness still look amazing today.

[@BASSstarlet]

He needs a HD remake, urgently!

[@TheUnkow]

Nop, they would just be milking the fans. Those games are perfect the way they are. They can make a new sequals, but shouldn't touch or remake those classics.

[@ismaeljrp1]

I loved!!!! Heart of Darkness. What an amazing game that was.

[@jakemartinez9597]

Omg Ive never heard anyone talk about heart of darkness!!!! What a game!

[@ismaeljrp1]

@@TheUnkow re-releases are good for everyone. Not everyone is gonna want to emulate or play on the original consoles.

[@Derkaderka7777]

Breath Of Fire IV should be on this list too!

[@hemuhemu69]

and BoF3 too

[@manuelpalacios4413]

And Xenogears

[@truehare]

The two first (and IMO, best) Legacy of Kain games, Blood Omen and Soul Reaver, are still fantastic to this day. In fact, Blood Omen was recently (finally) released on GOG, and I bought it day one and played it through one more time. And it was every bit as awesome as it was 25+ years ago.

[@MrTomemac]

So many are great, FF Tactics, Valkyrie Profile, Darkstalkers 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Vagrant Story, Xenogears, Elemental Gearbolt, and so many others.

[@erakfishfishfish]

I preferred Street Fighter Alpha 2 over 3, but both were excellent games,

[@jg9301]

Glad some people still remember Darkstalkers! I love the aesthetics of it and it had some of the goofiest ultimates lol. Also Morrigan is my first waifu, even before i knew what waifus were

[@r0conscious]

I was looking for Xenogears 🥰

[@citizeninfantry]

Played Parasite Eve a few months ago and was completely addicted. Amazing game.

[@haggisman0812]

Alundra for me, gorgeous pixel art which still looks amazing today.

[@Primsicle]

Such a great game that was, and a pleasant surprise too when I discovered it.

[@user-lm6me2tz9t]

Alundra!! I had forgotten about that one. Great choice.

[@suparasukkasem3319]

I only found out a few months ago that there is a sequel. Haven't played it yet tho.

[@RJ-cq8dd]

Both Oddworld games will always be beautiful and enjoyable

[@ChrisLeeW00]

That’s great to hear so many people like Tomba. I bought that game from the bargain bin and tried for months to 100% it. I never got the gold medal on the race 😅

[@brichan1851]

*Final Fantasy IX* has aged beautifully. To this day, it holds up better than the other two (VII, and VIII), though they are fine games. *Street Fighter Alpha 3* is still an excellent port of the arcade original. While we can get arcade perfect versions, now, the PS1 version is still very well done. *Final Fantasy Tactics* is still the yardstick by which all other strategy RPGs are measured. We desperately need a remaster, or at least a port, of this brilliant game. *Klonoa* is every bit the equal of Tomba, in terms of exciting 2D style platforming. It is utterly charming, quite colorful, and an absolute blast to play. *Lunar Silver Star Story Complete* and *Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete* (boy, that’s certainly a mouthful) are two amazing RPGs that time seems to have forgotten. The 2D art is quite lovely, while the story and music tell two gripping tales of adventure. The anime cutscene’s are still beautiful and everything in these games gives the player a true sense of reward upon completion. *Valkyrie Profile* . This was a very unique game that touched on Nordic mythology at a time when few games bothered with the subject. The graphics were outstanding, as were the game play and battles. This is one for the ages. These are a few that deserve to be on a list like yours. Thank you for your lovely trip down memory lane.

[@stashmerkin9576]

I'll admit the graphics were chunky but the Bushido Blade games are still fun to play!

[@shifteleven]

That game is a gem to play with folks. So many laughs with a sword

[@Myrope]

I think about Bushido Blade 1 & 2 almost daily. Those games are so fun!!

[@fabolous2006]

Nobody could disagree with Suikoden 2, man that game is glorious.

[@qaz3000]

Resident evil 3 aged really well!

[@Retcon404]

All the footage of Digimon World right at the start is unlocking so many memories.

