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[NinjamicWZ]

God damn, Vagrant Story was so amazing back then. That was pseudo turn based Souls before I knew what it was.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Vagrant Story

Yup.
For me it peaked with Vagrant Story.

 

[MacTag]

Valkyrie Profile, Legend of Mana, SaGa Frontier 2.

 

[firelogic]

I'm going with Metal Gear Solid.

I'm not sure why Vagrant Story is getting so many mentions. I'm actually playing it on my Vita and it doesn't look particularly good.

 

[c0de]

Ridge Racer Type 4

Still unbelievable jump from RR to this on one system.

 

[MakeMeFeelAlive]

There were 3 games that I specifically remember being impressed by on the psone. Gt2, tekken 3 and ff8. I'm sure there were better looking games, but I remember being impressed by those games as soon as I booted those games up.

 

[Risk Breaker]

Vagrant Story, RRT4, MGS. I think Soul Reaver was crazy impressive too.

Oh yeah, and Silent Hill is also incredible. It looks really realistic when viewed at small resolution (Google images thumbnails for example).

 

[NinjamicWZ]

For me it was Soul Reaver. Not only did it look great at the time, but you could instantly switch between two worlds. That blew my mind back then. There was no other game on PS1 that matched this feeling.

Gif is probably from the dreamcast version, but you get the idea.

Yep, changing the geometry and lighting look on the fly was crazy. And it helped established streamed loading so that you never saw any loading screens traversing the world.

 

[True Fire]

That moment when you find out you can climb onto the roof and fly anywhere

 

[Phediuk]

I'm going with Metal Gear Solid.

I'm not sure why Vagrant Story is getting so many mentions. I'm actually playing it on my Vita and it doesn't look particularly good.

I think there's just a lot of people who never played anything but Squaresoft games on PS1.

 

[Creamium]

Yep, changing the geometry and lighting look on the fly was crazy. And it helped established streamed loading so that you never saw any loading screens traversing the world.

Yeah that's right, that game had no loading screens either, holy crap... Looking at more gifs of this game justified my pick, Soul Reaver was a revelation back then.

 

[Pinky]

Final Fantasy IX
Resident Evil 2
Castlevania: SotN

 

[Meowster]

Chrono Cross for me.

 

[zeorhymer]

Einhander
Tobol No, 2
Bushido Blade 2
SaGa Frontier 2
Legend of Mana

Yes I'm biased on Square games.

 

[Wollan]

Lots of Vagrant Story gameplay in this (otherwise badly narrated) youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZXZOibtwlo

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I haven't played them in 15+ years, but for me it would be between:

TOCA World Touring Cars
Gran Turismo 1
Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy IX
Wipeout 3
Spyro 3
Tekken 3

Mostly releases from near the end of the console's lifespan.

 

[leroidys]

For 3D games:

Vagrant Story
Metal Gear Solid
Mega Man Legends 2

 

[Eylos]

2D - Legend of Mana

3D - Megaman Legends 2

 

[TakeItSlowDude]

Ridge Racer Type 4

 

[Lettuce]

Ridge Racer Type 4
Tekken 3
GT2
Silent Bomber

 

[Sorcerer]

I played Parasite Eve 2 recently and I think it holds up pretty well. Tronbonne also.

 

[JMFangio]

Ridge Racer Type 4

 

[brokenbeans]

Rollcage always looked good.

Ed - and the above

 

[adamantypants]

Tekken 3 could almost be a PS2 game.

I never played Alien Resurrection but holy shit that looks great

 

[potatohead]

Can't believe I forgot MGS lmao.

That should be up there as well.

MML2 is also a good pick. Bigger levels than MML1, like huge open fields between different towns/areas, and even more details like snowy weather and such, lots more detail on characters too.

 

[Lasthope106]

Having just replayed it, it's Spyro.

First post nailed it. Yeah I think so too. Who would have expected a platformer about a dragon would be the one to push the graphics the hardest. Also, its style has stood the test of time fantastically.

