9th December 2012, 12:49 AM
Trying a new title for this series that also includes the Odyssey 2, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, and PC Racing Games.
I'm not using the word "review" in the main title because I only would use that for games I've beaten or at least played a LOT of. "Short Reviews" is in the subtitle in order to connect it to those other four threads, all of which mention that phrase. The issue with that here is that with only two exceptions, the only PSX games I've beaten are the fighting games and shmups. (The two exceptions are Threads of Fate and Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.) I'm a Nintendo fan and the N64 is my favorite console, and like Sega consoles too, but have never liked Sony or their consoles. Regardless, I know that there are many good games on Sony systems, which is why I got a PSone in '06, and why I've kept buying games for the system since then. I have about as many games now for the PS1 as I do for any console, somewhere in the 150 range. But do expect a somewhat different perspective from the one a Sony fan would give.
Top 10 favorite PS1 games (from what I have) (this is just something I just put together, it's nothing thought through too deeply. The order doesn't mean much. Actually the numbers and order should probably be mostly ignored... but these are all games I like a lot, at least.)
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1. Threads of Fate
2. Star Ocean: The Second Story
3. Rollcage
4. Strikers 1945
5. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
6. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
7. Evil Zone
8. Grandia
9. Tempest X3
10. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
Honorable Mentions: Mobile Light Force, Wipeout XL, Wipeout 3, Castlevania Chronicles, Bushido Blade 2, In the Hunt, DarkStalkers 3, WarHawk, Dead or Alive, Koudelka, Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein
Noteworthy lesser-known titles: Evil Zone (also above), Invasion from Beyond!, Sea-Doo HydroCross
Worst I Have (in no order): Psybadek, O.D.T., Yu-Gi-Oh!: Forbidden Memories, NHL FaceOff 98, Largo Winch, CyberSpeed, Moto Racer: World Tour, Motocross Mania
Note that I have no import titles for Playstation -- these are all US releases.
Games I have but haven't played at all so I obviously can't cover yet: 2Xtreme, Allied General, Broken Helix, Colony Wars, Crypt Killer, Die Hard Trilogy, Driver 2, Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix, JetMoto 2, The Legend of Dragoon, Medal of Honor: Underground, NASCAR 2000, NFL GameDay 2002, Parasite Eve, Parasite Eve 2, Resident Evil: Survivor, Robotron X, RushDown, Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001, Sentinel Returns, Silent Hill, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, Spyro (3): Year of the Dragon, Street Fighter Collection 2, Wild Arms, WWF: In Your House
Games I have and have played a little of, but not enough to do a full review. I wrote a few sentences for these games which is included in the main text below; these titles are marked with brackets in the full titles review list below this list. I thought that I wanted to write something for every PS1 game I have and have played at least some of, even if I can't say enough to actually give it any kind of review. Games: Chrono Cross, Dino Crisis, Fear Effect, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, King's Field, Martian Gothic: Unification, Metal Gear Solid, Midway Presents Atari's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol. 2, Namco Museum Vol. 1, Namco Museum Vol. 3, NHL FaceOff 98, O.D.T., Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire, SaGa Frontier, Yu-Gi-Oh!: Forbidden Memories
Games Covered Below (brackets mean not-really-reviews as listed above)
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Activision's collection of 30 classic games for the Atari 2600, Alundra, Alundra 2, Ape Escape, Army Men Air Attack 2, Assault: Retribution, Atari Anniversary Edition Redux, Battle Arena Toshinden 3, Ball Breakers, Ballerburg: Castle Chaos, BattleTanx: Global Assault, Beyond the Beyond, Board Game Top Shop, Bomberman Fantasy Race, Bomberman: Party Edition, Bomberman World, The Bombing Islands, Brave Fencer Musashi, Bravo Air Race, Bubsy 3D, Bushido Blade 2, Castlevania Chronicles, Circuit Breakers, Clock Tower, College Slam, [Colony Wars], Colony Wars 2: Vengeance, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Critical Depth, Croc 2, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, Crash Team Racing, CyberSpeed, Darkstalkers 3, Darkstone, Dead or Alive, Deathtrap Dungeon, Deception: Invitation to Darkness, Destruction Derby, [Dino Crisis], Driver, Evil Zone, [Fear Effect], [Final Fantasy IX], [Final Fantasy Tactics], [Final Fantasy VII], Gauntlet Legends, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Ghost in the Shell, Grandia, Granstream Saga, Gubble, Heart of Darkness, In the Hunt, Interactive CD Sampler Disc Vol. 4, Invasion from Beyond, Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu, Jet Moto, Kartia: The Word of Fate, The King of Fighters '99, [King's Field], Koudelka, Largo Winch: Commando SAR, Legend of Legaia, Lucky Luke, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Four Disc Collector's Edition), [Martian Gothic: Unification], MDK, Medal of Honor, Medievil II, Mega Man X6, [Metal Gear Solid], Midway Presents Atari's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol. 2, Mobile Light Force, Mort the Chicken, Motocross Mania, Moto Racer: World Tour, N2O: Nitrous Oxide, [Namco Museum Vol. 1], [Namco Museum Vol. 3], Norse By Norsewest: The Return of the Lost Vikings, Novastorm, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, [O.D.T.: Escape... Or Die Trying], Off-World Interceptor Extreme, One, Pandemonium, Pac-Man World: 20th Anniversary, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Project: Horned Owl, Project Overkill, Psybadek, Punky Skunk, Putter Golf, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, RayCrisis: Series Termination, Rayman, Rival Schools: United by Fate, Road Rash 3D, Rollcage: Limited Edition, [Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire], [SaGa Frontier], San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing, Sea-Doo HydroCross, Sheep, ShipWreckers, Shooter Space Shot, Shooter Starfighter Sanvein, Sled Storm, Sol Divide, Soul Blade, Space Griffon VF-9, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels, Spin Jam, Spyro the Dragon, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, Street Fighter EX2 Plus, Street Racer, Strikers 1945 II, Super Bubble Pop, Syphon Filter, Tales of Destiny, Tekken 3, Tempest X3: An Inter-Galactic Battle Zone, Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Test Drive 4, Tetris Plus, Threads of Fate, Tiger Shark, Time Crisis, TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4X4, Total Eclipse Turbo, Tunnel B-1, Um Jammer Lammy, Vandal Hearts, Warhawk, Wild 9, WipEout, WipEout XL, WipEout 3, [Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories]
Notes: I list the number of players each game supports, whether it saves, and whether the game supports the Analog Gamepad and Dual Shock's analog mode. I may also list other peripherals certain games support, and try to list other platforms games are on, for multiplatform titles. "Analog Gamepad supported" means that the game will work on the DualShock or Analog Gamepad in analog mode. Games listed as having negCon controller support also support Playstation wheels, because all PS1 wheel controllers use the negCon analog system. Most PS1 racing games support it, even though they rarely mention it on their US packaging. Also remember that review length is not a reflection of overall game quality; longer reviews don't mean better games, it just means that I had more to say, that's all.
Reviews
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Activision's collection of 30 classic games for the Atari 2600
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Two player, saves (1 block). This is a fine collection of 30 Activision games for the 2600. It does save, but only a game in progress -- it's just rom emulation here, no high-score saving here. Write them down yourself or something. That really is a problem with these games, most of which have no ending, you just play until you lose... I really don't get why so many games back then had no endings. I much prefer it when games do have endings eventually. This whole "play until you lose" concept is kind of depressing when you think about it a bit... "save the world from the aliens!" But actually you can't, you and the Earth are doomed every time. Ah well, at least the games are often fun. As score-competition titles, this collection definitely includes some pretty good games. However, that ties in to my other, and most important, complaint: In a modern collection of 2nd gen games, at least figure out how to save the scores. That's the only thing most of these games have, score, so it's important to save it somehow. I'd expect the collection to save my best efforts, but it doesn't. Still, the games are classics, and the emulation is okay. The manual is nice and has a little blurb for each game, explaining the difficulty/game select options. (Again, you can save a game in progress, but that's all.)
