The PS1 struggled at finding a mascot, unlike Nintendo who found Mario fairly quickly. Granted, Mario had existed before the NES in arcades, but the point remains true. Sony needed a hit on their new console and eventually, that mascot would come via Crash Bandicoot in 1996.
Not only were the main platformers hits, but spinoffs like Crash Team Racing also gave Mario a run for his money. The core trilogy was far and away the best platformers on the PS1. That doesn’t mean there aren’t others to enjoy though. From straight mascot platformers to games that infuse a bit more action into their jumping mechanics, these are some noteworthy lost gems. That, however, does not mean they are lost forever.
8 Ape Escape
Ape Escape seemed like it was going to be the PS1’s mascot for a while. It was an internal Sony project and the bright, colorful graphics made it appealing for all ages. The concept was simple enough to follow too. A bunch of apes escaped from a lab and players had to catch them.
Players were armed with a stun baton and a net initially but more gadgets unlocked along the way. It was a linear progression through levels like classic platformers but that wasn’t a bad thing. Now, it seems like this series means nothing to PlayStation as a brand.
7 Bubsy 3D
Bubsy is a meme personified because whenever he gets brought up in a modern context, it’s through a joking lens. It’s a miracle a new game was made in 2017 called Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, which was also bad. Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back does not compare to the horrors of Bubsy 3D though. It is a very early 3D platformer with some of the worst mechanics of this era.
It’s as if someone tried to turn Resident Evil into a platformer as everything is clunky and backwards. That idea does sound appealing if Capcom did it right. Resident Evil platformers aside, Bubsy 3D is a bizarre game that should be forgotten even if it is a joy to make fun of decades later.
6 Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos started as a Yoshi game according to the developer Argonaut. They had previously worked with Nintendo on games like Star Fox, but they also had a lot of ideas turned away by them. So, they retooled their idea to come up with Croc: Legend of the Gobbos which is more of a crocodile than a dinosaur-like Yoshi.
It was an okay level-based 3D platformer with tank controls akin to Resident Evil which made it hard to perform jumps with. There were two games on PS1, two on Game Boy Color, and several years later there were some mobile spinoffs too.
5 Gex: Enter The Gecko
Gex: Enter The Gecko is the second game in what would become a trilogy. The first was a 2D platformer whereas the other two are 3D platformers. Gex: Enter The Gecko is probably the game in the series most played on the PS1 thanks to a plethora of demos existing. It was a parody of platformers with Gex often making wisecracks about video games and other popular subjects like film and TV.
It was a joke-forward game and it shows because the platforming isn’t all too complicated. It was a flash-in-the-pan series made at a time when satirical comedy was king. Despite their mediocre nature, a collection was recently announced, so maybe they’re not as forgotten after all.
4 Jumping Flash
Jumping Flash was not a launch day game for the PS1 but it was released within the first couple of months in North America. Players were a robotic rabbit and the viewpoint was in the first-person. The levels were small in design and most objectives revolved around getting canisters shaped like carrots. Players could jump around or shoot at enemies.
The gameplay style is not that far off from Star Fox, to bring that game up again if the titular character’s ship could jump instead of fly. There were two games released on the PS1 in the West while the finale, Robbit mon Dieu, remains trapped in Japan.
3 The Lost Vikings 2
Who remembers The Lost Vikings? It was a Blizzard-made puzzle platformer wherein players could switch between three characters to solve puzzles in levels. It was a clever game for the SNES in 1993. Now, who knew that there was a sequel?
The sequel is a bit more of a hidden gem maybe because it was released in 1997 on the SNES way after the console’s relevancy. Truthfully, it also came out on PS1 and Sega Saturn in 1997. It may have missed the mark back then, but it is never too late to track this game or the original down.
2 Mega Man Legends
Mega Man is a huge name in video games and there are plenty of niche titles in the series to choose from. Mega Man Legends is one of them which has a dedicated following who both want to see a sequel and a remastered collection.
To note, a third main game almost happened on the 3DS before it got canceled, which could have made the series more memorable and not just in the eyes of the hardcore. The game follows Mega Man Trigger far in the future in an action-adventure game akin to The Legend of Zelda but with shooting. It’s not as heavy on the jumping as previous titles, but it still counts.
1 Tomba
Tomba is an amazing 2D platformer that the world just wasn’t ready for at the time. It was a bold choice to make a 2D game for any genre on the PS1. The world was hungry for 3D especially after Super Mario 64 was released which blew the minds of fans everywhere.
Some 2D gambits paid off like in the case of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night which continued its legacy through many sequels. It also helped shape the genre of Metroidvanias. Unfortunately, Tomba did not have as long-lasting of a legacy as there was one sequel on the PS1 and that was it. The good news is that like Gex, Tomba is getting a re-release via Limited Run Games.