Forgotten PS1 RPGs Nobody Played

Few consoles have ever felt as good a home for RPGs as the PS1. But not every game could go on to have the insane success of Final Fantasy. In fact, some of these forgotten PS1 RPGs make Vagrant Story look like Skyrim in terms of mainstream appeal. But first, a word:

 

Kartia: The Word of Fate

The first thing you’ll probably notice about Kartia: The Word of Fate is its artwork by none other than the legendary Yoshitaka Amano. But there’s more to it than just lovely pictures. The game’s story is split in two, with different main protagonists to pick from: Free Knight Toxa Classico, and Shrine Warrior Lacryma Christi.

While the gameplay looks similar to Final Fantasy Tactics or Langrisser at a glance, Kartia does have an ace up its sleeve. Those Kartia are cards that can cast magic and summon phantoms to fight for the player. These generic monster units form the bulk of the player’s army in battle, and while they can level up, they’re subject to permadeath: once they’re gone, they’re gone. Human characters, however, must survive the whole battle, and it’s an instant game over if anyone goes down. It’s kinda neat.

Kartia: The Word of Fate may be a bit cumbersome by today’s standards for some peopl;e, but it still stands as a unique gem that shows what Atlus can do when it commits to something other than Megami Tensei, Persona, and Etrian Odyssey. We’re dreaming of a port of this, one day.

 

Azure Dreams

Konami and its classic IPs are never too far from the spotlight, well unless it’s like 2016-2021, but one series that’s been completely forgotten is Azure Dreams. This 1998 roguelike stars a young boy named Koh whose mission is to venture into the Tower of Monsters. True to the genre, the tower constantly randomizes its layout. You’ll fight monsters, claim treasure, and use the riches to help develop his hometown. And along the way, Koh will also discover what happened to his father.

Azure Dreams plays quite similarly to Chunsoft’s Mystery Dungeon games, with the action all taking place in grid-based dungeons. Actions from movement to attacks all take one turn to execute, and as you’d expect from the genre, death is incredibly punishing. Every run starts you over at level 1, and if you die in the tower, the only thing you keep is your money. To even the odds, Koh can also tame monsters to add to his party, and he can also romance one of seven girls. I’m sure his dad is fiiiine.

While a Game Boy Color version was also released, Azure Dreams as a whole has since fallen by the wayside. And given that Konami has taken this long to bring back some of its absolute biggest IPs, don’t count on seeing an Azure Dreams remaster any time soon. Don’t count your pennies when it comes to buying this one either.

 

Legend of Legaia

If you enjoyed Xenogears’s combat then chances are, you’ll like what Legend of Legaia has to offer. This Sony-published RPG features a similar battle system where the fundamentals involve selecting High, Low, Left, and Right strikes to create combos. And just like in Xenogears, certain combinations of attacks unlock special moves, called Arts. And just like Xenogears, Legend of Legaia deserves a bit more love.

Legend of Legaia is set in a world under threat from a phenomenon called the Mist, which has caused the Seru — creatures that coexist with and aid humanity — to go berserk and attack people. Luckily for protagonist Vahn and his companions Noa and Gala, special Seru are not only immune to the Mist’s effects, but also capable of merging with humans to enhance their abilities. Naturally, Vahn embarks on a journey to put a stop to the Mist for good.

Though Legend of Legaia and its dark story and memorable combat system are overlooked by the general public, those who’ve played it love it, and it remains a hidden gem whose only sequel on PS2 failed to recapture the original’s brilliance. Sadly, the game’s developer has long since closed up shop, and the game’s writer Hidenori Shibao has tragically passed away. Nevertheless, its fans are still clamouring for some kind of re-release from the shadow in their hearts/ .

 

Koudelka

We sadly don’t see enough horror and RPG hybrids, and the ones that do release tend to end up forgotten like Koudelka. It’s a shame.

Rather than your typical fantasy or sci-fi setting, Koudelka is set in a haunted monastery in Wales, the best country in the world, in 1898. Now, imagine Resident Evil’s gameplay and presentation — pre-rendered backgrounds, fixed camera angles, resource gathering, puzzle solving, and tank controls — but with classic JRPG random encounters that send you into turn-based battles.

