The PS1 Was A Wonderland
During my teenage years, the PS1 was my entertainment juggernaut.
Back in the late 90s, I got an original PlayStation for my 15th birthday. I was playing on 16-bit systems for a long time, and was wanting to upgrade. I saw how cool the games looked in gaming magazines. It was Parasite Eve that intrigued me the most, and I begged my dad to get it for me for my birthday or Christmas. He happily obliged, and it started my love for this wonderful little 32-bit console.
Up until this point, I had mostly been a platformer kid. I loved playing Sonic games, but after I saw what the PlayStation was offering, I wanted to try something new.
It was a special time, and I still have fond memories of the games that released on the PlayStation. There were so many oddball hits from various developers over the course of 1995–2000. I’ll only talk about a few of them here today, but I encourage anyone to check the PS1 library. It’s got some great and unforgettable games.
Parasite Eve
For me, my PS1 experience started with a gaming magazine. What initially drew me in was Blue Stinger, for Sega’s then upcoming Dreamcast. I read through the article, and the game looked neat enough, but it was Parasite Eve really caught my eye. There was something about it I couldn’t quite pin down about what I was intrigued by. Maybe it was the more realistic-looking character models. Perhaps it was the story hook that was laid out in the article. In any case, I knew I had to have that game.
As mentioned earlier, I had a happy birthday that year, and played the hell out of that game during Christmas break whenever I was at my dad’s house. I really enjoyed the mature story, especially the horror aspects (without resorting to jump scares), as well as the down-to-earth setting of 1997 New York City.
The blend of action and turn-based combat was incredibly interesting, but simple enough to not make me bang my head against a wall from too many options and abilities. There was a level of customization to the weapons and armor, but they were never difficult to figure out. And it was incredibly easy to make the custom weapon or armor of my choosing. I really appreciated how much control I had over my character, and I wanted more games like this.
I hadn’t really played an RPG before, outside of a little bit of Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest. Again, I was a Sonic kid who suddenly switched genres all of a sudden. The hybrid mash-up still remains one of the most unique styles of gameplay on the original PlayStation. I like to think that it primed me for Final Fantasy VII a few months later. And because of that, I always think of Parasite Eve as my gateway to the RPG genre.
I appreciate that I got a chance to experience this era of Squaresoft. The company, and many others, were experimenting with bold new ideas of what games could be. It also became one hell of a rabbit hole for me to fall into. Shortly after this, I got a chance to play multiple Final Fantasy games, Ehrgeiz, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger (via the Final Fantasy Chronicles collection), and Chrono Chross. And, of course, I got Parasite Eve II at launch.
Sadly, Square-Enix (like many other companies) has mostly been playing it safe these days. No doubt, this is due to the ballooning costs of game development, the pressures of investors, and having a large amount of competition. Still, it was good while it lasted. We got some real bangers from the developers, and I hope they can all be playable again on modern platforms again some day.
Metal Gear Solid
Back in the day, many games came with demo discs. During the PS1 era, however, this software was available everywhere. My copy of Parasite Eve had a demo disc, and the PS1 I got for my birthday also came with one. They were so prevalent that even Pizza Hut was doling them out (though you had to ask for them). These were great for me to try out new stuff to see if I liked a particular game or not. Sometimes, I could have a blast playing just a limited demo, like one for Gran Turismo.
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One of the Pizza Hut demo discs I played the most included a trial for a little game called Metal Gear Solid. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. While you could fight, it was actively discouraged. Solid Snake didn’t have a lot of health, and guards could just keep coming in to fight him. So, stealth was the better option. It was smart, and deviated greatly from the style of games I was used to playing at the time. Which was mostly hit stuff until it died or ran away.
In addition to this, the cutscenes and voice acting were unlike anything I had ever seen before. Sure, there were digitized clips of voices, but almost nothing with fully voiced lines on a video game console (that I had played outside of the Philips CD-i). I was totally blown away.
Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to get MGS1 until much later in my life. Thankfully, I was able to hunt down a copy of the Greatest Hits Edition that I could play on my PS3 (thanks to its built in emulation). Word to the wise: hunt these down if you want old PS1 games, because they’re generally cheaper.
Anyway, when I started playing, that same level of awe came flooding back in from when I was a teenager playing that Pizza Hut demo. I was amazed at how much went into the little details of the environments, the detailed (and very lengthy) conversations with Snake’s friends and foes, and the gripping story. The voice acting was pretty good for the time, and I was always appreciative of games that included them, such as Sacnoth’s excellent 2000 horror RPG Koudelka. Especially since they could eat a bit of the storage space on a CD-ROM.
Metal Gear Solid also led me to try Sony’s attempt to dive into espionage-oriented action, Syphon Filter (and its sequel). While those games are still great in their own merit, it never had that same appeal that MGS had for me.
I also picked up the weird standalone Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions expansion. It seemed too weird NOT to have. And while it seems like it’ll just be an extended version of the tutorials found in the base game at first, it’s more of a challenge mode, with some wacky extras packed in.
In any case, Metal Gear Solid is still an incredible experience, and I encourage people to try it, either via its original version or the Master Collection Vol. 1 iteration.
Bowling (aka SIMPLE 1500シリーズ Vol.18 THE ボーリング, Shinpuru 1500 Shirīzu Vol. 18 Za Bōringu)
Okay, so hear me out, but I loved this game when I was in high school. I didn’t even know that it was a port until last year. I think I saw it at the discount bin for around $5 USD at Walmart or some place around my junior year. I liked bowling enough, and if this was bad, I figured could just sell it. But, surprise, I liked it. I’d play a couple of rounds, trying to beat my high score every night before watching TV, listening to music, or playing another game.
These ports were honestly kind of interesting. I only ever played Bowling, though. There’s a really great video on the Simple 1500 games on the PS1 that you should check that goes in depth about how these even came to the West. It’s actually a pretty interesting story.
Anyway, my go-to ball was a 13 lb. urethane ball, and I usually did extremely well with it. Provided I didn’t mess up the timing. I spent many nights trying to figure out the timing I needed for a perfect strike or ways to pick up a split without dunking the ball in the gutter. Never did get a 300 game, though. Plenty of times in the lower 200s, but 300 still eludes me to this day.
I didn’t play many sports games during this time. It was pretty much this and X Games Pro Boarder (I often put this disc in my CD player and listened to the soundtrack). However, I loved this simple little bowling game. It’s one I can still easily pick up and play. And that’s the great thing about stuff like this on the PS1. You could play a bit of something like Bowling, and easily switch to something else. There was nothing trying to keep you playing, but yourself.
Sports games have been something I’ve been trying more on the PS1, and I like to think it’s partially because of how much fun I had with Bowling. Of course, regular readers of my blog will know how much I’ve come to love hockey, and of course I picked up NHL 99 (though I haven’t really played it yet). There were so many sports titles on the PS1, too, with a lot of variety in gameplay, too. Sim games, arcade-style stuff, and even more bizarre takes on individual sports as well. But, for my experience, this one is something I’ll picking up until I die.
The PS1 Was My Everything
There were so many more games on the PS1, obviously, and I could talk about them forever. The console wasn’t lacking in variety, that’s for sure. However, as time has marched forward, many of these games have fallen out of view. Many can still only be played on the PS1 or through emulation. While some made it onto the PS3, PSP, and Vita storefronts, the PSP store has been shutdown for some time now, and the PS3 and Vita stores are set to close next year.
This means that so many of these wonderful games will become even harder to find, especially as the collectors’ market has wildly inflated the cost of some of these classics. Most will probably never made be available commercially ever again. And that’s tragic, especially since this era of gaming was really special to a lot of people, including myself. In the meantime, I suggest exploring the original PlayStation’s library for yourself. There’s generally something there for everyone. And who knows: you may just find your favorite game in there.
