Kinda Funny Gamescast: Ranking The BEST PS1 Games of All Time
Date: September 16, 2025
Hosts: Blessing Adeoye Junior, Tim Gettys (“Lacroix Poppy”), Andy Cortez, (plus recurring references to Greg, Joey, and chat).
Episode Overview
In this lively episode, the Kinda Funny crew tackles IGN’s recently updated “25 Best PS1 Games of All Time” list. The group dives into what defines a “best” PS1 game, debates the merits of exclusives versus all-time greats, predicts the top entries, and reacts in real-time as they unveil and critique IGN’s rankings. Packed with nostalgia, hot takes, and plenty of friendly clowning, this episode is a joyful walkthrough of PlayStation history — and a love letter to one of gaming’s most iconic eras.
The Show Kicks Off: Banter, Audio Glitches & Nostalgia
Timestamps: 00:00–06:19
- Mic & Audio Weirdness: The show begins with Blessing confused by an audio echo he’s hearing (“I hear myself... I think it’s just where I’m sitting.” 01:02), leading to jokes (Andy: “Your centrifugal forces,” 01:09) and a rabbit hole about the challenges of sitting in the studio’s center seat.
- Classic School Pranks: Andy and Blessing swap stories about practical jokes involving teachers’ watches and pranks in high school biology class (“Me and Alfredo in high school... we thought it'd be hilarious to buy the same watch.” 03:28).
- Reflections on Childhood Karma: The hosts joke about the karma of being a bad kid and then growing up to become a substitute teacher (05:16).
Setting the Stage: “The Shit List”
Timestamps: 06:19–08:56
- List Segment Explained: The crew introduces their recurring “shit list” segment — think “let’s debate IGN’s list for your amusement.”
- Criteria Debate: Should the “best PS1 games” be exclusives only, or all games playable on PS1? Tim: “I hate when people limit it to exclusives… Just keep it objective: the 25 best games on the platform, that’s my hot take.” (08:18)
- Consensus Reached: Everyone agrees third-party and multiplatform games deserve inclusion, especially since many of the system-defining classics weren’t Sony exclusives.
Predicting the List: Heavy Hitters, Series, Genres
Timestamps: 08:57–21:38
- Early Locks:
- Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are immediately cited as must-haves (10:06).
- The group discusses third-party dominance: “Three third party games that defined the platform.” (10:09)
- Which Franchises/Publishers Dominate?
- Square Enix is called out as a shoe-in for multiple slots: “Square Enix is gonna be fucking in this.” (11:24)
- Hot Takes and Franchise Arguments:
- Which Crash and Spyro is best (Crash 2 vs. Crash Team Racing; Spyro 1 vs. 2 vs. 3)?
- Debate over whether Parappa the Rapper deserves a spot: “It’s too iconic… But I don’t know that it deserves a spot on the list.” (14:15)
- Is Tomb Raider overrated? Blessing: “I’m a known Tomb Raider hater.” (15:53)
- Genre Roundup:
- Sports games (NFL Blitz, Game Breaker) are discussed but face skepticism.
- Fighting game representation: Tekken 3 and Street Fighter Alpha 2 get nods.
- Racing games: Gran Turismo 2, Ridge Racer, and later mentions of Need for Speed and Driver.
- Deep Cuts and RPG Love:
- Love for Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story, Einhander (“I played the fuck out of Einhander, dude.” 17:19) and questions about which RPGs sneak in alongside the big Final Fantasies.
Notable Quote:
Tim on platformers: “Rayman and Klonoa are the Suikoden and Vagrant Story of the platformers.” (22:44)
Filling Out the List & Super Chat Shout-outs
Timestamps: 21:38–41:00
- List Expansion: Blessing tallies up their predictions — about 27 titles, with broader genre and nostalgia picks, e.g., Spider-Man (“Neversoft Spider-Man in 1999 is what I credit my love to Spider-Man to.” 18:56), Parasite Eve, Grand Theft Auto, etc.
- Chat Participation: The crew turns to live chat and super chats for wild card picks like Rayman, Hot Shots Golf, Tenchu, Bushido Blade, Marvel vs. Capcom, and more.
- Passing on Certain Hits: Mega Man Legends, Ape Escape, and Soul Reaver are considered but not consensus locks.
- Buried Gems: There’s repeated lament for genre oddballs or cult titles that probably won’t make IGN’s official list.
The Top 10 Prediction Game
Timestamps: 41:01–47:00
- Locking the Top 10:
- HOT predictions: FFVII, MGS, Symphony of the Night as the top three. (24:13+)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Resident Evil 2, Gran Turismo 2 and Tekken 3 fill out the next tier.
- Final Fantasy Tactics, Crash 2, and a debate between FFVIII/FFIX and Silent Hill for final top-10 slots.
- Icon Status vs. Playability:
- Warm debate over which games truly age well, and if “iconic” should outweigh gameplay (“FFVII is significantly more playable than Metal Gear Solid 1.” 70:44).
