15 Rare PlayStation 3 Games (Part 2 of 3)

06/01/2018
by Danial Aziz
Comments Off on 15 Rare PlayStation 3 Games (Part 2 of 3)

Here’s part 2 of my rare PS3 games list. If you haven’t read part 1, please do by clicking here. Now, let’s look at the next 5.

Aquanaut’s Holiday

Aquanaut’s Holiday is a PlayStation 3 exclusive game developed by Artdlink and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. A teaser for the game, at the time titled “Aqua”, was shown at Tokyo Game Show 2007. At the end of August of 2008, a trailer for Aquanaut’s Holiday was released showcasing the game’s beautiful underwater environments. The Japanese version was released in September of 2008 but did not include an English language option. The game was later released with English text exclusively in South East Asia in November of the same year.

Aquanaut’s Holiday can be categorized as an underwater adventure game. The player is put in the shoes of an unnamed journalist who drives around a small submarine in search of clues regarding the whereabouts of a missing oceanographer by the name of Willian “Bill” Graber. As you explore the ocean’s depths, you add discoveries to your database. However, if you keep exploring for too long, you will find yourself in need of supplies such as batteries for sonar navigation. The necessary supplies can be obtained from your home base, an oceanographic research facility known as Kisira Base. I have had the pleasure of playing this one and I have to say, it is quite relaxing and enjoyable.

The Japanese version of Aquanaut’s Holiday is still attainable for a decent price, however, in order to play the game in English, you will need either the Korean version or the English + Chinese version. These versions are also a lot less common and in most cases a lot more expensive.

2. Gran Turismo HD Install Disc

Controversial entry! I know I started off by saying that all the games would be playable in English but sadly, this one does not have an English language option. However, since it is part of a very well-known series and, being a racing game, is easy enough to figure out, I feel that it wouldn’t be fair to not include it in this list.

Gran Turismo HD was the first instalment of the long-running driving simulator series to be released on PlayStation 3. It was first released as a free download on PlayStation Store (PSN) and was intended to be a preview for a full title release. The project was eventually scrapped and replaced with of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue which acted as a preview for Gran Turismo 5. The game was made available for download on PSN in December of 2006 and was later released physically in September 2007 exclusively in Japan. Even though the digital version was playable in English in certain regions, to my knowledge, the physical version was only playable in Japanese.

Gran Turismo HD Install Disc is purely a collector’s item. If you’re inclined to play it, I’d suggest just playing Grand Turismo 5.

3. Ra.One The Game

This is a game based on a Bollywood movie of the same name. The movie was released in 2011 starring Shah Rukh Khan. Ra.One The Game was released on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 on October 5^th 2011. The game was developed by Thrine in Mumbai under the guidance of the SCEE team in London.

The game acts as a prequel to the movie, showcasing the main characters’ backstories as well as the various superpowers which exist in the movie. The game’s storyline was also developed by Shah Rukh Khan himself. The game features 6 unique characters, 20 in-game locations from the Ra.One universe and multiplayer modes.

Ra.One The Game is available digitally on PlayStation Network, however finding a physical copy outside of India is not an easy task.

4. Pixel Junk 3 in 1 Pack

Pixel Junk 3 in 1 pack is a physical release of 3 Pixel Junk titles previously released on PlayStation Network (PSN). This physical release contains Pixel Junk Racers, Pixel Junk Monsters and Pixel Junk Eden all on one blu-ray disc. The Pixel Junk series was developed by Q-Games as downloadable titles available on the PlayStation 3. The first instalment in the series, Pixel Junk Racers was released in mid 2007, followed by Pixel Junk Monsters a few months later and Pixel Junk Eden in mid 2008. This compilation, Pixel Junk 3 in 1 pack, was later released in 2009.

Pixel Junk Racers is a slot car racing game which featured 32 race modes and allowed offline multiplayer for up to 7 players. Pixel Junk Monsters is a tower defence type game with hand-drawn 2D visuals. This game also has an offline co-op mode. Pixel Junk Eden is slightly harder to explain. You play as a silk-spinning “Grimp” in a psychedelic world. You destroy “Prowlers” to collect their pollen which allows you to grow more plants which will allow you to travel deeper into the garden as you attempt to locate and collect “Spectra” which have been scattered across all the gardens of Eden. There, I did my best. You get the gist of it.

Pixel Junk 3 in 1 pack is very uncommon and often changes hands for exorbitant amounts of money. That said, the internet has made it a lot easier to locate rare items such as this one so I think it’s worth mentioning that at the time of writing, multiple copies have just popped up in the hands of a few lucky members of the “PlayStation 3 Collectors” group on Facebook. If you’re looking for one, that would be a good place to start.

5. El Chavo Kart

El Chavo Kart is a Kart-racing game developed by Effecto Studios and Slang, published by Televista Home Entertainment and released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2014. The game is based on a Mexican animated series called El Chavo: The Animated Series. El Chavo Kart was built using Unreal Engine 3 and loosely bases its gameplay mechanics on the Mario Kart series.

El Chavo Kart is what you would expect in terms of gameplay. It’s a Kart-racer with characters brought over from the animated series. The game is playable with English text however to my knowledge there is no English voice track available.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of El Chavo, I have no idea how to help because I’ve been trying to find a copy of it online and I haven’t been able to find a single one. So, good luck!