20 Good PS1 Games That Aged BADLY

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are going back in time, but not for the better. These are classic, even beloved, PlayStation games that did NOT age well.. If you’ve followed my videos, I understand the hypocrisy of what I’m about to do, as I’ve previously praised this era of gaming til my face turned blue. But today we’re being hyper objective and seeing which games may not hold up on blind playthroughs by modern gamers. Let’s go!

“WarHawk” (1995)

WarHawk on PS1 isn’t awful, it’s just very, very 1995. By today’s standards, it feels clunky. Flying controls handle like a shopping cart with a busted wheel, the blocky graphics are sharp enough to shave with, and the missions are basically “fly here, blow that up” on repeat. The story? Evil guy, big guns, stop him … riveting stuff. Also, don’t get me started on the sound, it’s bad even for 1995. Nostalgic players might find some charm, but compared to modern games, WarHawk is less Top Gun: Maverick and more straight-to-VHS sci-fi.

“Myst” (1993)

Back in 1993, Myst blew minds with its visuals and atmosphere. By modern standards, though, it feels more like an old windows screensaver. The gameplay is mostly clicking on pretty pictures and solving puzzles, which is fine, but the movement is painfully slow, like exploring a theme park through Google Street View on your grandad’s internet. The story is cryptic, the acting wooden, and half the time you’re not sure if you solved a puzzle or just clicked the right pixel by accident. Today, Myst is unimpressive, which is unfortunate because it was groundbreaking at the time.

“Rampage World Tour” (1997)

Goofy 90’s fun is hard to translate for a modern temperament, and Rampage World Tour was built on goofy fun, but by modern standards it’s basically the same joke told for hours. You pick a giant monster, smash buildings, eat people, move to the next city, repeat until your thumbs develop blisters. The graphics look like the saturday morning cartoon that cartoon characters watch inside the actual saturday morning cartoon, and the controls are stiffer than a double shot of whisky. Actually, I am gonna talk smack about this game, it aged like bread.

“Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain” (1996)

Legacy of Kain’s draw has always been its world and lore. Kain still works as a sharp-tongued, scheming anti-hero, his machiavellian plotting and smug arrogance making you wonder just how low he’ll stoop next. Sadly, the game itself trips over its own cape. Load times pop up so often it feels like you’ve done something to your console, even switching weapons demands another loading screen, so yes, chopping down a tree with an axe is somehow harder than bringing down empires. Finally, Kain’s sluggish attacks leave him wide open to cheap hits. So, many, cheap, hits, shoot, my, head.

“Rise 2: Resurrection” (1996)

Rise 2: Resurrection tried to ride the mid-’90s fighting game wave but ended up in the kiddy pool, falling over drunk, face first in inches of water, and drowning. By modern standards, it can only really be described as stiff. Unresponsive controls drag it back, and the graphics look like action figures under bad lighting, and the “special moves” are so clunky, it feels like they’re using ‘special’ as a slur. Balance is nonexistent, again like a drunk falling over. Inches of water are the death of the best of us.

“PaRappa the Rapper” (1996)

Some PS1 games were downright bizarre, and this rhythm title was proof. Its art style and characters looked like an acid trip that’s somewhere between ‘great’, and ‘I’m never gonna be normal ever again’, and that feeling still holds true today. Sadly, the gameplay has all the depth of a shot glass, and about the same replay value. The 2017 remaster can be beaten in a couple of hours, assuming the audio syncs properly. If it doesn’t, well, good luck keeping rhythm when it feels like you’re drumming along to a skipping CD.

“Wipeout” (1995)

Wipeout gets plenty of love for kick-starting the futuristic, demolition derby-style racers that flooded the ’90s. And nothing can ever take that away from it. The legacy of the game is unbeatable. But the physics of the actual game itself? Not so much. Controlling those hovercrafts often felt like driving a block of ice, on ice, and frustration was pretty much guaranteed. The series eventually nailed the formula, but the first game is mostly worth revisiting for nostalgic reasons, rather than genuinely gripping gameplay.

“Tekken” (1994)

Namco’s 3D fighter was a huge leap forward from Sega’s Virtua Fighter, swapping stiff karate stances for smoother combat, a smarter control scheme, and mechanics that didn’t feel like they were duct-taped together. It set a new gold standard for polygonal brawlers and quickly crowned itself king of the genre. But those early days? A little rough around the edges. The fighters still moved like they were bouncing on the moon, the AI pulled off cheap shots, and the ending cinematics wrapped things up with all the flair of a block of tofu.

“Pandemonium!” (1996)

Pandemonium on PS1 was quirky fun in 1996. In 2025… ugh. Its “2.5D” platforming looked cool back then, but now it’s more like running through a jagged pop-up book. The characters are charmingly weird, yet the controls are floaty enough to make precise jumps feel like the challenge of the game, rather than the level. That’s a big problem in the game overall; the controls are the challenge, not the platforming itself. Levels drag on with repetitive design, and enemy encounters are as exciting as a rectal exam.

“Battle Arena Toshinden” (1995)

Battle Arena Toshinden was flashy in the mid-’90s, showing off polygonal fighters before everyone else, but today it only makes us ask one question: “Why the hell was this included in the PlayStation Classic release? And not Crash Bandicoot or something?” Controls are stiff enough to make a robot wince, combos are clunky, and the AI cheats… Like proper cheats. The arenas are tiny, the story is forgettable, and special moves feel more like… wait? Have I already made a questionable ‘special’ joke?

