The Sony PlayStation had an absolutely tremendous library. Hidden gems kind of come with the territory. Big hits like Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy dominated the sales charts, but there are many smaller titles that have been lost in time. Nearly every third party developer went all in on the original PlayStation. It was cheap and easy to create games for which made it a development paradise of sorts. Of course that means there’s also a lot of shovelware on the platform. Any small company could slap together a low budget title. What’s the point in talking about forgotten games if they aren’t any good after all? That’s why we’re going to focus on the hidden gems today. Without further adieu let’s get started. First I’m going to go over some guidelines for this list.
- Here on this list I’m not including any import titles. I’ve already made a list of the best PS1 import games so if you’re looking for something from across the sea you’ll more easily find it there. This write up covers only North American releases.
- I’m trying to cover the best PS1 import games that are still obscure. Sure, there are many that didn’t get any attention at release but now have large followings. I wanted to focus on those that few have still heard about.
- I also tried to avoid including licensed games. Often these were heavily advertised or were based on popular entertainment properties. A few slipped through the cracks but that’s because despite having well known characters they’re still virtually unknown.
With all of that out of the way let’s get started. These are the top 15 best PS1 hidden gems in alphabetical order!
Galerians
We’re kicking things off with a survival horror game. Galerians is virtually unknown and completely overshadowed by the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It uses the traditional third person viewpoint with pre-rendered backgrounds. The perspective frequently shifts when you move to the edge of the screen, and controls are strictly tank based. There’s also an emphasis on collecting items and solving puzzles which is pretty standard for the genre. It looks like classic Resident Evil. Galerians is a whole new ball game however.
The most unique element of the game is the fact that you use psychic powers to battle foes instead of guns or even melee weapons. This twist is enough to change up the gameplay dynamics of the genre. Of course resource management is still a big part of gameplay. I wouldn’t want it any other way. The story takes itself too seriously, and has the usual cheesy voice acting. It feels like a b-movie, but of the best kind. If you’re looking for something like Resident Evil you can’t go wrong. Galerians definitely deserves a second look especially for fans of survival horror games. Why this one wasn’t more popular is beyond me.
Granstream Saga
My first exposure to Granstream Saga was through a demo disc. I spent more time with that sampler than I did most other video games. I didn’t realize at the time but it’s a spiritual successor to the Soul Blazer trilogy. It makes sense that I loved it because that’s one of my most favorite franchises of all time. In an age of pre-rendered graphics The Granstream Saga was one of the first fully 3D RPGs in its time. It might look dated and clunky now, but back then it was truly impressive even coming off of something like Final Fantasy VII.
The game is played from an overhead perspective as you travel through towns and dungeons wherein lay foes that want to use your guts for garters. It’s up to your lone warrior to send them back from whence they came. Combat shifts perspectives by zooming in and out as you close in on enemies. This shows off the graphical engine quite well. You can raise your shield, attack with the currently equipped weapon, and dodge. This is all in real-time, and to be honest the Granstream Saga feels sort of like a pseudo fighting game in these sequences. The action flows extremely well, and combat is really smooth and dynamic. The battle mechanics are some of my favorite of any action RPG. This is a good choice if you are looking for a good role playing game even if it’s not as good as the Soul Blazer trilogy.
Guardian’s Crusade
I didn’t realize at first while playing this one that it’s actually a pseudo follow up to the Guardian War which came out for the Panasonic 3DO. That one wasn’t a very good game. Thankfully, Guardian’s Crusade redeems the developer in a pretty big way. It’s charming, simple, and has a very functional battle system. The only real drawback is that you only have two characters, and their commands are pretty basic. I thought this would bother me far more than it actually does. The charming story, simple but fun battle system and graphics outweigh the limitations in this case.
