The PS1’s library boasts hundreds of games, and while the vast majority of the great ones have either been remastered, remade or otherwise re-released on other platforms, there are plenty of games that are still stuck on Sony’s first console. While some kind of additional release would be nice for any of these games, we just want to celebrate a bunch of games that have never been released on other console platforms.
1. Brave Fencer Musashi
Despite what the name would imply, Brave Fencer Musashi isn’t about a guy with a rapier being brave. There’s no fencing in this game at all, which seems like a clear cut case of false advertisement as far as we’re concerned. However, Brave Fencer Musashi is an incredibly fun and underrated Square RPG on a console that Square practically dominated. Despite plenty of PS1 Square games earning additional love and re-releases over the years, Brave Fencer Musashi has been locked to the PS1 ever since its original release in 1998. Square did release a sequel for the PS2 in 2005, titled Musashi: Samurai Legend, but that’s the closest that Brave Fencer Musashi has come to breaking the shackles of its PS1 prison.
You control Musashi, a young swordsman who has been summoned to defend the Kingdom of Allucaneet from the evil invaders known as the Thirstquencher Empire (no, really). The game plays like a 3D beat ‘em up/action RPG, with Musashi trying to find five powerful scrolls in order to make his sword more powerful and bring defeat to those Thirstquencher scoundrels. The combat itself is fairly simplistic, but never gets old, and there’s a lot of fun to be had with the game’s charm and vibrant graphics. The game even features voice acting, a rarity for RPGs at the time, and a pretty neat day and night cycle.
Again, with Square updating a lot of its back catalog of games over the years, it’s weird that Brave Fencer Mushashi has just been left to rot on the PS1. Good luck finding a CIB copy of the game for less than $100 as well. Curse you, expensive second hand market.
2. Legend Of Legaia
RPGs were the catch of the day when it came to the PS1, as you’ll see with a few other entries on this list, so it’s no wonder that a bunch of them slipped through the cracks as the console’s lifespan went on. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, or have cult followings, but it has meant that games like Legend Of Legaia are locked to the PS1. Compared to other games that have been abandoned to older hardware, Legend Of Legaia (and its PS2 sequel) have a much better chance of being re-released today, largely thanks to the fact that both games were published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Granted, said re-release would likely just be a straight up port shoved onto the most expensive PlayStation Plus tier, but something would be better than nothing, right?
Like all good turn-based RPGs, Legend Of Legaia is set in a fantasy world of magic, where creatures called Seru are able to give humanity supernatural powers. However, some strange mist is causing the Seru to rampage, so protagonist Vahn sets out to stop it. It’s a fairly standard RPG plot, as your party increases during this quest to save the world, but what sets Legend of Legaia apart from other games is its approach to turn-based combat. Instead of picking just one move, you instead enter a combination of high and low attacks, which in turn unleashes Arts on your opponent. Multiple Arts can be unleashed in one turn depending on your inputs, allowing you to really stack up the damage if you play the game properly.
Let’s cross our fingers that we’ll see Legend of Legaia return at some point.
3. Incredible Crisis
From two games that at least have some kind of chance to appear on other platforms to a game that’ll probably be locked to the PS1 until the end of time, Incredible Crisis is a unique oddity of a game, something you’d be able to pick up on from the game’s cover alone. A man’s head is erupting like a volcano, while the font looks like it was ripped off the box of an Austin Powers movie. It’s a bizarre hodge podge of references and influences, but then you play the game and realize it’s also a bizarre hodge podge. The term “don’t judge a book by its cover” clearly never took Incredible Crisis into consideration, but those who were curious about what kind of game this is would find a PS1 title like no other.
Essentially a story-driven minigame compilation, Incredible Crisis follows the adventures of four members of the Tanamatsuri family; father Taneo, mother Etsuko, son Tsuyoshi and daughter Ririka, as each of them try desperately to make it to Grandmother Hatsu’s surprise birthday party. Sounds simple enough, until each member of the family has to deal with UFOs, bank robbers, shrink rays, giant boulders that seem to sentiently follow Taneo around and a boat that nearly every member of the family almost manages to sink. There’s a lot going on, and all of it is accompanied by music from the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, which doubles the amount of bonkers that this game is.
It’s a shame that Incredible Crisis is stuck on the PS1, as more people deserve to know about this ridiculous title. Technically, it did also come to arcades, but are you really going to pay thousands of dollars to import a huge cabinet? You are? Respect it, honestly.
