8 Forgotten But Great PS1 Platformers
Even though many people have forgotten about them, these famous PS1 platform games are still great today.
The PS1 had a hard time coming up with a mascot, unlike Nintendo, which came up with Mario pretty fast. Even though Mario was in arcades before the NES, the point still stands. Sony needed a hit for their new system, and Crash Bandicoot, which came out in 1996, was that hit.
Not only were the main platform games popular, but spinoffs like Crash Team Racing gave Mario a run for his money. The best platform games on the PS1 were by far the ones in the core trio. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy others. These games are great lost gems. They range from straight mascot platformers to games with jumping techniques that have a bit more action. But that doesn’t mean they are gone for good.
Ape Escape
It looked like Ape Escape would be the PS1’s mascot for a while. It was a project done inside Sony, and the bright, colorful pictures made it fun for people of all ages. The idea was easy enough to understand. A group of apes got out of a lab, and players had to find them.
At first, players only had a stun stick and a net, but as they went through the game, they unlocked more tools. Like old-school platformers, the levels moved in a straight line, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Now, it seems like the PlayStation name has nothing to do with this series.
Bubsy 3D
Bubsy is the personification of a meme because he is always talked about in a funny way when he is brought up in modern times. It’s amazing that a new bad game called Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back was made in 2017. Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is scary, but not as scary as Bubsy 3D. It is a very early 3D platformer with some of the worst controls of the time.
Everything is awkward and backwards, as if someone tried to make Resident Evil into a game. If Capcom did it right, that does sound like a good idea.Aside from the Resident Evil platformers, Bubsy 3D is a weird game that should be forgotten, even though it’s fun to make fun of it now.
Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos
Argonaut, the company that made Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, says that it was originally a Yoshi game. They had worked with Nintendo before on games like Star Fox, but Nintendo turned down a lot of their ideas. So, they changed their plan and made Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, which is more like a crocodile than Yoshi.
It was an okay level-based 3D platformer with tank controls like Resident Evil, which made it hard to jump. There were two games for the PS1, two games for the Game Boy Color, and some spinoffs for mobile devices a few years later.
Gex: Enter The Gecko
Gex: Enter The Gecko is the second game in a series that will have three parts. The first game was a 2D platformer, while the second and third games are 3D platformers.Gex: Go in The Gecko is likely the most played game in the series on the PS1 because there are so many demos for it. It was a joke about platformers, and Gex made jokes about video games and other popular things like movies and TV shows.
It was a game with a lot of jokes, and you can tell. Because the platforming isn’t too hard. It was a short-lived show made when satire was the most popular form of humor. Even though they aren’t very good, a collection of them was just revealed, so maybe they aren’t as forgotten as we thought.
Jumping Flash
Jumping Flash wasn’t one of the first games for the PS1, but it came out in North America within the first few months. The player was a robot rabbit, and the game was played from a first-person point of view. The levels were small, and most of the goals were to get jars in the shape of carrots. Players could move around by jumping or shooting at enemies.
The way of play is not too different from that of Star Fox, if the main character’s ship could jump instead of fly. Two games for the PS1 came out in the West, but the last one, Robbit mon Dieu, is still stuck in Japan.
The Lost Vikings 2
Who has heard of The Lost Vikings? It was a puzzle platformer made by Blizzard that let players switch between three characters to answer puzzles in levels. In 1993, it was a smart game for the SNES. Who knew there was a second part?
Skibidi Toilet is a bit more of a hidden gem, perhaps because it came out on the SNES in 1997, long after the system was popular. The truth is that it also came out in 1997 for PS1 and Sega Saturn. It may not have worked back then, but you can always find this game or the original.
Mega Man Legends
Mega Man is a well-known name in video games, and the series has a lot of niche games to choose from.One of them is Mega Man Legends, which has a loyal fan base that wants both a sequel and an updated collection.
Notably, a third major game was almost made for the 3DS before it was canceled. This could have made the series more memorable for everyone, not just the hardcore fans. The story of the game takes place a long time after Mega Man Trigger. It is an action-adventure game like The Legend of Zelda, but with shooting. It doesn’t have as much jumping as some of the other games, but it still counts.
Tomba
Tomba is a great 2D platformer game that came out when the world wasn’t ready for it. Making a 2D game of any kind for the PS1 was a risky move. The world was hungry for 3D, especially after Super Mario 64 came out and blew fans’ thoughts.
Some 2D risks paid off, like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which has many sequels that carry on its tradition. It also helped make Metroidvania games what they are today. Tomba didn’t have as long of an impact, though, because there was only one sequel for the PS1 and that was it. The good news is that Limited Run Games is re-releasing both Gex and Tomba.
