Top 10 Most Underrated PS1 Games of All Time
The PlayStation 1 launched in 1994 and gave us some of the greatest games ever made. But for every Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid, there are dozens of brilliant titles that slipped through the cracks. These are the games that deserved far more attention than they ever got — the hidden gems of the PS1 era.
#10 – Vib-Ribbon (1999)
Vib-Ribbon is one of the strangest and most original games ever made for the PS1. Developed by NanaOn-Sha, it stripped gaming down to its bare essentials — a simple wireframe rabbit navigating an obstacle course generated entirely from music. You could even insert your own CDs and the game would create new levels from your tracks. No other PS1 game did anything remotely like it. Criminally overlooked in the West, it was never officially released outside Japan until 2014.
#9 – Brave Fencer Musashi (1998)
Square was on fire in the late 90s, but even they couldn’t get everyone to notice this gem. Brave Fencer Musashi is an action RPG where you play as a miniature samurai hero summoned to save a kingdom from an invading empire. It featured a real-time day and night cycle, a fully voiced cast — rare for its era — and an incredibly charming personality. Fans of early Zelda games would have loved it, but most never found it.
#8 – Intelligent Qube (1997)
Also known as Kurushi in Europe, Intelligent Qube is a puzzle game of pure tension. You stand on a platform of cubes rolling toward you, and you must mark and destroy the right ones before they crush you. Simple to learn, brutally difficult to master. It was beloved by those who played it — one of those games your parents would get obsessed with — but it never reached the audience it deserved.
#7 – Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997)
Klonoa is a 2.5D platformer with some of the most imaginative level design on the PS1. You play as a mysterious dream traveller navigating a world that shifts between foreground and background in clever ways. The gameplay was tight, the visuals were gorgeous for the era, and the ending — genuinely emotional for a PS1 platformer. It eventually got a remaster in 2022, but the original remains largely forgotten.
#6 – Einhänder (1997)
Square made a shoot-em-up. Yes, really. Einhänder is a side-scrolling space shooter with stunning visuals, an incredible industrial soundtrack, and a unique weapon-grabbing mechanic where you steal guns from enemies mid-fight. It was a massive technical achievement for its time, but Square’s RPG fans largely ignored it. Those who did play it never forgot it.
#5 – Tomba! (1998)
Tomba — or Tombi in Europe — is about a feral pink-haired boy who bites evil pigs to save the world. That description alone should tell you this game was something special. It played like a Metroidvania before that term existed, with interconnected quests, hidden areas, and genuine exploration. Original copies now sell for hundreds of dollars — a sure sign the market has finally caught up with how good it was.If you can’t track down an original copy, dive into the history of the era with The Nostalgia Nerd’s Retro Tech — covering consoles, computers and games from gaming’s golden age.
#4 – Bloody Roar (1997)
Fighting games on the PS1 were dominated by Tekken and Street Fighter, and Bloody Roar got completely lost in the noise. That was a tragedy. Its central gimmick — fighters who transform into powerful animals mid-battle — was executed brilliantly, and every hit felt genuinely impactful. The series ran for several sequels but never got the recognition it deserved. A reboot has been rumoured for years. It still hasn’t come.
#3 – Future Cop: LAPD (1998)
Future Cop: LAPD put you in control of a transforming police mech in a near-future Los Angeles — on foot or as a hover vehicle. It had a brilliant two-player co-op mode and an addictive tower defence mini-game that felt decades ahead of its time. It reviewed well, sold poorly, and was never given a sequel. One of the great what-ifs of PS1 gaming.
#2 – Galerians (1999)
Galerians is a survival horror game that dared to do something different. You play as a boy who wakes up in a hospital with no memory and dangerous psychic powers. Instead of weapons, you use pharmaceutical drugs to trigger telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and other abilities. The atmosphere was genuinely unsettling, the story deeply strange, and the gameplay unlike anything else on the platform. It deserved to stand alongside Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It never did.
#1 – Brave Fencer Musashi (1998)
No PS1 game deserves the top spot for underrated status more than Brave Fencer Musashi. It had everything — charm, depth, innovation, and a personality that no other game of its era matched. Square poured real creativity into it, and the gaming world largely walked past. If you have any way to play it today, do it. You will not be disappointed.
🎮 Further Reading
If this list sent you down a PS1 rabbit hole, these books are worth every penny:
- The Ultimate Video Game Trivia Book – Fun facts and history for gamers of all ages
- The Nostalgia Nerd’s Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles & Games – The definitive guide to retro gaming history
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