The 25 Most Gorgeous 2D Playstation (PS1) Games

[@lunagunplax8]

Symphony of the Night and Megaman X always be my best favorite PS1 2D Games

[@mapes2572]

theyre also my favorites

[@Yes12ok]

Agree 👍

[@-corridaparaascolinas]

Agree

[@mapes2572]

@Billa how?

[@Funtasters]

Agree

[@FartherCaspian]

So glad you included Oddworld, the games have such a creepy atmosphere and it looks beautiful at the same time. Never seen a game like it since.

[@8BeatsVGM]

And so hard to beat

[@agamaz5650]

Oddworld is well known

[@bombergirlvera]

I really adore the Legend of Mana artstyle, but Valkyrie Profile is so stunning to me it really blew everything else out of the water. Not a lot of 2D games can compare even now.

[@setyoaomiya7504]

Glad there's someone who appreciate Valkyrie Profile in the comments.

[@ChrisEbz]

Dang, Hercules actually looks fantastic! The multiple layers, nicely textured pixel art in the background, smooth animation. Never played it lol!

[@setyoaomiya7504]

Awww, if you grew up with Aladdin game (that horror magic carpet last mission), you should try this one too. Surprisingly satisfying game for one that actually based from a movie. Although you gotta be fan or at least like the movie first usually to not lost the magic touch.

[@renslo689]

Had a feeling Alpha 3 would be in, that game looks amazing, Capcom need to do a 2D street fighter again.

[@keemmaanz1985]

yeah but then there was capcom vs snk aswell though

[@anpancake]

Any Metal Slug game is top of the line pixel art, like pixel art doesn't get any better than what a Metal Slug game can give you. Edit: I didn't know they had Strider for the PS1! Thank you for bring this to attention

[@MidBoss666]

Then you should check In The Hunt as well, it was done by the same creators and has a nigh identical style.

[@Moncayo_02]

@@MidBoss666 the pre metal slug games like gun force

[@MidBoss666]

@@Moncayo_02 Yes, Netal Slug was very inspired by these, and they are amazing games, I only mentioned In The Hunt cause it's the same creators and used the style they'd later use in MS games ^^

[@morganmcgill3169]

Rayman is so damn clean it looks like a cartoon.

[@danielricardo5029]

When it comes to art direction, design, vision and consistency, very very few games touch Symphony of The Night. It aged as fine as Dracula's wine.

[@noop9k]

It reuses art from Rondo of Blood

[@MiguelAviles175]

Not everything tho, not even close ​@@noop9k

[@gdassspar6nar]

​@@MiguelAviles175It looks good,but gameplay is lacking

[@Chu_the_Master]

The scanline effect on these games is so visually pleasing to the eye!

[@eddymadison9655]

This type of 2D graphics need to make a comeback, 2D indie games go for the 8 - 16bits so why not 32bit

[@1995yuda]

They DID make a comback bro, there's a ton of 2D games out these days, they're incredible! I just searched for this and found 10's of new games and they are all amazing! A new TMNT 2D game is JUST releasing now and it looks and plays amazing, look it up👍

[@RockmanZeroModernDay]

I know I have been gushing over how awesome The Adventures of Lomax that much, but, it's so beautiful!

[@riversart2030]

I had an N64 first as a kid and although I absolutely loved it I remember being jealous of how sharp the 2D graphics on Playstation looked in comparison. Eventually I got one with Gex and Resident Evil as my first two games and needless to say I was not disappointed.

[@ThatOldSchoolMagic]

Two games I would like to add to the list are Guilty Gear and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Most of the time PS1 Fighting games tend to not have as much animation as their arcade counterparts but these two show that it’s possible to get something to look very nice on the ps1 with some technical Wizardry.