Ape Escape
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Two player, saves (1 block), Analog Controller required. Ape Escape is a decently good 3d platformer game, and the first major title to require the dual analog controller, which obviously makes 3d platformer games much more fun than they are with d-pads. It's not the greatest game ever, but it's okay. The levels have a decent amount to do in them, and the platforming can be fun. I didn't get that far into it before quitting, though. Ape Escape may be decent, but it's also generic in gameplay and level designs. The graphics are okay for PSX 3d, but aren't great. The gameplay's no better. Overall this is an average game. It got attention at the time of its release because it was the only PS1 game that required an analog gamepad, but even the PS1 has 3d platformers better than this one. It might be worth a look, but is nothing too exciting.
Alundra
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One player, saves (1 block). Alundra is an action-RPG in the Zelda mold. The game is by some of the staff behind Landstalker, and while I definitely don't think it's as good as Landstalker, it is a pretty good game in its own right. This game does not really play much like Landstalker, with more Zelda or Mana-style stuff in it than that game. It also does not share Landstalker's signature isometric viewpoint. It does have platform jumping and some similar art though, so there are a few similarities. The game is entirely top-down 2d, which is great. The visuals look very nice. This game is mostly set in and around this one town, where the dreamwalker Alundra has ended up. He has the ability to enter peoples' dreams, and is here to stop a demon invading the real and dream worlds. The visuals and story are both dark and depressing; there's not much happiness to be found in this town, or in this game. The game borders on being overly depressing, really -- expect a high body count and little happiness. The gameplay is good though, with areas to explore, items to find, puzzles to solve, and monsters to fight. The game has some fairly difficult puzzles in it, and some equally challenging combat at times, so it won't be easy, but it is always well designed. This game has a good reputation, and it deserves it.
Alundra 2
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One player, saves, Analog Gamepad support. This is a bland and not that great 3d action-RPG. The game stars a new main character, and really has very little to do with the first Alundra apart from the name and genre. There's nothing really special here, and the game is neither great or awful. Average stuff really. I haven't gotten that far in this game... I know most Alundra 1 fans hate it, because it's a somewhat cute anime-style game that's a far cry from Alundra 1's dark and depressing story and world, but gameplay-wise it's not THAT bad. Seems average at least, for the genre and platform. And I don't mind optimistic anime stuff, so the theme is fine with me. But even so, this isn't a great game, certainly. The 3d world isn't as fun to explore as the first game's 2d one, the controls aren't too good, and there's no lock-on either. I can see why the people who liked the first one don't like this, but it is somewhat entertaining. I don't mind light anime themes like this one, myself, and don't really think it's worse just because it's light instead of dark and depressing. It's worse because it isn't quite as good of a game in either graphics or gameplay. But still, it's not actually bad, just okay. Still, this probably is the least fun of the action-RPGs I have for PS1.
Army Men Air Attack 2
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Two player, saves, Analog Gamepad support. Army Men Air Attack 2 is a solid sequel. Gameplay-wise it provides more of the same angled-overhead-view, 2d-plane-movement-only helicopter shooting game action from the first game, except with new levels and a lot more story this time. The game is a helicopter action game, somewhat in the Strike series mold but simpler. You fly around your attack helicopter, blowing up enemy tanks, soldiers, and vehicles and picking up stuff as you try to accomplish your mission objectives. Quite the opposite of the Strike games, but like the first Army Men Air Attack, the game's easy. It's probably too easy, really; this game may have 20+ missions, but few will challenge. Still, it is fun while it lasts, and the Strike games can be very hard, so having something similar but easier isn't that bad. I like the gameplay in these games, they are simple but fun. The story is told through CG cutscenes, and they're decently done; the plastic people are amusing looking, and I like the "plastic WWII" theme. Army Men was of course a heavily over-published franchise that generation, but the Air Combat games are probably the best games in the Army Men franchise overall, so it was great to see this sequel.
It is too bad that, unlike the first one, it didn't come to N64 too, but the game does have some next-gen ports, as detailed below. And that is probably the biggest issue with this game -- there are also PS2 and GC ports of the game, and they are better than this one. I haven't played it on PS2, but I do have the GC version (it's titled "Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions", but it is a port of the PS2 version with 4-player multiplayer added and no other changes of note), and between the two, the helicopter controls are much better on the GC. Sure, controls are decent on the PS1, but after playing both, I could really tell the difference between the two; you simply have better, more accurate controls in that later release. The graphics are better there too, of course, though for the PS1 AMAA2 looks nice enough. Both releases have some slowdown, for whatever reason. I'm hoping it was intentional, particularly on the GC, with how bland it looks visually (for the GC)... The PS1 version does have one thing missing from the GC and PS2 though: for some reason, one of the five multiplayer modes was removed from the PS2 and GC releases. So yeah, there's one PS1-exclusive multiplayer mode, though given that the GC is the only one with 3 or 4 player support, it's the best multiplayer option overall even so. Still, even though better versions of this game are out there, the PS1 version's decent fun. I would recommend getting the GC version if possible, but this one's sure to be much cheaper and easier to find. Also on PlayStation II and Gamecube (titled "Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions" on the latter system; yes, that is a port of this game.)
Assault: Retribution
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Two player, saves, Analog Gamepad support. Assault: Retribution is a 3d run-and-gun played from a somewhat isometric angle. As it's a 3d game the camera moves around from area to area, but it has a side or overhead-style viewpoint. In the game, you run along narrow, but not entirely 2d, environments, defeating enemies and avoiding obstacles. There are several different weapons, two playable characters, and plenty of powerups to collect. It's straightforward stuff and works well. The game was published (but not developed) by Midway in the US, and it's a pretty good game. The developer, Candle Light Studio, didn't make any games other than this one, so I guess it failed, unfortunately. Though jumping puzzles aside the game is easy on the default setting, the game is a decent challenge on higher difficulties, and is fun regardless. The graphics are only average, too, but they're decent enough to do. Overall, I found myself actually having a lot of fun with this game. Recommended for any run & gun fans -- this game is better than its reviews suggest. And yes, it has two player co-op, which is great. The PS1 Contra games don't have that.
Atari Anniversary Edition Redux
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad and Mouse support. This is a collection of 12 Atari arcade games. Yeah, arcade, not 2600. This collection does save your high scores, and includes some interesting games; in addition to the expected Pong, Missile Command, Centipede, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Super Breakout, Tempest, Battlezone, and Warlords, you also get Gravitar, Space Duel, and Black Widow. Each game can be played windowed with machine art on the sides of the screen, or full-screen. Unfortunately there is no tate mode for vertical-monitor games. That's really too bad. The collection does include some promo art and video interviews with the original designers, so it's not just a ROM dump collection, which is great. I also like that it does save your scores and settings, and that it's got some fairly good presentation and full sets of options and settings for each game as well. The main problem I have with the collection is that many of these games are a little hard to read at the Playstation's resolution, or something... the transition to the PS1 is not perfect, many of these games have small text and graphics which can be hard to make out. Still, it's a solid collection, maybe worth getting for cheap. Black Widow is a particularly interesting surprise; I hadn't played it before, but it's a pretty cool twin-stick shooter! I love those. Atari Anniversary Edition Redux is a Playstation-exclusive remix of the PC/Dreamcast collection "Atari Anniversary Edition". The original creator video interviews are all new and exclusive to this version, and Crystal Castles (from the original collection) was removed and replaced with Black Widow. However, I'll bet that the screen's easier to see in those versions... Still, some stuff is exclusive here.
Ball Breakers
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Two player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Ball Breakers is a somewhat odd futuristic vehicular action/racing game. The game's concept is that in the future, some hardened criminal androids are being allowed to fight in this competition for future television. If you win, you might get out. The characters don't have legs, though; instead, for a lower body they have a ball, which explains the title, and driving-game-esque, or perhaps rolling-ball-game-esque (Marble Madness, etc.), controls. The game has solid rolling-ball physics for the characters, as well. The game has a mostly-overhead camera and 3d polygonal graphics. The game is made up of a variety of mission types, so different levels play differently. There are races, gauntlet stages where you have to get to the end without dying, shootouts, tag matches, and more -- seven mission types in all. There are six playable characters, and ten areas full of missions. The game's variety and concept are its strong points for sure, along with solid controls and gameplay... and it originally sold for $10! Sure, the game has some issues, such as some difficult and frustrating parts, and even though there's a lot of variety in game styles they all have the same basic controls and the graphics, while nice, all look similar so it can get repetitive, but even so Ball Breakers is definitely a good game. In the US this was only released on PS1, but in Europe it also had PC and Dreamcast releases which surely are improved over this one, at least visually. In Europe the game is called "MoHo".
