Some of the best times we spent as kids – even now – have been playing PlayStation 1 games. Released in 1994, there are a countless number of PS1 games we loved, liked, and weren’t all that crazy about.
Some games we could play by memory at this point. If you blindfold me, hand me the controller, and I hear the background music, it’ll be just muscle memory.
Other games were somewhat lost in the back of my mind – but the list of the 114 best-selling PlayStation 1 games I saw on Wikipedia brought them back.
Presented in no particular order, see if these titles bring back any memories, and/or shock you that they sold millions of copies.
Just two years after the TV show premiered, Spongebob was brought to our very clunky TV screens. The 105th best-selling game of all time for the PS1, at over one million copies, has a heartwarming plot. Spongebob wants to get Patrick a birthday present; something signed by Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. But, they keep sending Spongebob on random errands.
So the game is basically Spongebob doing a bunch of various tasks. Equipped with a jellyfish net, coral blower, squeaky boots and other various items from the game,
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
This was a wildly popular game, so popular that I’m surprised I forgot about it. Selling about eight million games, it’s the fifth-highest selling PS1 game. The game is the plot of the first Harry Potter book, so it was a guaranteed hit.
A fun game at the time. But do you remember the graphics?
Nightmare fuel.
Dino Crisis
Ahh, the dinosaur craze of the 1990s.
Dino Crisis was a Resident Evil-like game. Essentially, you have to survive on a Jurassic Park-gone-wrong island. You turn dark corners, kill dinosaurs, and try your best not to get killed. It was absolutely petrifying, but discovering there were four different endings made all the fear worth it.
Crash Bash
Would this really be a complete PS1 listicle if Crash Bandicoot didn't appear somewhere? Everyone (okay, almost everyone), played and enjoyed Crash Bandicoot games.
There’s really nothing entirely remarkable to remember about this game, other than the fact it was really fun with multiple people. It was a fun party game with entertaining mini-games.
Coming in at 45 on the list, it sold just under 2 million games.
A Bug’s Life
This was one of those games a lot of us had because aunts, uncles, or other family friends that really weren’t sure what to get us for birthdays or holidays got us. Ranked 56th on the list with a total of 1.5 million copies sold, the gameplay was similar to that of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; just the movie plot.
The graphics were marginally better, though not outstanding.
Absent of twists or turns, you run around as an Ant and interact with other characters in games.
Monopoly
The 83rd best-selling PS1 game, this one had my head shaking. There was a video game for a board game?
Well, of course there was. There was a Bug’s Life game, after all.
As I never finished an actual board game round of Monopoly, I never finished the video game either.
Pac-Man World
Another birthday-centric plot! Pac-Man’s friends get kidnapped at his 20th birthday party. So the gameplay is relatively straightforward; you have to get them back.
At 76th on the list, it sold over 1.2 million copies. This was a really fun game that elevated the Pac-Man experience.
Driver
Driver was an extraordinarily popular game, and it is the 27th best-selling PS1 game at over 3.2 million copies. So I’m surprised that I forgot about it until I looked at this list.
In this game, you’re an undercover cop. You end up uncovering a plot to assassinate the president, save his life, and… well, there’s a big twist at the end.
But anyway, this was a fantastic game. One of those I’m going to search the attic for and blow the dust off next time I’m home…
007: Tomorrow Never Dies
When I think old-school James Bond games, I immediately think Goldeneye 007. However, Tomorrow Never Dies is a great one as well. Like Harry Potter and A Bug’s Life, this one also follows the plot of a movie. Unlike those two games, this one is much higher stakes.
It switches from first to third person, which some think was confusing but I sort of liked the switchup.
And like all the other games on the list. boy, those graphics. I almost miss them.
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