[@setyoaomiya7504]

Dude. Thank you. GGX was one of my favorite, especially the backgrounds. And further series, the sprites got more details to appreciate more

[@ismailmuttaqien1203]

Ahh.. the pre rendered background of the old game. Soo beautiful

[@tomgibson6801]

Amazing list, x4 would be another mega man entry that i think did a wonderful job with the 2d graphics(also seeing love for 8 always makes me happy considering how underrated megaman 8 is)

[@aliceinmansonland448]

Great list! The majority of these games play really well on lower end retro gaming handhelds like the RG300, Powkiddy Q90, and the LDK. I appreciate that you put them all into one comprehensive list!

[@ComputerOyyy]

I love my Q90 🥰

[@talbokflashteun8695]

And i love m'y PocketGo S30 and Powkiddy RGB20 ! 2D games are crazies on these little screens !

[@diegocobo8]

On a softmodded Nintendo Switch PSOne games through DuckStation runs amazingly well, highly recommended.

[@hydra3693]

I play these on my Galaxy S7 with the Swanstation core

[@NickTaylor-Phantom-Works2]

First upload i watched from this channel, and it's waaayyyy better than most. With 1000s of video game channels, this stands out. I particularly love the single bit of info about the console that changes with each game shown. Subbed!

[@CiccioImberlicchio]

Klonoa looked really good on PS1 it's colorful and they show Klonoa sprite in different closeup and poses during the cutscenes, it's very stunning. In the Hunt was probably the last game some of the Irem devs worked on before leaving the company and going to found Nazca Corporation, the artstyle is so similar that i initially thought it was developed by Nazca. To this day, i will always love Rayman 1 colorful sprites over Rayman 2 dark and depressing 3d tone, i think that's the game that made me fall in love with pixelart in the first place, it was my first PS1 game and it has a special place in my Heart

[@Absolutely_puck_fakestine]

Klonoa is in 3d.

[@Kousaburo]

In the Hunt plays like the vechile sections from Metal Slug, but sadly it 's too difficult and has none of the personality that brought Metal Slug to life.

[@robernolli4264]

Rockman X4 💓 amazing Megaman game 👏

[@-corridaparaascolinas]

Agree

[@romanista9776]

I like these kind of videos. People playing and appreciating old classics.

[@Jasmohan]

@BitsBeats Thank you so much!!! "01:04 The Adventure of Little Ralph" I was looking for the name of this game for so long, but I was not able to find it. This game was in a bundle CD. The original CD I had stopped working and I could not run it to find out. Based on my memory I was searching for it and today, your video brought back my childhood memories of playing the game. Once again, thank you. You just made my day. 😁

[@ViniViVinsi]

This is the most amazing 2d psx game list i've ever seen, thanks for the vid.

[@Vespene]

Wow this video was delightful! I always look at these videos sideways, but this is the first time I've gone into one thinking "WELL THEY'LL NEVER MENTION LOMAX" and then they end up mentioning Lomax... so many of these games are still so lovely to look at, Harmful Park, Skullmonkeys and Oddysee bring back fond memories.

[@chesterfieldthe3rd929]

I still have never seen a game as beautiful as Legend of Mana.

[@nracicot]

I have a slight preference for SaGa Frontier 2 by the same company, even if it may not be as detailed. But Legend of Mana is close!

[@chesterfieldthe3rd929]

@@nracicot great pick!

[@farizshadier96]

Strider 2 and Disney Hercules is my childhood PS1 games 😁

[@funisinfinite6171]

SotN was nuts with its pixel art. So much detail on random non boss enemies that may only appear in one room in the entire game. Every area of that castle was a work of art!

[@shakesquire84]

Harmful Park is absolutely gorgeous.

[@Vvewa]

nice vid, makes me want to get a ps1 again to revisit. When it came out it was all about the 3d games.

[@rosstee]

Don’t forget if you have a PS3 you can play PS1 games and they’ll look better through HDMI.

[@Vvewa]

@@rosstee crts only for ps1

[@rosstee]

@@Vvewa Purist I see. You could still use a PS3 if you connect to the CRT via RGB ;)

[@Freakshow-yg4hm]

Love the list! I grew up playing these games, keep up the great work!

