I’m the proud owner of both an SNES Classic and an NES Classic, two systems that wrap a powerful nostalgic hit in an attractive, miniaturized package. They’re easy to plug and play, easy to love–and even easy to hack, according to the community. But I haven’t bothered to hack mine yet, because both systems, especially the Super NES, present a fantastic lineup of games, lists that capture what made those consoles special and great to begin with.
But I was never a Nintendo kid when it came to consoles. (Other than handhelds, of course–my first video game machine was a Game Boy Pocket.) I had a Genesis in that generation (with a surprisingly strong set of licensed titles, in addition to first party stuff like Sonic), but once I had the PSX I never looked back. I’m a platformer fan above all else, and that was the golden age, with games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, MediEvil, even Croc–the list goes on. The PS2 was a monster when it came to delivering awesome games: Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Odin Sphere, Ico, Spider-Man, Bully, Okami, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, too many others to mention. The PS3 took huge strides toward bringing games forward as an artistic medium, from heavily narrative-driven adventures like the Uncharted, Bioshock, Ratchet and Clank Future, and Arkham series to more experimental games like Journey, The Unfinished Swan, and Hohokum, which pushed the envelope of the possible. And the PS4 is continuing that trend. Sony doesn’t have Nintendo’s first party prowess, but they do have the ability to attract and support a huge variety of talented development studios, and the result has been consistently the best collection of games, generation after generation.
Which, in more ways than one, is why the Playstation Classic is so disappointing.
Sure, there are technical complaints. So far the machine seems far less hackable than the Nintendo consoles that inspired it, the system only has about 8G of memory open anyway, Sony didn’t bother to fix basic Classic console issues like adding a shortcut to reset the system without physically getting up and pressing a button on the machine, apparently a lot of the games are inexplicably PAL versions that play at the wrong speed–and the absence of the DualShock controller is just depressing.
But the real issue is the games list. When the PS Classic was initially announced, without a full games list, like many I was excited, and debated with friends which games should or should not end up on the system. But I was wary of pre-ordering until I knew what I was getting, and now I’m glad I made that call, because the PS Classic simply fails at being an interesting, worthwhile, or representative collection of games. The full list is more gap than reality. Where are the games that defined the early Playstation era? Hell, where are my beloved platformers? No DualShock means no Ape Escape? Fucking Rayman? Come on.
Anyway, my interest was piqued when, in their initial hacksplorations, the modding community discovered what is apparently a shortlist of 36 rejected (tested but not included) games, an alluring vision of what could have been. There may be great reasons why these games are not present on the PS Classic in its final incarnation. Unlike Nintendo, most of the great Sony games haven’t been first party, which I’m sure would make licensing these games for a mini Classic console difficult or expensive (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 no doubt falls into this category). A few of them have had, or will soon have, PS4 remasters (Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, MediEvil), and perhaps Sony didn’t want to cannibalize its own nostalgia bait with different nostalgia bait made of plastic. Who knows! It’s not for me to question the business decisions of a giant corporation. I can only speak as a critic and a fan.
And speaking as that fan, using only the final list of PS Classic games and the 36 rejected games, here is my dream list, a “what if” top 20 lineup (in alphabetical order) and why each game would have been included in the PS Classic. You know, if I ran the world.
Kyu’s PS Classic Complete Games List
- Crash Bandicoot
Screw cannibalizing. I played through the entire Crash trilogy in the PS4 remaster and I’d play through the original PSX version, too. Crash is the iconic PSX platformer, so much so that the Bandicoot became the unofficial Sony mascot, during that age when platformer protagonists were the ones taking that slot (like the Genesis and, uh, Bubsy. Go home Genesis, you’re drunk). Crash Bandicoot 2 is a slightly better game, but, as will be a theme with this list, we’re interested in plumbing those early days, those first franchise entries that blazed out in new directions. Sequels might have refined or even perfected Crash Bandicoot‘s satisfying 2D-in-3D formula, crates and all, but the original still holds a special place in history. The PS Classic without it is already a bankrupt concept.
- Driver
The PS Classic shouldn’t just be a chance to play all your old favorites; it should also be an opportunity to catch up with cool or historically important games you never got around to in the first place. About a third of this list are games I’ve never played but always was aware of by reputation. Being able to try out games I never got around to, like Driver, which has been called a cross between Starsky and Hutch and Bullitt, seems like a fun time and a worthwhile use of the Classic console. Plus, I actually really like driving games. I should play more of those.
