I do like myself a good Japanese game every once in a while, but right now I’m looking for other PS1 games made outside of Japan that are still very fun to play.
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and the sequel Abe’s Exoddus. Easily one/two of the best games I’ve ever played. They’re available on PC and other systems these days, but they’re still the definitive Playstation game for me. Unique and one of a kind and even today, absolutely great to play.
I also give a vote to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Medievil. Surprised no-one’s mentioned Oddworld though.
Edit: Ooh I have to add, Rayman! And if you have a friend to play with - Team Buddies.
Fuck yeah Oddworld!!!
I think that game was probably my first real critique of capitalism. I played it at a young age and just fell in love with the anti-consumerist and liberation philosophy, though I didn’t have those words to describe it into much later in life. I really recommend the original Oddyssey and Exoddus over New m Tasty and Soulstorm. New n Tasty covers the same story points, but loses a lot of the environmental storytelling in the process, and Soulstorm is just a completely different game to Exoddus entirely.
Wipeout 2097 (Wipeout 1 had broken collision detection, no wall grinds. Avoid.)
Driver or Driver 2
Micro Machines (multiplayer best)
Twisted Metal 2 World Tour (multiplayer)
Destruction Derby
G-Police was not bad too.
Japanese recommendations : PaRappa or Tekken 3.
Avoid any FPS or FIFA, all laced with frustration.
The Syphon Filter series
man I loved Syphon Filter!
so many cool gadgets
I kinda want to go play it again but I’m wondering if the gameplay/controls hold up after all these years?
Tons of non Japan created PS1 games.
Crash Bandicoot was made by Naughty Dog software, a US based company.
Legacy of Kain and Soul Reaver were Canadian games.
Spyro the Dragon was from Insomniac games in California. Also Spiderman.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater was by Neversoft, again California.
Have you played the MediEvil games?
There’s a lot of great Western developed games on the PSX. I think on average they did a better job than on the consoles a generation before. The Tomb Raider games are probably the standout series, the first one is one of the best games on the system. Another big series I didn’t see mentioned is GTA. Maybe the old games are more associated with PC? I played them on PSX and really enjoyed them despite all the slowdown. Heart of Darkness is a nice platformer I just remembered. Also, V-Rally 2 was a pretty good racing game.
ODDWORLD! ODDWORLD!
Most of the things Psygnosis did; the Wipeout series, G-Police and Colony Wars being the most obvious choices. Tomb Raider is another good one, as are the Tony Hawk games. X-COM: Enemy Unknown is meant to be a solid port of the classic turn-based tactics game. I’ve heard praise for the Twisted Metal games and Syphon Filter, but haven’t played them myself. While I know that old sports games are often considered anathema in the retrogaming sphere, Jonah Lomu Rugby is often considered one of the best games depicting rugby union ever made.
Diablo
That’s the only western game in my PS1 library.
Spyro, crash bandicoot and CTR, tomb raider.
Come to think of it, most of my played PS1 games come from Squaresoft somehow
"Tunnel B1’ , created in Germany. A very good game that many slept on…the difficulty in the later stages is ruthless though!
Soul Reaver. The Colony Wars trilogy.
Unless you mean exclusives, I think if you can get over the initial clunkyness the original Tomb Raider games are some of the best action adventure games ever made at the time. Her movement starts to feel really good once you get into it.
Team buddies
I had to think for a minute, I didn’t realise how many of the console’s stand-out titles are Japanese. Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, and Driver are my picks.