[@dyscotopia]

These are beautiful games, but it's interesting how many only kept to one layer of parallax, and I didn't notice any of the strictly 2d ones doing any of the trippy scan line based effects you'd find on the most impressive Genesis titles. If I recall tho, Sony was not particularly interested in encouraging developers to make 2d games, so that might be why we saw less trickery and experimentation in the backgrounds.

[@Gabensy]

And ..... Tombi , parasite eve , FF7 / 8 , crash bandicoot ,klonoa , rr type 4😊

[@RichDolo]

This is the era i grew up with and my fave graphic style (32 bit)- you still had to be super creative and have beautiful colors/spritework

[@gonzotv2214]

Ahh the underrated Valkyrie Profile, such a masterpiece game

[@pihermoso11]

any Gradius soundtrack is always top notch... since the 8-bit era

[@Jackfromshack]

Hello. Do you use some kind of universal crt filter? Or is it added when editing a video? Classic games look amazing with it!

[@BitsBeats]

CRT Royale + video editing

[@michaelgalang5863]

The nostalgia upon seeing Legend of Mana again

[@G4System]

Ah my masterpiece Castlevania Symphony Of The Night & Rayman 😎

[@SnackCannon]

*Grand Theft Auto 2* *Mega Man X4/X5/X6* *Community Pom* *Castlevania Chronicles* *Puzzle Star Sweep* *Policenauts* *Persona 2* *Zanac X Zanac: Zanac Neo* *Tomba!* *Suikoden II* *Guilty Gear* *Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu* *Tetris Plus* *PaRappa The Rapper* *Mortal Kombat Trilogy* *Worms Armageddon* *Breath of Fire III/IV* *Wolf Fang* Just to name some personal favorites that I find underrated or simply not listed. :]

[@QwerkyPengwen]

I think it's very important to note that the scanlines are very important to making the graphics look the way they do. A crt mask takes it the rest of the way but with the way KZbin handles compression, the finer details for that would be lost. Kudos to the uploader for at least applying a basic scanline filter to try and show the art as best as they can here

[@babymaharaja7638]

I've never seen the Legend of Mana game, wow that looks incredible.

[@xonanimations8075]

Square Enix re-released it for modern consoles so you can play it

[@julioramos6921]

Which filter or shader do you use for this video ??? Great info

[@BitsBeats]

CRT Royale with a few tweaks. Thanks!!

[@soulreaver1983]

Absolutely outstanding video thanks as always dude!!!!!😎👍👍 hell yeah symphony of the night 🌙!!!!!😁👍👍👍👍

[@JD-mz1rl]

Literally puts X on the thumbnail, and literally did not include a mega man X game in the video :/

[@highpineapple]

Rayman looks so good, that if an Indy developer released it today on modern consoles, no one would think twice.

[@rachberachbe7664]

😭😭😭 Rayman 1 is the goat hands down

[@Bubba__Sawyer]

Wasn't Rayman developed for the Atari Jaguar and then ported to other systems? NBA Jam: TE looked great on the Jaguar as well. The 3D games for the jaguar looked terrible. Rather than pushing 3D too early, it seems they could've competed with the SNES and Genesis and pushed the limits with 2D graphics.

[@sebastiankulche]

​@@rachberachbe7664In terms of visual style i agree, but in terms of gameplay? Idk Rick.

[@Hengkiindrawan]

klonoa, tales of eternia, megaman x 4&5&6, metal slug, resident evil series, dino crisis, MediEvil, Harvest Moon. mann what nice childhood :"

[@ThatWhiskeylovinAsianGuy]

Excellent list!!! thank you!

You forgot about Suikoden II.

[@Gregoray88]

I thought Tomba and MegaMan X4, X5, or X6 deserved some recognition.

[@-corridaparaascolinas]

truth

[@1995yuda]

X Men Mutant Academy 2 was also one of the best 2D for PS1!

