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The PlayStation 3 (PS3) was a pretty...particular system to develop for. It wasn't just more advanced than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, but staggeringly different. There's a reason the PS3 was so expensive in the beginning - in order to produce backwards compatibility with PS2 games, Sony had to literally put a PS2 inside it.
It's also why the games for the system aren't backwards compatible with the two consoles that followed. If you wanted to play PS3 games, you either had to stream them via PlayStation Plus or dig out and set up that old system.
Great games stuck on the PS3
Basically, there are a bunch of games that, to this day, are still stuck on the PS3. Which is why we've seen such a glut of remakes and remasters over the past decade or so. Sure, nostalgia is a big part of it, but it's mostly about just making these games accessible to contemporary audiences.
So, we've dug out 10 games that, as of this writing, are currently only available on the PlayStation 3. These are the titles we'd love to see remastered, or even completely remade, and playable on current systems.
So, here are 10 PS3 games we want to see brought to the PS5. Oh, and in no particular order. These are also the writer's picks based on his personal opinion. We'd love to hear yours!
1) Infamous/Infamous 2/Infamous: Festival of Blood
Games about superheroes have been a dime a dozen, even going as far back as the NES days. What aren't as common - or, at least they weren't when the first Infamous (or inFAMOUS if you're obnoxious) game from Sucker Punch came out in 2009 - were superhero games not already based on an exisiting property.
Imagine the open-world gameplay and verticality of Assassin's Creed - climbing buildings, running across rooftops, parkour stuff - but with the ability to shoot lightning out of your hands. That's the Infamous series.
While we got an excellent new entry into the series on the PS4 with Infamous Second Son (and its DLC, Infamous First Light), the original games are still marooned on the PS3. While even a remake would be amazing, just getting a remastered collection with updated visuals would be worth taking the brunt of a Ray Sphere explosion for.
2) Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Speaking of Sucker Punch, before moving on to Infamous on the PS3, they brought the world the Sly Cooper games on the PS2. Sly Cooper and the Thievious Racoonus released for the console in 2002 and instantly became a hit. It had a family friendly and fun vibe, mixed with great characters and well designed gameplay.
By 2013, Sucker Punch had moved on (to the aforementioned Infamous), but Sony wanted to see Sly slide onto their spectacular new system. Thus, they tapped Sanzaru Games to pick up the mantle and release Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. As you have probably gathered, this fourth entry into the series saw Cooper and his thieving buddies attempting to pull off heists all over history.
While it wasn't the hit Sony had hoped for, it was still a fantastic game. There's consistent talk every year about a Sly Cooper animated film being in development. Yes, we hear that about different properties all the time, but with the recent success of the Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog movies, this might be picking up steam.
And a remake/rerelease of Thieves in Time would be just the way to begin stoking those fires.
3) Tokyo Jungle
Tokyo Jungle is a weird game. And, as you could probably tell by the title, a very Japanese game. It's also great, which is why it's on this list.
The concept is simple: all across the world, humans have vanished, leaving the world in the hands (er, paws?) of the animals that remain. Tokyo Jungle drops you onto the streets of, well, Tokyo - playing the role of all sorts of animals, ranging from tiny dogs to giant cats.
It's a survival game, first and foremost, and not the most intuitive to play. Players willing to give it a chance will find a lot to like here. But, there's also enough potential in the title that Sony should really consider remaking it.
Plus, that's such a cool name. Tokyo Jungle. It sounds like a band name.
4) Afrika
While we're on the subject of PS3 games centered around animals, let's talk about Afrika.
One of the games showcase alongside the PlayStation 3 when it was unveiled at E3, Afrika is - essentially - Pokemon Snap but with real animals. That sounds kind of boring, but it actually turned out to be a fun experience. Plus, with the power behind the PS3, Afrika's graphics still hold up today.
Afrika doesn't need a bit-for-bit remake or anything like that. But, its concept and gameplay would be a great way to really showcase the PS5's graphical capabilities - or those of the PlayStation 6, if they want to go that route.
Either way, I just wanna take some pictures of zebras, OK?
5) Yakuza: Dead Souls
Throughout the majority of its entries, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has played it pretty straightforward. For the most part, they've all been tales of gangsters and redemption, set in modern day Japan. There've been two exceptions to this (well, three, if you count Yakuza 0, which was set in the 1980s) - Like a Dragon: Ichin! and Yakuza: Dead Souls.