“MediEvil” (1998)

With its delightfully gothic vibe mixed withand a dash of madcap humor, MediEvil originally served up a tasty combo of platforming, puzzles, and hack-and-slash action. Some of it still holds up, but other parts have aged about as gracefully as our skeletal hero. Sir Daniel Fortesque remains a lovable underdog you want to see triumph, yet clunky combat, a rebellious camera, and zero checkpoints make this pretty damn hard to follow through on. Later remasters on PSP and PS4 patched over most of the bumps, but the original still left bite marks on my controller… Yep, don’t ask, I was an angry child of divorce.

“Spyro the Dragon” (1998)

When thinking of the original PlayStation’s 3D platformers, Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot immediately spring to mind. Both launched successful trilogies, but the first Spyro often feels like the simpler, wobbly cousin of Crash, the kinda cousin that says “supposebly”. While Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage and Year of the Dragon improved on the formula, the original is a bit of a wonky prototype. Fortunately, the series had time to grow, and today there’s little reason to suffer through the clunky first game when the polished, vibrant Spyro Reignited Trilogy delivers everything fans loved, without ruining the nostalgia.

“Twisted Metal” (1995)

What we’ve learned from this list, at least so far, is that 1995 was a terrible year for games aging well. Twisted Metal cemented Sony’s reputation for edgy exclusives that broke away from the squeaky-clean mascot-heavy style of other consoles. Its grimy, explosive, car combat helped the PlayStation stand out and perfectly captured the rebellious spirit of ’90s youth culture. Sadly, today it’s more frustrating than fun; the driving controls feel like they were designed to teach gamers patience through sheer punishment, defying every modern convention of intuitive gameplay. The series is dead, and I don’t even know how a revitalisation would even play out.

“The Legend of Dragoon” (1999)

The Legend of Dragoon spent three long years in development and burned through a budget so big you’d think they were making the entire Final Fantasy canon. Speaking of, Sony wanted it to be the next Final Fantasy, but unfortunately, it turned out more like Final Fantasy’s younger cousin, still fun at parties, just not stealing the spotlight. By modern standards, The Legend of Dragoon stumbles with clunky pacing and stiff animations. Its timing-based combat, once novel, now feels gimmicky and tedious. Add in awkward dialogue plus endless random battles and you’ve got a relic better admired than replayed.

“Fighting Force” (1997)

Fighting Force was hyped as the 3D heir to Streets of Rage, but today it feels more like ‘Awkward Shoving Simulator 1997’. The controls are inflexible, the combat is repetitive, and the environments have aged pretty damn badly. Enemies politely wait their turn to attack, which is pretty rough even when compared to fighters that came out at the same time. The game in 2025 is a solid reminder that not every 3D beat ’em up deserves to evolve past the arcade floor.

“Alien Trilogy” (1996)

Alien Trilogy hit the PlayStation in early 1996, back when first person shooters and vomit inducing motion sickness generators were hard to tell apart. At the time, it felt like a solid Doom-clone with an Alien skin stapled on. Fast-forward to today and… yikes. The graphics look like melted crayons, the gameplay feels slower than dial-up internet, and the scares have aged into unintentional comedy. It’s not one specific flaw, it’s the whole package that’s fossilized. You might actually be surprised if you’ve never played it that it was reviewed really well upon release.

“Tomb Raider” (1996)

We’ve officially gone beyond the point I am comfortable with. The next four entries are all games I’m terrified to talk smack about because ya’ll get rowdy in the comments! But, it’s time to be objective, and we’re starting with Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is gaming royalty (I KNOW!), spawning sequels, reboots, and even three live-action movies. Lara Croft stood out as a rare female action hero in a genre otherwise filled with dudes named things like “Max Muscle.” The series helped shape 3D action-adventures, and its effect cannot be overstated… But let’s be honest: the first game is rougher than Lara’s polygonal t**s. Between tank controls, janky camera angles, and platforming that feels like trying to parallel park a bus, this relic hasn’t aged gracefully.

“Syphon Filter” (1999)

Syphon Filter series spans six games, with the first three landing on the original PlayStation. Unlike the standard shooters of its time, Syphon Filter leaned into espionage, offering a more covert approach. The problem? It was released right after Metal Gear Solid… Oof, bad timing. Kojima’s classic may have its quirks, but its cinematic storytelling and over-the-top boss fights overshadowed Syphon Filter’s more grounded spy tale, which ended up feeling more bland than bold. Its weaknesses are highlighted more than they would be in 2025 when we have retro options like MGS to tickle our brains.

“Silent Hill” (1999)

You gotta know, before I talk smack, Silent Hill is one of my favourite games of all time .. I still play it today, and love it, but my nostalgia helps me ignore the flaws. Today, I’m not ignoring them. The first game follows Harry Mason on his very questionable parenting adventure to find his daughter. The original nails the creepy atmosphere, but its combat is clunkier than Harry swinging a wet mop, and the infamous fog is basically the PS1 saying, “Look, rendering distance is hard, okay?”. The navigation can be borderline ludicrous, the puzzles sometimes feel unintuitive, and the pacing is absolutely ALL OVER THE PLACE.

“Resident Evil” (1996)

Just click off the video now. The original Resident Evil on PS1 is legendary, but by modern standards it’s scary for the wrong reasons. The “tank” controls feel like steering a forklift through a haunted house, which isn’t worth ignoring - it’s genuinely annoying in 2025. The voice acting is cheesier than my shopping list, and the blocky graphics are UGLY. Inventory management is pure punishment, which is the draw for some players, and a huge turn-off for others. Yes, at the time, it was groundbreaking survival horror. Today, it’s more like a museum item. Y’know a game is rough around the edges when it’s remade 6 years later.