[@blueapple1728]

Finally someone make it the list

[@FliskFLask]

Love your choices and the comments in your videos! subbed ;)

[@joeer.m7604]

Great memories. Thank you so much. The time when videogames were just videogames....

[@nracicot]

The ones I see missing are SaGa Frontier 2 (which is my favorite visually) and the Breath of Fire games, if you want to add them. Cool video!! 🙂

[@synkron1246]

1:44 In the Hunt does seem cool, but gameplay wise Metal Slug's comedic sprite animation, awesome soundtracks, beautiful background artwork, lore, and crazy bosses is what made it recognized.

[@guilhermegontijo7407]

So many great games in the past. So little time to play them all.

[@strangehominid]

SaGa Frontier 2 is an excellent looking game, the best looking ps1 game for me

[@nweditor875]

Love the look of Valkrie Profile on PS1 one of the most amazing games to look at even to this day.

[@sirfrightmare4506]

Skullmonkeys, Alundra and Silhouette Mirage are so underrated.

[@fernandonascimento6761]

Amazing. How to plays with that quality today in 4k display? What i Need?

[@champion2106]

Tomba, Castlevania, and Megaman 8 were definitely amongst my favorite!!!!

[@ucuyylimpax5715]

one of the best retro channel

[@crimson8051]

U have the best intro ive see so far

[@tralhas]

Love the random technical information.

[@gameoveragain6890]

All my childhood in one video

[@chain20009]

Gunners Heaven/Rapid Reload (pal version) is so underrated. Despite no 2 players mode, this game is beautiful and fun. Great to see on this list man.

[@iXien]

Very nice selection 👌 I think I would have added X² from Team 17 and Herc's Adventure from Lucasarts 🤩

[@guibezerra]

What emulator are you using? How do you get this beautiful scanline effect that makes the game looks great?

[@Charlie-eh6xc]

What emulator and filter are you using?? Them crt lines look crisp!

[@kudalumping]

Valkyrie Profile is really the best looking 2D game for Playstation, it's just so beautiful

[@kirbyloq8622]

Amazing as always

[@MorbidLyre]

Fantastic video mate, thank you!

[@drakebrasileiro3945]

Legend Of Mana é um otimo jogo tambem!

[@greyfoxzero]

I was gonna say Saga Frontier 2 but its kinda this 2.5d thing. Looks damn good though.

[@iudexe3103]

Striders looks mind-blowing

[@nsixties4380]

Wow Gex runs smoother than margarita night at Patrick Stewart's!

[@BitsBeats]

😂

[@cardetailingstudioaustria4121]

Amazing Job 👍 What Emulator is this?

[@BitsBeats]

Duckstation

[@cardetailingstudioaustria4121]

@@BitsBeats can you Post your setings. I think you have the best

[@BitsBeats]

@@cardetailingstudioaustria4121 For gameplays I use CRT Royale shader with some minor adjustments, but for videos I record the gameplay without shader at 4K and then I tweak the image in the video-editing program (After Effects). The image looks quite sharp because of the high resolution of the video rendering and render modes (I did a lot of testing so KZbin didn't mess up the image quality)

[@cardetailingstudioaustria4121]

@@BitsBeats thx i Set a Abo for your Chanel 👍

[@johnriddlebaugh7436]

I'm pretty much jealous of the people who bought a Playstation (and got to play those games) back in the 90s.

[@HoaBangLen]

Como vc fez pra esses jogos ficarem tão lindos assim? Nem parece jogos do ps1

[@TheLordJosh]

you forgot the Metal Slug (SNK) games, the MEgaman X4; those looked awesome!

[@marcusohm187]

I remember when you had a playstation game and you would put in on a cd player you would be able to play a soundtrack on some games, cd technology in games was very innovating at the time.

