Hidden PSX ONE Gems?

[Aussie2B]

I will third Heart of Darkness especially with the 3-D goggles on.

I thought they were only for the game's ending?

Heart of Darkness gets big brownie points from me for having Bruce Broughton as the composer, the same guy who composed the music in the movie Tombstone.

I still haven't taken the time to play through it, though. :/

[goemon]

Racing Lagoon, best racing RPG ever. Maybe the only one?

I can recall another one for the Playstation: Choro Q Wonderful. I haven't played Racing Lagoon, but I doubt CQW is any better, since the fuel gage is really, really annoying and makes me lose all the time.

[sirhansirhan]

I'd go with Boombots, Incredible Crisis, No One Can Stop Mr. Domino, and Rising Zan.

[Haoie]

Panzer Front, the only realistic tank simulation for PS.

[theshizzle3000]

I thought they were only for the game's ending?

Heart of Darkness gets big brownie points from me for having Bruce Broughton as the composer, the same guy who composed the music in the movie Tombstone.

I still haven't taken the time to play through it, though. :/

They may have been for the ending but I wore them regardless....Ridiculous maybe, Cool definitely.

[Captain Wrong]

I enjoyed Project: Horned Owl way back in the day.

I remember Vic Ireland telling me way back in the day of the WD message boards that game was poo, when I actually found a copy, I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm a sucker for light gun games anyway.

[Oobgarm]

I'm sure I'm going to repeat other posts in this thread, but I shall list my favorite PSX games that aren't widely recognized titles:

Devil Dice
Point Blank (1, 2, 3)
The Next Tetris
Apocalypse
Builder's Block
Turnabout
Roll Away
RC de GO!
Destraga
Misadventures of Tron Bonne
Gekioh: Shooting King
Tall: Infinity
Tecmo Stackers
Rising Zan: Samurai Gunman
Team Buddies
Motor Toon Grand Prix
Rollcage (I & II)

Also, Racing Lagoon(J) is pretty fun, even if it doesn't hold up well graphically.

[Snapple]

Racing Lagoon, best racing RPG ever. Maybe the only one?

Check out Car Battler Joe for the GBA. It's also a driving-RPG hybrid game.

[RadiantSvgun]

I remember Vic Ireland telling me way back in the day of the WD message boards that game was poo, when I actually found a copy, I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm a sucker for light gun games anyway.

It's hard to go wrong with Alfa System games.

I hope someone mentioned Einhander. It doesn't get the respect it deserves because Squaresoft made it, and its not a colorful RPG.

[Captain Wrong]

I'm sure Einhander has been mentioned. If not, let me state Einhander is the only Square game other than Rad Racer worth playing. :P

[VACRMH]

I'm sure Einhander has been mentioned. If not, let me state Einhander is the only Square game other than Rad Racer worth playing. :P

Says you

My suggestion may sound odd, but it's actually a cool puzzle game.

Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy.

[klausien]

My number one game for the PSX that has fallen into obscurity is Elemental Gearbolt. All the talk of Project: Horned Owl made me think of it instantly. Strange anime trappings married to light gun shooting excellence. 2D sprites superimposed on 3D backdrops, much like the previously mentioned Horned Owl, though there are also some polygonal enemies as well. The US version requires near perfection due to Working Designs' penchant for upping the difficulty on their localizations, but it is still fair enough and very addictive. I especially love the melancholy soundtrack. Looks spectacular on the PS2 with the smoothing turned on. Worth checking out.

I have also always been partial to Omega Boost. Not particularly hard to find, but a nice rail shooter with the player piloting a mech. Excellent particle effects. Ridiculous low-budget FMV cinemas complete the package. Polyphony Digital developed.

It has already been mentioned, but RayTracers is an excellent blend of Ridge Racer and Chase HQ. I would love to see a sequel to this someday.

I need to also give a shout out to Doom: Special Playstation Edition. My favorite version to this day, sporting colored lighting and an excellent ambient soundtrack that is truly creepy. Much better than the midi shredding of the original to my ears. Another on that looks great on the PS2 with the smoothing turned on.

Ghost in the Shell, as most of you know, is a great 3D action shooter akin to a grown up Jumping Flash, only with a tank that can walk up walls instead of 3 story jumping. Actually, it is by the same developer. A bit on the short side, but full of excellent 3D shooting and anime cinemas. Yet again, I need to mention the music. Excellent deep trance that just makes you feel badass.

Gekido: Urban Fighters is my final pick. It is the closest thing to a 3D Streets of Rage out there. Puts Fighting Force to shame.

[Neil Koch]

Felony 11-79 (US version of Roundabout) - a fun drive and smash game with some free roaming elements to it. It's pretty short (only 3 levels) but there are lots of vehicles to unlock - I wasted a quarter in college playing this incessantly. The digital control doesn't hold up, but the graphics are still pretty decent and the soundtrack (surf music) is very cool.

The Italian Job - this is a game Rockstar did based on the 60's version with Michael Caine, not the new one with Marky Mark. It came out pretty late in the PS1's life so a lot of people missed out on this, which is a shame. It's basically Driver but with a better difficulty curve and a nice sense of humor. The graphics are some of the best IMO on the PS1 and it's a fun game to play still.

[gepeto]

I thought Alien trilogy was a under appreciated gem. It had it all level design ,story,sound ,graphics and great gameplay. One of my all time favorites to this day.

[RadiantSvgun]

My number one game for the PSX that has fallen into obscurity is Elemental Gearbolt. All the talk of Project: Horned Owl made me think of it instantly.

I thought Elemental Gearbolt was more well-known. It took me about a year to track down a copy. It too is another Alfa System game. Very difficult, I have yet to beat the first stage.

I would like to add Alundra 1 to the list. Its like a super hard version of Zelda, but very challenging. Vanguard Bandits is a great title too, but a bit pricey.

[Captain Wrong]

Gearbolt is tough as nails. Easily the hardest light gun game I've ever played (and I'm 99.999% sure that WD goosed up the difficulity like they did for damn near every other game they brought over.) Grabbed it when it was still new and even though the graphics had aged a bit by the time WD got it out, never regreted it.

[Captain Wrong]

Bumping this thread because I just wanted to say thanks to the OP. With EB/Gamestop's current BOGO on PSX games, I'm carrying around a list of these in my PDA and picked up some of these cheap. (Granted, they were loose. BAAH!)

[BloodshedPlague]

I'll say Herc's Adventure and Tail of the Sun.

[norkusa]

Clock Tower...one of my all time favorite games. Waaaaay more scary than Resident Evil & Silent Hill IMO.

Stay away from Clock Tower 2 though, it sucks.

[theshizzle3000]

I think Grandia should be added to the list as well it tends to be thrown to the side compared to other RPG's that came out for the PSX yet it is still a great game.