Revealing IGN’s Actual Top 25 – Reaction & Commentary
Timestamps (Key Segments): 47:01–64:00
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#25: Parappa the Rapper
“Too iconic of a... It's one of the few old IPs that still just gets mentioned all the time because of how weird and unique it was.” – Andy (47:17) -
#24: Um Jammer Lammy / Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
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#23: Spider-Man
“We didn’t even, like, organize them fully, which is fine. I think we were at a good point, though, because... after that top 10, it is kind of just like hodgepodge.” – Lacroix Poppy (47:52) -
#22: Medal of Honor
“This was like, back in the day when Storming Normandy was still a big deal, dude.” – Blessing (48:09) -
#21: Ape Escape
Debated inclusion; chat and metacritic vindicate its spot. -
#20: Crash Team Racing
“I feel like back when I first started talking about video games professionally, like, people would laugh me out the fucking room when I'd bring this game up. And now it's like, oh, y' all motherfuckers know this is actually a great racing game.” – Blessing (50:56) -
#19: Siphon Filter
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#18: Soul Reaver
This kicks off debates about “representing the PS1” vs. “games that are now retro-critically adored.” -
#17: Final Fantasy Tactics
“Way lower than... [I expected], way lower.” – Andy (54:27) -
#16: Ridge Racer Type 4
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#15: Xenogears
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#14: Final Fantasy IX
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#13: Silent Hill
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#12: Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage
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#11: Driver
Surprise! Driver snags a high spot. All admit to being a bit blindsided (“Was not expecting Driver on this list.” – Lacroix Poppy, 56:15) -
#10: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
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#9: Vagrant Story
“If they ever remade this game, I would lose my... This game is so much better and so much more amazing because it was such a... a late PS1 game. The level of production this game is on another level.” – Andy (60:29) -
#8: Tekken 3
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#7: Resident Evil 2
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#6: Tomb Raider
“You’re getting by on the name… this is another [Driver].” – Andy (64:23) -
#5: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
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#4: Gran Turismo 2
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#3: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
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#2: Final Fantasy VII
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#1: Metal Gear Solid
Key Discussion Points:
- Predictions landed many games but not the exact order; several “deep cut” inclusions and the high rank of Tomb Raider surprise.
- Series like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil, alongside platform mascots Crash/Spyro, dominate as expected.
- Surprise at Medal of Honor, Driver, Soul Reaver making the cut; some hand-wringing over “iconic” picks that might not have aged well.
- Debate: Do Metal Gear Solid and FFVII age well? Blessing: “FFVII is significantly more playable than Metal Gear Solid 1.” (70:44)
Memorable and Fun Moments
- School Days Karma: “If you were a bad kid in school and then grow up to be a teacher, you have it coming to you.” – Lacroix Poppy (05:25)
- Genre “Duffy Pulls”: Deep cuts like Einhander, Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve, Klonoa, and Suikoden tossed in for “if you know, you know” nerd cred.
- Chat Jokes: “Tomba top three!” — Andy on the endless PS1 name debates (32:50)
- Delight Over Deep Cuts: “If they ever remade Vagrant Story, I would lose my…” — Andy (60:29)
- Reflecting on Impact: “Final Fantasy 7, there’s not even a question [it had more impact than MGS]. 7 is a phenomenon.” — Blessing (72:43)
Community Interaction
- Multiple super chats and chat callouts throughout — hosts riff on audience picks (Legend of Dragoon, Tenchu, Bushido Blade, Rayman, etc.) and share personal stories in response.
- Hosts occasionally let chat sway or validate their picks, especially with deeper RPG and niche genre mentions.
Final Reflections: Thumbs Up or Down?
- All hosts agree the IGN list is surprisingly well-rounded.
- Blessing: “I'd give it two thumbs up. There's a couple weird things... but I don't think there's any thing that I'm like, I can't believe that. It's like, all right, cool.” (73:58)
- Andy: “Tomb Raider being, like, [top 6] is one of those that I’m like, yeah, I’ll give it a strong thumbs up.” (74:15)
- Consensus: Minor disagreements, but overall the list “knows ball,” mixing critical darlings, icons, and nostalgia picks. “I’m not mad at it.” – Tim (74:29)
Notable Quotes & Time References
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On the importance of third-party games:
“There's so many good third party games… Consoles didn't work that way back then, specifically PlayStation.” – Blessing (08:09) -
Classic banter, on exclusivity: Tim: “If the exclusives aren't the best games? Just why do we have... just only play Elden Ring.” (08:59)
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On PlayStation’s RPG Heyday:
“PS1, I feel like, was the RPG machine of the era.” – Lacroix Poppy (17:27) -
On Impact:
“Final Fantasy 7, there’s not even a question [it had more impact than MGS]. 7 is a phenomenon, in terms of just characters and RPGs and FMVs... Not just one of them. It is another perfect example of impact in video games.” – Blessing (72:43) -
On deep cuts:
“If you want to have a great list, you gotta have... the picks where it's like, if you know, you know.” – Andy (18:27)
Episode Tone & Vibe
Irreverent, deeply nostalgic, and full of playful arguments, “Ranking The BEST PS1 Games of All Time” is both a celebration and a roast of PlayStation’s golden era. The hosts seamlessly blend deep-cut cred, love for mass-appeal titles, and endless meta-banter about the meaning and legacy of these classic games. It’s as much a group therapy session for millennial gamers as it is a podcast — and a great primer for anyone who wants to understand what made the PS1 such a legendary console.
For fans of: Debates about “best of” gaming lists, PS1 nostalgia, game culture, podcast banter, and the inside baseball of video game history.