PlayStation Classics is About to Be a Huge Boon for FromSoftware Fans

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 14, 2025 7 Views 6 Min Read
PlayStation Classics is About to Be a Huge Boon for FromSoftware Fans
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If there’s one thing the PlayStation 5 has often been criticized for, it’s the system’s lackluster backwards compatibility. In addition to PS5 releases, Sony’s current-gen console can only play PS4 games natively, which, compared to the Xbox Series X/S and its impressive catalog of original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles, is quite disappointing. To make up for the PlayStation 5’s limited backwards compatibility support, Sony has been releasing emulated versions of several classic PS1, PS2, and PSP games on its PlayStation Plus Premium subscription service. These retro games have been added to PS Plus on a monthly basis over the last several years, and the service currently features nearly 500 classic titles from across PlayStation’s history.

Sony has recently brought several notable games to PlayStation Plus Premium’s Classics Catalog. In January, the company added the PS1 action-adventure classic Medievil 2 to the service, alongside the PS2 movie tie-in game, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. This month, meanwhile, it’s adding the critically-acclaimed PSP rhythm game, Patapon 3, to PlayStation Plus. These, of course, aren’t the only titles that Sony has in store for PS Plus Premium subscribers this year, because the company is gearing up to bring even more classic games to PS4/5 in the near future.

PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra are on sale through February 24.

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PlayStation Plus is on Sale

Sony announces significant discounts on some PlayStation Plus subscription tiers following a global PlayStation Network outage.

Sony is Adding The First Three Armored Core Games to PS Plus Premium

During the recent PlayStation State of Play, Sony announced that three games in the Armored Core franchise would come to PS Plus later this year. These titles, which were made by the esteemed Dark Souls and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, include Armored Core (1997), Armored Core: Project Phantasma, and Armored Core: Master of Arena. All three of these Armored Core games were developed exclusively for the original PlayStation, and although they were released on the PS3, PS Vita, and/or PSP via the PlayStation Network, they had been unavailable on modern platforms for ages.

AC 1, AC: Project Phantasma, and AC: Masters of Arena Will Come to PS5 This Year

The original Armored Core came out all the way back in July 1997, just three years after the launch of the PlayStation 1. This third-person mecha game was one of the first popular titles that FromSoftware ever made, because at the time, the company had worked on nothing but the niche King’s Field series. Armored Core 1 may be considered a tad rough by today’s standards, but it was positively reviewed by critics when it first came out, due to its highly modular mech customization systems and impressive multiplayer support.

Armored Core: Project Phantasma, meanwhile, was initially released in December 1997, just a few months after the original Armored Core made its debut. The reason why there was such a short time frame between the release of these two installments is because Project Phantasma is a standalone expansion for Armored Core 1, and not a full-length sequel. Gameplay-wise, the two games are roughly the same, albeit with a few differences. Armored Core: Project Phantasma, for instance, features some new weapons and customization options, in addition to an entirely optional arena mode.

Like Project Phantasma, Armored Core: Masters of Arena is also an expansion for the first Armored Core game. It, however, came out in 1999, a few years after both games were released. As its name suggests, Masters of Arena primarily focuses on the arena mode that was introduced in Project Phantasma. Players must enter arenas and fight other mechs to progress through the main story and gain new weapons. Armored Core: Masters of Arena was the last entry in the Armored Core franchise that was released on the PlayStation 1. Many of the later installments in the series, such as Armored Core 4 and Armored Core: Last Raven, came out on the PS2 instead. Hopefully, if these three PS1-era Armored Core games get enough attention on PlayStation Plus, Sony and FromSoftware will consider bringing over some of the Armored Core games on PS2, as well.

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