PSU's top ten PSone classics on PSN

  • Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 23:22 EDT by Mike Harradence
  • 9,616 views
  • 45 Comments

(continued from previous page) ...the game’s castle setting, a feature that deviated significantly from its predecessors (bar the NES offering, Simon’s Quest) and crams in everything you’d expect from a Castlevania game – ghoulish foes in all shapes and sizes, tons of power-ups to acquire, a superbly crafted score and heaps of replay value and exploration to boot. One of the most memorable 2D outings of all time, let alone a worthy addition to the PSone classics line-up. In short, it’s utterly brilliant.

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Image
As far as 2D beat ‘em ups go, you can’t really top Capcom’s venerable Street Fighter series, and the mid-90s entry in the form of Street Fighter: Alpha 2 is no exception to this rule. Released back in 1996, the celebrated brawler offers more than a few mere incremental upgrades to its predecessor, chucking in 18 playable fighters, revamped cut-scenes and endings, an arranged soundtrack, in addition to a swanky new ‘Custom Combo’ mechanic. If there’s one 2D fighter you need in your collection, Street Fighter Alpha 2 ticks all the boxes.

Resident Evil
Image
While Capcom’s original zombie masterpiece may be almost indiscernible from the high-octane, muscle-bound parasite slaying shenanigans of Resident Evil 5, there’s a reason why the first Resident Evil game has managed to shove its way in to our top ten – it’s a bloody good game. Set in the American mid-west in July of 1998, RE stars Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield of the infamous S.T.A.R.S unit as they investigate a crumbling old mansion in the middle of a remote forest region following an outbreak of cannibalistic homicides on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Cue a gripping B-movie tale of flesh eating undead, gigantic snakes, hellhounds and an estate rigged with traps and riddles as our heroes attempt to rescue their missing S.T.A.R.S comrades and uncover the root of the horrific murders. Helmed by Shinji Mikami, RE’s tank controls and pre-rendered backdrops may be perceived as archaic by today’s standards, but its superb execution of fusing puzzles solving, exploration and combat – combined with creepy ambience and a stellar soundtrack – still affords players an immersive and cinematic gameplay experience some 13 years after its inception. Indeed, the only aspect more horrific than the shambling zombies and marauding Hunters is the horrendous dialogue – shocking stuff. At the end of the day though, while often overlooked in favor of its mammoth selling sequel, Resident Evil remains, unequivocally, one of the PlayStation’s all-time classics.

Syphon Filter
Image
Conceived by a rather talented bunch over at a little known studio named Eidetic, Syphon Filter snuck on to store shelves in early 1999, topping the U.S. software charts for over a whopping ten months in the process. Although initially compared to Konami’s stealth-action effort Metal Gear Solid, which released around the same time, Eidetic’s stylish shooter calved out an identity of its own and notched up an immensely loyal fan base in the process, spawning to further sequels on the PlayStation alone. Hopping into the shoes of Agency operative Gabriel Logan, Syphon Filter endowed players with heaps of fancy gadgets and weapons to ticker around with, not to mention, crucially, a decidedly meaty single player campaign to tackle. While lacking any multiplayer component, the original game proved a far more challenging and ultimately less linear experience than its successor (which is also worth picking up, we might add), boasting intelligently crafted level designs and ample replay value. In short, the first three entries in the series are worth a place in anyone’s PSone classics line-up, but the original Syphon Filter proved the most memorable. The embodiment of late ‘90s third-person action at its very best – don’t miss out.


Tekken 2
Image
As the sole entry in Namco’s venerable beat ‘em up phenomenon currently available on PSN, our decision to plump for Tekken 2’s inclusion in our top ten was an obvious choice, though by no means an indication of merely scanning through the line-up of PSone classics and arbitrarily plucking out the biggest games that caught our attention – after all, Tekken 2’s legacy speaks for itself, and more than likely would have still made the cut had ... (continued on next page)

Advertisement

Comments

Comment

What are your thoughts?

