5 Worst PS1 Games Of All Time, Ranked

When Sony officially entered the home console market with the original PlayStation, it definitely made big waves across the industry. A hit with gamers worldwide, Sony's PlayStation accomplished something no other console could at the time by selling over 100 million units. That was done with a vast library of games published for the platform, many of which still maintain their appeal today. But with a catalog of games as extensive as the original PlayStation's, there are bound to be more than a few utter duds.

With that in mind, we're looking at the weakest games available for the PS1 — titles where "mediocre" would be a compliment. After all, we've already named the best PS1 games of all time, and now it's time to look at the console's low point. From spin-offs and sequels that failed to properly utilize the PS1 hardware to cheap licensed games, the console had more than its fair share of slop. These are the five worst PS1 games of all time, best left in the forgotten recesses of the console's library. Unfortunately, here they are, instead.

As the "Mortal Kombat" franchise rapidly transformed after debuting in the '90s, it began to experiment with single-player story-based spin-offs. This started with "Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero" for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in 1997 and was continued with "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces." Originally a PS1 exclusive, the 2000 game has players control Jax Briggs as he pursues Kano and the Black Dragon Syndicate, battling other warriors along the way. Gameplay is primarily from a side-scrolling perspective though occasionally shifts to third-person and top-down as Jax navigates the levels.

Really, "Special Forces" is only marginally worse than "Sub-Zero," but it certainly isn't for lack of trying on the 2000 game's part. As clunky as "Sub-Zero" is, "Special Forces" feels unfinished and laughably short by direct comparison, with its controls frustratingly unintuitive. The level design highlights the game's shortcomings, with players forced to backtrack as they search for keys to proceed, fighting enemies often just out of sight. And for a game that was presumably intended to expand the "Mortal Kombat" mythology with its narrative-driven focus, "Special Forces" doesn't even have an interesting story behind it.

After making the cheap licensed title "Kiss Pinball" in 2000, featuring the glam rock band but without any of their music, Wildfire Studios pivoted to Austin Powers for its next title. Released in 2002, "Austin Powers Pinball" placed the sexy superspy against Doctor Evil, with Austin trying to get a pinball high score to stop his nemesis. Like "Kiss Pinball," the Austin Powers-themed follow-up only features two pinball machines to play, one based on each of the series' first two movies. Challenges within the pinball-based gameplay include destroying fembots and confronting Doctor Evil in his lunar hideout to save the day.

It's a toss-up to include either "Austin Powers Pinball" or "Kiss Pinball," and which is worse is really dependent on one's branding preference. What gives "Austin Powers Pinball" the more dubious edge is that its limited aesthetics consistently feel more grating. Recycled sound clips and groovy music just have a nasty habit of getting on one's nerves quicker than the generic rock music in "Kiss Pinball." There were a surprising amount of pinball games published for the PlayStation but "Austin Powers Pinball" definitely feels like the bottom of an already uninspired barrel. Not groovy, baby.

Some of the best fighting games of all time were released for the original PlayStation, most notably "Tekken 3." The market was also flooded with horrendous fighting games that tried to copy "Mortal Kombat" or "Street Fighter" that made their way to the PS1. Among the absolute fighting game genre dreck is "Criticom," which was released for the console in 1995. A sci-fi fantasy title, the game's story has a group of rival extraterrestrial civilizations battling for control of a magical gem. Players can win via the typical knockout or ring out and, as they progress through the campaign, unlock additional moves and appearances for their character.

The big standout for "Criticom," at least at the time of its release, was its early 3D characters and environments. But the gameplay itself was frustratingly obtuse, especially for something as engaging as a fighting game, with characters handling slowly and unresponsively. Once in motion, the graphics also reveal how flawed they are, with choppy framerate and awkwardly animated character models. The worst fighting game in the entire PS1 library, "Criticom" pales in comparison to other early 3D titles like "Virtua Fighter" and "Tekken."

Of all the franchises centered on platforming anthropomorphic animals following in the footsteps of "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Bubsy" had a surprisingly prolific run in the '90s. That came to a screeching halt with "Bubsy 3D," originally a PS1 exclusive released for the console in 1996. As the title suggests, the entry marked the series' transition into 3D platforming after its first three installments stuck to a side-scrolling perspective. The game's story follows Bubsy as he travels to a faraway planet to battle the villainous Woolies and build a rocket ship so he can return home.

While some would argue it was always bad, "Bubsy 3D" undeniably ruined its franchise, putting the series on ice for 20 years. Compared to its contemporaries, like "Super Mario 64" and "Crash Bandicoot," the graphics look cartoonishly terrible and the 3D platforming is a complete joke. The sound and level design are also garishly staged, accentuating how bizarrely annoying the overall experience is. The game has since been remastered for the "Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection," but after our time playing the PS1 version, we're still going to steer clear. Fool us once ...

The prospect of playing a beat'em-up video game based on the cult classic '90s movie "The Crow" is enough to get any millennial excited. This excitement does not carry over for a tie-in game based on the movie's godawful 1996 sequel "The Crow: City of Angels," but that's what we got. Released in 1997, the movie tie-in game has protagonist Ashe Corven seek revenge on the vicious street gang who murdered him and his son. This is done through beat'em-up gameplay from an isometric perspective as Ashe relies primarily on hand-to-hand combat to battle waves of enemies.

One thing about the best beat'em-up games is that their controls are responsive, which is especially key when surrounded by enemies. With "The Crow: City of Angels," it's somehow hard just to get Ashe to face in the right direction. The levels are a slog to navigate and the limited sound design becomes annoyingly repetitive very quickly ... if players stick around long enough to notice the repetition. We don't recommend that you do. An unplayably horrible game for an unwatchably horrible movie, "The Crow: City of Angels" is exactly the sort of movie tie-in that gives these titles a bad rap.