5 PS1 Platformers That Could Be Better Than Ever With a New Remake

The original PlayStation was filled with great platformers, some of which have enjoyed a second life thanks to remakes. However, there are still quite a few platformers out there that could benefit from a major update. Some of these games were ahead of their time and could take advantage of more powerful hardware to realize their dreams. Others just need a new coat of paint to bring in a brand-new audience. Either way, these platformers are the best options for any developer hoping to capitalize on that sweet ’90s nostalgia. Here are five PS1 platformers that need a remake.

Videos by ComicBook.com

5) Jersey Devil

Jersey Devil is one of the more ambitious platformers of its era. However, in trying to do so much with gameplay, it often runs into technical limitations with its hardware. All of the bugs don’t help either. Even if you didn’t give it a visual update, just fixing Jersey Devil’s camera problems would go a long way to turning this cult classic into a modern hit.

It deserves that chance too. Jersey Devil isn’t just ambitious in gameplay and level design; it’s also quite different from most other platformers of the era in genre. It’s not quite a pure horror game, but there are tons of creepy elements that help Jersey Devil stand out. It’s also got an appropriately spooky soundtrack that’s worth listening to even if you don’t want to play this platformer. Dropping a remake on Halloween would surely lead to solid sales. At the very least, Behaviour Interactive, which created Jersey Devil as Megatoon, should add the Jersey Devil to Dead by Daylight as a fun reference.

4) Pandemonium!

Developed by Toys for Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics, Pandemonium is a 2.5D platformer, which was a popular visual style at the time. Characters are rendered as 3D polygons, but the gameplay happens in 2D, which gives it a fun look and makes the annoying camera issues many 3D platformers ran into a non-issue. Pandemonium isn’t doing too much to innovate on the genre, but it does have quite a few neat levels and branching paths to keep players coming back.

Plus, Pandemonium has a solid soundtrack and great visuals for the time. Obviously, you’d update those for modern hardware, but a sharper version of Pandemonium would look phenomenal. It did get a few mobile ports in the 2000s. You don’t want to play those versions, though. The sequel, Pandemonium 2, was another solid platformer that could turn this into a solid compilation if they wanted to. That said, a remake seems like a relatively easy project that would excite longtime Toys for Bob and platformer fans.

3) Disney’s Hercules

Disney has a long history of incredible platformers in the ’90s. Plus, we’ve seen collections like The Disney Afternoon Collection do very well for the company. And, to be fair, Disney’s Hercules has been re-released quite a few times, which made it relatively easy to find for a bit, but it’s since been delisted on Steam. That’s a shame because Hercules has a great look and could benefit from a slight remake that adds new quality-of-life features.

As mentioned, we’ve seen Disney and its partners do that before. The Disney Afternoon Collection added save states and a rewind feature, making it a bit easier to make your way through those classic NES games. Hercules just needs that and maybe another pass on the control scheme. Look, Disney’s Hercules didn’t break new ground for the publisher, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A solid platformer will almost always be welcome, especially when it includes a fan-favorite ’90s franchise.

2) Ape Escape

This one is for the veteran PlayStation fans. We’ve been asking for a new Ape Escape for decades now, and it’s high time Sony answers our pleas. The last mainline game launched in 2005. That’s more than 20 years ago. While we’re almost certainly never getting a new Ape Escape game, Sony should toss its fans a bone and find a way to remake the original.

It’s not like Ape Escape is some cult game that never sold. The PlayStation 1 game sold more than a million copies within its first few years. It’s widely regarded as the best 3D platformer on the PlayStation and showed the world why the first DualShock was such an important controller. Sure, it’s been re-released on modern hardware, so you can still play the original fairly easily. However, a full remake giving it a beautiful visual update would really make Ape Escape pop and quiet those longtime fans.

1) Tomba

Developer Tokuro Fujiwara became a legend at Capcom, helping create the Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Mega Man series. He decided to leave the company in 1996 to found Whoopee Camp, where he made both Tomba games. It’s a side-scrolling, 2D platformer, but incorporates elements of Metroidvanias and RPGs. As you explore, you’ll come across various “events,” which need to be completed to earn Adventure Points that unlock more events and marked chests.

You can complete many of these events in whatever order you want, adding an element of player choice to the mix. The addition of true freedom to the platformer genre helped Tomba stand out and made it a hit with reviewers. Unfortunately, it didn’t sell well, so while it did get a sequel, it’s become a cult classic in the years since. We did get a Special Edition version of Tomba on modern hardware, but a full remake could finally give it the massive audience it deserves.