3 PS1 Games Everyone Owned In The '90s

In the 1990s, Sony's PlayStation was an untested new console in a competitive market. It used CD-ROMs instead of cartridges, and certainly had its work cut out for it going up against Nintendo. But the PS1 went on to give us iconic franchises like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear, and more. It also bolstered established franchises like Final Fantasy with the release of FF7, and has become one of the most beloved consoles of all time.

The PS1's library of games was amazing. If you were alive in the '90s and owned a PS1 like I did, then you probably remember seeing FF7's opening sequence for the first time, or running from a boulder as Crash Bandicoot. Maybe you got lost underground as Lara Croft, or outran the police in Driver or Need For Speed. There were so many great games on PS1, but there are a few that almost everyone played in the 1990s.

3 Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Crash Bandicoot was PlayStation's mascot in the '90s. Remember those Pizza Hut commercials? Or how about the one where Crash heckled Nintendo? While the first game sold well, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back sold even better and remains one of the top-selling PS1 games ever. In the 1990s, Crash Bandicoot and PlayStation were synonymous, and this sequel solidified the character's popularity.

Despite remakes and a surprise fourth entry decades later, this second one is still widely considered the best Crash Bandicoot game, mostly perfecting the gameplay established in the original and offering up even more menacing boss fights and quirky characters. Did I own Crash Bandicoot 2? You bet. And so did pretty much every '90s kid with a PlayStation console.

2 Final Fantasy 7

Final Fantasy 7 is the second best-selling game on PS1 ever. That's a pretty incredible feat considering RPGs were still considered niche back then. If you were alive in the '90s, then you probably remember the hype surrounding FF7. Its graphics may look laughable now, but they were groundbreaking at the time. The graphics may have gotten more people into playing FF7, but the deep narrative and beloved cast of characters kept the PS1 controller in their hands.

I got a PlayStation just so I could play Final Fantasy 7, and I doubt I'm the only one. FF7 was a watershed moment for the RPG genre, and it was also a major win for Sony and the PS1. Even if you didn't own this one because of its T rating, you played FF7 at a friend's house or watched an older sibling try to take down Shinra and Sephiroth. It's impossible to think of the PS1 without thinking of FF7 — and vice versa.

1 Gran Turismo

Depending on which genres you love, it might be strange to hear that Gran Turismo is still the best-selling PS1 game of all time. It's also the highest-rated Gran Turismo game on Metacritic. While a lot of my friends preferred Twisted Metal or Need For Speed, the global populace bought copies of the first Gran Turismo game like hotcakes. The second game also sold very well on PS1, establishing Gran Turismo as a premier racing series.

Simply put, that's really why Gran Turismo's legacy lives on today — and still gets sequels. Very few racing games combine this amount of realism with gameplay that's actually enjoyable. While later entries definitely made improvements, the first Gran Turismo is where it all began. If you had a PlayStation 1 in the '90s, then you either owned this game or probably borrowed it from a friend. Odds are, you at least played it in some capacity.