Summary
With so much to choose from, you may have a hard time figuring out where to start. We’ve picked a variety of our personal favorites for your recommended PlayStation Plus Premium perusal.
9Blood Omen: Legacy Of Kain
Before Soul Reaver, there was Blood Omen. Before Raziel, there was Kain. The original Legacy of Kain game certainly hasn’t aged gracefully on the visual front, but narratively speaking, it’s still a nigh-unparalleled tale in the annals of the first two years of the PlayStation 1.
With brilliant scenes and suitably visceral gameplay, this one’s a must-play, especially in light of the recent Soul Reaver 1 and 2 remasters.
8Tekken 2
Long before Namco merged with Bandai to become (wait for it) Bandai Namco, the publisher began its first big series of fighting games with the original Tekken for the Sony PlayStation. It was a hit, with two more sequels on the way for console and several more entries for the generations to come.
Most Tekken games are fun in their own right, butTekken 2is among the most fantastic of the bunch. The sequel added a slew of new mechanics, as well as introducing big-name characters like Lei Wulong and Jun Kazama. Plus, there’s Roger, a kangaroo. That’s a tragic Tekken 2 exclusive if ever there were one.
7Wild Arms 3
Enough time has passed since the last Wild Arms for the series to fade almost completely into obscurity, only for a recent Kickstarter success project to take the reins as its spiritual successor, Armed Fantasia.
That… still might not mean a thing to some readers, granted, but it’s cool that it’s happening for Media Vision’s old JRPG series.
Wild Arms is a special thing, you see - it’s a distinctly Western JRPG. No, we don’t mean it’s influenced by The Witcher. We mean it’s set on a fictional planet’s rendition of the American Wild West. Take that, add loads of JRPG tropes, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for (modest) success.
Find out more about Armed Fantasia at theofficial website!
6Dark Cloud
Level-5 used to deliver slam-dunk RPGs on an eye-wideningly swift basis, and Dark Cloud’s one of their best. Part role-playing game, part build-a-thon, and joined by a sensational soundtrack, Dark Cloud remains one of the most groundbreaking games of its era. It’s beloved among a slim but dedicated fanbase, and we want Dark Cloud 3, darn it.
5Dino Crisis
The first and second entries in the Dino Crisis trilogy are spectacular stuff. The third… not so much. But hey, both of Regina’s entries? They’ve been making us pine for something new, anything new, from Capcom’s Dino Crisis IP for decades.
We still prefer the first, with its survival-horror angle, over the second’s more high-octane action approach. Good thing, then, that if only one of them is up on PlayStation Plus Classics, it’s the inaugural outing. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to add the second!
4Harvest Moon: Back To Nature
One of the best entries in Harvest Moon’s storied history - that’s a terrible pun on the fact that the series is called Story of Seasons in Japan, you see, and new entries from the original team get the SoS license even abroad - anyway, enough with the hyphen-touting tangent. The point is, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature is a treat.
If you’re into farming sims, and goodness, there are so many of them these days, then you’ll understand the basic setup here. Harvest Moon’s all about the farming, whether that means planting crops, nurturing cows, or uh, getting a wife. Or a husband! you’re able to, in fact, play as a girl instead. Remarkably, the story is different if you do.
3Twisted Metal 2
If you were a PlayStation gamer in the mid-late ’90s, there’s a good chance you dabbled in at least one of the five Twisted Metal games (1 through 4 and, if you’re especially unfortunate, Small Brawl) released on PS1. But ask any fan of this long-dormant series which one’s their favorite, and there’s a pretty good chance it’s Twisted Metal 2.
A sweeping enhancement from the original across the board released just a year afterward, Twisted Metal 2 features more cars and drivers, more exciting stages with greater diversity and deeper design, and the arrival of Minion, one of the PlayStation library’s most infamous bosses.
2Dragon’s Crown Pro
As beat-em-ups go, Vanillaware knocked it out of the park with the gorgeously detailed, superbly exhilarating, Dragon’s Crown. And Dragon’s Crown Pro amps it all up with 4K resolution and matching image quality. It’s the best way to play one of the very best 2D action-RPGs ever made.
1The Last Of Us Remastered
Sure,The Last of Ushas a full-fledged remake now on PS5 and PC. And yes, it’s totally worth checking out. But if you’d rather not splurge on it right off the bat - maybe you’re curious after watching the first season of HBO’s new show? - the PS4 remaster of the original PlayStation 3 masterpiece is available for streaming at no added cost.
Joel and Ellie’s cross-country tour of post-apocalyptic America is also a tour of the multifaceted and many-splendored beast that is humanity itself. It will thrill you, it will chill you, and it will make you cry; The Last of Us is excellence.
