I Replayed These PS1 Classics, And They Are Still Perfect

The PlayStation 1 was my first ever home console. Along with my bright purple Game Boy Color, it’s what first sparked my passion for video games. Even after more than twenty years, I still have amazing memories of playing games on it. While some of that is definitely nostalgia, the PS1 also just had a lot of really great games.

Many classic PlayStation 1 games haven’t aged well and are difficult to enjoy today. However, I still love revisiting my personal favorites, and they remain just as fun as I remember. Everyone’s experience will be different, but here are the PS1 games I still find amazing.

7. Metal Gear Solid

Introducing Tactical Espionage Action To The Masses

When Metal Gear Solid came out in 1998, a lot of players were new to the Metal Gear series. Luckily, the game did a great job of explaining everything through detailed cutscenes and a mission briefing. This meant you didn’t need to play the older games to understand the story – you could learn who Solid Snake is, where he’s going, and what the mission at Shadow Moses is all about right from the start.

While the stealth and close-quarters combat in this game feel dated compared to more recent titles, it still delivers a compelling and mature story. It’s packed with memorable boss fights and exciting moments. I remember struggling with it when I first played years ago, but now I know the game inside and out. It’s a thrilling experience that explores important themes – sadly, many of which are still relevant today, like the threat of nuclear weapons.

6. Crash Team Racing

Mario Kart’s Greatest Competition

The Mario Kart games are popular, but they’ve also caused a lot of frustration! Who hasn’t felt devastated by a green shell hitting them right before the finish line? The series also inspired many, not always great, racing games – South Park Rally being a prime example. However, one character who really thrived in this style of racing was Crash Bandicoot. Crash Team Racing was successfully remade in 2019 as Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, and I enjoyed the new characters, the added content from Crash Nitro Kart, and the fact that it was remade at all. Still, the original PlayStation version holds a special charm that the remake didn’t quite capture.

I first discovered this game in 1999 and immediately loved it. The courses are creative and cleverly designed around the game’s themes, with some particularly challenging sections – Cortex Castle stands out as a long and personal favorite. While items can cause chaotic effects similar to those in Mario Kart, skillful driving remains key. The power-sliding mechanic is incredibly rewarding: you hold one button to drift, then time button presses to build up a bigger boost when you let go. The game is remarkably well-balanced, and the adventure mode provides a lot of content for solo players beyond just racing against the computer or trying to beat your best times. Even after returning to it years later, I enjoyed collecting everything in adventure mode and finally getting a rematch with Nitrus Oxide. It’s still just as fun as it was over 25 years ago!

5. Final Fantasy 9

Melodies Of Love, Melodies I Love

Many gamers have a list of their favorite games, but choosing just one as the best can be tough. For me, it’s easy: it’s Final Fantasy 9. It didn’t immediately grab me when I first played it, but it feels even more special with each replay. The game is full of emotional depth, from huge, dramatic events like the attack on Alexandria to quieter, more intimate scenes, like Zidane sharing a story with Garnet at the inn.

I love revisiting this game, and each time I do, I try a different approach or team of characters. Most recently, I decided to focus on Quina, a character I don’t usually play as, even though I know they can be really helpful. I went out of my way to collect all of Quina’s Blue Magic spells and had a lot of fun trying them out in battles. I even started playing Tetra Master, a card game I’d always skipped because I prefer Triple Triad from Final Fantasy 8. What really makes this game special is its combination of things – the amazing soundtrack, the impressive graphics for its time, and its unique style. It manages to be lighthearted and fun, even while dealing with serious themes. The game’s world and characters, especially the main hero Zidane Tribal, still feel fresh and engaging to me.

4. Resident Evil

Memorizing Every Room Of The Spencer Mansion

I didn’t immediately love the original Resident Evil on PlayStation, but it eventually became a favorite. I struggled with the complicated puzzles – I’m not great at figuring those out! I’d end up with a strange collection of items, like an arrowhead, weed killer, and a broken shotgun, and then spend ages trying to remember where I’d been and what went with what. Often, even when I finally went back to the right room, the item wouldn’t even be useful! Despite all that, I somehow managed to finish the game when I was younger.