- Final Fantasy VII
Do I lose all gamer cred if I say I’ve never finished a Final Fantasy game? I’m not as into the RPG or JRPG format as I am its weirder hybrids, from puzzle-RPGs like Puzzle Quest to action-RPGs like The World Ends With You to the really bizarre if you think about it Disney/Squeenix crossover Kingdom Hearts. Give me a collection theme (Pokemon) or trading cards (uh, Pokemon Trading Card Game) or timed jumping (the Mario & Luigi handheld series) or unit stacking RTS puzzles (Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes) or anything, really, except the old ATTACK/MAGIC/DEFEND/ITEM-style RPG combat. That said, I recognize this is like being a fan of movies without ever seeing Casablanca. I’m not saying I’m proud, okay? One of these days I’ll sit down and play through the one of the most famous Final Fantasy games, all the way through to that shocking twist I’ve been spoiled on a thousand times. This is one of the few games on my list that is on the PS Classic, and I appreciate its inclusion, even if my perspective of begrudging obligation is different from that of a long-time fan of the game.
- Grand Theft Auto
Beating up hookers and running from the cops isn’t exactly my thing and never was, but I’ve played a fair amount of GTA III and I respect the advances it made in gaming. And not just its use of a huge, open world, an idea so compelling (and profitable) that it immediately swept the industry–with at least one casualty among my beloved platformers, the bizarre Jak and Daxter II, which took Jak and Daxter‘s quirky world and good platforming and added guns, vehicles, missions, Roman numerals, and an absurdly dark tone, like a 13-year-old trying to emulate his cool uncle. But GTA‘s genius was that their open world experience was just so fun to hang out in, driving around and listening to the radio, that the story seemed almost besides the point. That’s the appeal that’s made the open world game the AAA experience ever since, all the way up to Rockstar’s sprawling GTA-without-wheels Western, Red Dead Redemption 2. All of which is to say that, although the original GTA bears little resemblance to its massive, gorgeously crafted descendants (other than the admittedly popular notion of just fucking around being an asshole to virtual police and pedestrians), it’s probably still worth playing for historical purposes. A Classic isn’t just a functional device; it should also be a museum piece in your home. Sony got this right when they included it in the final product. Just keep it under glass.
- Klonoa
I came to Klonoa a little backwards, starting with the masterful puzzle experience that is Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, but was immediately attracted to the series’ gentle humor, evocative visuals, and compelling puzzle/platformer design. I’d describe Klonoa as “Kirby on acid,” but that’s what Kirby is already. More specifically, Klonoa is a more atmospheric, artful, intellectual version of Kirby–they play kind of similar, with Klonoa using his wind bullet to pick up enemies and blocks and toss them wherever needed, but it’s the tone that makes the difference, less kiddy, less manic, more lyrical. Klonoa (or more properly, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile), which I eventually doubled back to and greatly enjoyed, introduced the character, gameplay, and ethos fully formed: super solid 2.5D platforming, a darkly whimsical narrative about dreams, colorful and inventive environments, and a lot of asking, “What kind of animal is Klonoa, anyway? Some kind of cat?” I haven’t played Phantomile since I was a kid, so this would be a big nostalgia bump for me–and more evidence that the PSX was the golden age of weird, excellent platformers.
- Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Now, I fully admit that Soul Reaver looks graphically awful. Unlike a lot of very well visually designed games on this list, it has not aged well. This is one that I missed in the original era, tried to circle back around to via PC emulator, and bounced right off of due to graphical frustrations. That said, there’s a reason I tried, and that reason is “vampire hack and slash.” I wanted my list to balance out gameplay-wise, and Soul Reaver has the action-adventure gameplay that the actual PS Classic list apparently lacks entirely. The whole Legacy of Kain series has this Gothic fantasy energy to it, crossed with an ’80s heavy metal ethos, and Soul Reaver seems like, if not the earliest entry point into the franchise, the earliest one my eyes can stomach. I’ll take it.
- MediEvil
MediEvil is getting its own Crash/Spyro-style PS4 remaster sometime next year, but I’m not waiting around. Along with the excellent MediEvil 2 on PS2, this is one of my favorite game series ever, and the tragic lack of a modern sequel is one of the great missed opportunities in video game history. Here’s a game that just fucking nails its tone: a dark, supernatural world threatening a goofy, hapless protagonist. Both MediEvil games start with people just taking the piss out of your protagonist, Sir Daniel Fortesque, a lower jaw-less, would-be knight who fell ignominiously in the last great battle but now, in death, has a second chance to redeem himself. MediEvil is one of those generous games that just keeps giving, from some truly excellent music and sound to inspired level design to a plethora of varied weaponry (long before Ratchet and Clank). If I have one complaint about the game, it’s that it’s actually a little too long, with a couple of levels toward the second half that might have been better cut for pacing (thinking of the weird ant hive level in particular). But too much of a good thing is still pretty damn good, and MediEvil‘s engaging blend of story, atmosphere, satisfying combat and character progression makes it an enduring delight, one well worth inclusion on my list. I’m legit sad I won’t be playing this on PS Classic now.