Guardian’s Crusade isn’t particularly innovative, but has more nuance to make it enjoyable. As I mentioned the battle system is very basic with attacks, spells, etc. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. You begin the journey with just a goofy knight who serves as the main character. Soon after he is joined by an infantile monster named Baby. Cute, huh? There are a few interesting aspects of this game worth noting. For starters you can see enemies outside of battle. Those who hate random encounters will surely rejoice at this fact. Another really cool element is that transitions from town to field areas are seamless. Guardian’s Crusade is a neat little forgotten game that’s worth playing today.
Heart of Darkness
First of all this is one of the most beautiful games on the platform. Sure the visuals are all pre-rendered but who cares? Heart of Darkness is defined as a cinematic platform adventure. The description certainly fits. There’s an amazing hand drawn quality to the graphics that was rare even back then. As far as gameplay goes it’s similar to titles such as Out of this World. This means that the controls are purposely clunky. That’s to shove in all the different frames of animation. Worth it.
This also makes gameplay more thoughtful and provocative. Each area feels sort of like a puzzle. The player isn’t given many clues as to what you can interact with and how. You have to experiment, but it’s also very unforgiving. You will die time and time again just because you interacted with the wrong element in the environment, or didn’t choose the right one in time. Heart of Darkness is very unusual in the console’s library because it harkens to such a more simple time. It’s not an edgelord role playing game or overly dark ‘too serious’ fighter. That alone is a breath of fresh air. Seriously, give it a shot and you’ll be impressed.
Hogs of War
It’s easy to see why most gamers skipped out on this release. Unfortunately that title isn’t just a pun. It’s literal. Hogs of War is a war themed strategy game about pigs. I’m just as surprised as you are that it’s actually good. Remember the classic PC game Worms? This is a lot like that but fully 3D and even better. The only downside is that the environments are not fully destructible. You command a squad of swine soldiers and take turns moving them around three dimensional stages. At the end of their turn you can select a weapon to use against a foe. These arms consist mostly of guns, and your job is to shoot down all of the enemy swine.
There are a variety of different weapons and tools that have different effects. I was happy overall with the arsenal. My only real complaint is that gameplay is a little slow. These guys aren’t athletes after all, they’re pigs. The graphics are actually really good by PS1 standards with wide open areas for the battlefields and long draw distances. Combat is a lot of fun though there is a learning curve. For the most part I was able to get up and running within minutes when I first played but it took a while before I understood the gameplay loop. Honestly I think the barnyard animal theme should have been dropped. It doesn’t add much to the experience. Regardless this is the best game I can recall where you play as a pig. That has to count for something at least.
Legend of Legaia
This one is kind of remembered as that ‘other RPG.’ It wasn’t Final Fantasy, nor was it Wild Arms. That’s fine though because Legend of Legaia has a lot to offfer. This one gets bonus points for being fully 3D instead of relying on pre-rendered backgrounds. Unfortunately this means it has aged worse than the majority of RPGs from this generation but it’s still perfectly playable. It’s a typical ‘save the world’ type story with anime characters. It sounds typical, and it is, but the plot was decent enough to hold my interest until the very end.
Where Legend of Legaia really stands out however is with it’s battle system. It uses traditional turn based mechanics, but its methodology is really unique. Basically you link together special moves to create powerful combos here. It is sort of similar to Xenogears, but less convoluted and ultimately a lot more functional. Experimentation is the name of the game here and I loved messing around with the options to figure out how to deal the most damage. Unfortunately Legend of Legaia has not been released on any other platform. It’s still a PS1 exclusive. It can be a bit overpriced, but you can’t go wrong with this classic adventure. It even had a sequel on the PS2 which is even more rare and unknown.
Looney Tunes Sheep Raider
Here’s a licensed game that really went under the radar. It’s a shame because Sheep Raider is excellent. I feel like if anything the Looney Tunes license held it back. Infogrames should have read the room with this one. Just look at that boxart. It just looks like a cheap shovelware game you would fish out of a bargain bin. Furthermore the PS1 was a console aimed at an older userbase. Licensed games weren’t something most people were interested in on the platform.