 

[ghibli99]

Just off the top of my head, Vagrant Story, Ridge Racer Type 4, and Crash 3 (all mentioned multiple times already LOL) stand out. Those late-gen PS1 games really did some amazing things given the age and limitations of the hardware.

 

[SOR5]

Crash and Spyro are for me, timeless

 

[Tain]

Probably Tobal 2.

Omega Boost is a good call too.

 

[Manu]

Mega Man Legends 2

 

[SlipperyFishes]

Soul Reaver or Vagrant Story.

Or FF9

 

[mokeyjoe]

From what I remember, both Tekken 3 and GT2 were pretty impressive at the time.

Also, I never played it, but Parasite Eve looked impressive in screenshots

 

[Rolodzeo]

Terracon

Definitely impressive game, NA didn't get it so it's quite unknown over there.

 

[bumpkin]

Tobal no1 or 2.

They knew what the hardware could accomplish effectively and tailored their look to match it. The game ran high res, smooth, and FAST.

It sucks that we never got Tobal no. 2 as an import PSOne Classic on the PSP/Vita. I always wanted to play it.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

For me it was Soul Reaver. Not only did it look great at the time, but you could instantly switch between two worlds. That blew my mind back then. There was no other game on PS1 that matched this feeling.

Gif is probably from the dreamcast version, but you get the idea.

Yep, changing the geometry and lighting look on the fly was crazy. And it helped established streamed loading so that you never saw any loading screens traversing the world.

Aye, and it had stellar animations on Raziel too. Plus the sublime art direction.

If we're going strictly 3D, that'd be my pick.

If not, then probably Resident Evil 3, Final Fantasy Tactics, or a glorious 2D game like Rayman or even Castlevania: SotN thanks to its art direction.

Suikoden 2 was the prettiest 2D game

Nah. It looked fine but it wasn't that impressive. Rayman looked much better.

Mega Man Legends 2

Nice emu screenshots bro. There is no way the original PS1 game had such anti-aliasing, come on...

 

[eyeball_kid]

Metal Gear Solid, for the engine and overall art direction.

 

[Ducktail]

From what I remember, both Tekken 3 and GT2 were pretty impressive at the time.

Also, I never played it, but Parasite Eve looked impressive in screenshots

Parasite Eve 2 was mindblowing when it first came out.

 

[SOR5]

This thread is beautiful

I cannot stress how much I adore the PS1s graphics

Spoiler

I even have a soft spot for the texture wobbling

Theres something about PS1 games that made them age way better than the N64 for me

 

[Chronospherics]

Spyro 3

A lot of PS1 games push graphical fidelity with excessive detail and end up with absurd aliasing. The rally game in the OP is a good example, and FF8 doesn't look that great either.

 

[Vitacat]

Tekken 3 for me. Used to run it on an Amiga monitor in RGB; was glorious.

 

[PapaEmeritus]

Id say FF9 personally

 

[mokeyjoe]

Parasite Eve 2 was mindblowing when it first came out.

I think that was what I meant.

 

[Manu]

Nice emu screenshots bro. There is no way the original PS1 game had such anti-aliasing, come on...

It's actually harder to find accurate screenshot of how the game looked in PS1 than those emu shots.

It was a beautiful game anyway.

 

[Salty Hippo]

Crash Bandicoot 3.

Tobal no 2.

Correct answers.

 

[Timu]

Nice emu screenshots bro. There is no way the original PS1 game had such anti-aliasing, come on...

It's actually harder to find accurate screenshot of how the game looked in PS1 than those emu shots.



It was a beautiful game anyway.

That's where I come in as I can do direct feed shots of PS1 games!

 

[Brocken]

Ridge Racer Type 4

Everything that came from Namco was graphically outstanding in the late 90's

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Gotta love Fear Effects static envionments.

 

[ViolentP]

The fuck? Alien Resurrection should not look that good.

 

[Long Division]

Not counting pre rendered background games..Gran Turismo 2 probably wowed me the most.

 

[SOR5]

Ridge Racer Type 4

Everything that came from Namco was graphically outstanding in the late 90's

The aesthetic is amplified with the amazing Namco Sound Team as well