[@otisthe1410]

Ace Combats and Twisted Metals aged well imo. They look good and are smooth for the time, and genre remains relatively unchanged.. Also want to add Silent Bomber, V-8, Intelligent Qube, Tony Hawk, Incredible Crisis, Medievil, Pacman World, NFS3, Spyros, Ape Escape all aged damn well too.

[@codythep]

Iconic

[@Elmaku92]

Breath of Fire 4, Mega Man Legends 2, Alundra, etc. So many great games that have aged great imo

[@sikViduser]

EInhander was a great game that went a bit under the radar in It's time. A side scrolling shooter reminiscent of Gradius, Einhader had a badass soundtrack, great visuals and solid gameplay. 10/10 will play again... right now actually, before I go to bed.

[@lonewolf8304]

Castlevania sotn is a work of art and is a masterpiece. You can use randomizers and make the game more enjoyable . The game has a lot of replay value

[@danb9415]

Is the randomizer a pc mod?

[@lonewolf8304]

@@danb9415 you can play randomizer on any platform

[@Lostenoch]

First game I ever picked up and played on my own under the dead of night. Still love the line "what is a man!"

[@lonewolf8304]

@@Lostenoch and my favorite line is "Darkling , I smell your blood"

[@johnong2655]

Grand Turismo 2 is worth mentioning too due to the graphics

[@abdullaal-naimi9075]

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I highly recommend playing these games on retroarch with crt shaders. The shaders really clean up the image for 2D games like Castlevania and 3D games like Crash can be upscaled to look clearer and sharper. The emulated ps1 can even be overclocked so that some games like Jumping Flash can achieve higher framerates(60fps on ps1!).

[@diras2010]

Duckstation works flawlessly for PS1 games, you need a legit dump of your PS1 BIOS and legit copies of your games, and play on!

[@jonzo22]

I had a demo disc and played metal Gear solid demo so many times... Good times

[@JohnSmith-nj4zq]

The Adventure of Little Ralph, Harmful Park and many more 2D games that never got a U.S release. Playstation of America went all in with 3D games at that time. There were so many 2D games we didn't get here. The PS1 perfected 2D games and were infants with 3D games.

[@martinomagic9230]

Some other less talked about great PS1 RPGs that imo are masterpieces and hold up incredibly well today. Are Grandia, Vandel Hearts, and Arc the Lad 2! I might even argue that Arc of Lad 2 might just be one of the greatest SRPGs ever created, and I don't think hardly anyone has ever played it! The one flaw it has is you have to play the extremely underwhelming Arc of Lad 1 to get the full story of 2 haha. But it is a really short game, so not too bad.

[@safebox36]

Apparently Tomba and Tomba 2 is getting a remaster / port this year. So anyone that missed out, now's your chance.

[@matthewharris517]

Thank goodness for emulators

[@MetalJody1990]

Yeah. PGXP for perspective and texture corrections, and the best anti-aliasing anyone could ask for at 240p. Also CPU overclocking for better fps. Thanks goodness. I can't ever go back to a real PS1.

[@dumbstruckempire]

Fantastic collection of choices.

[@Barrelrollz]

I agree with not having FF7 on here, because its overworld characters look (charmingly and hilariously) bad, but FF9 on the PS1 holds up amazingly. FF9 is the champ when it comes to PS1 RPG graphics and art.

[@AnimeBrosAMV]

Great video guys!

[@briarjensen2123]

Hello! Great video, these retro games are fascinating

[@ThousandairesClub]

*fawns in Ridge Racer Prototype 4* 😍

[@JerryBaezAlchemus]

This is a VERY respectable list IMO. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@Rheinmetall1]

We have aged, not the games.

[@letteracura]

Thanks brother, very good video

[@HittokiriBattousai17]

I'm going to add some titles that I personally love and I've replayed recently and possibly will replay until the end of me: 1 - Tenchu: Birth of the Stealth Assassins. 2 - Colin McRae Rally 2.0. 3 - Digimon World. 4 - Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2. 5 - Tekken 2. (I personally prefer it over 3) 6 - Street Fighter Alpha 3. 7 - Jade Coccoon. 8 - Final Fantasy Tactics. 9 - Final Fantasy VII-VIII-IX 10 - Fear Effect.