  1. aLterBridge

    • 11:23pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    2nd

     

    crash bash > crash bandicoot imo

  2. Versus

    • 11:27pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    where is XENOGEARS for NA?

  3. PsychoMantis | KuruptX

    • 11:29pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    Final Fantasy is #1 wow that isn't shocking.....

  4. scottbof

    • 11:33pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    i want most of them in my country :(               (that being UK)

  5. Mr_WolF

    • 11:35pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    worse line up exep  for mgs, ff7

  6. woolley

    • 11:38pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    CTR should be up there. best cart racer.

  7. Lefein | Lefein

    • 11:43pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    We need Xenogears!

  8. lordAlucard | Sympozium_666

    • 11:58pm BST - September 22nd, 2009

    We need Soul Reaver

  9. waleed_wael

    • 12:07am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    i agree with #6  .. and the should add viligant 8 too

  10. Mo-green28 | Mo-green28

    • 12:12am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Where's WWF Smackdown 2? I remeber I played that game almost on a 24/7 bases with family during the summer every year unitl I got the Almighty PS2.

     

    Besides that I played Crash Bandicoot 2, and Metal Gear Solid. Wasn't too many other games that I loved as much on PS1.... Ohh Yea Jackie Chan's Stuntmaster was sooo fun.

  11. SomaXD | SomaXD

    • 12:18am BST - September 23rd, 2009

     "(Then again, new adopters don’t have much choice, mind, given the recent omission of backwards compatibility in latter PS3 models, but that’s beside the point)."

    just a quick tip.... all PS3's are BC with PSone titles (as good as emulation can get at least) just not PS2 games....

    so any new adopters need not worry... find FFVII on ebay... or grab a MGS collection box (ps2 games iincluded... but also MGS is a PSone disc.

    i mean yeah... you can "wait" for PSN to update with random crappy psone titles with a gem thrown in here or there (except if you live in japan.... that store is a PSone gold mine!)

    but if you really are a gamer... GO BUY THE ACTUAL DISC!

  12. GreenIcedTea | Knoodles

    • 1:17am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    @ 2 yea, where is Xenogears? That was awsome, so was The legend of Dragoon.  But man, i really wanna get my hands on xenogears again.

     

  13. Pinski | Pinski16

    • 1:18am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    gotta love crash

  14. yogosan | Yogosan

    • 1:20am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    wheres international superstar soccer pro, lol, loved that game

  15. FizzeL | fizzel89

    • 1:33am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    "(Then again, new adopters don’t have much choice, mind, given the recent omission of backwards compatibility in latter PS3 models, but that’s beside the point)."

     

    Sony never took out PS1 backwards compatibility from any of the PS3 models.

  16. Tseng VII | TsengVII

    • 1:41am BST - September 23rd, 2009

     @3

    Have you played FFVII? I can honestly say it's the best game I've ever played.

  17. DigitalBeast

    • 1:50am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    @11 If you're a gamer, you play games. If you're a collector, you buy things so you'd "have it". Yes, one can be both...

  18. helgast666

    • 2:14am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    silent hill for me is the best...

  19. nosaJ | nosaJ

    • 2:17am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    uuumm...Nevermind, I've got nothing.

  20. Boulayman

    • 2:22am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    No suikoden = bad article :( But other than that, it's a good list for people that were too young for the ps1.

  21. Dassureth

    • 2:28am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Why Isn't FFtactics in that list!

  22. slimweasel | SlimWeasel

    • 2:35am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    wheres the love for the wipeout series on ps1 or worms ?

  23. psmgamer | Demonhunter84

    • 2:37am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Resident Evil 2 & 3 should be on that list if they were on PSN already. Even Crash Team Racing deserves to be on that list but its not on PSN.

  24. udontneed2know | udontneed2know26

    • 2:53am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    No mention of Twisted Metal 2 = epic fail.