4. Elemental Gearbolt
You know what doesn’t get made anymore, but should? Light gun games. During the PS1 and early days of the PS2 (hell yeah, Vampire Night), lots of developers tried to cash in on the “arcade but at home” feeling that comes with light gun games, but these days, you barely find any new ones that get released. It’s strange as well, given how both the PS5 and the Nintendo Switch both utilize motion sensing technology in their controllers, making a proper light gun game that much easier to make, but–ah, right, yeah. We get it now. The simple fact remains, though, that there are a wide array of light gun games that have been left on the PS1, and perhaps one of the best of the entire bunch is Elemental Gearbolt.
While most light gun games have plots that amount to either “stop the terrorists” or “shoot the zombies”, Elemental Gearbolt is a sci-fi opera about oppression, the ruling class and corpses being revived as living weapons. Look, it’s a lot to follow, so all you need to know is that you should shoot everything that moves. There’s three weapons to choose from, each with their own characteristics, but the real gimmick of Elemental Gearbolt is its RPG mechanics, which allow you to level up and increase your overall durability as you progress through the game.
Considering how intense light gun games can get at the best of times, being able to improve as Elemental Gearbolt gets harder and harder is a real blessing. What’s not a blessing is how hard this is to play these days with the rising price of working CRTs as well. Let’s at least get a Switch port or something, yeah?
5. Threads Of Fate
We might have blown our load talking about the abundance of Square RPGs on the PS1, because look: another one. While most of the spotlight was given to games like Final Fantasy, Vagrant Story (which got a bunch of digital ports to later PlayStation consoles) and Parasite Eve (which got a PS3 digital port), Square’s other RPGs were almost unceremoniously dumped onto the PS1, so it’s no wonder that many of them have remained locked on the platform. Threads Of Fate would fit that bill too, as it’s a relatively obscure action RPG that features two protagonists vying for the same goal of an ancient relic that can grant any wish. If you are looking for a decent dungeon crawler from the PS1 era, Threads Of Fate is the perfect game for you, even if it does have kind of a generic name.
Players control either Rue or Mint, who explore the hub town of Carona, along with its surrounding environments and dungeons all in pursuit of that precious ancient relic. Each character’s story is different, though they do intersect at key moments, with Rue being an amnesiac looking for the relic in the hopes of resurrecting his dead friend. Meanwhile, Mint is a selfish princess of the East Heaven Kingdom who’s been banished by her sister and has now vowed to reclaim her throne and conquer the rest of the world using that relic. Honestly, Mint is kind of a girlboss, and we love that, and if you love it too, you should seek out Threads of Fate.
Considering you can get the CIB version for less than $100, Threads of Fate is kind of a bargain as far as stranded PS1 games are concerned.
6. Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman
UEP Systems isn’t the most well-known development studio in the world, but those who recognize the name will remember them as the team behind the excellent Cool Boarders franchise, which was released through 1996 to 2000 across the PS1, PS2, Dreamcast and Neo Geo Pocket Color. While five out of the studio’s six total games involved snowboarding, today we’re focusing on the sixth, titled Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman. As you might have inferred from the subtitle of The Samurai Gunman, Rising Zan takes place in a world that’s a blend of east and Wild West, with samurais and cowboys being smashed together like a kid sticking two of their favorite toys together to create a brand new world.
Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman follows a young cowboy by the name of Johnny, who becomes sheriff of Tsuka Town. As is the case with many young sheriffs in the Wild West, Johnny is almost immediately ambushed and nearly killed, but the twist here is that Johnny is rescued by a samurai master. Johnny begins to study the ways of the blade, only to return to Tsuka Town years later as the “Super Ultra Sexy Hero” known as Zan. With a combination of swordplay and gunfighting, Zan now has to contend with samurai, ninjas and Loki, the evil samurai who nearly murdered him years earlier.
It’s not the most refined game ever made, but the style and aesthetic feels like a precursor to fellow cult hits like Samurai Western for the PS2, or even Red Steel 2 on the Wii. In short, more games about rootin’ tootin’ samurais, please.
7. Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring
Square, don’t shove an RPG into one of your games challenge (impossible difficulty).
What could have been with Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring. Clearly, the idea of Final Fantasy characters gathering for a huge scrap is worth something, as Square Enix have returned to that well a few times over the years with the Dissidia franchise. While Ehrgeiz gained a bit of notoriety in arcades for including Cloud and Tifa from Final Fantasy VII as part of the game’s core roster, the PS1 release took everything one step further, throwing Sephiroth, Yuffie, Vincent and Zack into the mix too. There were other, original characters in there too, but most of them came across like Tekken character rip-offs. The main character is called Ken “Godhand” Mishima, for god’s sake. He’s even got the same glove that Jin and Kazuya wear.