[@Mitchbaz93]

as i was watching this i was sat here thinking " i cant believe youve not even mentioned CastleVania sotn" then BOOM its number 1. i played this for the first time the other week and finished it at 180% and man what a Game!. the pixel art is stunning. the music is bliss! just all of it is amazing. even if i did manage to cheese though a couple boss's lol

[@gmblunder8195]

Legend of Legaia aged really well for me. Fight system is unique and the story is good enough to be memorable.

[@ranson2002]

videos like these get me teary eyed, I miss those simpler times. also my PS1 GOAT's where Megaman Legends and Final Fantasy Tactics

[@misterkim7517]

Solid recommendations!

[@holiggan2008]

Tekken 3 is my go-to game on my retro handheld devices. It's so fantastic to play anytime, anywhere! The money I've spent on the arcades playing it, and on the ps1, wow. Still love it to bits.

[@MadsterV]

SO MANY of these I haven't played yet. Why can't I have infinite time at my disposal? is that too much to ask? it is? oh right, makes sense.

[@elone3997]

Will always love the PS1 'look' .Those Crispy graphics with low res textures (with the signature texture warping) still look fantastic. The MGS 1 intro was something else for the first time playing, and R Racer type 4 was (and still is) one of the best Ridges. Soul Calibur was also top tier. Cheers vultures 👍😉 Edit:wait! Soul Reaver and Spyro also. Why did I get rid of my PS1?!

[@erakfishfishfish]

Bloody Roar 1 and 2 were such fun fighters. Also, I’m in the niche crowd that loved Intelligent Qube. It;s a must play for people who like block droppers like Tetris and Puyo.

[@SAM-ru4vx]

Magical drop and devil dice are fun puzzle games

[@ADanZLife]

Paul was my favorite Tekken character, so it was great to see him showcased in the video.

[@lutfimakarim8258]

I love the PS1 era. I miss never to worry about day one patch

[@whattmang]

I was just talking to my brother about how sotn and megaman x4 were both genre defining and still arguably unmatched. great video

[@Robotron2084psn]

Great list

[@PiePiePie07]

A single Freedom note. Im dying lol. What a wonderful play on words.

[@pharmcat8484]

Chrono Cross is so underrated. I get it’s not Chrono Trigger, but what is?

[@fourwingsweepa1705]

I liked cross better than trigger for some reason

[@frankbrodie5168]

@@fourwingsweepa1705 Yeah same.. I was a Final Fantasy devotee by the time Chrono Trigger came out though. So I never got that into Chrono Trigger like a lot of people did. But when Chrono Cross hit, just the vast number of playable characters appealed to me. That and I love the character Harle. She just makes me laugh.

[@BluntStop]

@@fourwingsweepa1705 Me too but only for a little while. 3D loading battles take forever. Its another reason why i didnt like ff9. Loading time takes forever.

[@Stuntman175]

Ridge Racer: Type 4 and Vagrant Story still look great to this day.

[@mrburgess1698]

Devil dice was frantic two player puzzle fun and still holds up today.

[@natew5544]

i have to put my vote in vagrant story as one of the best looking games for ps1

[@EhurtAfy]

LOVE the lofi Age of Empires 2 Drizzle music in this video!

[@Tekaruku-Kun]

Suikoden II is still one of my favorite games of all time. Sadly my copy was so damaged that it always just crashed as soon as I got the fortress - wich you forgot to mention as it is one of the reasons why the game is so fun, watching the headquarter and your army build up over time. I tried to play it over and over again anyway in hopes that it maybe doesn't crash this time until one day I just had to accept the fact that I can't play it anymore.

[@justwentfullchuu2]

The thing with CC is that there's NO RPG like it. Like, with other games like the FF entries, Suikoden, the SaGas, they are great but not precisely unique, but CC just plays so different, their ideas are so radically different...that's why it wasn't as well received at first as a sequel for CT, but it has gained a following over time. Absolute masterpiece.

[@ELWaller0388]

Great selection and video. I vote Tomb Raider 4, as its kind of the swansong for a certain kind of 3rd person adventure game that you don't see anymore. You have to do all the work and set up the jumps and vaults whereas a newer ps3 or 4 era game would have you just holding the action button and going in a direction doing fancy parkour stuff. Beautiful scenery and levels like in the earlier games but with better graphics and more fluid gameplay to back it up.