[@jorvananggara9191]

u missed megaman x4, digimon 1&3, rakugaki showtime, vigilante 8, metal gear solid, silent hill, gran turismo 2, crash bandicoot 1-3, megaman legends, tekken 3, tenchu, romb raider 2, resident evil 2, Saga frontier 2, and many more

[@mohameddhiajebali9836]

♥️ Great List ! ♥️ Tho, the other mega man games (mega man x 4 and 5) are so beautiful. annnnnnd ofc you forgot Suikoden !

[@daftcruz]

Beautiful list. Can you do part 2? I think there's still some beautiful games missing such as Metal Slug X, the Mega Man X games, Klonoa (2.5D), Tomba (2.5D), Saga Frontier 2 and Breath of Fire III and IV (2.5D).

[@-corridaparaascolinas]

I missed them too

[@GemGames3]

I love the colours on the Rayman games.

[@steve9094]

I just finished Castlevania SOTN for the first time ever last night, and holy shit is that game amazing! PSX's 2D pixel art games still look great to me today, which is more than I can say about any of the 3D games from the 32 bit era. This style of 2D gaming represents what I originally dreamed the 32 bit generation would be like when the next-gen consoles were first announced back then, before the grim reality set in and I realized that grainy, distorted, warped-looking rudimentary 3D was going to be the predominant game aesthetic for a few years.

[@bruciekibbutz2947]

did you actually finish it or did you just get up to the inverted castle?

[@Whyteeford]

The PS1 was the first great 3D system, but the 3D was pretty damn bad lol. But for 2D, this system was absolutely gorgeous! And it had the support of every developer not named Nintendo or Saga

[@Whyteeford]

And with all due respect to Megaman...but Lomax, Abes Odyssey, Castlevania, and especially Gundam are insane...like seriously, look at how EVERYTHING moves on the suits in Gundam

[@SweBeach2023]

Legend of Mana seem like the clear winner. Not only gorgeous but also very consistent in its style.

[@SNKBossSyndrom]

In The Hunt miraculously is better on the PS1 than Saturn, what a game ^^ Too bad Real Bout Special: Dominated Mind was missing on the list, found it way better than SFA3 (SNK💖). The adjustments for the PS1 were interesting (some kind of Alpha Counter and the special moves from the ex and regular characters all accumulated).

[@noop9k]

Sprite performance of PS1 is better than Saturn.

[@grzegorz__]

Fantastic list ! :)

[@DNGMaestro]

Great videos! I just find the scanlines unecessary..

[@bananasaregood8655]

Abe’s odyssey is miles ahead of its time in it’s cutaway scenes. Like to this day its great. Plus its a unique clever puzzle game

[@mateusroschemant796]

You forget the return of the lost vikings,x-men mutant academy 2 and megaman x series,but anyway this vdeo is a treasure.

[@buildinasentry1046]

Lol I used to play that Hercules game back at this pizza place when I was little. Might have to pick it up again and relive some nostalgia

[@snoopysatangore]

Great recommendations, I didn't know many of them.

[@eyokfla]

Heart of darkness was awesome

[@8BeatsVGM]

I love it too

[@lucasgarciaart]

muito obrigado, eu estava atras do Tenchi wo Kurau II e não lembrava o nome. esse jogo eu joguei minha infancia toda ;)

[@kmeyer78]

Video games moved to full 3D a generation too early. All these games in this video are incredible-looking and feel timeless. Very few full 3D games in the fifth generation still hold up visually. The subtle 3D enhancements to 2D games like Symphony and Gradius Gaiden were how 3D should have been used for everything 5th gen.

[@snipethecage7637]

Nice list, I agree but... Hercules and Strider 2 mmmhh, not really a 2D Games with pixel art, only the characters.

[@noaht2005]

something I've noticed with 2d PS1 games which otherwise look great is the lack of parallax. You need to use 3d effects or some kind of trickery to get more than one layer. Lomax and Rayman are among the only ones who do it well

[@darkstardarin]

Was surprised to see Gex on the list, loved the first one.