In this game you play as Sam Wolf (not Wiley Coyote despite what I initially thought) who is tasked with stealing sheep from Sam the sheepdog’s herd. This weighs heavily into the stealth genre because you have to avoid the antagonist’s line of sight while nabbing precious mutton. The guy is watching them like a hawk and you have to sneak around almost the entire time. Not only do you need to sneak up to them but you’ve also got to escape with the fluffy cargo. As you progress further it’s less difficult to actually catch the woolly fellows, but moreso in actually getting away. The gameplay feels very unique for it’s time and Sheep Raider is a lot of fun to play. The 3D graphics are also very pleasant and at times mistakeable for the cartoon itself. That’s pretty impressive given the archaic hardware.
Muppet Monster Adventure
If there’s one thing I love it’s Halloween and horror motifs. I’m not the biggest fan of the Muppets. My love for cartoon macabre let me look past this fact. Muppet Monster Adventure, as you may have guessed, is based off of Jim Henson’s the Muppets. It came out in a time when gamers wanted the Super Mario 64 experience, just not on the Nintendo 64. Developers were trying to fill the void with collect-a-thon platformers. Some were hits, and others misses, and this one is a hidden gem for sure. I would say it’s low key one of the best PS1 platforming games overall.
Muppet Monster Adventure features large-scale (for the time) 3D environments wherein you can run, jump, and transform into a whole wardrobe of different Halloween themed costumes. You play as Kermit’s nephew Robin the frog (weird choice, Kermit would have done just fine). I really love how fluidly the character moves in this title. It’s much more playable than something similar like Jersey Devil. What’s more is that these stages are surprisingly packed with content. There’s a lot to see and do in Muppet Monster Adventures. The game scores extra points for it’s kid friendly horror theme. It’s surprisingly fun for a licensed game even for someone like me who doesn’t particularly like the Muppets. I imagine it was widely passed over for being a licensed release.
Rally Cross
As far as rally racers go Sega kind of had things on lock during the 32-bit era. Sega Rally was a big hit in the arcades and had a respectable Saturn port. The PS1 didn’t have a good answer for, this especially early on. Developers didn’t seem that interested in making off-road racing games. Thankfully Rally Cross came and went, and it was a darn good time. The problem is almost no one has heard of it. Sony wasn’t exactly a huge name developer (back in the PS1 days at least) so it kind of fell along the wayside. Hence Rally Cross’s status as a hidden gem.
In my opinion this one is almost as good as Sega’s offering. Sony was able to create a wonderful illusion of speed here. The gameplay engine is extremely smooth for this era, and the track designs are pretty good. What’s more is that the graphics are really good for how old Rally Cross is, and the framerate holds very steady despite the large amount of mayhem on screen. I loved the effects such as dirt being thrown up by the tires, and just how busy the environments are. What really sets this one apart for me is the range of tracks. They’re very interesting and quite diverse for a rally racer. You’ll find yourself competing against other cars in the snow, jungle, on mountainsides, and more. They really went all out with this one.
Silent Bomber
Now this is more like it! The PS1 had an abundance of action games but Silent Bomber is unique even amongst them. In this 3D title you play as a character whose only method of attack is by using and detonating bombs. Sounds like Bomberman, right? Wrong. Silent Bomber is faster paced and with a lot more variety. You can set explosives on the ground near enemies, or even throw them at your foes. There’s even a mechanic that allows you to stack bombs for a more powerful strike. For an overhead action game based around a singular premise the amount of variety is really impressive.
Where the game excels is in character movement. The protagonist is a freakin acrobat compared to most action game stars. He can run around, dash and jump. Movement is downright fluid and you’ll never complain about cheap deaths from the controls. You feel like you have a lot of control over this guy at all times. You’ll need it because Silent Bomber isn’t exactly easy. I really like the mechanics surrounding the bombs themselves. There are some moments in this game that use them creatively. In some boss encounters for example you have to eliminate incoming projectiles with just your explosives. This means you have to set bombs and then lure the tracking shots near them all the while detonating at just the right time. It’s ideas like this that make Silent Bomber something really special.
