In Which I Try Too Hard to Guess the Rest of the PS1 Classic Games

It’s practically bite size!

Last night, Sony announced the PlayStation Classic, for release on December 3rd, 2018. Today, I thought way too hard about what games they would put on it. 20 are set to be included, but they’ve only revealed a mere 5:

Final Fantasy VII

Tekken 3

Ridge Racer Type 4

Jumping Flash

Wild Arms

What about the other 15? Here’s what I’m thinking:

Legend of Dragoon

Hot Shots Golf 2

PaRappa the Rapper

Crash Bandicoot

Spyro the Dragon

MediEvil

Twisted Metal OR Gran Turismo 2

Metal Gear Solid

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Suikoden 2

Mega Man Legends OR Mega Man X4

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Tomb Raider 2

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

I came up with this list using a completely non-scientific method of Googling lists of popular PS1 games, and referencing it against PS1 Classics already published on the PlayStation Store. I also checked the publisher of each game - both who published the game originally and who currently owns the publishing rights. I wanted to go for a somewhat balanced mix of high profile games from different genres and different publishers. Licensing rights can be the biggest barrier to getting a game on the system, since many of the best PS1 games were published by companies other than Sony. They may have a ton of money to throw around on licensing, but they might also be trying to cut deals which would end up limiting the number of 3rd party games on the system. Considering they’re only putting 20 games on the system, and charging $100 for it, it’s likely they’re leaning towards the “don’t spend too much option.”

So the games. The first thing you’ll notice is that about half of them are Sony published games. I think that’s a pretty safe number, and they also represent a variety of genres. I’m undecided on Twisted Metal or Gran Turismo, even though they’re not really the same thing, at a glance you wouldn’t want to overload the system with games about cars. If it’s really between the two, it would probably be Gran Turismo though, since the original is the top selling game on the platform, and number 2 is the third highest seller. Any of the Crash and Spyro games could be included here, and I’m sure Sony will include them because both series have seen a resurgence, there are people interested. Even if the remasters cheapen their inclusion here, their absence would be much worse, since both characters were unofficial mascots for a time. Legend of Dragoon gives them a cult RPG that they don’t have to negotiate for, and Hot Shots Golf is an easy sports title that again, they already own. PaRappa the Rapper feels like it’s too iconic to not include, and MediEvil would give them a nice first party action game.

I tried to stay away from rated M games because I feel like they’ll sell more if they can make it appeal to parents with the lower rating, but Metal Gear Solid is an exception because it’s one of the most iconic titles on the system, I would be very surprised if they don’t do it. Symphony of the Night is the best Castlevania game, they’d be nuts to not include it (and considering how both Nintendo Classics featured Castlevania, I think it’s a good bet). Suikoden 2 I think would be the big way to get RPG fans on board, since it’s one of the most expensive titles for the system and it’s so loved. The appeal of the Classic systems to a lot of gamers (me included) is getting access to rare and/or expensive games at a decent price, on authentic feeling hardware. Putting Suikoden 2 on here would show Sony’s understanding of that concept.

I couldn’t decide which Mega Man would end up here, but my gut says Legends because it’s a series that is tied to the legacy of the PS1 (the inferior Mega Man 64 aside). X4 is a good member of the X series, but its style makes it feel less like a true PS1 classic. Mega Man 8 is most likely not happening...I’d be very surprised if that showed up. I chose Street Fighter Alpha 3 over the other Alpha titles because that’s the one I think fans generally like best, and also it’s the one that was remastered for the PSP so presumably Capcom believes in it too. Street Fighter in general will be good to have there as a contrast to Tekken 3.

Now the three black sheep, all from different publishers… Tomb Raider 2 feels like the natural inclusion from that series; they could do the original but since that one’s been remade before I’m less inclined to think they’d do that. Unless they really feel like fans need to have the original. Oddworld I don’t have much to say about except that it’s a popular title that feels like it’s part of the PS1 story, so it gets included. Finally, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 is last because while I feel like it’s an absolute must have because of how much it’s part of that era, I also recognize that licensing all that music is going to be nearly impossible. Maybe Sony will opt for Twisted Metal instead.

And since the Japanese versions tend to have slightly different games, I’d sub in Dragon Quest VII as a virtual guarantee, replacing Tony Hawk for sure. But I won’t go further than that because this is where we really start to see Japanese and American tastes in games diverging, so I’m sure their version of the Classic is going to have a very different set of games.

So what do you think? I tried to balance it as best I could with what I personally want and what I think is most likely. I also tried to limit the number of games per publisher, which is why I didn’t include Klonoa for example, since Bandai Namco already has Tekken 3 and Ridge Racer announced. Funnily enough, Square-Enix now owns a ton of popular PS1 games, since their acquisition of Eidos, so while I would like to go Final Fantasy crazy, I also needed to make it so that Square didn’t dominate the list. My final version only has Tomb Raider 2 from them, but there were many many more. Since I didn’t include any rated M games besides Metal Gear Solid, I couldn’t include games like Resident Evil, or Silent Hill, but those are distinct possibilities if Sony doesn’t care about the ratings of the system.

Basically, it’s really up in the air, so anything goes until Sony makes that announcement. With literally hundreds of games on the system that are at least worth mentioning, I can’t imagine why Sony would limit it to only 20, but that’s what they said. I’ll be waiting for the final tally.