The former was an action epic that took the Like a Dragon "cast" and placed them in 1800s Japan. It explored many of the same themes of the previous games, but did it in a historical context. Until recently, it never released outside of Japan. Which is why hardcore Like a Dragon fans in the west were understandably excited when a remake was announced.
Now that the remake of Ichin! has come and gone with modest success, it could maybe convince Sega to re-release Dead Souls next.
Set in a Kamurocho plagued with zombies, Dead Souls has characters like Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majimi fighting the undead - with guns! While it received a PS3 release in the U.S. back in 2012, it was digital only and didn't sell very well here. With interest in the franchise at an all-time high now, though, this could be the perfect time to bring the concept back - even if it's with Ihiban Kasuga and his friends this time.
6) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Most of the games in the Metal Gear/Metal Gear Solid series have been available to play on multiple formats for a while now. The recently released Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 contains the first five games in the series, including the two original MSX games (and also Snake's Revenge because that game was awesome and you can't convince me otherwise.) If you have a hankering to play some MGS, you probably have a way to do it on the platform of your choice.
Unless that MGS is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. While not as fondly remembered as some of the other entries in the franchise, the fourth installment is still a thrilling good time, with plenty of fan service thrown in for good measure. However, ever since it was released exclusively on the PS3 in 2008, there's been no other release of the game.
With the (seemingly) inevitable release of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection, Vol. 2 sometime on the horizon, could we see this long sought after title added to it?
7) Lair
Sometimes, all it takes is one mistake to sink an otherwise amazing game. Case in point: Lair, for the PlayStation 3.
On paper, it should have been a smash hit. Players control a dragon-riding knight in an epic fantasy setting. It was developed by Factor 5, the same team behind the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games - so expectations for some amazing flying action were sky high. And, it boasted an interesting "Morale" system which could dynamically effect the difficulty of the game.
Unfortunately, it also relied heavily on the PS3's SixAxis motion controls - almost to the point of making the game nearly unplayable. Word of mouth spread quickly, and sales tanked. A patch was released that added dual stick controls and more improvements, but the damage was done. Yet another victim of Sony's hubris during the PS3 era.
Which is a shame because, aside from that, this was a fun as heck game - and it deserves a second chance. A remastered version on modern consoles could finally give this unfairly judged title the respect it deserves.
8) Folklore
If I asked you to name an action-RPG released in the 2000s that involved the history and mythology of the British Isles, what would you come up with? Fable, obviously. What else was there? Well, glad you asked, it's makes the transition way much easier now.
Folklore was a 2007 PS3 release that had players walking between two different worlds. One was, of course, our "real" world - one where players interacted with other characters and solved puzzles. The other was Doolin, a "Netherworld" inspired by Irish mythology. You know - Folklore. This is where the "Action" in "Action-RPG" takes place.
While it reviewed pretty well - especially when it came to the game's soundtrack - it didn't translate into great sales. Subsequently, any further plans for the series were pretty much halted. Furthermore, the original game is still only available on the PS3.
If Sony is looking to add yet another franchise to a brand already rich with them, they've got one ready to go in Folklore. Even a remaster of the original game could be enough to launch the IP into the series it was clearly intended to be.
9) Heavenly Sword
When you think about the early years of the PS3, chances are this is one of the first games that come to mind. While not pushed as a "system seller" by any means, it was still one of the more high-profile releases for the system. It had everything players were looking for - exciting action, amazing graphics, and an epic story.
It also had an extremely attractive female protagonist, which rarely hurts a game's sales chances.
Despite it selling over a million copies on the PS3 in its first year - and the fact that an animated series and animated film about the game were produced and released - we never saw a sequel to Heavenly Sword. And we've never seen a port to any other system. Considering how highly the game was praised upon its release, a sequel or a remake/rerelease wouldn't be the worst decision Sony's ever made.
10) Katamari Forever
When the King of All Cosmos goes on an (implied) all-night bender and destroys all the stars in space, what's his diminuitive son, the Prince, to do? Why, grab a sticky ball and roll things up until you've made new ones, obviously.
Thus is the premise behind the Katamari Damacy games, a series that has been going strong since it first debuted on the PlayStation 2. Not only have there been numerous sequels, mobile versions, and ports, but the original game has even seen an outright remake.
One of those sequels, though - Katamari Forever - still sits patiently on the PS3. It waits, hoping one day Namco Bandai will see fit to bring it's addictive gameplay and quirky asthetic to modern systems and to be played once again. Maybe this time with actual multiplayer, too.
Any other PS3 exclusive titles you'd like to see brough back? Let us know!
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