Sony recently announced that the PS3 and PS Vita online stores will be shut down over the course of next year. As a result PlayStation users will lose digital access to a host of classic PS1 games that are very expensive to purchase physically. Pending this shutdown, there are about 20 games worth picking up now to avoid paying ridiculous prices for an original PlayStation version.
PS3 and PS Vita store closures will begin in August 2026 in Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua, while additional countries in Latin America and the Middle East will see storefronts close at the end of 2026 before closing worldwide in July 2027. Gamers who want to purchase any of these titles, rather than the next store, before next time are good to go. year.
This list includes games that are not available for purchase on platforms other than the PS3 and PS Vita stores or their original PS1 disc format.
PlayStation hit with brutal community note
PlayStation's social media post detailing its plan to kill physical game copies by 2028 is met with a very embarrassing community note.
Rare and expensive PlayStation 1 games on PS3 and PS Vita Digital Stores
- Alundra
- The Boy Arc
- Arc the Lad 2
- Arc the Lad 3
- Arc Arena: Monster Tournament
- damn roar
- Castlevania Chronicles
- Eco night
- Mega Man Legends 2
- Parasite Eve
- Parasite Eve 2
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
- Saiyuki: Travel west
- Shadow Tower
- Tron Bonne's misadventures
- The threads of fate
- Sorry Lammy
- Vagrant story
- Vanguard Bandits
- Xenogears
Alundra
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Physical game price – $69.99
Alundra is a top-down action-adventure game in the same vein as the classic The Legend of Zelda game. As the PlayStation 1's answer to Nintendo's popular action-adventure series, Alundra features a mix of puzzle solving, real-time combat, and some platforming. The main gameplay gimmick of Alundra is its dreamwalking mechanic, which allows players to enter NPCs' dreams and explore them as dungeons.
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Arc the Lad series
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Physical Game Price – $82.75 (Arc the Lad Collection)
The Boy Arc is a tactical RPG series similar to games like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire emblem. The series was originally exclusive to Japan, but saw a Arc the Lad Collection was released outside of Japan in 2002. However, the franchise never achieved the same popularity among Western audiences as it did in Japan.
damn roar
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Physical game price – $30.39
3D fighting game like Tekken was a staple of the PlayStation 1, but damn roar is a feature of the genre that is often overlooked. In addition to 3D combat mechanics, damn roar allowed players to change into animals through a transformation mechanic. Despite its solid fighting game framework, damn roar was criticized for its limited group size.
Castlevania Chronicles
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Physical Game Price – $108.79
Despite dozens Castlevania games re-released via compilations such as Castlevania Dominus Collection, Castlevania Advance Collectionand Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Castlevania Chronicles is still a hard game to find outside of PSN. The game is basically a remake of the original Castlevania game, with two modes on offer: Original Mode, which is a port from 1993 Castlevania remake Akumajo Draculaand Arrange Mode, which includes improved features and new cutscenes.
Eco night
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Physical game price – $79.99
A classic FromSoftware game that is often overlooked in favor of series like King's Field and Armor core is Eco night. Unlike FromSoftware's most popular games, Eco night is a first-person narrative adventure game that requires players to look for clues and solve puzzles to progress the story. FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki has quoted Eco night as part of the inspiration behind the PSVR game Deracine.
Mega Man Legends 2
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Physical Game Price – $73.64
Mega Man Legends 2 is the sequel to the 3D action-adventure game Mega Man Legends. To break from Mega mans traditional 2D side-scrolling platform roots, the Mega Man Legends Game puts players in the shoes of Mega Man Vollnut as he explores ancient ruins for Quantum Reactors. While Mega Man Legends 2 contains a surprisingly complex story, it infamously ends on a cliffhanger that is never resolved, as the series never received a third game.
Parasite Eve Games
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Physical Game Price – $59.99 (Paradise Eve)
Two classic games of the horror and JRPG genre are Parasite Eve and its sequels. Parasite Eve is another legendary JRPG from SquareSoft, developer of Final Fantasy franchise, but never gained the same mainstream popularity as that series. But this Resident Evil meets Final Fantasy series has achieved cult classic status in recent years, leading to Parasite Eve-inspired sequels to fill the void left since the series ended.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
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Physical game price – $259.99
While Persona has increased in popularity over the past decade, as evidenced by the hype surrounding it Persona 6s official announcement, the older Persona games are often overlooked, especially by developer Atlus. Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is a duology in the franchise that represents the end of the classic Shin Megami Tensei-style of play that the series is built on in the past Personas 3 transformed the series into the one most fans know today. Although there have been rumors of one Personas 2 remake in development, nothing official has been confirmed by Sega.
Saiyuki: Travel west
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Physical Game Price – $42.00
As the name suggests, Saiyuki: Travel west is a video game inspired by the classic Chinese novel The journey to the westwhich also served as inspiration for Black Myth: Wukongs story. Unlike Black Myth: Wukong, Saiyuki: Travel west is a turn-based tactical RPG and stars the protagonist Sanzo as he travels from China to India.
Shadow Tower
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Physical Game Price – $187.59
Another PS1 FromSoftware title, Shadow Tower shares many similarities with King's Field series. Shadow Tower is a first-person dungeon crawler with a unique leveling system that forgoes traditional XP for fixed stat boosts corresponding to static enemy encounters. The game was developed simultaneously with Eco night.
Tron Bonne's misadventures
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Physical Game Price – $272.50
As a prequel and spin-off of Mega Man Legends series, Tron Bonne's misadventures follows the titular antagonist to Mega Man Legends in a unique blend of three distinct playstyles. The game includes action, puzzle and role-playing stages, in addition to a casino mini-game. The original physical release also included a demo of Mega Man Legends 2 on the disc.
The threads of fate
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Physical Game Price – $52.38
The threads of fate is another Action RPG from SquareSoft that follows two protagonists, Rue and Mint, as they search for an ancient relic that is said to grant all wishes. The game is largely focused on action combat, along with elements of dungeon crawling. Threads of Fate was helmed by director Koji Sugimoto as a more light-hearted game to contrast the dark nature of xenogears, with whom he previously worked.
Sorry Lammy
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Physical game price – $49.99
Sorry Lammy is a spin-off of the popular PlayStation Rhythm series PaRappa the rapper who plays a guitar-playing lamb named Lammy. Game off Sorry Lammy similar to the one for PaRappa the Rapper, simply replace PaRappa's rapping with Lammy's guitar playing.
Vagrant story
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Physical game price – $46.95
Vagrant story is often considered one of SquareSoft's forgotten classics. It was developed by the same team that created Final Fantasy Tactics and even takes place in the same world as Ivalice. Compared to other RPGs, Vagrant story is unique in that it has no shops or NPC interactions, instead focusing on puzzles and pauseable real-time combat along with its unique weapon crafting system.
Vanguard Bandits
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Physical Game Price — $90.01
Another entry in the PS1's tactical RPG library is Vanguard Banditswhere players enter a medieval fantasy world where mecha technology exists. Fight in Vanguard Bandits is viewed from an isometric perspective, and players control knights who control these giant mechanical machines known as ATACs.
Xenogears
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Physical Game Price —$103.21
The debut entry in the “Xeno” series, Xenogears is a sci-fi RPG with an active combat system similar to games like Final Fantasy 7. Xenogears creator Tetsuya Takahashi would go on to found development studio Monolith Soft and develop Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles games as spiritual successors to Xenogears.
