The PS1 had a great library of games that helped it become such a tremendous success for Sony's first time in the console market. It catered to all tastes, whether it was the vast selection of JRPGs that capitalized on the success of the Final Fantasy series, sports games, stealth games, platformers, and strategy games.
The selection helped the PlayStation dominate the sales market against the Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, and even the powerful Sega Dreamcast before the PS2 hit the shelves. With the PlayStation Plus subscription adding more PS1 titles, many fans can revisit their old favorites or play them again for the first time. In the meantime, there are still some PS1 titles that never became a franchise or received a sequel. This list displays some of the best one-offs on the PS1.
8 Legend Of Dragoon
Legend of Dragoon is a JRPG developed by Sony's Japan Studio. It is a big-budget JRPG that launched on a crowded system with a deep pool of classic titles in the same genre, from Final Fantasy to Xenogears. It didn't find the same success as its rivals, but Legend of Dragoon has gained more fans over the years with hopes for a remake.
Launched as a PlayStation classic on the PS Plus subscription service, many European fans will gain access to the game without needing to import it. As such, it has a chance to gain a larger audience. The combat system is tricky, but the story is pure fantasy escapism with warriors, dragons, stunning FMV sequences - with English dubs - and Final Fantasy-like pre-rendered backgrounds.
7 Constructor
Originally launched as an MS-DOS game, Constructor was ported to the PS1 in 1997. It is a construction sim and real-time strategy game where players must ruthlessly build new houses, gain tenants, and put rival construction firms out of business.
The property tycoon-like gameplay was an entertaining change of pace for PS1 users that wanted something different on the console. Despite never getting a sequel, Constructor was remastered on the macOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
6 Vagrant Story
Another classic from Square, Vagrant Story, is one of the last great JRPGs on the PS1. Launched in 2000, the dungeon crawler features strategic combat where players can pause the action and attack an enemy's body parts. Exploring the dungeons meant completing puzzles and finding a way through obstacles.
It is a departure from the genre that generally featured lots of dialogue, exploring world maps, and turn-based combat. The art style is beautiful, and Vagrant Story remains one of the most atmospheric RPGs available. It never got a sequel, but its world, Ivalice, is featured in Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy 12.
5 Power Move Pro Wrestling
Power Move Pro Wrestling is the Western version of New Japan Pro Wrestling: Toukon Retsuden from Japan. It is a 3D wrestling game developed by Yukes, the studio that created the Smackdown and WWE 2K series until WWE 2K19. The animations set the groundwork for nearly 20 years of WWE wrestling games, and despite the remapping of buttons, the Yukes-style wrestling experience is still prominent in the recent hit WWE 2K23.
Power Move Pro Wrestling separates itself from current WWE games by utilizing a rock, paper, scissors mechanic with strikes, grapples, and submissions. Signature moves are activated when the wrestler increases excitement and support from the audience. Power Move Pro Wrestling was repackaged, with all the licensed Japanese wrestlers getting replaced by original characters created for the game.
4 Ehrgeiz
Ehrgeiz is a 3D fighting game from Square that was a big hit with JRPG fans because it features characters from Final Fantasy 7, like Cloud, Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie, and Tifa, as playable characters. It wasn't as polished as a similar 3D fighting game like Tobal No. 1 or Powerstone, but the action was fast, enjoyable, and great in two-player mode.
It was a dream come true for fans of Final Fantasy 7 who wanted the opportunity to make Cloud and Sephiroth fight in real-time combat arenas. Fans wouldn't get another fighting game pitting Final Fantasy characters against each other until Final Fantasy: Dissidia on the PSP.
3 Legend Of Kartia/Kartia: The Word Of Fate
Launched in Japan and Europe as Legend of Kartia and Kartia: The Word of Fate in the US, it is a tactical JRPG from Atlus, the studio behind Shin Megami Tensei and its spin-offs like the Persona series. The game features stunning artwork, character designs, and illustrations from Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy) and Shigenori Soejima (Persona).
Visually, Kartia still holds up with its in-game graphics using detailed shading and color schemes. Where the tactical RPG shines is its story and character development and the intertwining narrative that centered on two protagonists. The gameplay is a standard grid-based tactical RPG with a unique summoning mechanic that allows players to use phantoms in combat.
2 Vanguard Bandits
Tactical RPG Vanguard Bandits is a science fiction fantasy with a medieval-like backdrop and mechs for combat. The mechs are called ATACs - All Terrain Armored Combatants - where the pilots control them from within using mind control.
The combat is grid-based, like in Legend of Kartia or the more popular Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle, but the combat zooms in with close-ups of the action, like in the Fire Emblem series. More importantly, the story and the characters are excellent, with a memorable villain and believable motivations.
1 Xenogears
Xenogears is one of the most beloved and talked about JRPGs from the PS1 era. Even though the game's story was wrapped with a second disc dedicated to the narrative over gameplay, it still features one of the most thought-provoking stories in any generation. Unfortunately, fans never got a true sequel that revisited the world of Xenogears.
However, the creators at Monolith Soft managed to revisit similar themes in the excellent Xenosaga trilogy on the PS2 and Xenoblade on Nintendo systems. A modern remake of Xenogears would go down well, but the story, characters, and execution are timeless on the PS1 and worth playing or replaying for fans of JRPGs.