- Mega Man Legends
I’m surprised to remember that I actually did play Mega Man Legends back in the day. An early attempt at turning 2D games into 3D (something that, in my opinion, wasn’t fully mastered until the GCN’s Metroid Prime, one of the greatest games ever made), Legends brought the robo-boy in blue into a whole new thing. It was weird; there were robots and ruins and pirates; there was a girl, Roll; I’m not sure this was a successful move for the series so much as a strange dead end detour. That said, as a historical curiosity I believe it has some value on the PS Classic. More so than Cool Boarders 2, anyway.
- Metal Gear Solid
MGS is one of those series that trace the history of the medium, but it’s also its own incredibly idiosyncratic thing. From growling radio conversations to an impossibly convoluted plot to the fourth-wall-breaking boss fights, Metal Gear as a whole is, in the final analysis, suuuuper Japanese. That makes it worth engaging with, even in this earliest version, which is as good an entry point into the series as anything. I’d say you have to start here in order to understand the whole story, but there is no way to understand the whole story. At any rate, I don’t really have to make the case that this is PS Classic material with a bullet, right? Except to Sony, I guess.
- Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
I don’t have a whole lot to say about Oddworld, a game I played but never finished. The actual PS Classic has this on the list and I agree with that determination. There’s something uniquely representative of the PSX era about this gorgeously designed puzzle platformer, and I’m not going to mess with that in my list.
- PaRappa the Rapper
Just as I can’t really think about the PSX without thinking about its classic platformers like Spyro the Dragon or Crash the Bandicoot, I also can’t avoid the iconic, pioneering rhythm game PaRappa the Rapper. Colorful Paper Mario-style animal characters making weird comedy raps while you do karate and stuff? Yes. It’s like this one game paved the way for both oddities like Katamari Damacy and the masscult blockbuster series Guitar Hero, two games that between them probably dropped my college GPA a full point my freshman year. PaRappa taught me how to Kick! Chop! but it’s also the reason I can still rock “Carry On Wayward Son” on plastic guitar.
- Parasite Eve
The PSX contained multitudes: not just the golden age of platformers, but the foundation of horror video games. For the first time in gaming history, consoles were powerful enough to make games whose visual representation of the world was close enough to reality to be genuinely frightening. The first of three kick-ass horror games on this list is the only one I haven’t played, but I’ve always been intrigued by the game’s origins–based on a Japanese novel (much like my favorite horror movie, The Ring), Parasite Eve always seemed like it had a strong and original horror story going for it. The PS Classic would be the perfect, convenient way to catch up with one of the best remembered horror games of the era.
- Resident Evil: Director’s Cut
Of course, there’s no horror in video games like survival horror, and Resident Evil basically invented it. I caught up with the series on Gamecube, but the core experience is right here in the PSX version. Unlike the other big zombie series, rollicking arcade shooter The House of the Dead, Resident Evil was a slow, wary creep through an infested mansion. The frustrations of the game, from the locked down camera to the “turret”-style move/turn/shoot controls, not to mention the sparsity of ammo, somehow translated into putting the “survival” in survival horror. You weren’t just fighting the game, you were fighting the whole situation, and that’s what made those blessed typewriter safe rooms so wonderful to find. The safe room was safe, and everywhere else was not. That’s how you know it’s scary. A welcome inclusion on the real PS Classic list that I’m keeping here.
- Silent Hill
Last but certainly not least of the horror games on this list is Silent Hill, which combined the vulnerability of Resident Evil‘s survival horror with a surreal, nightmare atmosphere of psychological horror. Now you weren’t just wandering around a house armed with two bullets and no medicine; you were wandering around a whole town wreathed in conveniently economic fog, out of which any kind of awful monster could emerge. The whole Silent Hill franchise is the best example of body horror you’ll find in the video game medium, with enemies that don’t just attack but twitch, writhe, and otherwise dismay you until you snap and decide you have to kill them, not to protect yourself, but because these things were never meant to be alive. Silent Hill 2 is the better game, presenting a more fully formed metaphor for its protagonist’s psychological weaknesses, but that would have to wait for some kind of PS2 Classic. And that’s just crazy talk.
- Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
This was a great game when it was called Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine and I see no reason not to include it here.
- Syphon Filter
Two roads diverged in a wood, and this is the stealth-n-spies less traveled by. Unlike Metal Gear, Syphon Filter was trying to be realistic as well as exciting and the result were some important advances in stealth games and game narratives in general. The PSX era was the point when storytelling in non-RPGs really became possible, thanks to extensive fully voice-acted cutscenes, complex 3D environments, and music you didn’t have to fit on a cartridge. Syphon Filter‘s pre-9/11, 24-esque story of bioterror and counter-intelligence definitely made it stand out at the time, as did the brand new feeling of threading a rope-cam under a door to see if there were any bad guys on the other side you’d rather avoid. As I remember it, SF updated the previous king of the run-and-gunners, Goldeneye, with an increased range of dynamic movement in character animations and environments. From a historical perspective, Syphon Filter is worth a look, and that’s why I’m glad Sony did include it.
- Tomb Raider
Sony’s dead flop attempt to make a fighting game out of its mascots, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, had no chance of toppling Nintendo’s excellent Super Smash Bros series, not least because the mascot era was a long time ago (while Nintendo’s first party franchises will presumably be rebooted forever). But that era was the PSX days, and right there next to Crash Bandicoot and Spyro was Ms. Lara Croft herself. Forget the story, and its half-progressive, half-exploitative choice to replace Indiana Jones with a gun-toting, big-titted British woman; what made Tomb Raider compelling was the same story for almost every entry on this list, a game taking full advantage of thrilling new 3D possibilities. I love solving statue puzzles and fighting my through jungles as much as the next person, if not more so, but in video games that all started here (eventually leading to the highly entertaining Uncharted series), where, for the first time, you were exploring and navigating a three-dimensional space. In other words, you really felt like you were raiding a tomb, and not a side-scroller level painted to look like a tomb. I’m not sure I ever finished this original one, although I’ve dipped in and out of the series since, but for a lot of reasons it seems like a great, iconic PSX game to circle back to in the Classic. A shame Sony didn’t agree.
- Tomba
The last of the PSX platformers on my list, let’s pour one out for Tomba. One of the things that made all the great PSX platformers different from one another was the approach they took to incorporating that new 3rd dimension into what had up until then been a completely side-scroller genre. Spyro crafted an evocatively sparse open world, Crash turned the side-scroller on its axis to have players heading directly away from (or, unfortunately, towards) the camera, and Tomba‘s idea was to layer multiple 2D levels alongside one another in parallel, so that you could move back and forth between foreground and background areas while still generally traversing from left to right. With its spatial innovations and colorful pop art designs, Tomba points the way toward today’s indie puzzle platformers, like Fez. Or maybe they point back to it? Nah, nobody remembers Tomba. Except me and my fantasy PS Classic.
- Twisted Metal
In my opinion, Twisted Metal is the reason the PS Classic comes with two controllers. The PSX/N64 era was the highpoint of couch co-op, at least until indie Steam games somewhat revitalized the genre, and one of the top reasons why was this tongue-in-cheek grimdark vehicle deathmatching game. Sure, the graphics were cruddy, and they weren’t much better in later Twisted Metal entries, either (perhaps one reason why there hasn’t been another one since Twisted Metal: Black, all the way back on PS2). But the mayhem came through loud and clear, with various outre vehicles, armed and armored, roaming around an open world of ramps and raceways, shooting bullets and missiles at one another with wild abandon. As far as I know, there are no other games like this, the video game equivalent of an explosion flipping you off, and there were few games on the PSX as fun to share with a friend. A great game AND an iconic piece of PSX history demands inclusion.
- Vagrant Story
Last up alphabetically we have Vagrant Story, supposedly one of the best RPGs ever made. By the creative team behind Final Fantasy: Tactics (also supposed to be one of the best RPGs ever made), Vagrant Story combined real time battles with weapons crafting, puzzles, and platforming in a Gothic fantasy/steampunk setting. The real PSX Classic only has two RPGs, even though the system is known for many great entries in the genre: Suikoden and its sequel, the first two Persona games, Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX, Xenogears, Valkyria Profile, Chrono Cross, Legend of Mana, etc. My list is only low on these classic games because that’s just not my genre, but I know I should circle back and play some of them. Like Vagrant Story. If only I had a PS Classic that included it….
That’s it for my list, but let me know here or @insidethekraken what I missed or messed up by including. Or just let me know why I’m severely underestimating the historical significance and nostalgic appeal of whatever the hell Jumping Flash is.
-Kyu