The original PlayStation can be seen as a bridge between retro and modern gaming. It was the first truly successful CD gaming console, and the extra storage space that CDs provided made it possible to create more ambitious games. Many of the best PS1 games, like Final Fantasy VII and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, took full advantage of the PS1’s hardware capabilities.
However, beneath classics like Resident Evil 2 are a slew of PS1 games that haven’t gotten the same attention. One of the best examples of this is the Battle Arena Toshinden series of fighting games. The first installment was actually a PS1 launch title in the United States, but none of the titles received much attention. Now, the Battle Arena Toshinden games are being ported to modern consoles, giving everyone a chance to play these PS1 classics.
Battle Arena Toshiden Is a Forgotten PS1 Franchise That Deserves a Comback
PlayStation 1 console against a black backgroundImage via Sony
The 1990s saw a fighting game boom, and series like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Street Fighter became hugely successful. That said, many more fighting games didn’t get the kind of fame they deserved, and the Battle Arena Toshiden titles are a great example of that.
While the series never became a major hit and has largely been forgotten today, the games still had plenty of diehard fans. The original title received three sequels, and during Battle Arena Toshiden’s heyday, there was even an anime that brought the game’s story to life.
Now, Edia, a Japanese company that specializes in rereleases of retro games, is bringing the original Battle Arena Toshiden trilogy to modern consoles. While Edia hasn’t confirmed which consoles the games will be released on, they’ve stated that they’re aiming to rerelease the games in 2026 or 2027. It’s a perfect opportunity for retro game fans to experience underrated PS1 games that almost everyone has forgotten about.
The Original Battle Arena Toshinden Was Ahead of Its Time
Battle Arena Toshinden PS1 cover artImage via Tamsoft
The PS1 had one of the best launch lineups in PlayStation history, and Battle Arena Toshinden held its own alongside games like Rayman. It’s an early example of a 3D weapons-based fighter, and the 1995 game actually predates Soul Edge, the first game in the Soul Calibur series, by a year.
Like many great fighting games, Battle Arena Toshinden gives players a vast array of fighters to choose from, including the main protagonist, Eiji Shinjo, who is on a quest to find his long-lost brother Sho. He decides to enter a dangerous underground fighting tournament that’s being broadcast to elite viewers.
The tournament draws in fighters from around the world, including Sofia, a Russian private detective who fights with a whip, and Run-go Iron, an American miner who’s joined the tournament in the hopes of rescuing his missing wife and son. Nothing here is that unusual for a fighting game, but all of the fighters are interesting and have clear motivations.
Of course, the most important part of any fighting game is the gameplay, and that’s something that Battle Arena Toshinden does a great job with. It was designed to work with the original PS1 controller, which lacks the DualShock’s analog sticks, but it still controls very well, and once players get the hang of each fighter’s combos, they’ll be prepared for all of the challenges the game sends their way.
One of the game’s most interesting mechanics is its desperation attacks, which are powerful moves players can only use if their fighter’s health bar is below 10%. Thanks to this feature, fighters can potentially make a comeback at the last minute, and battles are a lot more interesting. Since the PS1 launched with just 11 games, plenty of early adopters gave the fighting game a try, and it had solid sales overall.
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 Improves On the Original in Every Way
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 GameplayImage via Tamsoft
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 debuted in arcades, and even though it was released just one year after the original game, its mechanics are much more refined. The fighting mechanics from the first game, including desperation attacks, are largely left intact, but it also introduces new features into the mix, like a speedier combo system and an overdrive gauge, which allows fighters to perform even stronger moves after racking up combos.
The title continues the story from the previous game, with all of its fighters making a return. There are also plenty of new fighters in the mix, including Chaos, an unhinged man who fights with a scythe and shield, and Tracy, an American policewoman who joins the tournament while investigating a cold case.
Even though the game received positive reviews, it had far more competition than the first game did, and while it sold fairly well in Japan, it didn’t fare as well in the United States, selling just 133,491 copies on the PS1. Thankfully, while the game may have underperformed, it still did well enough to get a sequel.
Battle Arena Toshiden 3 Is the Best Game in the Entire Series
Battle Arena Toshinden 3 logoImage via Tamsoft
Battle Arena Toshiden 3 arrived on the PS1 in 1997, and like its predecessor, it upped the ante. Not only is the fighting roster doubled from the previous game, but the plot is far more fleshed out than before. This time around, the fighters aren’t just competing against each other. They’re also working to take down the forces responsible for the Battle Arena Toshiden tournament.
In addition to increasing the scope of the game’s story, Battle Arena Toshiden 3 refines its combo system even more and adds some under-the-hood changes, like the ability to choose between a smooth and stable 30 frames-per-second or a faster but potentially unstable 60 frames-per-second. The title also upgraded the fighting arenas, making them completely enclosed so that players can slam opponents into walls or ceilings.
Despite these improvements, Battle Arena Toshiden 3 sold just 95,019 copies in Japan and 50,952 in the US, putting it far below the previous entries. While the series did receive a final installment with a new roster of characters, Toshiden 4, the game never made it overseas, and the Battle Arena Toshiden series has mostly been forgotten today.
Now that the games are coming to modern consoles, players will have the chance to experience some of the most underrated and interesting fighting games on the PS1. It’s a little disappointing that Toshiden 4 won’t be joining the original trilogy, but if the games do well, maybe it’ll be ported over as well. Either way, this new Edia release is shining a spotlight on some underappreciated games.