[@bestintheworld4850]

The coolest thing about Jojo's game, was doing "Za Warudo" with Star Platinum, it costed 3 bars but was worth it.

[@1Synner]

The best thing about Symphony of the Night is that is has been re-released a few times, so it's actually a fair bit easier to pick up the game outside of the PS1. My personal favorite version is the Dracula X Chronicles version on the PSP. Also, as far as the list goes, I'd like to add these games: - Klonoa - Spyro 1-3 - R-Type Delta - Parasite Eve - Wild Arms 2 - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (not exactly in the grapical department, but hey, MGS isn't exactly a looker anymore either, lol)

[@NakedSnake1010]

Front Mission 3 is THE game from a PS1 era that i regularly replay even to this day. Every time the very first thing i do when purchase a new phone is install an emulator and run this game. In case of the mobile entertainment, the kids nowadays have their Genshin and stuff but i have my trusty Wanzers.

[@shoresy6943]

Valkyrie Profile is timeless

[@majestyzx9081]

I absolutely adore Tomba & Klonoa.

[@dumbstruckempire]

Tomba's one I need to pick up and play again. It's been too long.

spyro the dragon, dino crisis 2, RE 1, 2 and 3, Bloody Roar 2, Rival Schools

[@UmmerFarooq-wx4yo]

You reminded me of mentioning Future Cop Lapd, and then i remembered R Type Delta on the ps1. And then I remembered playing this open world 🌎 hover game... what was it called: V2000.

[@CulturedVultures]

WOW V2000! now that's a blast from the past

[@yournightmare9999]

I collect 750+ physical games for PlayStation1 when price i low. Great era system with begging games that exist today

[@fourwingsweepa1705]

Damn I thought having 438 games was huge but you make my collection look tiny

[@Royal-Guardian]

Twisted Metal 2/World Tour and Darkstalkers. Oh and the opposite if Whoopie would be Melancholy 👌

[@MichaelTaylor-qp2xf]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night remains my personal favorite PS1 game and is among my favorite games of all time. Sony had the wrong idea believing that everything had to be in 3D, as many 2D games on this list have proven by holding up so much better than those early 3D graphical games did decades later.

[@Vik1919]

A real gamer appreciates both 2D and 3D games and in-between (2.5D). Anyone who wants any of them gone is simply not a real gamer and as you said they are fools. I have had so many awesome experiences from all three types of games and I would not want any of them to be gone, ever.

[@cascadesouthernmodeltrains7547]

I was hoping Lunar or Lunar 2 would be on this list. Great story, lovable characters and the gameplay and graphics are pretty good. The cutscenes are also outstanding.

[@everx7]

Threads of Fate i admit with some help in duckstation can look like even a todays indie title i mean, can look beutiful, Dragon Valor i think looks quite nice or if Megaman then legends 1-2 looks alright, 40 winks, Soul Reaver, Jackie Chan Stuntmaster, Nightmare Creatures 2 i think has great graphics, but its kinda like released in the last stages of PS1 life or more like the end, so no wonder there i guess. Tai fu, Tail Concerto looking good i think. For me at least. I dont know there are many more that with some little lightweight tweeking u can get suprisingly great results, u almost forget that its a 20+ year old game in some cases. Anyway theres lot more to choose from. So u can do a lot of these videos :), like part 2-3-4 etc. :)

[@kazzy3308]

breath of fire 3 has some of the most beautiful character and enemy sprites from that era, and the low poly 3D enviroments also aged very well. also ridge racer type4

[@armamentarmedarm1699]

Gran Turismo 2, Klonoa, Wipeout XL, Final Fantasy Tactics, Ghost in the Shell, Threads of Fate, Street Fighter Alpha 3 (world tour mode!)

[@TheDiamondSea]

Sad there’s no Klonoa on here

[@scorpioigor]

Should have mentioned all of the classic Tomb Raider games, from 1 to 5. They are still excellent games, even better than some current ones, and I still played them to this day.

