It's an open secret that most gamers know, but it's always worth mentioning: your old PlayStation 1 discs hide an unexpected musical feature. Pop some of your PS1 games into a classic CD audio player, and you can listen to their soundtracks like real albums. A brilliant feature from Sony that deserves a closer look.

This function was deliberately integrated by Sony from the PlayStation's launch in 1994, but was so little publicized that even today, some players are still discovering this gem. The principle is simple: developers stored game music in Red Book Audio format (CDDA - Compact Disc Digital Audio), the CD audio standard, on tracks separate from game data. Result? A classic CD player could read these music tracks without any problem.

How Does It Work and Which Games Have It?

The test is super simple: take any PS1 disc, insert it into a traditional CD player, and press play. But be careful, not all games react the same way. Some deliver complete soundtracks with all the musical tracks, others offer hidden messages or bonus dialogues, and sometimes... just weird noises for games that don't use the Red Book Audio format.

The list of compatible games is impressive: WipeOut 2097 (with tracks from The Chemical Brothers), Ridge Racer Type 4, Gran Turismo 2, Final Fantasy VII with its orchestral OST by Nobuo Uematsu, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Tomb Raider, Twisted Metal 2, or titles like Colin McRae Rally, Tony Hawk, and Tekken 2 and 3. Some Saturn games also benefited from this feature, as did PC titles until 1999-2000.

A Technical Constraint Turned Feature

This approach wasn't just a nice bonus, it was also a technical constraint. As retro forum enthusiasts explain, when you access CD audio tracks, it's impossible to read game data simultaneously: the drive has only one laser. Early PS1 games therefore had to choose between Red Book music (to be loaded beforehand) and fast loading times.

From 1996 onwards, with the arrival of audio compression (MP3 and other formats), developers began compressing music to load it into memory rather than reading it directly from the CD. This evolution allowed for faster loading times, continuous loading, and paved the way for open worlds and sandbox games. But early PS1 titles remain true musical treasures accessible on any CD player.

CD Swapping, the Other Forgotten Trick

Cherry on top: some PS1 games even allowed the reverse! Once the level was loaded into memory, you could eject the game disc and replace it with an audio CD of your choice. Imagine carving down the slopes of Cool Boarders or racing through Vigilante 8 while listening to your favorite album. A revolutionary musical customization for the time, well before modern consoles natively integrated this option.

Sony had this forward-thinking vision where the console should be more than just a gaming machine. Thirty years later, rediscovering these tricks triggers a real wave of nostalgia mixed with admiration for the ingenuity of that era.