Ballerburg: Castle Chaos
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Two player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Ballerburg: Castle Chaos is a port of a PC game released under several different titles, including Ballerburg and Castle Siege Ballerburg. It's a very late PS1 release from the last years of the system. Basically this is an artillery game, sort of Scorched Earth-style, crossed with some basic strategy game elements such as simple base-building. So, you spend some of your time tossing projectiles at the other castle, and the rest of your time building up your base. It's a low-budget game and it shows, though, with mediocre at best graphics and sound. Also, importantly, the controls are frustrating -- this game would be much better with a mouse! It's not a particularly good game, but because I like the theme and concept I find it a little enjoyable. Shooting cannons and catapults at other castles, aiming to hit them taking wind into consideration, and building up your fortress are fun, even if not implemented here nearly as well as they could have been.
Battle Arena Toshinden 3
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Two player. This is the third Toshinden game, and it's the last one that got a release in the US; the fourth PS1 game, and the more recent Wii title, were both Japan only. The first Toshinden was one of the most significant PS1 titles of 1995 in the US, though, so it's interesting that the series had such a hard fall. However, looking at this game, I can see why: Toshinden 3 is a mediocre game even for Toshinden, and was a worse game than either of its predecessors. Yes, Toshinden 1 is a far better game than this. There are lots of characters in Toshinden 3, and you can choose 30 or 60 frames per second modes (with limited graphics in 60 fps mode), but regardless of the framerate, the gameplay is just far too slow and not very fun. Play a better fighting game instead of this one.
BattleTanx: Global Assault
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Two player, saves (one block), Analog Gamepad support. Overall, this is a mediocre PSX remake of the N64 classic of the same name. The N64 version is a favorite of mine, I've played many hours over the years and really love it. This one just isn't the same, though. First, the campaign. There are more levels in the single player campaign in this version, but they are shorter and smaller, so the overall length isn't that different. The PSX version may be slightly longer, but the levels are more boring and less fun because of their reduced size and complexity, so overall the N64 version is definitely superior. Cutscenes are fully voiced FMV now, instead of pictures with text; it's really not an improvement, they made the story even stupider. I mean, the intro before the first level... they made it so that now Cassandra personally attacks Madison and the baby, and Griffin shows up to save her, but instead of shooting Cassandra, who is just standing there right in front of him, he just leaves, "never actually defeat the bad guy" style. Um, no, that's not what happened in the original... on the N64 Cassandra never has a face-to-face meeting with our heroes, it's just that her army is attacking. The change was for the worse, that's for sure. And then from there you go to the new, smaller, less interesting levels, and it may be hard to see why this game was so great on the N64. At least the graphics are decently good, for a PSX game. However, multiplayer was one of the great strengths of BattleTanx on the N64. The four player multiplayer, with numerous modes, and the two player campaign, were both fantastic. Well, the game is two player only here. Even though otherwise it's not that different, some smaller map sizes aside, that limitation really hurts the game a lot. Again, much better on N64.
Beyond the Beyond
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One player, saves. Beyond the Beyond is a fairly early (1996) RPG from Camelot. Camelot had started out on the Genesis, and did develop on Saturn, but made this game too along the way. The game looks like a Camelot game, and the text font is nearly identical to the one in Golden Sun, for instance. I liked Golden Sun, and Shining Force, so it's interesting to see this in-between work. As I said it definitely looks like a Camelot game, and that's great. The graphics are fairly simplistic, with barely-better-than-4th-gen visuals and not a whole lot of cutscenes or voice acting either, but I don't mind that; I think the game looks fine. Gameplay is very standard, with an average JRPG menu-based battle system, random battles, and such. The characters are moderately interesting, and the story starts off generically, but well. Overall, I think I like this game. Its main problem is that it's sure to eventually get frustrating or grindey, since the dungeons quickly start getting larger and there is of course no map. I hate when games have that stuff, and random battles too... oh well. Overall, this game doesn't have the best reputation, but really, it's a simple but solid early-5th-gen RPG. Repetition is the main issue here; apart from that, it seems good.
Board Game: Top Shop
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Four player, saves (2 blocks). Board Game: Top Shop is a 2d side-view, and Monopoly-esque, board game. In the game, the players move around a three-story mall, buying stores as they land on them, stocking the stores, and forcing other players to buy stuff in their stores as they land on them. The twist that you don't just get money whenever someone lands on your shops, but have to actually stock shops so that they will have something to buy, adds some challenge to the game. There are 40 different types of shops to open, and lots of goods, so this game has some nice variety. It's also definitely got challenge, too; the computer AI can be tough. There are a decent number of anime-style characters to choose from, and the game has solid 2d visuals. As for the gameplay though, that depends on how much you like Monopoly variants. It's certainly decent, at least. The main downside is that it's somewhat slow paced, particularly against the computer. Games take quite a while.
Bomberman Fantasy Race
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Two player, saves (1 block). This is an okay but not great 3d kart racing game with Bomberman characters. Poor graphics, mediocre options... don't bother, I think. There are worse kart racing games out there, but there are also much better, even on PS1.
Bomberman: Party Edition
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Five player (with multitap), saves (1 block). This is a 2d, classic Bomberman game, with 5 player play. There's nothing original here; this is just a fine, solid top-down-2d-style Bomberman game. The single player mode is actually a remake of the original NES Bomberman game, which is interesting. This means that single player mode levels scroll, unlike the single-screen battle arenas, as you have to blow up all the enemies in each stage. I don't think that the first Bomberman game is one of the better ones in the series though, so I find the single player a little boring even for a Bomberman game. Still, it's okay, and does have better visuals than the NES at least, and saving of course. Overall though, Bomberman Party Edition is average Bomberman, just like Bomberman usually is. It is nice to have one 2d Bomberman game on each system, though. It's not too compelling in single player, but Bomberman is usually better in multiplayer anyway, so that isn't a crippling flaw. The graphics are solid, and it's a fine, traditional 2d Bomberman multiplayer game. This isn't one of the best Bomberman games for sure, but it's decent.
Bomberman World
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Five player (with multitap), saves (1 block). Bomberman World is the first PS1 Bomberman game, though it released after both Saturn titles and the first N64 game, and it's decent. The game has a sort of isometric view of the action, as you see things from the side at a slight angle. The graphics are pre-rendered CG 2d, and look decent. The game has a traditional Bomberman single player mode where you go through a sequence of levels, killing all the enemies on each stage to progress, and the usual multiplayer mode full of options. I think I like this game a bit more than Party Edition in both graphics and gameplay; the game's a bit more visually unique than that one is, and the single player's more updated, as you'd expect from a new game (remembering that Party Edition's single player is actually a remake of the original Bomberman). This game, like the title above, is not original and pushes no boundaries, unlike the N64 Bombermans, but at least the formula it uses is a solid one. I've rarely loved traditional Bomberman as a single-player series -- I liked Bomberman GB for the Game Boy, but that's about it really -- but they are fun multiplayer games and decent single player games too, and this one has some decent graphics and solid level designs, too. Don't expect anything original here, but do expect good, solid, classic Bomberman fun.
The Bombing Islands
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One player, saves. A puzzle game from Kemco, this got some bad reviews. It stars Kid Klown, but unfortunately it's not nearly as good as his earlier platformers. The game's not terrible, but it's not that good either. You move around the field, trying to figure out where to move the bombs to so that they'll destroy all the bombs in one blast; somehow if they all go off at once you're safe, but if you fail to destroy them all you get blown up. Huh. It quickly gets hard and frustrating. Very mediocre 3d graphics too. This game has the same concept and basic game design as another Kemco game from that generation, Charlie Blast's Territory for the N64. They aren't exactly the same in content, but they are quite similar.