Speed Punks
I’m not a fan of Crash Team Racing. Never have been. I love kart racers, and wanted one to play on the PS1. Speed Punks blew absolutely everything else on the platform out of the water. I assume the only reason anyone even remembers Crash Team Racing is because they never played Speed Punks. I realize that’s saying a lot, but I mean it. Speed Punks might not be quite as good or polished as the Mario Kart series, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a blast.
This game has some of the best graphics on the platform with crisp visuals and really colorful environments chock full of detail. Unfortunately the character designs kind of ruin it. The developers were going for something edgy to target the tween market with. What they settled on was a group of drivers that look like Nickelodeon rejects. We won’t fault it too much though. I really like how this game handles items. The mechanics in place here are some of my favorite. You can stack items you collect but only if they are the same kind. Snagging another one will cause you to lose them all. Thankfully you’re given a brief window to use one before its lost. You’ll also find lightning bolt icons littered in each stage. These fill your boost meter. It sounds boring but the execution is great. Speed Punks puts most other kart racers to shame.
Tail Concerto
Tail Concerto is now one of the most expensive games for the original PlayStation. A high price tag doesn’t always mean its good, but in this case I get it. I guess I’m not the only one that considers it to be one of the best PS1 hidden gems. In Tail Concerto you play as an anthropomorphic anime style dog policeman. Yeah, it’s weird, but bear with me. Most of the adventure is spent onboard a steampunk style mech fighting enemies and completing platforming challenges. You can barely tell who or what the protagonist is most of the time. Thankfully.
It’s very simplistic but is unique in that the game isn’t as focused around collecting items all its contemporaries. That’s a major plus in my book. Your goal is to capture enemy kittens, and you’ll need to do so with mecha’s robot arms. Aside from that he can also pick up and throw items, and even hover mid-air for a short time. The level design is seriously on point. I love all of the different obstacles and modes of travel you encounter here. The graphics and themes are also really unique. It’s sort of a steam punk furry mix which sounds strange but works rather well. When released Tail Concerto didn’t get any recognition and was obviously written off as a kids game. I’m here today to tell you it’s absolutely worth playing even if you’re ‘too old.’
The Unholy War
This one is a little difficult to classify if I’m being honest. It’s part strategy game, and part arena fighter/shooter. The Unholy War sounds like a mess, and it kind of is, but in the best way possible. The game takes place across a multitude of battlefields where you move characters like chess pieces in turn based combat. When you encounter an enemy unit you’re whisked away to a separate battlefield where combat takes place. This might sound like pretty standard strategy fare but there are some twists.
Battles are completely real-time. You and your opponent wage war in 3D arenas and each have a life bar that depletes as you take damage. There’s also an energy gauge which depletes with every attack you make. This recharges on it’s own in between strikes. Battles are fast and frantic but also dynamic and entertaining. There are a variety of different characters to choose from each with their own attacks and movement characteristics. Some are stuck on the ground and others can fly which is kind of neat. The Unholy War also supports multiplayer. This is actually the best way to experience it. Battles against human players can be a real riot as you’re frantically dodging and draining each others’ life bars. The Unholy War is a surprisingly good but forgotten hit.
T.R.A.G. Tactical Rescue Assault Group
I always wondered why more games of this era didn’t copy the Resident Evil formula. Then I found TRAG. This game uses the traditional RE fixed camera, tank controls, 3D character models and pre-rendered backgrounds. The big surprise is that it’s not even a survival horror title. It looks like one, but gameplay is more focused on action rather than slow methodical gameplay. Oh, and there are no jump scares here. It’s basically Resident Evil without the ‘Evil’ part. Initially I didn’t know how well this would work, but the answer is ‘pretty well.’
