In the era of digital purchases, video game cover art has become largely obsolete. While modern fans have access to a plethora of reviews and gameplay footage before purchasing a new title, an awesome cover was once one of the few ways to grab a customer's attention. During its heyday, the PS1 games had some of the strongest covers around, and it's still easy for most fans to call to mind classic PS1 covers like Final Fantasy 7.
Unfortunately, a gripping cover couldn't always guarantee a game would make it off the shelf. There are countless examples of games that fans probably wouldn't include in their dream PS1 collection that still boast absolutely stunning cover art. Whether they were critical failures or simply forgotten to time, these titles should at least be remembered for their cover art.
10 Vandal Hearts
Vandal Hearts is a turn-based tactical RPG that is still beloved by a small group of loyal fans. While it doesn't receive as much praise as Fire Emblem or Shining Force, it was many players' first exposure to the genre.
The cover of Vandal Hearts is as epic as it gets. It shows the party having a showdown with a massive dragon.
9 Hexen
Hexen is a classic run-and-gun game that just never quite reached the popularity of contemporaries like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. Hexen offered more complexity than other run-and-gun titles in that it allowed players to choose from three classes that each came equipped with their own unique kit.
While it just didn't click with customers in the way that other id Software products did, Hexen's art is an absolute win. Its dark, Diablo-like cover perfectly communicates what the game is all about in an instant.
8 The Simpsons Wrestling
Not only is The Simpsons Wrestling one of the worst PS1 games out there, but it's arguably one of the worst video games of all time. It paired terrible controls and exploitable mechanics with chunky, unfinished graphics. There's basically nothing that redeems The Simpsons Wrestling beyond its cover.
The image of an angry Groundskeeper Willie hoisting Homer Simpson above his head as a crowd of fan-favorite characters looks on is hard to overlook. Unfortunately, anyone that picked up The Simpsons Wrestling off the shelf was met with major disappointment.
7 Primal Rage
Primal Rage is another example of a title that was simply outshone by its peers. It's not a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination, but it was up against some of the most influential fighting games of all time like Mortal Kombat 2, Street Fighter 2, and Virtua Fighter.
Before Best Buy pulled Primal Rage from stores for its controversial finishing moves, it boasted one of the most awesome covers out there. While the North American version is great in its own right, the PAL region cover that featured a close-up of Blizzard roaring is undoubtedly one of the most menacing covers for titles on the PS1.
6 Clock Tower
To horror game aficionados, Clock Tower is far from forgotten. It's considered just as scary as Resident Evil but never enjoyed nearly the same commercial success. It was buoyed mostly by its sales in Japan and remains a relatively obscure title for most North American fans.
The cover features the terrifying serial killer Scissorman brandishing, unsurprisingly, a pair of giant, bloody scissors. Since the game itself is downright scary, the cover is a perfect way to prepare would-be players for the horrors to come.
5 Dune 2000
Dune 2000 failed to do anything imaginative with the source material. At the time, it was considered just satisfactory, and that has ultimately been its legacy. Like others on this list, Dune 2000 was competing with what are now considered to be the gold standard of RTS games in the Age of Empires and Command & Conquer franchises.
Despite its shortcomings, Dune 2000 had a fairly wicked cover, with two fully armored soldiers carrying miniguns under an orange desert sky. It also managed to set the stage for future games like the new Dune RTS, Dune: Spice Wars, which is set to enter early access in a few days.
4 Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions is a Metal Gear game that most fans forgot about. It was released as an expansion to the original Metal Gear Solid but was ultimately fairly repetitive and surprisingly boring.
Its cover, however, might be the only improvement over the original game. Gray Fox is undeniably one of the coolest characters in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, so using a close-up of the character as the cover was a recipe for success.
3 Bloody Roar
Bloody Roar is one of the most underrated fighting games of all time. It had smooth controls and engaging characters but never managed to get a solid footing in an oversaturated market. Still, for fans that got the chance to play Bloody Roar, the game is remembered fondly.
The black and red color scheme on the cover is incredibly eye-catching, and the drawing of Yuji Ogami transforming into a wolf helps prepare fans for a super unique fighting game experience.
2 Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a quirky platformer that suffered from issues during its development. It follows Andy as he tries to rescue his dog, Whisky, from the clutches of shadowy, evil beings. It never captured much commercial success and fell flat with reviewers after nearly six years of development.
For what it's worth, Heart of Darkness has an absolutely stunning cover. From Andy's determined expression to Whisky's terrified reaction, the emotions on the cover are perfectly displayed.
1 RPG Maker
While using RPG Maker to create unique and interesting games is certainly still relatively popular, the PS1 version of RPG Maker never quite caught on because it's difficult to use. It's no surprise that nearly all the well-regarded RPG Maker horror games and other creations were made on the PC.
It's hard to imagine a better cover than the one for RPG Maker on the PS1, though. It's an awesome drawing of a creator hard at work with a myriad of frightening fantasy creatures gathered around their drawing board.