Brave Fencer Musashi
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One player, saves. This is a game I really should play a lot more before reviewing. As far as I've gotten it seems pretty good, though the graphics aren't great, but I got stuck not too far in and stopped. I think one problem I have is that I played Threads of Fate first, which sort of is like a sequel to this game, and has better graphics and gameplay, so going back to this one is tough. Still, it is a pretty good game. It has a simple but amusingly comical story, and fun 3d plaform-RPG gameplay. It feels somewhat 2.5d, as you are often going right or left, but areas are 3d and you do move around in 3d. It's a good mix and works well.
Bravo Air Race
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Two player, saves. Bravo Air Race is a plane racing game. The game is dated, with a simple look, narrow tracks, and not much space to fly around in. All four tracks - and yes, there are only four - are in canyons of some kind or another, so there are no open areas. If you go too high or low, you will be brought back into the flying area, too. At first I didn't like this game much, but after a few races I got used to it, and I do think that the core gameplay is fun. The controls work well, and the planes control quite well. Each plane handles differently, too, which is good. The main problem is that simply this game has almost no content. There are only four tracks, and you can play them in any order. Only one of the four tracks challenged me much, once I got used to the controls, too. Once you've finished in first in all four and get to see the credits, that's pretty much it. There really is no replay value here at all, unless you want to play it in multiplayer, but even then, it won't last long. Apparently the sequel, which sadly was only released in Japan, has more tracks and adds a much-needed circuit mode to add more play value, but this first one doesn't have that, unfortunately. As it is, this game is some fun to play despite being badly dated, but expect your time with this game to be very short.
Bubsy 3D
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One player, saves (one block). Bubsy 3D is widely despised as one of the worst 3d platformers ever, so my expectations were absolutely bottom of the barrel when I got it. Well, I was quite pleasantly surprised -- Bubsy 3D really is not that bad. The controls are a challenge, for sure -- this is a d-pad only game, as expected for an early PSX title, and the controls really suffer for it. It's too bad that there wasn't a version of this game released on some system with an analog controller, it'd make a huge difference. Also, the controls are slippery so landing on platforms can be tricky. Finally, for the graphics, at the time textures were the new big thing, so the fact that it has lots of shaded polygons instead, with only some that are textured, bothered people. Today this shouldn't be too much of a problem though, it gives the game a different style. The graphics actually are reasonably good. The game has a sharp, clear look that I almost never see in Playstation games -- it almost makes me think it's running in hi-res or something. There are a good number of levels, and there are things to go back and find in them too, after you beat them the first time. Really, once I got used to the game's eccentricities, I found this game to be both fun and quite challenging. It is frustrating and hard so it's easy to give up when you die over and over trying to figure out your way through the complex, jumping-puzzles-between-lots-of-small-moving-platforms-over-bottomless-pits-filled levels. Still though, that kind of thing is both fun as well as frustrating, so it's not all bad. Overall, it's really not that bad. Yes, I can easily see why Mario 64 destroyed it in the press because Bubsy 3D is nothing like that and obviously is much simpler and inferior, but on its own, really, despite some definite flaws, it's a decent game.
Bushido Blade 2
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Two players, saves. This is a great, and original, 3d fighting game. The concept is a more "realistic" weapon-based fighting game, where a single hit can kill. The game is executed well, with a nice variety of characters, good controls, and compelling combat. The game's theme, though, is very much anime-styled, so the "realism" is only in the combat system, really. It is funny seeing these anime-style characters killing eachother in one hit, that often doesn't happen in anime... I like anime well enough, but a more realistic theme would have been cool too. The final boss is particularly anime/videogameey in design, and I don't know if it really fits with the rest of the gameplay. Still, this is a very good game, unlike anything else except for the first one. The challenge and uniqueness of the system really makes it interesting, and fighting game fans should consider this a must play. It's a lot of fun, and has good replay value as well. It's too bad that the series did not continue, it should have!
Castlevania Chronicles
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One player, saves (1 block). This is a port of the Sharp X68000 (a Japanese computer) game Akamajou Dracula, or Castlevania as we know it. This was the game's first Western release, and it's a great, but very difficult, classic-style Castlevania platformer. The game has good 16-bit graphics and sound, a good length, and lots of challenge. I haven't finished it; it's very difficult. Still, if you can find it cheap, buy this game -- it's very good. It's great that we finally got this "lost" Castlevania game. It's not quite Super Castlevania IV in quality, but it is a good game. I haven't finished this though, mostly because it gets extremely hard, much harder than anything in SCIV or Rondo of Blood. Still, great game.
[Chrono Cross]
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One player, saves, has Analog Gamepad support. Chrono Cross is the controversial sequel (of sorts) to the popular classic SNES RPG Chrono Trigger. I've only played a handful of hours of Trigger, but it did seem reasonably good for a SNES JRPG (not exactly my favorite kind of game, really). As for this one though, the few hours I did play it seemed good. The graphics are pretty nice for PS1 3d, and the music is good. I like how it has visible enemies, like Trigger did; always very much appreciated! The main problem with the game is that I've spoiled large parts of the stories for both games for myself, and really dislike some of what this game does to Trigger's story...
Circuit Breakers
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Circuit Breakers is a racing game from Supersonic, the same developers as Micro Machines 2, V3, and V4, among others. This game feels like a Micro Machines game, except that instead of being from a top-down perspective, it's sort of three quarters behind. The result is it's not directly behind the car, and not overhead, but something in between. The most important difference between this and Micro Machines isn't that, though, it's that the tracks here do have walls; Circuit Breakers is not as free-roaming a game as Micro Machines is, so staying on the course isn't quite as tough. There's plenty of challenge elsewhere, though. The graphics are okay; definitely nothing special, but for the PSX it looks okay and has a decent style. The game uses some nice visual effects, particularly for the weapons. The gameplay is fun, anyone who likes Micro Machines as I do likely will like this game. It's got a good challenge level, but isn't impossible. Circuit Breakers is good.
Clock Tower
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One player, has saving. This is actually Clock Tower 2, the sequel to a Japan-only Super Famicom (also later remade for PSX, also Japan only) game called Clock Tower. The Clock Tower series is a horror series, but the first three games for the SFC and PSX are not the Resident Evil clones you might expect. Instead, they are classic style graphic adventure games with a horror theme. There are two main playable characters and several secondary ones you play as for short periods of time, and there are many paths through the game -- like the first game, Clock Tower 2 has lots of endings, most of them bad endings where the characters get killed, as you'd expect from a horror game. Your goal is to survive the second appearance of the evil killer with the giant sissors who terrorized (and killed) his way through the first game. This is a direct sequel, set several years later; it must have been be a little confusing for US audiences, given that we never got either version of the original title. Still, it has its own story, and does stand on its own decently well enough that it works, and it's great that we got the game -- we didn't get many graphic adventures on consoles! Talk to people, pick up items, solve puzzles, try to avoid the killer, and try to defeat him somehow... I'm early in the game of course, but it's fun. Oh, it is slow paced -- slow text speed, slow walking speed, only somewhat useful run. Oh well. The graphics have average prerendered/drawn backdrops (no Resident Evil quality stuff here) with mediocre 3d polygon characters. It's obviously not a big budget production, but it's fun and well made.
College Slam
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block). This is a good port of this "NBA Jam TE with college players" game Acclaim made. And it really is NBA Jam T.E. with college players. College Slam uses the same engine and has an identical set of options to T.E., just with college teams instead of pro. That's good, though, because T.E. is the best NBA Jam game, but this is not quite as good as the original. This is a hard game, but I usually have difficulty with NBA Jam-franchise titles, so that's really no surprise. I like the games anyway, even if I'm not that good at them. But even if it isn't as good as NBA Jam T.E. due to the fact that the clone is often not quite the same as the original, and that I find the pro teams more interesting than these college ones, College Slam is a fun game, and does have 4 player multitap support, which is nice. The 2d graphics also work well, and it's got good scaling as you expect from the 5th gen systems. Visually it looks great. Also, it's a longbox title! I love those. Also on Saturn. Other versions of the game were released in Arcades, SNES, Genesis, and Game Boy.
