So, I was a Nintendo/PC guy for years, got an XBOX during the PS2 generation and a 360 this generation - basically, I've never owned a Sony gaming device until now. So, since there are some PS1 (and I guess some rereleased PS2 games ala the Metal Gear HD collection) available on Vita, are there any I should try?

I've just finished my first play through of Persona 4 Golden and am getting into Uncharted Golden Abyss, but I was curious if anything in the back catalog is worth exploring and holds up if you don't have nostalgia for it? I was considering finally trying Final Fantasy VII for instance since that's a gap in my gaming experience

@ztiworoh: I believe WILD ARMS is available and that's one of the greatest games ever made, seriously.

Castlevania: Symphony of The Night (PSX) is definitely a game you should consider buying, there is a bunch of replayability there. I would also suggest the Metal Gear Solid games because they are fun outlandish games with a crazy story. The games I've suggested were games I played years ago that convinced me there was something fun to play of the Playstation consoles.

@ztiworoh: I hope you are getting uncharted through PS+...

@GooieGreen: I am - I picked up the Thanksgiving AC Liberation deal on Amazon which came with 3 months of PS+

Make sure you check out Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, think it might be free for you since you have PS+.

You could try Final Fantasy series. I would recommend Final Fantasy 9, still hold up really well compared to the other ps series.

FFIX as stated above, my favorite FF game.

Perhaps Resident Evil 2 as well

Resident Evil 1,2,3

Avoid RE 1 to 3, I'd say, those games haven't aged well, they have been remade better and they had PC ports, to boot. Silent Hill, if anything, should be the survival horror choice on the platform.

Castlevania is a good one, the Final Fantasies are totally worth it, including Tactics... JRPGs have actually aged better than the action games of the era overall. Vagrant Story was among the latest and best of those, and if you like the tactics angle, Front Mission 3 is a rarity that is worth playing... fooor hardcore fans of the genre.

If you're curious and enjoyed the Legacy of Kain series, you can get Blood Omen on the Vita, which plays like a fucked up Link to the Past.

A few 2D fighting games were well worth it, like the SF Alpha series, but those lose a lot on the Vita, since multiplayer is the whole point.

@Gunslinger0130: It WAS free... I don't remember seeing it there last night but I wasn't looking for it either. A good PSP game, for sure.

@ztiworoh: Nice; honestly, PlayStation+ would probably be a good investment in the long term, even though you just have a Vita. It really depends on how they continue to support it (probably with PS1 and PSP games for a while until more Vita games get long in the tooth).

I always recommend Final Fantasy IX. It is one of the strongest Final Fantasy games that shows the heritage of classical fantasy while showing how great a PS1 game can look. The CG is certainly dated, but it is one of the few games of any series or platform that I enjoy going back to and playing. FFVIII and FFVII will be harder to go back to, but they are at the very least important from an academic perspective. 9>8>7, but you might want to play it in the order that will burn your eyes the least (7 to 8 to 9).

If you want to talk PSP games, I have a few I could point you toward, but I'll save those gems for now.

Wipeout.

Crash Bandicoot 2

Sure hope you have already played Symphony of the Night. One of the greatest games ever in my opinion.

There are also some really nice Japanese RPGs on the PSX. Like Final Fantasy IX or the sorta-remakes of FFVI and Chrono Trigger, even though they were SNES games. So many great games on that system! Your enjoyment of the more 3D games will depend on your tolerance for aged graphics, but some of the great 2D games still look amazing.

Also shout out to @GooieGreen. That duder/duderette knows whats up. FF IX fo´ life!

Final Fantasy Tactics is excellent, can't go wrong with that.

Make sure you try Chrono Cross as well.

@Superfriend: I wouldn't recommend the PS1 port of Chrono Trigger, especially if you have a DS.

Final Fantasy 7 and 9. Still great games that are perfect for the PSP. I used to do all the main story before bed and would just go out and grind on my train ride.

Xenogears

Vagrant Story

Final Fantasy Tactics

Final Fantasy 8

Final Fantasy 6 (if you haven't played it)

Breath of Fire IV

Castlevania Symphony of the Night

Xenogears

Suikoden

Crash 1 thourgh 3, Tomba (I think it's on there now), Crash Team Racing, Castlevania: SOTN.

Actually thought about getting a Vita just so I can get a ton of PS1 games on it.

I think most people will agree to grab any PS1 game from Square Enix if you enjoy RPGs, including Xenogears, Vagrant Story, PE 1 and 2, Chrono Cross, and all the Final Fantasy would be a worthy investment.

Yikes, you picked a good one!

As for maybe some PSP games you could check out: Disgaea, Loco Roco, and Patapon 2.

@FancySoapsMan said:

Final Fantasy Tactics is excellent, can't go wrong with that.

Make sure you try Chrono Cross as well.