[@davidkozak9289]

It’s disappointing that most of these games aren’t easily playable on PS4/PS5 considering how easy they are to emulate and how popular they were back in the day. I also think remakes shouldn’t replace originals, I wish the OG crash and Spyro games were available too

[@jimtin8754]

Here comes the inevitable Symphony of the night

[@CulturedVultures]

obviously because it is in the thumbnail bud lol

[@jimtin8754]

Didn't even notice the thumbnail 😂

[@fivespot83s24]

Einhänder is still a looker

[@RedLine_Renesis]

Rather than numbers, you can just put the names

[@davicavalcante5902]

Legend of Mana is the Goat. So beautiful and stunning graphics.

[@Sirmarklee23]

Suikoden 2 is still the greatest game I ever played. I even bought 3 copies as kid just in case the disc get scratch and unreadable.

[@lunarjump]

Anyone know the name of the 1st game shown in the video?

[@noneofyourbiz5973]

Valkyrie Profile and Legend Of Mana has aged quite nicely. I also think that Koudelka still holds up.

[@OGPlaythroughGamer]

As my screen name implies, I still play all these and am starting to feature them. I even have a 30" CRT TV just for this. 🤣

[@couchpotitomode]

great take on ps1 games!

[@tristantunstall6171]

Vagrant story was my favorite game on the ps1 and mdk

[@JDPetersonFLA]

I still play X4 from time to time, and even though I probably won't replay again SOTN, I think it's the best game on the PS1.

[@HikoSeijuroXIII]

SOTN will never age.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

I still can't get over that I missed out on half of Symphony of the Night because I had no idea that Richter Belmont was the "bad ending" and there was a ton of game left. Why they deceived the player with a potential 200% completion ranking is beyond me.

[@TheJacklikesvideos]

to get 100% map completion without figuring out that there was more to the game to unlock would require extreme density. the only way to get the bad ending and not realize it is to rush to defeat the boss with no actual intention of completing the game.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

@@TheJacklikesvideos I guess somehow I managed to avoid any comparable issue in 40 years of gaming by sheer luck, and not Symphony deliberately representing that the game had been completed.

[@Vik1919]

​@@TheJacklikesvideosYou don't have to act like an insufferable prick. I got the true ending yet you do not see me putting others down because of it. Mature people stay humble even IF they are "better" than someone. You will receive no respect from me, as you do not seem to value it anyways.

[@Vik1919]

​​​@@palaceofwisdom9448It happens, everyone makes mistakes and overlooks something sometimes. Just be observant and let your intuition guide you. It is a skill that you can hone. You can also look it up on the internet, there's no shame in that. It saves time and you will be able to play something that you would have otherwise missed out on in your life. Ignore people like the guy you replied to, his intention is to put you down. He won't if you don't let him, people like them aren't worth your time.

[@gtanibal]

we all know crash`s favorite band is The Offspring

[@ELMOALCALA]

vagrant story was and still is a masterpiece

[@Kikoberserk]

Valkyrie Profile is another RPG that is just perfect even today

[@craiganderson7986]

Gimme some Lunar Silver Star Story and Ridge Racer 4! I’ll play them (and all my PS1 games) on my PS3. Looks great, sounds great!

[@pharmcat8484]

#0 Dragon Warrior 7. I will not be taking questions.

[@DarDarBinks1986]

I bought my loose copy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night at GameStop just before I graduated from high school. This was 20 years ago. I'm so lucky to have the game at all. Don't really care about having a complete copy since I just wanted to play the game. If the early '80s were the Golden Age of gaming, the '90s were the Platinum Age.

[@zzlord4309]

One of the games that are overlooked for how well it has aged would be blood omen : legacy of kain

[@antonprieto6647]

Suikoden 2 also had an amazing music score!

[@avjaarsveldt]

Breath of Fire 3 and 4. Still great today.

[@moosetrack7]

great video series, do Saturn

[@user-lm6me2tz9t]

The International Superstar Soccer Pro games - also by Konami - are still amazing to play. Same thing goes for Vandal Heart 2 and more. Medievil probably should be on the list along with Colin McRae 2, which is still one of the best games on PS1.

[@lukeshippart4]

Wow Tomba rules indeed, I also still love to play Klonoa, Parasite Eve, and my favourite, Trap Gunner