[Colony Wars]
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One player, has saving, has Playstation Analog Joystick support. Haven't actually played this game yet. This game does work with the Playstation Analog Joystick, so if I ever get one I can play it with good controls... that's cool.
[Colony Wars: Vengeance]
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One player, has saving, has Analog Gamepad support. I played one mission of this game, a while ago. I thought that space combat games like this are no fun with a gamepad, but really should be played with a joystick, and quit and never came back. What it is, though, is a simple 3d space flight combat game. Fly around and shoot the baddies. It's not much compared to an X-Wing or Wing Commander game, that's for sure... not terrible, I guess, but nothing too interesting.
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
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One player, saves (1 block). Crash Bandicoot was about as close as the PS1 had to a mascot character, so like many good Nintendo fans, at the time I disliked him without ever actually playing his games (And no, I still haven't played the first one.). It wasn't until the last year or so that I actually played a Crash game for more than a minute, really. And indeed, I still don't like Crash's design. It really looks like they were trying way too hard to make him "cool", but all they succeeded at is making him look kind of foolish... Mario or Sonic he is not! The collecting focus in this series is on boxes, too. Yes, boxes. It's pretty much impossible to imagine a more boring collection-item focus than "get 100% by destroying all the boxes in each level!" But that's how it is, for whatever reason. Anyway though, Crash 2 has polygonal graphics and two basic level types, into-the-screen running, or side-scrolling. The sidescrolling levels are fun and solidly designed. I like that part of the game. The into-the-screen running parts, though, just aren't as good. This is supposed to be an answer to Mario 64, or something comprable to it, really? How? It's basic, plays like something the SNES could have handled a simplified version of (I mean, the SNES does have some isometric-path platformers, like that Kid Klown game), and doesn't give you anywhere near the feel that true 3d exploration does. Even just having you move around a linear sequence of 3d areas, such as Rayman 2, is far better than this. Still, the visuals are okay to good, and there certainly is plenty of challenge here. I do like that it mixes things up a bit with things like the parts where you have to run into the screen. But yeah, the sidescrolling parts of the game are the best. Overall Crash 2 is decent, but not great. It can be some fun.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped!
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One player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Crash 3, the final platformer Crash game on the PS1, is very similar to the first two. This makes sense since only one year separated the releases of each title, but it is very much like the others. If you like Crash, you'll like it. Otherwise, it's not any better. The main addition here is that there are some vehicle-based stages where you play as Crash's sister instead of Crash himself, and some of them occur in slightly more dynamically 3d worlds than the straight paths of most of the game. They're still ocmpletely linear on narrow paths, of course, but stuff like the jetski-style level is nice to see. The sidescrolling areas are the best part again, though. This is a solid platformer, mostly held back by the same issues it shares with the previous titles in the series. Due to being more varied it's probably the better of these two Crash games, but it's certainly still nothing that competes with the best polygonal platformers. And yeah, Crash's design is still not so good, and it's aged too - he looks very '90s.
Critical Depth
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Two player, saves. Critical Depth is a 3d sub combat game from Singletrac. It's an arena combat game, essentially, except in 3d (underwater) space. There are 12 subs to choose from, a story mode where you go through levels (it's very hard, limited lives...), and more. The d-pad only controls are an issue though, this kind of game badly needs analog control... Graphics are okay for the system, but nothing special for sure. It looks grainy and pixelated as expected. Still, tolerable visuals and the gameplay can be fun, this game's alright. Getting good enough to not die, though, might take a while. You need to not just kill the enemies, but also keep them from gathering all five of the item pieces, because in the main (story) mode if you do that you can win immediately, if no one shoots you before you get to the portal. It is tough to do that without killing everyone, but it is possible. There are several other game modes too, though all of course involve shooting. Two player, this is the kind of thing you wish you could play with four people... still, a decent effort for the system. It's a good game, but would have been even better with four player support, analog controls, and improved graphics.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
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One player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad Support. I've always liked Croc. It's a 3d platformer game from 1997 that started development before the release of Mario 64, but came out the year after it. I first played the demo of the PC version of this Argonaut classic back in the '90s and liked it, and it's just as good on Playstation. The game is a 3d platformer made up of segmented levels that consist of a series of small rooms. Indeed, Croc does not have any huge areas to explore, but it does have some decent graphics and solid level designs. There's plenty to collect in each level, too, as you need to hunt down the five crystals in each stage. The game's main flaw is that it does take a while to get used to the jumping, because making jumps can be a challenge due to perspective issues (the camera is right behind Croc, so it can be hard to see exactly how far you'll jump) and the controls take a little getting used to; Croc's controls are somewhat tanklike, as he rotates instead of just running freely. The game does have good analog controls though, which is great for a game from '97. You do eventually get used to it, though. The nice graphics, cute and fun characters, and good gameplay and level designs hold it up despite the tricky jumping. Croc is a very good game, in my opinion. It's a favorite of mine, and my favorite 3d platformer on the Playstation. Croc is a ridiculously saccharine character, but I don't mind, and the gameplay's great. Also on Saturn and PC.
Croc 2
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One player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad Support. Croc 2 has better graphics, better controls, and a bigger, contiguous world than the first game. However, despite that, I don't think it's that much better overall than the first one is. It's not worse either though, which is good -- it's most just similar, with some things better and some things worse than the first one, but without the nostalgia value that I have for the first game. Croc 2 is, obviously, another 3d platformer, and Croc has another adventure to go on. The controls are definitely better this time, and the analog support is good. I like the overworld too, it's better than the simple level-select system of the first game. The level designs aren't as original as the first's were, though; this game feels a bit more generic. Still, it's a great game. It's too bad that the Croc series didn't continue and that Argonaut is out of business now, I'd love to see another Croc game. You can't have too many cute, high quality 3d platformers starring adorable cartoon-style animals. :) Also on PC.
CTR: Crash Team Racing
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. CTR is a good 3d kart racing game, in the Mario Kart mold. Playstation fans like to say that this game is better than MK64 or DKR on the N64, but I definitely disagree. It's an okay game, and for PSX 3d the graphics are decent, but in both gameplay and graphics this game gets blown away by any of the Rare or Nintendo N64 kart racing games, no question about it. The game mechanics don't match up, first. Kart controls here just aren't quite right, compared to the near-perfection of Mario Kart 64 or Diddy Kong Racing. The graphics of course aren't even close, but I'd expect that. At least it looks good for the system. It does have 4 player splitscreen with a multitap, though, so at least there it is even. This is probably one of the more popular PS1 multitap titles, and I can see why, but it really is a clone that isn't as good as the original. Few ideas in this game don't originate from one of those two titles. But yes, it's a decent game.
Cubix: Robots for Everyone
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Cubix for PS1 is a top-down 3d racing game based on a childrens' TV show license. The game has simple, easy gameplay, a low difficulty level, and plenty of CG cutscenes in the style of the show I presume; I've never seen the show, myself. The cutscenes and story are bland cartoony stuff. There's worse out there, but I'm not playing this for the story, certainly. Given that this is a racing game, having even less plot might have been a good thing... the cutscenes are a bit long. I got it because it's a topdown racer, and I like top-down racing games. And yes, this is an okay game. The controls are very simple; turn left or right, use powerups, and that's about it. Don't expect anything challenging at all here, but it's a decent amusement with okay top-down-racing gameplay and conventional but fine track layouts. There are nine tracks, but they're short, so you will see all of them quickly and it doesn't add up to much content. The tracks do have speed/slowdown strips and obstacles on them, and weapons powerups too. You can upgrade your robot between races as well. Still, I'd never call this game good, but it is okay, I guess. Probably a bit below average overall; the very short length and complete lack of challenge hold it back. Still, it's cool that it has four player support. Other PS1 top-down-style racers like Micro Machines V3 or Circuit Breakers are probably better PS1 top-down racer choices, but this is an okay one if you want to play a topdown racing game that's a whole lot easier than those other ones.