I’ve played the original Resident Evil over twenty times now, including the remake and the Nintendo DS version, Deadly Silence. Despite its rough graphics, clunky controls, and hilariously bad voice acting, the first game nailed the core formula perfectly. The atmosphere was incredible, and it introduced a memorable cast of characters that the series still relies on. Even though I know the mansion inside and out at this point, revisiting it each year by collecting documents and exploring its dark corners remains a must-do for me. Whether another remake is needed is a question fans will likely debate for a long time.

3. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Pure Platforming Fun

I don’t always finish every game I start. There are just so many games out there, and I’d never get through my pile of unplayed games if I didn’t focus on completing the main story and then moving on. However, I find platformers particularly hard to resist – the way they feel and the clever level design are really enjoyable. This is why I ended up collecting everything in Donkey Kong Bananza, and why I replay Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back just to get all the gems again. Some classic 3D platformers are still great to play, and Crash Bandicoot has been a part of many of them.

I much prefer the original PlayStation version of this game to the newer re-releases, like the N. Sane Trilogy. The original didn’t have collectibles called Relics, which made completing the game much more reasonable and enjoyable. Of the first three Crash Bandicoot games, this one has the best level design – each level is a good length and full of cleverly hidden secrets. Crash’s abilities are straightforward, but the game uses them in creative ways, and finding the secret paths can be really difficult.

2. MediEvil 2

Tangling With A Victorian Villain In This Classic Sequel

It’s common for game developers to play it safe when making a sequel. If the first game was successful, they often stick to what works, because changing too much could be risky. MediEvil 2 is a good example of this. It takes place 50 years after Sir Daniel Fortesque defeated Zarok, but even with the new setting of Victorian London, it will feel very similar to the original game. Players will face a new villain, Lord Palethorn, who somehow obtained Zarok’s staff. The opening scene shows him using the staff’s dark magic to raise the dead, which unexpectedly revives Sir Dan and his zombie army as well.

This game is another fun action adventure with a quirky, slightly spooky charm, similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas. While sequels often don’t measure up to the original, I really enjoyed the way it incorporated Jack the Ripper and time travel – players use a time machine built by a strange professor to try and stop his crimes. It’s full of classic horror elements, from vampires and mummies to the foggy streets of Victorian London, and even though the fighting is simple, it’s a delightfully atmospheric and enjoyable hack-and-slash game that I keep coming back to.

1. Ape Escape

Monkey-Collecting Mayhem

The story of Ape Escape is a fantastic setup for a wild and energetic 3D platforming adventure. It centers around a quirky professor, his intelligence-boosting helmet, and a time machine. When a monkey named Specter steals the helmet, he decides to conquer time itself with an army of apes. The hero, Spike, uses the time machine to chase after them and stop their plans. Each level usually involves capturing a specific number of monkeys using a special net called the Time Net.

I really enjoy the game’s humor and how much personality the monkeys have. As someone who loves history, it’s fantastic to play through levels that span from the age of dinosaurs to futuristic space stations. The stages are huge and feel like open playgrounds, and even after many playthroughs, I can’t resist the urge to collect every monkey – it’s just like Pokemon! Some are easy to find, while others require solving little puzzles. For example, you might need to carefully drive a small remote-control car through a tight space to flush them out. You unlock new tools like the RC car and Sky Flyer (which lets you jump higher and further) as you progress, and using them creatively to collect all the monkeys is incredibly fun. The game’s unique twin-stick controls, which really showcased the DualShock controller, made everything feel fresh. I’ve been enjoying this since its release in 1999! While later games in the series improved on the formula, they never quite captured the same special feeling.

2026-02-26 11:36