The original PlayStation is one of the most important consoles in video game history, marking both the transition from 2D to 3D and a shift from kid-friendly scenarios to more adult-oriented content.
Some PlayStation titles left a bigger mark on the industry than anyone realized at the time. Sure, games like Final Fantasy 7 were trailblazers for CG use, and Silent Hill was a masterpiece of using technical limitations to create atmosphere, but people knew that back in the day.
10 PS2 Games That Shaped Modern Gaming More Than Players Realized
The sixth generation spearheaded many gaming revolutions.
Technology would eventually leave the PlayStation in the dust. The shift to HD meant the blocky old 3D models would look as antiquated as Mario’s original NES sprite.
Time has been kinder to the PlayStation than to most consoles, and fans can now appreciate just how far ahead some of its games were, thanks to the ability to experiment more than on Nintendo and Sega consoles.
These are the PlayStation titles that turned out to be far more influential on the industry than anyone ever realized, shaping how fans enjoy games to this day.
10
Alien Resurrection
Ripley Beat Halo to the Punch
The original PlayStation represented more than just a technical jump; it was also the era when d-pads gradually phased out and joysticks became the norm.
While games like Ape Escape required the original DualShock controller, they were still regular platformers in most other respects. No, it was a licensed game on the same platform that turned out to be far more historically important.
The PlayStation adaptation of Alien Resurrection is notable for its use of both sticks for gameplay, one for aiming and one for movement. Funnily enough, reviewers mocked Alien Resurrection at the time, feeling that this alien (pun intended) control scheme was unintuitive.
Cut to the next couple of decades, and the control scheme pioneered by Alien Resurrection became the norm, beating out the likes of Halo by a couple of years. Sure, the movie it was based on wasn’t that great, but at least its official video game tie-in left a huge mark on the industry.
9
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Everyone Wants to Make Dracula’s Castle
The Nintendo 64 magazines loved to poke fun at Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, laughing at Konami releasing a 2D sprite-based game in a time when 3D was blowing everyone’s britches off.
Alucard didn’t have to endure the mockery of the peasant horde for long, as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is often listed among the best games of all time, being one of the inspirations for the entire Metroidvania genre.
Nowadays, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s DNA can be seen in many classic games, like Hollow Knight and Bloodstained. So many Metroidvanias try to copy its style, setting, and gameplay, each with their own faux Dracula waiting at the end.
It’s just a shame that Konami hasn’t released an HD remaster of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as it’s in dire need of one, as well as a multiplatform release. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night inspired many people for a reason, and more people need to experience it.
The Game that Talked to the Player
Metal Gear Solid was a trailblazer for many reasons. It was a stealth game at a time when that concept was extremely rare; it was fully voice-acted and featured lengthy cutscenes that blended in-game cinematics with real-world footage.
Those elements that made Metal Gear Solid so special at the time have since become the norm. For many, the most memorable aspect of Metal Gear Solid was its use of meta elements, such as characters directly addressing the player, the need to seek out real-world objects to solve puzzles (aka, the CD case), and a certain infamous boss battle that allowed a psychic villain to perform actions in the living room.
The meta elements of Metal Gear Solid instantly made it fodder for playground talk, as the barrier between game and player broke down. This led many games to follow suit, such as The Stanley Parable and Undertale.
While later Metal Gear Solid games would also mess with the player’s perceptions, it was the original that did it best, and is easily the most memorable aspect of Solid Snake’s first 3D outing.
7
Final Fantasy 7
Thank God for Shoddy Ports
Final Fantasy 7 is the game that not only turned its franchise into a household name but also helped bring JRPGs to the mainstream. Its effect on the industry cannot be understated, and it’s still an incredible game to this day.
One of the more surprising aspects of Final Fantasy 7’s success is that it received a PC port, a first for the franchise. Sure, the PC port was infamously horrible, but it proved to Square that there was an audience for their games on other platforms, leading to Final Fantasy 8 receiving a PC port as well.
Nowadays, Square Enix has embraced PC ports for pretty much all of its games. A notable exception to this is, surprisingly, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, but that was due to Sony paying for platform exclusivity, which eventually ran out, leading to multiplatform releases.
If it weren’t for the shoddy Final Fantasy 7 PC port, fans also likely wouldn’t have the modern remasters, which are based on that version of the game. Square Enix was notorious for binning its source codes after release, so the PC port helped keep Final Fantasy 7 alive.
6
Driver 2
The Game that Walked So GTA 3 Could Drive
The Grand Theft Auto series has become one of the biggest multimedia franchises of all time, offering massive cities and countryside to explore in glorious 3D.
Unfortunately, the Grand Theft Auto series didn’t hit its stride until the PlayStation 2. The first two entries on the original PlayStation were top-down 2D affairs, where the player could barely see ahead while driving, making it extremely difficult to play while speeding.