CyberSpeed
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One player, saves. CyberSpeed is a futuristic racing game with a twist. A bad twist. While futuristic racing games are one of my favorite kinds of games, this one is one of the few of them which really isn't very good at all. CyberSpeed is a racing game on a rail, essentially -- and literally. You see, while the tracks look like tracks, you cannot actually fly around them. Instead, all you can do is spin around a wire. You cannot detach from the wire; the entire game is just about spinning around that wire while adjusting your speed and firing weapon pickups when opponents are in range. This makes it feel like a tube racing game, but the problem is, this game isn't anywhere near as good as good tube-racing games like Ballistic (PC), the tube parts of F-Zero X or GX, or Tube Slider. Here it more feels limiting than anything else. There is some skill required, as learning where to be on each turn does matter, and the game is actually fairly challenging, but still, this game really isn't that good. The lack of any multiplayer is unfortunate as well. Expect little from the graphics too -- this game is an early release and looks it. At least that longbox box looks cool...
Darkstalkers 3
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Two player, has saving. Darkstalkers 3 is a great 2d fighting game. This version isn't the best version of Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior in Japan) graphics or load times-wise, but it makes up for it with an unbeatable in the series lineup of extras. Saturn Vampire Savior may have shorter load times and better graphics and animation, but the PSX version is the only one with multiple hidden extra options menus, modes to play the game with the "Vampire Hunter 2" and "Vampire Savior 2" rulesets instead of the basic original "Vampire Savior" one, music options so you can play with any version of the soundtrack from the original game up to Darkstalkers 3, the Original mode where you color-edit a character and then build up their level in fights from 1 to 99, and more. It's a great package, and any Darkstalkers, or 2d fighting, game fan should get this. The Darkstalkers series isn't as well known as Street Fighter, but it's a great series of simple but fun fighting games. Darkstalkers characters are unique and really cool looking monsters with simple, straightforward movesets full of basic quarter circles and stuff -- this is not a hyper-technical fighter, but one designed to be easy to play and fun. It works, the game is fun and the characters are just awesome. Have the manual though, as with most fighting games of this era, that's where the moves are listed, there's no ingame movelist. Based on the arcade games. A better-playing, but less feature-rich, version is available for the Japanese Saturn.
Darkstone
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One player, has saaving (6 blocks), has Analog Gamepad support. This is a port of the PC Diablo clone dungeon crawler action-RPG of the same name. It's a decent game with solid gameplay and large dungeons to explore. The PSX version is a little cut down from the PC original, losing things such as the voice acting in towns (on the PC townsfolk all talk, here it's just text) and more, though, and the game requires a full six blocks of memory card space to save, but it's a decent Diablo clone, and fans of clickfest action-RPGs should give it a try. It's not too bad, flaws aside, and while the graphics are quite simple and low detail top-down 3d, they work and look decently good. Also on PC.
Dead or Alive
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Two player, saves (1 block). DoA for the Playstation is the most feature-complete version of this classic 2.5d fighting game, and going against general opinion, it is my favorite version of the game as well. Like Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive is a Sega Model 2 arcade game with polygonal graphics, but no real 3d movement -- the 3d is mostly for show. It is a fun game, though, surprisingly so -- I wasn't expecting to like this game that much when I got it as I do not like Virtua Fighter very much, but I got hooked and played it a lot. The game has its own style and isn't that much like Virtua Fighter, aside from the hardware and superficial basics. It's a fast, fluid fighting game with a decently varied character list and a good amount of stuff to do. You have a punch button, a kick button, and an "avoid" button that sort of is 3d movement, but not really, and takes some time to learn how to use. Simple, but it works. Arenas are squares, but instead of VF-style automatic loss when pushed out of the arena, the outer area has an explosive floor and if knocked down there, the hit player takes damage and gets blown into the air. It's a cool effect, and makes for some different gameplay. While graphically the PSX version is even with or slightly below the Japan-only Saturn version of the game, some opinion is involved because the two have different looks to them, though most do seem to prefer the Saturn's visuals. Features-wise though the Playstation blows the Saturn away -- it has one new character, Ayane, who in my opinion is the best one in the game, and increases the costume count from two to four costumes each to three to twenty. The female characters in this version have 20 costumes each, and the male ones 3-8 or so each. You unlock one costume each time you beat the game with the character, so you'll need to beat it a lot of times to get them all, which I did, eventually, because it was fun. Other than arcade mode costume unlocking there's not a lot here, but it's a fighting game so what do you expect? It's got some odd "30 battles" and "100 battles" where you fight that number of fights in a row and see at the end what your win percentage is, but you can't unlock costumes (or anything else) there so it's of limited use before you've gotten them all, and even then, 100 battles is a lot and gets boring played all in a row. Oh, yes, the breast bounce in this game is truly crazy, it's by far the most in the series when on. It is optional, though, the game has a great options screen with all kinds of options for not just that but also arena size, making the whole floor explosive, etc. Overall, it's a good game. DoA is simple, but fun. This is the best version -- the many added costumes and Ayane more than make up for the perhaps slightly weaker graphics. Another version of the game is on Saturn and Xbox.
Deathtrap Dungeon
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One player, has saving. I'm only a few levels into it, but so far I actually like this game. It's a little bit like a fantasy Tomb Raider, but it's also enough different that it's its own thing. It's a fantasy medieval dungeon crawling game where you choose to play as a male or female character braving the dungeon. You explore dungeons, kill monsters (most die in just a hit or two, which is different, bosses excepted), solve puzzles, find switches, jump between platforms, and more. The digital-only controls are frustrating though, I really wish it had analog. The graphics are similarly iffy, it's not awful looking for its time and platform but, well, most 3d Playstation games haven't aged well, and this isn't one of the best looking ones. Still the good art direction does shine through, and the game has a good sense of atmosphere. I can see it potentially getting frustrating, as even in the early levels the puzzles can be tricky, but it seems pretty good really, I'm surprised. Also on PC.
Deception: Invitation to Darkness
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One player, saves (9 blocks). Deception 1 is the first of four Deception games on the PS1 and PS2. This series, set in a fantasy world, is about people in trouble who go to this mansion to hide from their enemies. Instead, what they find is a demonic power. The core gameplay of all four titles is about setting up traps in that game's mansion in order to kill everyone who enters. This game, unlike the sequels, plays entirely from a first person perspective; you're some prince (the only male lead in any of the four games), but he's never seen. As usual in these games, you start out apparently as a victim, a decent person forced out of your position by enemies, but once he gets the power of the mansion, he (and you) become cruel, killing or capturing everyone who sets foot inside. Considering how easily they turn to darkness when pressed, maybe these main characters (in the series) weren't so good after all... Also, each enemy has a name and backstory, and while many are soldiers sent there to kill you, some are just random people who entered, or people angry about others who you killed earlier; regardless, all of them will need to be killed or captured. Some need to be killed; others will try to escape, but you won't get money if you let them go. Kills get some money, but captures get the most. Captured people can be killed, imprisoned and turned into monsters, or you can steal their souls for magic. Yeah, this franchise is like that. The gameplay is a strategy/action cross, as you strategically set up the traps, and then run around trying to lead the enemies into them and such once they attack. The system works fairly well; I don't love the gameplay, but it is unique, and the game is good. The graphics are basic, early-PS1 stuff, and that save file is crazy-large, but overall, this is a good, and challenging, game.
Destruction Derby
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One player (two player via system link cable only), saves (1 block), analog via neGcon only. A good, early Playstation racing game. It has the bad 3d graphics you expect from the early Playstation, and no multiplayer without a system link cable, and is only analog with a neGcon or wheel, but the gameplay is much better than the visuals. I remember playing the demo of Destruction Derby 2 for the PC back in the mid '90s and really liking it, but while this game isn't quite as good as the second one, it is still good. Destruction Derby is a racing game where car damage is central. Cars all have damage zones, so different areas take different damage, and you, or your opponents, will be eliminated if you or they take too much damage. The amount of damage you can take is not too high, so the first two Destruction Derby games really are quite challenging. Still, it's pretty fun, and I definitely like the game. There are both racing series and crash arena modes, and both are fun. But yes, the graphics are pretty bad. It's also too bad that the multiplayer is system link only. Still a game worth playing, though. Also on Saturn and PC.
