Celebrating 30 years with PlayStation has been great. We covered some classic PlayStation titles we want to see return, so we decided to look way back to the PS1 this time. We created a list of titles that seem to have been lost to time, stuck on the PS1, and we desperately want to see modern versions of them. Check out our list.
Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve is a classic on many accounts, but the horror blended with science fiction fits perfectly with the dynamic of modern games. Every major game events seems to have a few space themed titles, and every time we get a game that looks remotely similar we get excited. Most recently Stellar Blade was being shown off and at first it looked awfully similar, and even had the original title “Project Eve” when introduced, and while not what we expected it still blew up and show the potential of a return.
The original game had one sequel that was released in 1999, a year after the original game, with a follow up title that hit PSP in 2010. Outside of that, the franchise has gotten zero love by Square Enix even though it has gone on to become somewhat of a cult classic in the video game world. Creator Yoshi-P stated that he’d be open to support Square Enix remake, or add to, the franchise, but he personally has no interest in doing it himself. Come on Square Enix!
Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story, again a lost soul in the Square Enix universe, is a game many might relate to Final Fantasy….. But it isn’t Final Fantasy. The game’s blend of action and role-playing elements, its deep and engaging story, and its innovative combat system make it a standout title that is still enjoyed by many today. But the game was challenging, I’ll give it that, which may have not allowed it to become the staple that other titles like Final Fantasy have become.
It’s quite interesting how this game still lives on today when we haven’t seen anything more from it. The game even has a dedicated fan base that continues to create mods and fan art, and honestly has been seen passionately supporting the game among social video game boards.
However it seems that unlike Parasite Eve, the original creators still have a lingering interest in continuing the franchise. It has been said that Yasumi Matsuno wrote a questline for the MMO Final Fantasy XIV, which utilized ideas that he never got to implement for Vagrant Story itself.
Legend of Dragoon
Legend of Dragoon is an interesting title to add to the list because it’s iconic in many different ways. This was a Sony published title, and it was probably the first title to send Sony in their modern day big budget direction. The game utilized a bunch of CGI cutscenes and did a phenomenal job of being a cinematic experience for the time period, but it also had a massive budget compared to other titles, coming in at over 16 million dollars. It took 3 years to make the game and had one of Sony’s biggest teams designing cutting edge visuals to make CG scenes. It can easily be compared to how Sony makes big cinematic experiences to this day.
Ironically it’s also one of Sony’s first games that branched out beyond the game by becoming a manga series, along with a novel, based on the game. So it has that big picture potential Sony is currently looking for and in the right hands could see the issues fixed. (It was a hard game!) Sony could very easily have their own Final Fantasy sitting in their vault.
Colony Wars
Colony Wars is a game that could use the power of modern technology to become better than it was on the PS1. The game consists of having a pre-selected starship and completing missions in space by performing various tasks. The missions would have dynamic outcomes based on how you did. The series had 2 sequel titles, but the franchise never left the PS1.
But it’s a game of the time period, where mech shooters were taking over the market and not bridging out too far beyond that. That’s where modern tech could possibly revitalize this franchise entirely. Adding some ground missions and doing inter planetary exploration could add some much needed depth to the series. If they wanted to purely stay in space then there is a lot of mechanics and depth that could be added there too, and possibly make the asteroid mission less tiresome. The science fiction story is pretty straight forward, but has layers of depth ready to explore.
Azure Dreams
While Azure Dreams had follow up titles, they were only available on the GameBoy Color and Nintendo DS, so it’s still technically locked away in our memories. The Rogue-lite title was interesting in a sense of being an RPG that had extended depth as a town builder as well as a relationship simulator. You would enter a tower and capture or defeat monsters, which help develop your character and bring in money. While this is happening you are also developing a town by adding buildings that would bring in new characters or mini games. And it continues further by even adding in relationships between characters.
So while the gameplay is pretty straightforward and repetitive like a rogue-lite game, you are consistently developing some depth to the world you’re building, which is an interesting twist. With Konami showing some interest in building actual games again by releasing Silent Hill and an upcoming Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, maybe we could get this back on their radar?
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While writing this list I realized how hard it was to not just include a ton of Square Enix titles as they have a massive vault of titles we haven’t seen in some time. Games like Threads of Fate or Xenogears could be argued. We also had Tenchu, which has seen follow up titles and is owned by FromSoftware whom Sony is currently trying to acquire. And then there are games like G-Police which we just weren’t sure about.
So let us know, are there any lost souls on the PS1 you would like to see return?
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