In fairness to Ehrgeiz, and the game’s developer DreamFactory, the company’s chairman was Seiichi Ishii, who served as a designer for both Virtua Fighter and Tekken, so Ehrgeiz isn’t ashamed of wearing its Tekken colors proudly. However, the gameplay is wildly different, with characters able to move about freely inside 3D arenas, use parts of the stage as a weapon and even use unique weapons like swords and so on. The real kicker for Ehrgeiz though is the fully fledged Quest mode, which plays like an RPG dungeon crawler, complete with mini-games, randomly generated dungeons and level-ups.
Ehrgeiz isn’t what many people with hands and eyes would call a “brilliant video game,” but it’s absolutely mental and we will take another 100 of them please.
8. Tail Concerto
We’ve brought up Tail Concerto a few times at Cultured Vultures, but can you really blame us? You play as a cute little dog with the most adorable name of Waffle Ryebread, and this whole game is stuck on the PS1. Don’t you just want to rescue this hecking big woofer? Save him from PS1 jail? Waffle was also a dog cop back in the 90s too, which means he has the entirety of Paw Patrol beat too. You gotta beat the cops before they beat you, you know?
Ayway, with CyberConnect’s Little Tail Bronx series receiving a huge boost in popularity thanks to the excellent Fuga: Melodies of Steel games, which are infinitely more depressing than Tail Concerto is, you might be wondering where it all began. Tail Concerto is just happy vibes only. No child sacrifice here.
Set in a steampunk fantasy world populated by anthropomorphic dogs and cats, Tail Concerto follows Waffle Ryebread as he clashes with a group of sky pirates known as the Black Cat Gang. The gang is looking for a bunch of magic crystals that are said to power a massive ancient weapon, so Waffle sets out to stop them. As a 3D action platformer, you’ll pilot a small mecha known as the “Police Robo”, allowing you to jump, hover and pick up various objects in the environment.
Tail Concerto doesn’t ask much of the player when it comes to the gameplay or following along with the story, but the bright and colorful presentation makes it a perfect game for players of all ages. Again, with no child sacrifices in this one, but you may need to sacrifice feeding your kids for a few weeks to get this one physically.
9. Disruptor
Insomniac has been an integral part of PlayStation’s history ever since the PS1, and while they might have had a brief dalliance with Xbox with the underrated whipper that is Sunset Overdrive, Insomniac have been fairly loyal to the PlayStation brand. That almost didn’t happen though, as Insomniac’s first game, Disruptor, was considered to be a commercial failure when it launched back in 1996. It’s fortunate that Sony had faith in Insomniac despite Disruptor flopping, as if Insomniac crumpled after that first game, we wouldn’t have been blessed with games like Spyro The Dragon or Ratchet & Clank; core pillars of PlayStation’s history. And, of course, much later the sadly abandoned Resistance IP and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Despite the lack of sales though, reviews would agree that Disruptor was a great showcase of Insomniac’s talent.
A first person sci-fi shooter following the wave of success that DOOM earned, which was the style at the time, you control Jack Curtis: a new recruit to the LightStormer Corps, a group of space marines charged with traveling through the galaxy and maintaining some semblance of order. While you’ve got plenty of weapons to use, Disruptor ups the stakes by giving Jack a suite of powerful psionic abilities like Shock, Drain, Blast and Shield.
The story might be pretty predictable, but the gameplay shown here was indicative of the quality Insomniac would champion going forward, and given how it’s the company’s first game, it’s a real shame that it’s remained locked to the PS1.
10. Silent Hill
We’re closing out with a banger here, as it absolutely boggles the mind that Silent Hill has been left in the PS1 vaults for so long. Sure, Silent Hill 2 might be the more successful game, introducing iconic characters like Pyramid Head and that nurse that makes us feel weird, but the original game is no slouch either. Despite that though, Silent Hill has been left alone, as it wasn’t featured as part of the infamous HD Collection with that silly comic sans sign, and more recently, Bloober Team skipped the first game entirely to create a remake of Silent Hill 2. Jury’s still out on whether that one is going to be any good. For a series that’s as beloved and celebrated in the horror gaming genre as Silent Hill, it’s baffling that we haven’t seen some kind of updated release.
Shattered Memories doesn’t count. It’s almost a completely different game entirely.
The game that first introduced players to the worst town in gaming to live in outside of Raccoon City, Silent Hill follows Harry Mason as he tries to find his lost daughter in the synonymous town. Unfortunately for Hazza, he’s stuck with a cult trying to revive a deity, nightmarish creatures from another dimension entirely, a drug trafficking ring and, if one of the endings is to be believed, aliens. Obvious joke ending aside, Silent Hill set itself apart from its horror contemporaries by being, for lack of a better term, a bit fucked up. Resident Evil was always about camp horror action, and it’s still good for a few scares, but that original Silent Hill was where the real trauma could be found.
Good luck finding it for less than $150, though. It’s not even really that rare.
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