[Dino Crisis]
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One player, has saving, has Analog Gamepad support. Resident Evil with dinosaurs. (What, isn't that pretty much a complete review of this game? :) It's okay.) Also on PC and Dreamcast.
Driver
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One player, has saving, has Analog Gamepad support. Driver is a port of the PC game of the same name. I got the PC version of this game back in 2000 or so when it came out and loved it, with one major qualm -- the game was insanely, "not fun anymore" hard. The first mission, in fact, is probably the hardest first level of any game I have ever played in my life. The "tutorial" level is a complete nightmare that will haunt your dreams... As for this PSX port, it's the same thing as the PC game, but with the expected much worse graphics. The graphics are okay for the Playstation I guess, but Playstation 3d looks pretty bad compared to PC 3d of the same age, so that's not saying much. At least you do get the same huge cities to drive around in and the same driving action, though. Driver 1 is by far the best game in its series, because it's the only one with no guns and no killing -- Driver is not Grand Theft Auto, but its own thing, entirely focused on driving missions where you get from point to point and evade the police along the way. You can't run over pedestrians either, they're there but always avoid your car. Instead of trying to be GTA like the series has tried to do since this one, Driver 1 is focused and great at what it does. It's far too hard, but a great game -- though play it on the PC if you can, the graphics there are far better. Also on PC.
Evil Zone
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Two player, has saving (1 block). Evil Zone, or Eretzvaju in Japan, is a great, and quite original 3d fighting game from Yuke's, who mostly makes wrestling games but made this as well. I don't like wrestling games at all, but this is, in fact, my favorite PS1 3d fighting game. In the game, you control one of a variety of warriors who have traveled to Eretzvaju in order to stop Ihadurca, the "ultimate existence". The game is both simple and complex, with many moves that have very basic, unified commands, and utterly unique gameplay. There is really nothing else out there like this game, and that's too bad because it's probably my favorite 3d fighting game on the Playstation. Evil Zone almost feels like a projectile-heavy 3d fighting game version of Super Smash Bros., in its simplicity -- moves are all done with a single or double tap of a direction arrow and then a button press, no complex button moves (not even quarter-circles) here -- and there are only two buttons, an attack button and a block button. That's all. Despite that, there are over 12 moves at your disposal, including different moves for single and double taps of a direction followed by a press of the button, plus several moves that change depending on how far you are from the other character, and a few that change depending on how you press attack -- the long-distance grab for example has two attack patterns, and you switch by pressing attack again after you start the move. Once I learned how to do all of the moves, I realized how much depth this game has. Yes, there is a learning curve, bu it really is quite well designed. Once learned, the action is fast, fluid, unique, and rewarding. The game's mixture of simple action and a fascinating variety of original move types sets Evil Zone apart from, and above, most PS1 3d fighting games. The characters and story are heavily anime styled, and all characters ...
I'm not using the word "review" in the main title because I only would use that for games I've beaten or at least played a LOT of. "Short Reviews" is in the subtitle in order to connect it to those other four threads, all of which mention that phrase. The issue with that here is that with only two exceptions, the only PSX games I've beaten are the fighting games and shmups. (The two exceptions are Threads of Fate and Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.) I'm a Nintendo fan and the N64 is my favorite console, and like Sega consoles too, but have never liked Sony or their consoles. Regardless, I know that there are many good games on Sony systems, which is why I got a PSone in '06, and why I've kept buying games for the system since then. I have about as many games now for the PS1 as I do for any console, somewhere in the 150 range. But do expect a somewhat different perspective from the one a Sony fan would give.
Top 10 favorite PS1 games (from what I have) (this is just something I just put together, it's nothing thought through too deeply. The order doesn't mean much. Actually the numbers and order should probably be mostly ignored... but these are all games I like a lot, at least.)
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1. Threads of Fate
2. Star Ocean: The Second Story
3. Rollcage
4. Strikers 1945
5. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
6. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
7. Evil Zone
8. Grandia
9. Tempest X3
10. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
Honorable Mentions: Mobile Light Force, Wipeout XL, Wipeout 3, Castlevania Chronicles, Bushido Blade 2, In the Hunt, DarkStalkers 3, WarHawk, Dead or Alive, Koudelka, Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein
Noteworthy lesser-known titles: Evil Zone (also above), Invasion from Beyond!, Sea-Doo HydroCross
Worst I Have (in no order): Psybadek, O.D.T., Yu-Gi-Oh!: Forbidden Memories, NHL FaceOff 98, Largo Winch, CyberSpeed, Moto Racer: World Tour, Motocross Mania
Note that I have no import titles for Playstation -- these are all US releases.
Games I have but haven't played at all so I obviously can't cover yet: 2Xtreme, Allied General, Broken Helix, Colony Wars, Crypt Killer, Die Hard Trilogy, Driver 2, Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix, JetMoto 2, The Legend of Dragoon, Medal of Honor: Underground, NASCAR 2000, NFL GameDay 2002, Parasite Eve, Parasite Eve 2, Resident Evil: Survivor, Robotron X, RushDown, Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001, Sentinel Returns, Silent Hill, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, Spyro (3): Year of the Dragon, Street Fighter Collection 2, Wild Arms, WWF: In Your House
Games I have and have played a little of, but not enough to do a full review. I wrote a few sentences for these games which is included in the main text below; these titles are marked with brackets in the full titles review list below this list. I thought that I wanted to write something for every PS1 game I have and have played at least some of, even if I can't say enough to actually give it any kind of review. Games: Chrono Cross, Dino Crisis, Fear Effect, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, King's Field, Martian Gothic: Unification, Metal Gear Solid, Midway Presents Atari's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol. 2, Namco Museum Vol. 1, Namco Museum Vol. 3, NHL FaceOff 98, O.D.T., Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire, SaGa Frontier, Yu-Gi-Oh!: Forbidden Memories
Games Covered Below (brackets mean not-really-reviews as listed above)
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Activision's collection of 30 classic games for the Atari 2600, Alundra, Alundra 2, Ape Escape, Army Men Air Attack 2, Assault: Retribution, Atari Anniversary Edition Redux, Battle Arena Toshinden 3, Ball Breakers, Ballerburg: Castle Chaos, BattleTanx: Global Assault, Beyond the Beyond, Board Game Top Shop, Bomberman Fantasy Race, Bomberman: Party Edition, Bomberman World, The Bombing Islands, Brave Fencer Musashi, Bravo Air Race, Bubsy 3D, Bushido Blade 2, Castlevania Chronicles, Circuit Breakers, Clock Tower, College Slam, [Colony Wars], Colony Wars 2: Vengeance, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Critical Depth, Croc 2, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, Crash Team Racing, CyberSpeed, Darkstalkers 3, Darkstone, Dead or Alive, Deathtrap Dungeon, Deception: Invitation to Darkness, Destruction Derby, [Dino Crisis], Driver, Evil Zone, [Fear Effect], [Final Fantasy IX], [Final Fantasy Tactics], [Final Fantasy VII], Gauntlet Legends, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Ghost in the Shell, Grandia, Granstream Saga, Gubble, Heart of Darkness, In the Hunt, Interactive CD Sampler Disc Vol. 4, Invasion from Beyond, Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu, Jet Moto, Kartia: The Word of Fate, The King of Fighters '99, [King's Field], Koudelka, Largo Winch: Commando SAR, Legend of Legaia, Lucky Luke, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Four Disc Collector's Edition), [Martian Gothic: Unification], MDK, Medal of Honor, Medievil II, Mega Man X6, [Metal Gear Solid], Midway Presents Atari's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol. 2, Mobile Light Force, Mort the Chicken, Motocross Mania, Moto Racer: World Tour, N2O: Nitrous Oxide, [Namco Museum Vol. 1], [Namco Museum Vol. 3], Norse By Norsewest: The Return of the Lost Vikings, Novastorm, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, [O.D.T.: Escape... Or Die Trying], Off-World Interceptor Extreme, One, Pandemonium, Pac-Man World: 20th Anniversary, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Project: Horned Owl, Project Overkill, Psybadek, Punky Skunk, Putter Golf, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, RayCrisis: Series Termination, Rayman, Rival Schools: United by Fate, Road Rash 3D, Rollcage: Limited Edition, [Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire], [SaGa Frontier], San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing, Sea-Doo HydroCross, Sheep, ShipWreckers, Shooter Space Shot, Shooter Starfighter Sanvein, Sled Storm, Sol Divide, Soul Blade, Space Griffon VF-9, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels, Spin Jam, Spyro the Dragon, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, Street Fighter EX2 Plus, Street Racer, Strikers 1945 II, Super Bubble Pop, Syphon Filter, Tales of Destiny, Tekken 3, Tempest X3: An Inter-Galactic Battle Zone, Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Test Drive 4, Tetris Plus, Threads of Fate, Tiger Shark, Time Crisis, TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4X4, Total Eclipse Turbo, Tunnel B-1, Um Jammer Lammy, Vandal Hearts, Warhawk, Wild 9, WipEout, WipEout XL, WipEout 3, [Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories]
Notes: I list the number of players each game supports, whether it saves, and whether the game supports the Analog Gamepad and Dual Shock's analog mode. I may also list other peripherals certain games support, and try to list other platforms games are on, for multiplatform titles. "Analog Gamepad supported" means that the game will work on the DualShock or Analog Gamepad in analog mode. Games listed as having negCon controller support also support Playstation wheels, because all PS1 wheel controllers use the negCon analog system. Most PS1 racing games support it, even though they rarely mention it on their US packaging. Also remember that review length is not a reflection of overall game quality; longer reviews don't mean better games, it just means that I had more to say, that's all.