Of course, while you’ve got your genre staples like attacks, magic, and status effects, the survival horror influence means you’ll also be dealing with limited ammo and weapon durability. It’s a weird blend, but it works.

The story follows Koudelka, the game’s namesake and leading lady, as she finds herself drawn to Nemeton Monastery, which has been remodeled into a mansion and is currently infested with monsters. She and two other companions find themselves in a struggle to survive and uncover the mansion’s secrets.

Though director Hiroki Kikuta left developer Sacnoth and killed any chances of the game getting a direct sequel, Koudelka’s legacy lives on in the Shadow Hearts trilogy on PS2 that are all set in the same universe, and could maybe be featured in a follow up video would you like to see that question mark

 

SaGa Frontier 2

As one of Square’s lesser known franchises, SaGa boasts its own idiosyncrasies that set it apart from the likes of Final Fantasy — despite the original three games being rebranded as Final Fantasy spin offs for the west. You could do a whole video on weird Final Fantasy rebrands honestly.

Having been released at the tail end of the PS1’s life cycle, SaGa Frontier 2 eschews the 3D graphics that were all the rage at the time in favor of a hand painted watercolor art style, and it looks bloody lovely.

As with some other games in this episode, SaGa Frontier 2 is split into two stories, each with a different main protagonist. Gustave is a young prince who, years after being exiled, seizes on a chance to reclaim his place on the throne of the Finney Kingdom. William Knights, meanwhile, is an adventurer investigating the deaths of his parents. Though the two stories gradually come together, Gustave’s tale is filled with lots of political intrigue, while William’s story is a much more personal one.

In addition to standard turn-based battles, SaGa Frontier 2 also features duels and turn-based strategy battles to spice things up. As with other SaGa games, there’s also a permadeath system in the form of LP. It’s a pretty wild system. Each character has a certain amount of “lives”, and they lose one each time their HP hits 0. Lose them all, and the character is gone for good. You’re also gonna lose dozens of hours in this one.

Though the first SaGa Frontier received a full remaster for modern systems, SaGa Frontier 2 remains trapped on the PS1. We would give a thousand pounds for a re-release. OK, maybe like 20.

 

Thousand Arms

Say it with us now: “the game has a steampunk setting and the main antagonist is an evil emperor with aspirations of godhood.” Fortunately, this joint effort between TOSE and Red Company uses its straightforward, familiar premise to springboard some pretty unique ideas.

For one, the turn-based combat uses a formation system where only one character can be in the front lines and attack at a time. Both other party members in the back row are relegated to support, and this applies to the enemies as well.

But what really sets Thousand Arms apart is its dating sim elements — in order to forge newer and stronger weapons for battle, protagonist Meis must date several different girls and raise his intimacy level with them. Luckily for the world, he’s a total Val Venis, with dating sequences involving choosing the correct dialogue options to woo his date.

As with the other games that made it onto this list, Thousand Arms manages to package it all up with a charming cast of characters and solid story — albeit one with a bigger focus on comedy than other PS1 RPGs. Journey over to your nearest online emporium of free games rather than pay these prices though, matey.

 

Saiyuki: Journey West

Adaptations of Journey to the West are a dime a dozen. Or celebrity crypto rug pull a minute, or whatever. Blink, and there’s a new monkey kicking arse.

Saiyuki: Journey West is Koei’s interpretation of the classic story, and takes some liberties to transform it into a strategy RPG reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics. Naturally, this means protagonist Sanzo is a full-fledged combatant, unlike Tang Sanzang from the source material. On their journey to deliver a magical staff to the Thunder Temple in India, they’ll meet a variety of companions to fight alongside them.

Though Saiyuki bears a strong resemblance to Final Fantasy Tactics, it does stand on its own thanks to clever combat mechanics. Your allies can transform into powerful, beastly creatures to help turn the tide, while Sanzo uses powerful summon magic to compensate.

