The 45 best PlayStation (PS1) games

Ranked by the scores that magazines gave these games when they came out. The list draws on 6,057 review scores of 1,616 PlayStation (PS1) games; 982 of them have enough reviews to be ranked.

#	Game	Platform	Year	Score
1	Gran Turismo 2	PS	1999	98.4
2	Gran Turismo	PS	1997	96.7
3	Final Fantasy VII	PS	1997	96.4
4	WipEout 2097	PS	1996	96
5	ISS Pro Evolution 2	PS	2000	95.8
6	Final Fantasy IX	PS	2000	95.6
7	Metal Gear Solid	PS	1998	95.4
8	Tekken 3	PS	1998	94.8
9	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	PS	2000	94.6
10	Tekken	PS	1995	94.4
11	Tekken 2	PS	1996	94.4
12	Tomb Raider	PS	1996	94.3
13	RESIDENT EVIL 2	PS	1998	94.1
14	Resident Evil	PS	1996	94.1
15	Formula 1	PS	1996	94
16	Final Fantasy VIII	PS	1999	93.8
17	Street Fighter Alpha 2	PS	1996	93.6
18	Vagrant Story	PS	2000	93.6
19	WipEout	PS	1995	93.4
20	Command & Conquer	PS	1996	93.4
21	Tobal 2	PS	1997	93.3
22	Resident Evil 3: Nemesis	PS	1999	93
23	Colin McRae Rally 2.0	PS	2000	93
24	PowerSlave	PS	1997	92.9
25	Chrono Cross	PS	2000	92.7
26	Doom	PS	1995	92.2
27	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	PS	1999	92.1
28	Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	PS	1997	91.8
29	WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role	PS	2000	91.8
30	Ridge Racer Revolution	PS	1995	91.6
31	Ridge Racer	PS	1994	91.4
32	Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha	PS	1997	91.4
33	Goal Storm '97	PS	1997	91.3
34	Micro Machines V3	PS	1997	91.2
35	Formula 1 97	PS	1997	91.2
36	Mortal Kombat 3	PS	1995	91.1
37	Destruction Derby	PS	1995	91
38	Madden NFL 2001	PS	2000	91
39	Tomb Raider II Starring Lara Croft	PS	1997	90.5
40	Valkyrie Profile	PS	1999	90.5
41	Little Big Adventure	PS	1996	90.3
42	Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver	PS	1999	90.1
43	Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams	PS	1995	90.1
44	Colony Wars	PS	1997	90.1
45	Wipeout:3	PS	1999	90

Highly rated, with fewer than 3 reviews

26 PlayStation (PS1) games have a score of 90 or more, but from only one or two reviews, and no Metacritic score.

Game	Platform	Year	Score
J.League Jikkyou Winning Eleven 2000	PS	2000	100
Final Fantasy Anthology	PS	1999	95
Myst	PS	1995	95
Arc the Lad II	PS	1996	94
Wing Over	PS	1997	94
Premier Manager Ninety Nine	PS	1999	92.5
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 Plus	PS	1996	92
Floating Runner	PS	1996	92
Hyper Formation Soccer	PS	1995	92
Kowloon's Gate	PS	1997	92
Macross Digital Mission VF-X	PS	1997	92
Neorude	PS	1997	92
Tenchu: Shinobi Hyakusen	PS	1999	92
The King of Fighters '96	PS	1997	92
Theme Park	PS	1995	91
Choro Q 2	PS	1997	91
King's Field III	PS	1996	91
Space Griffon VF-9	PS	1995	91
NFL GameDay '98	PS	1997	90
Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life	PS	1999	90
Brain Dead 13: Starring Fritz	PS	1996	90
Gradius Gaiden	PS	1997	90
Hermie Hopperhead	PS	1995	90
PoPoLoCrois Monogatari	PS	1996	90
Sidewinder 2	PS	1997	90
Super Robot Taisen α	PS	2000	90

How the ranking works

The scores are the ones magazines gave when the games came out, all converted to a 0–100 scale. Only one review per magazine counts for a game: the most recent.
A game's score is half the average, half the median of its magazine reviews. A title opens the game's page on uvlist.net; a score opens the report with every review behind it.
A game needs at least 3 magazine reviews to be ranked. With equal scores, the game with more reviews comes first.
Metacritic already sums up many reviews, so it is never mixed with the magazines: it is used only for games with fewer than 3 magazine reviews, as their only score.
Each list shows every game with a score of 90 or more. Games with fewer than 3 reviews and no Metacritic score are shown apart: their score is promising, but rests on one or two opinions.

The lists are rebuilt each time reviews are added. To filter by genre, year, magazine or publisher, explore all the scores in the report.

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