The original Driver came close to offering the 3D open-world experience, but the player couldn’t actually leave their car. It was Driver 2 that allowed players to finally leave their vehicle and explore.
Was Driver 2 a good game? Not really. It was mediocre at best, all while the chugging PlayStation hardware struggled to keep up. What’s important was its ambition, one that took Rockstar another couple of years to match.
5
Future Cop: LAPD
The Mech that Lived in a Tower
Future Cop: LAPD was an excellent mech shooter that involved driving a police vehicle around and shooting criminals. It was also a great multiplayer title, with two mechs struggling to control a map.
What makes Future Cop: LAPD so iconic is its Precinct Assault Mode, which was the precursor to the MOBA formula, with the players controlling defense points and creating vehicles to fight on their side.
Future Cop: LAPD is seldom mentioned among the greats of the PlayStation’s library, yet it was influential in creating one of the most popular genres ever made. Maybe it was the lack of character that held it back, as the boring mechs and lack of customization are the game’s biggest flaws.
Sure, there’s the secret bug mode, where the vehicles are replaced by insects, but even then, the presentation can’t make up for the lackluster presentation. Future Cop: LAPD was carried solely by its gameplay, which is fondly remembered by those who played it back in the day.
4
Chocobo Racing
Nowadays, It’d Be Called Dissidia Chocola Mysterium
Square Enix has firmly cemented the idea that Final Fantasy exists within a self-contained multiverse, kind of like Marvel Comics. While the games might be considered separate stories in their own distinct settings, their heroes and villains have encountered each other on many occasions.
The most obvious crossovers have happened in the Dissidia fighting game spin-off series, where the casts of various Final Fantasy games have directly faced each other in battle. The crossovers are more common in the ill-fated Square Enix mobile games, which love using the more popular Final Fantasy heroes and villains as guest characters.
So, what Final Fantasy game kicked off these crossovers? Why, it was Chocobo Racing on the original PlayStation. Not only did it have Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7 and Squall Leonheart from Final Fantasy 8, but it also squeezed Aya Brea from Parasite Eve in there.
While Chocobo Racing’s expansive cast was a big deal at the time, it would eventually become commonplace among Square Enix games, even beating out the likes of Kingdom Hearts to the crossover crown.
3
Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
Violence is Not the Answer
Many video games involve mindless murder of hordes of enemies. Nowadays, there are tons of games that offer pacifist routes, especially in the stealth genre, where the aim is to complete each stage with as little death as possible.
The first game that really examined the idea of hero characters as the real enemy was Moon: RPG Remix Adventure. Set in a world where the Hero goes around wounding anything in his path and causing untold carnage, the player has to go around fixing what has been broken.
While Moon: RPG Remix Adventure might not have made much of an impact upon launch, it was vitally important to Toby Fox, who cited it as one of the chief inspirations for Undertale, a game where choosing between pacifism and murder is one of its central themes.
Now, fans live in a post-Undertale world, where many indie titles try to examine similar questions about the morality of taking lives within video games. Fans can thank Moon: RPG Remix Adventure for this, and can even experience it for themselves, as it received a modern port back in 2021.
2
Battle Arena Toshinden
The Fighting Franchise that Lost Its Steam
Few genres struggled more to truly make the jump to 3D than fighting games. While games like Power Stone managed to create an arena with full movement, most 3D fighting games offered limited movement to try to give the feel of 3D, while still keeping to the Street Fighter roots.
The original Battle Arena Toshinden wasn’t the first 3D fighter (Virtua Fighter beat it to that), but it did a ton of things that Sega’s premier fighting game didn’t.
Not only did Battle Arena Toshinden feature weapons in a 3D fighting game, but it also allowed for more movement options, allowing the player to dodge out of the way on different planes and even get behind the opponent.
Sure, the Tekken and Soulcalibur series would outstrip Battle Arena Toshinden in quality, but for a brief time, it was the premier 3D fighting series, one with all the potential in the world, but it was left as a mere inspiration for better titles.
1
Tomb Raider
The First Step in an Endless Cycle of Inspiration
Lara Croft’s debut title raised many questions about gender representation and the sexualization of female characters in gaming. The PlayStation marked the first time that realistic (if blocky, pixelated chests can be considered such) ones were possible, which developers jumped on.
Outside of Lara herself, it can’t be understated just how much the original Tomb Raider laid down the foundation for modern action-adventure games. The open stages, platforming, climbing, and, most importantly, the gunplay helped inspire much of modern gaming.
The original Tomb Raider can be rocky to play nowadays, with Lara’s spinning on the spot like a ’70s car whenever the player needed to turn around. This is to say nothing of the camera, which struggles to keep up during combat.
For all its faults, there’s a reason the original Tomb Raider left such an impression, why the entire industry took note and has been emulating its style, even thirty years later.