The 25th Anniversary of the PlayStation 1

After a brief break for Thanksgiving, it’s time to get back to work.  Next week I will get back to game reviews, but I wanted to take some time to discuss a major gaming milestone: the 25 year anniversary of the PlayStation.

The PlayStation marked a shift in strategy for Japanese tech maker Sony, who previously had been known more for making Walkmans, TVs, stereos and essentially every electronic gadget except video game consoles.  By now, most gamers know the story of how Sony was working with Nintendo to create a CD add on to the Super Nintendo.  After deciding they were unhappy with the terms of the contract, Nintendo officials secretly met with Phillips and created a similar partnership.  On the day the new peripheral was to be announced, the big N instead announced their new deal with Phillips and that they would abandon all previous work with Sony.  

Sony considered reaching out to Sega for help before deciding to release the PlayStation as a standalone console.   It took some time, but in December of 1994, the big, gray box we all came to know and love arrived in Japan.  Along with the Sega Saturn a few months earlier, it kicked off the 32-bit, or 5th generation of gaming.  Thanks to its lower price point (as both a gamer and a marketing person, the infamous “$299” presentation is one of my favorite things ever), it quickly outpaced its rival.  By the time the Nintendo 64 arrived a few years later, the PlayStation was established as a gaming heavyweight.  Oh, and as for that partnership with Phillips?  It led to the CD-I, less a gaming console adjacent the SNES or PlayStation and more an instrument of torture akin to the rack or the Iron Maiden.  But that’s for a different day.

But what really made the PS1 stand out was its library of games.  The sheer amount of different titles released for this thing is insane, with most estimates exceeding 1000 unique games released in the U.S.  It would be impossible to play them all, so I wanted to talk about some that I think are worth checking out.

First, the obvious - I am not going to spend too much time talking about these because most sources will direct you towards them anyway.  However, the PS1 has a huge list of must play titles.  Off the top of my head, Final Fantasy 7-9, Final Fantasy Tactics, Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal 2, Resident Evil 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Silent Hill, Tekken 3 Grandia and Suikoden 2 are a few of the must plays on the console.  There are also well known titles like the crash bandicoot series, arcade ports of Street Fighter Alpha 2-3, updated versions of games like Lunar I and II and series pioneers like the original Medal of Honor that are more than worth checking out.  But now, time for some more obscure stuff.

Must Plays:

Star Ocean: The Second Story - An all time classic RPG that I think gets overlooked too often, it has an engrossing story and great combat.  This series is everywhere now, but I always felt this one slipped through the cracks.  To me, its the best game in the series by a long shot.

Legend of Legia - It’s another RPG, but what can I say, the PS1 is a haven for them.  Another unique combat system where you create combos by choosing which type of strike you want to do.  Get the right combo and you will pull off a super move to string together some big damage.  The plot is simplistic, but the world building here is very well done.

Azure Dreams - Yet another RPG, but this one is more a dungeon crawler than a traditional entry into the genre.  You explore a tower with randomized levels and fierce enemies.  Fortunately, you have a friendly monsters of your own to help you out.  You can hatch and raise your own monsters to progress further in the tower, which allows you to build up your house and hometown.  The more you build up, the more unique events you see and items you get.

Vigilante 8 - They can’t ALL be RPGs I guess.  I reviewed this game a few weeks ago, so go check that out.  

Jumping Flash! - It’s probably aged the worst of any game on this list, but its just such a fun, unique and well designed game.  It may be the single strangest FPS I have ever played, but I mean that in the best way.  Some really cool and interesting environments in a family friendly package.

Parasite Eve I and II - A mix of RPG and survival horror?  There’s no way that could be bad.  The first game is more “scary RPG” while the second is more “survival horror with leveling up” but both tell excellent, terrifying stories.  Lara Croft may be the most famous leading lady on the PlayStation, but Aya Brea is the more interesting and compelling character hands down.

Good, solid games and interesting oddities

Jet Moto - Not the biggest fan of racing games, but this one is pretty cool.  Race futuristic bikes through all sorts of insane courses.  It’s one of the better multiplayer games on the console.

Vagrant Story - I know some folks would put this in the above category.  I don’t think its as great as some say as there is way too much time consuming stat management.  Still, you can find other ways to beat this game and its really fun even if the pacing is a bit uneven.  Another candidate for best looking game on the system.

Bushido Blade - A fighting game by Square?  Hey, if Capcom can put out Breath of Fire and Monster Hunter, Square can put out a fighter.  This isn’t Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat though.  This is an ultra realistic title set in feudal Japan.  When I say realistic, I mean no life bars and you die from any direct hit to the head or chest realistic.  It’s not for everyone, but its certainly cool.

Crash Team Racing - I know its a Crash Bandicoot game, but I had to include it here.  For all the second rate Mario Kart ripoffs out there, this is 100% quality.  It’s well balanced, has tons of fun power ups and some really great track design.  

Spyro Series - I feel like this series was super popular, then just fell of the planet before resurfacing again in recent years.  The PS1 Spyro offerings are all great though and this is probably the closest to Super Mario 64 that Sony ever got.

Ape Escape - One of the first games I ever remember making use of both analog sticks on the dual shock controller, Ape Escape has you using the right stick to swing your net and use other contraptions to capture a whole slew of simian mischief makers.  Part 3D platformer and part puzzle game, this was ahead of its time.  It loses some of its luster because twin stick controls are commonplace now, but its still fun.

Digimon World - Yes, I’m serious.  It’s a great RPG where you and your Digimon companion explore a huge world to level up, find treasure and rebuild a crumbling town.  This had a lot of elements of the open world games that are everywhere today, from the non-linear plot to the complete freedom of exploration.  Combat can feel kind of random, but an underrated gem and one of the better licensed games I have ever played.

Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors - It’s no longer in my collection, but this was the first PS1 game I ever owned.  It’s a good solid Capcom fighter, think Street Fighter but with Vampires and Sasquatch.  

That’s a lot of games, and yet I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the PS1 has to offer.  There are so many great games across different genres to pick from and that isn’t even including imports or anything like that.  I know a lot of people say games from this era have aged poorly and in some instances, particularly with sports games, there is some truth to that.  But for the most part, I find the folks that say those things are the kind of people who game for fundamentally different reasons than I do.  That’s okay, there is no right or wrong reason to be a gamer, but I personally would take variety and interesting concepts over a never ending stream of first person shooters and open world games with no innovation, even if some of those modern games are excellent in their own right.

I am a little biased myself, as I consider the PS1 among my favorite consoles of all time.  I have never been able to decide whether I prefer it over the Super NES and I don’t plan on making that decision now.  I don’t think either of them are objectively the best, that’s just my subjective opinion, but this entire blog is just my opinion, so whatever.  What isn’t debatable is that the PS1 seismically altered the gaming landscape when it dropped 25 years ago.  You should dig up and play some of these great games any way you can.