Although Journey to the West continues to endure in the public consciousness, and other adaptations have found greater success, Saiyuki has sadly been forgotten by time — likely due in part to the fact that its western release came nearly a year after the PS2 had already hit store shelves and had good but not great reviews. We’d love a re-release, but is this just fantasy?

 

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

Developed by Nippon Ichi Software, Rhapsody is a cutesy RPG that combines traditional JRPG exploration with turn-based strategy battles. Despite what the name might imply, this isn’t a rhythm game. Instead, it draws its “Musical Adventure” moniker from the fact that it features spontaneous musical numbers. Listen, don’t roll your eyes, Buffy made it pretty fun.

Here, protagonist Cornet is a young girl with the ability to communicate with puppets — who happens to have a crush on the local Prince Ferdinand. Unfortunately for her, the prince is turned to stone and kidnapped by a witch, pushing Cornet to embark on a journey to rescue him.

Rhapsody’s battle system takes cues from strategy RPGs, grid-based movement and all. But this game’s take is significantly simpler, with low difficulty battles that don’t require a very much emphasis on strategy. Instead of fighting directly, Cornet is more of a supporting character who commands and buffs her puppets, which do most of the heavy lifting.

Rhapsody’s aesthetics and musical numbers are its main appeal, and so it found much greater success in Japan than in the west. Regardless, Rhapsody is a breezy, relaxing adventure that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and its focus on Disney-esque songs makes it worth checking out, even if it’s fated to not be for everyone.

 

Threads of Fate

Hot off the heels of Xenogears, programmer Koji Sugimoto was given the chance to direct a game of his own. Seeing as Xenogears was an incredibly dark game dealing with complex and mature themes, Sugimoto opted to take his own title in the opposite direction, with a simpler, light-hearted story and action combat that was accessible to younger and less skilled players.

Threads of Fate — known as Dewprism in Japan — features two playable protagonists, each with their own separate campaign. In one corner, you have Rue, an amnesiac boy who seeks the Dewprism to revive a close friend he treats as his sister. In the other, Mint is a princess ousted from the East Heaven Kingdom by her sister, and she seeks the Dewprism to not only seize the throne, but take over the world and swear as much as she wants.

Threads of Fate features an easy-to-grasp action RPG battle system. In addition to light platforming elements and basic attack combos, Rue and Mint each have a gimmick to set them apart: Rue can transform into the monsters he defeats, while Mint can use elemental magic. Instead of a traditional level up system, HP and MP increase as you take damage and use magic, while Strength and Defense can be boosted with gear or stat boosts purchased from shops. It’s a pretty light, approachable RPG that doesn’t demand a lot of you, and it looks great.

Though Threads of Fate remains among Square’s more obscure works, it left a legacy of its own, going on to influence the music of Final Fantasy X, and paving the way for its writer to create iconic Final Fantasy female protagonists like Yuna and Lightning. And you know what rhymes with Yuna?

 

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete & Eternal Blue Complete

Beginning life as a Sega CD release, Lunar: The Silver Star was an attempt by developer Game Arts to push JRPGs forward with CD-ROM technology. Though the game and its sequel Eternal Blue featured classic “save the world” plots, they also boasted full motion video and voice acting nearly five years before Final Fantasy VII took the world by storm.

The combat system is pretty traditional stuff, featuring turn-based battles with your typical abilities and magic. The main twist of Lunar’s battle system is its focus on positioning, as characters will need to move to be in range of enemies to perform certain attacks. An AI option allows the player to put the game on auto-battle — useful for grinding out the standard encounters.

Both Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue received full remakes for the PlayStation; though the latter remains faithful to its source material, Silver Star Story Complete expands and rewrites portions of the story.

Though the games have flown somewhat under the radar compared to other RPGs of this era, the earnestness of Lunar’s plot and characters left a deep impression on those who played it, and the game still boasts a cult following to this day. While the PS1 releases’ elaborate physical copies are a bit tricky to find nowadays, make a reseller cry and pick up that shiny new remastered collection instead.

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