    Somehow knew a website would never mention that game though, even though Twisted Metal 2 was perhaps the greatest game of the genre of all time, and is still an incredibly fun game to this day.  WAY better then Tekken 2 for god sakes.  Tekken 3 could get mention but 2?  Nah.

  25. Valhalla_96

    • 2:55am BST - September 23rd, 2009

     i agree with Versus 

    and also Vagrant Story

  26. udontneed2know | udontneed2know26

    • 2:55am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Oh yeah and no mention of one of the greatest RPG's on the PSOne, Suikoden.

    Epic fail in that list.

    Should be ...

     

    #1 : FFVII

    #2 : Twisted Metal 2

    #3 : Jet Moto 2

    #4 : Resident Evil

    #5 : Crash Bandicoot

    #6 : Final Fantasy Tactics

    #7 : Metal Gear Solid

    #8 : Symphony of the Night

    #9 : Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

    #10 : Silent Hill

  27. Jules909 | jules909

    • 3:48am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    well said @ 9 - Vigilane 8 was afantastic game, especially when playin with friends

  28. Mopey. | M-O-P-E-Y

    • 3:55am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    List should read... "Top 10 PS1 Games" #1. Metal Gear Solid ...and thats it.

  29. edward_moffet | edd

    • 3:56am BST - September 23rd, 2009

     agreed, awesome list PSU

  30. mauro125 | mauro125

    • 4:26am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    i want tomba!!!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomba!

  31. Xandure | Xandure

    • 7:07am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Good List.

  32. tadpole3159 | faulkner8991

    • 8:23am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    crash bandicoot on my psp might be fun, didnt know it was out on psn. cheers psu :)

  33. dc89 | Stiss

    • 8:45am BST - September 23rd, 2009

     they need to hurry up and bring both Oddworld games out.  I have them on PS1 already but they would be a big hit, those games are classics. 

  34. NateDrake | Tornado_200

    • 9:51am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Hey!!! Where is Xena??????

  35. stevic

    • 10:56am BST - September 23rd, 2009

    RE3 should be in the list, guess it's much way better than original RE

  36. golem

    • 12:49pm BST - September 23rd, 2009

     where is parasite eve 2  ????????????????????

  37. Perishing_Mind

    • 2:12pm BST - September 23rd, 2009

    OMG I adore Crash Bandicoot!!!!

  38. RocManX | RocManX

    • 3:14pm BST - September 23rd, 2009

    @ 36: listen to this man lol Suikoden 2 Soul Blade Don't need to release much after those 2.

  39. Amusimbel | Amusimbel

    • 3:18pm BST - September 23rd, 2009

     Where is Final Fantasy Tactics ???

  40. stratospeed

    • 3:24pm BST - September 23rd, 2009

    i would reeally like to see gran turismo on psn... it was great! i mean the classic one!

  41. canyon168

    • 6:27pm BST - September 23rd, 2009

    Give me Vagrant Story.  Also Legend of Dragoon.   Soul Reaver games were great too.

  42. PSX_Legend | KillZone3000

    • 1:12am BST - September 24th, 2009

    My top 10 most wanted PSX games on PSN:

    1 - Legend of Dragoon (My favorite JRPG of all time),

     2 - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver ,

    3 - Alone in the Dark IV: New Nightmare,

    4- Driver 2,

    5 - Tomba! (Tombi! in EU)

    , 6 - Tenchu 2: The Birth of the Stealth Assassins,

    7 - Vagrant Story ,

    8 - Parasite Eve 2,

    9 - Fear Effect ,

    10 - C-12

     

     

     

  43. amk111

    • 11:09am BST - September 24th, 2009

     hey, where is twisted metal 2?

  44. geedoo

    • 7:41am BST - September 29th, 2009

    Lets just let them be old, if i play them now they WILL suck. Thats just how it is nowadays, sad but true.

  45. Donato_XIII | Donato_XIII

    • 6:51am BST - October 3rd, 2009

    Damnit where is final fantasy VIII

eXTReMe Tracker