Basic gameplay has you exploring various environments collecting items, solving puzzles, and of course fighting against foes. While the game does have firearms TRAG is more focused on melee combat than Resident Evil. It’s not completely useless by any means here. You’ll You play as four different characters, each with their own abilities, and switch between them when needed. Each of these soldiers has a different primary weapon which is pretty neat. Some of these are strictly melee while others are guns. The biggest drag is that the characters not have universal inventories. This can be a little annoying because sometimes you’ll find something another one needs, and can’t easily transfer it. The game is a bit strange in that I kept expecting zombies to burst through the doors at any moment, but TRAG is good fun once you put aside its similarities to Resident Evil.
Trap Gunner: Countdown to Oblivion
Trap Gunner is one of the more unique PS1 hidden gems on this list. It’s a one-on-one action game that utilizes a top down perspective with fully 3D graphics. The action is real-time as both characters run around enclosed multi-tiered arenas while they do battle. Your goal is to drain the enemy’s life bar, and you can do so in numerous ways. Each character (there are several to choose from) is armed with a projectile shot, melee attack, and can also set traps. Hence the name. Combat is fun and frantic, but the best mechanic is the traps themselves
Choosing a character is paramount to your strategy. Each has their own weapons and different assortments of traps. They even move at varying speeds. You can choose to tackle your enemy in a variety of ways. Head on is fun and frantic, and from a distance is entertaining too. The real highlight is in the traps themselves. While you can see them placing these they are invisible to the other player. Planning out strategies with these, and finding strategic locations to ambush the opponent is a ton of fun. It’s a unique system somewhat similar to Spy Vs Spy. The system is much more in depth here though. These can be things like explosives, gas, pitfalls, etc. The highlight of Trap Gunner however is the multiplayer mode. This game can absolutely wreck friendships.
Honorable Mentions:
We couldn’t leave it at just fifteen when all was said and done. Here are some hidden gems that didn’t quite make the cut.
Elemental Gearbolt
As far as light gun shooters go most gamers at this time were playing Time Crisis or Virtua Cop. Elemental Gearbolt was published by Working Designs, and flew mostly under the radar. It’s really unique in that the game takes place in a fantasy based anime world. Complete with animated cut-scenes. It’s clear that the production values were high, but so is the difficulty. I love the different weapon types and swapping between them on the fly. The graphics and soundtrack are also amazing too. This one is fully compatible with Namco’s Guncon and it works like a dream here. Elemental Gearbolt is a fantastic game that’s a ton of fun. It also hasn’t been released on any other platform. Unfortunately that means the asking price is super high. It’s good, but not quite worth that much.
Misadventures of Tron Bonne
Mega Man Legends wasn’t exactly a mega hit in the West. Regardless Capcom still developed and even localized a spin-off for it. This game stars the anti-hero of the series, Tron Bonne, and serves as a prequel of sorts. Gameplay is very different here than in the main series. There are three distinct play styles. The first of which is sort of like those old moving box puzzles (but much more flashy, and fun). Then you have vehicular segments that play kind of like classic Descent. These too are fun but tend to be a little disorienting in my opinion. Finally some areas play like a 3D action game and are much more similar to Mega Man Legends. The entire premise behind the game is pretty zany. The world wasn’t exactly starving for more Mega Man at the time, but Tron Bonne brought the heat anyway.
Silhouette Mirage
Working Designs was a really underrated publisher. They brought games over that most would never dare. Silhouette Mirage is one of these titles. The game itself is a 2D side scrolling action title. While your primary means of attack is shooting enemies with a little gun I wouldn’t exactly call this a run and gun. Gameplay is slower paced and more strategic here. Basic enemies come in two distinct categories. They are either silhouettes or mirages. The main character herself can switch between these two depending on which direction she’s facing. The enemies can only be defeated by the opposite attribute. It’s a surprisingly well thought out mechanic that’s really unique. My only problem with this game is that Working Designs increased the difficulty dramatically. It almost ruins the experience. Despite this Silhouette Mirage is still a lot of fun.