@Superfriend: I wouldn't recommend the PS1 port of Chrono Trigger, especially if you have a DS.

Really? Granted I never played it on Playstation, but the other Square ports seemed fine to me. Is there something wrong with Chrono Trigger on PSX?

Yeah, Chrono Cross is interesting.. as long as you don´t expect it to be exactly like Chrono Trigger.

If you're not already playing Vagrant Story, then you deserve to be punched in the prostate.

All the Square stuff people have mentioned is good (I think Final Fantasy Tactics holds up especially well).

I also recommend Grandia. Really fun combat system. A lot of the other stuff I liked back then... not sure how it would hold up really.

@Superfriend: the main problem is the loading times.

there's like a 5 second load whenever you exit a menu or finish a battle. It doesn't sound too bad but it gets annoying really fast.

@FancySoapsMan said:

@Superfriend: the main problem is the loading times.

there's like a 5 second load whenever you exit a menu finish a battle. It doesn't sound too bad but it gets annoying really fast.

Damn, that sounds pretty bad. The Final Fantasy VI version on PSX I played was more or less exactly like I remembered it on SNES.. why would they screw up Chrono Trigger so bad? That reminds me of the stupid load times some fighting games had on Playstation. Or Metal Slug.. even though Metal Slug X is pretty well done on Playstation.

Retro Sanctuary has its own list of top 100 PSOne games over here: http://www.retro-sanctuary.com/Top-100-PS1-Games-Page-1.html

It's a good list, but of course it's subjective. So I implore you to find more information about the games that caught your interest. You can find more information of retro games from watching YouTube videos or reading articles from Hardcore Gaming 101

Personally, I think PSOne has lots of interesting JRPGs and Japanese games. Try to look into Square RPGs, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania SOTN. Or maybe try King of Fighters 98 and 99.

Here are some recommandations of PS One Classics games to download and play:

• Castlevania: Symphony of The Night
• Dino Crisis
• Final Fantasy VII and VIII
• Metal Gear Solid (A MUST PLAY!)
• Resident Evil 1, 2, 3 (RE2 is a must!)
• Silent Hill
• Syphon Filter 1, 2, 3

First Sony console?! WAHHHHH?? You must be trolling. Who would get an Xbox over a PS2?! I'm leaving.

Metal Gear Solid if they have it.

Agreed with others who talked about the Legacy of Kain series & Silent Hill. Can't think of others at the moment but those would be a good start.

I played Resident Evil for the first time last year and it holds up. Then I tried Resident Evil 2 and didn't like it nearly as good so whenever people say that one is the highlight of the series it confuses me. After looking over all the PSX games in the Vita store I feel like all the good ones have been mentioned. I'll also recommend a mini. Where Is My Heart? was my game of the year in 2011. I don't see it in the Vita section of the store but I thought I saw news a while back that it was Vita compatible.

Legacy of Kain, definitely. But even more so; Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. One of the very finest games I have ever had the pleasure of playing. The sequal was even better. Oh, the forlorn days when vampires were respectable. Not only is the gameplay fantastic, but the game remains different than anything else developed up until this day, featuring a brilliant, though convoluted story with what is possibly the best voice-acting I've heard in a game. Intriguing puzzles that challenge you in out of the box thinking, and a genuinely terrifying atmosphere without ever resorting to becoming a horror game. The gameplay is also top-notch, and I believe that for it's time, it was the best-looking game out there. Yes, Soul Reaver; go get that.

There is no reason why you shouldn't get your hands on Metal Gear Solid unless you're one of 'em buggers who cannot, for the life of you, appreciate a good story.

And WHY on earth has nobody mentioned Abe's Exodus yet? Huh? I'm asking you sincerely, what is WRONG with you? Final Fantasy? PAH! Give me a real game. (FF9 is pretty damn amazing, though. And Final Fantasy Tactics is superb, especially the PSP version of the game.)

And then you have the plethora of games that everyone has already mentioned; Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Resident Evil 2, Silent Hill 2, Castlevania : Symphony of the Night (Also a game where vampires seem like something out of your darkest nightmare, not your kinkiest.)

FF VIII, FF IX, FFT, Chrono Cross. Not FF VII. There are a bunch of others too on there (I want to revisit Tomba and see if it sucks now or if it's still kind of good like my memory says), but those are all like 100 hour games so I mean you should be pretty good for a while.

I'm gonna second the mention of Suikoden. And throw in Tactics Ogre and Persona 3. Also, Persona 1 and 2, maybe, but keep in mind that those are pretty different than Persona 3 and 4.

Legend of the Dragoon is a really good ps1 rpg, mainly because of the great "addition" combat system

BUY this !

All of the Arc the Lad games

Legend of Mana

Parasite Eve 1 AND 2(2 plays like a hybrid RPG/Survival Horror game)