Reviews
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Activision's collection of 30 classic games for the Atari 2600
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Two player, saves (1 block). This is a fine collection of 30 Activision games for the 2600. It does save, but only a game in progress -- it's just rom emulation here, no high-score saving here. Write them down yourself or something. That really is a problem with these games, most of which have no ending, you just play until you lose... I really don't get why so many games back then had no endings. I much prefer it when games do have endings eventually. This whole "play until you lose" concept is kind of depressing when you think about it a bit... "save the world from the aliens!" But actually you can't, you and the Earth are doomed every time. Ah well, at least the games are often fun. As score-competition titles, this collection definitely includes some pretty good games. However, that ties in to my other, and most important, complaint: In a modern collection of 2nd gen games, at least figure out how to save the scores. That's the only thing most of these games have, score, so it's important to save it somehow. I'd expect the collection to save my best efforts, but it doesn't. Still, the games are classics, and the emulation is okay. The manual is nice and has a little blurb for each game, explaining the difficulty/game select options. (Again, you can save a game in progress, but that's all.)
Ape Escape
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Two player, saves (1 block), Analog Controller required. Ape Escape is a decently good 3d platformer game, and the first major title to require the dual analog controller, which obviously makes 3d platformer games much more fun than they are with d-pads. It's not the greatest game ever, but it's okay. The levels have a decent amount to do in them, and the platforming can be fun. I didn't get that far into it before quitting, though. Ape Escape may be decent, but it's also generic in gameplay and level designs. The graphics are okay for PSX 3d, but aren't great. The gameplay's no better. Overall this is an average game. It got attention at the time of its release because it was the only PS1 game that required an analog gamepad, but even the PS1 has 3d platformers better than this one. It might be worth a look, but is nothing too exciting.
Alundra
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One player, saves (1 block). Alundra is an action-RPG in the Zelda mold. The game is by some of the staff behind Landstalker, and while I definitely don't think it's as good as Landstalker, it is a pretty good game in its own right. This game does not really play much like Landstalker, with more Zelda or Mana-style stuff in it than that game. It also does not share Landstalker's signature isometric viewpoint. It does have platform jumping and some similar art though, so there are a few similarities. The game is entirely top-down 2d, which is great. The visuals look very nice. This game is mostly set in and around this one town, where the dreamwalker Alundra has ended up. He has the ability to enter peoples' dreams, and is here to stop a demon invading the real and dream worlds. The visuals and story are both dark and depressing; there's not much happiness to be found in this town, or in this game. The game borders on being overly depressing, really -- expect a high body count and little happiness. The gameplay is good though, with areas to explore, items to find, puzzles to solve, and monsters to fight. The game has some fairly difficult puzzles in it, and some equally challenging combat at times, so it won't be easy, but it is always well designed. This game has a good reputation, and it deserves it.
Alundra 2
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One player, saves, Analog Gamepad support. This is a bland and not that great 3d action-RPG. The game stars a new main character, and really has very little to do with the first Alundra apart from the name and genre. There's nothing really special here, and the game is neither great or awful. Average stuff really. I haven't gotten that far in this game... I know most Alundra 1 fans hate it, because it's a somewhat cute anime-style game that's a far cry from Alundra 1's dark and depressing story and world, but gameplay-wise it's not THAT bad. Seems average at least, for the genre and platform. And I don't mind optimistic anime stuff, so the theme is fine with me. But even so, this isn't a great game, certainly. The 3d world isn't as fun to explore as the first game's 2d one, the controls aren't too good, and there's no lock-on either. I can see why the people who liked the first one don't like this, but it is somewhat entertaining. I don't mind light anime themes like this one, myself, and don't really think it's worse just because it's light instead of dark and depressing. It's worse because it isn't quite as good of a game in either graphics or gameplay. But still, it's not actually bad, just okay. Still, this probably is the least fun of the action-RPGs I have for PS1.
Army Men Air Attack 2
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Two player, saves, Analog Gamepad support. Army Men Air Attack 2 is a solid sequel. Gameplay-wise it provides more of the same angled-overhead-view, 2d-plane-movement-only helicopter shooting game action from the first game, except with new levels and a lot more story this time. The game is a helicopter action game, somewhat in the Strike series mold but simpler. You fly around your attack helicopter, blowing up enemy tanks, soldiers, and vehicles and picking up stuff as you try to accomplish your mission objectives. Quite the opposite of the Strike games, but like the first Army Men Air Attack, the game's easy. It's probably too easy, really; this game may have 20+ missions, but few will challenge. Still, it is fun while it lasts, and the Strike games can be very hard, so having something similar but easier isn't that bad. I like the gameplay in these games, they are simple but fun. The story is told through CG cutscenes, and they're decently done; the plastic people are amusing looking, and I like the "plastic WWII" theme. Army Men was of course a heavily over-published franchise that generation, but the Air Combat games are probably the best games in the Army Men franchise overall, so it was great to see this sequel.
It is too bad that, unlike the first one, it didn't come to N64 too, but the game does have some next-gen ports, as detailed below. And that is probably the biggest issue with this game -- there are also PS2 and GC ports of the game, and they are better than this one. I haven't played it on PS2, but I do have the GC version (it's titled "Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions", but it is a port of the PS2 version with 4-player multiplayer added and no other changes of note), and between the two, the helicopter controls are much better on the GC. Sure, controls are decent on the PS1, but after playing both, I could really tell the difference between the two; you simply have better, more accurate controls in that later release. The graphics are better there too, of course, though for the PS1 AMAA2 looks nice enough. Both releases have some slowdown, for whatever reason. I'm hoping it was intentional, particularly on the GC, with how bland it looks visually (for the GC)... The PS1 version does have one thing missing from the GC and PS2 though: for some reason, one of the five multiplayer modes was removed from the PS2 and GC releases. So yeah, there's one PS1-exclusive multiplayer mode, though given that the GC is the only one with 3 or 4 player support, it's the best multiplayer option overall even so. Still, even though better versions of this game are out there, the PS1 version's decent fun. I would recommend getting the GC version if possible, but this one's sure to be much cheaper and easier to find. Also on PlayStation II and Gamecube (titled "Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions" on the latter system; yes, that is a port of this game.)
Assault: Retribution
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Two player, saves, Analog Gamepad support. Assault: Retribution is a 3d run-and-gun played from a somewhat isometric angle. As it's a 3d game the camera moves around from area to area, but it has a side or overhead-style viewpoint. In the game, you run along narrow, but not entirely 2d, environments, defeating enemies and avoiding obstacles. There are several different weapons, two playable characters, and plenty of powerups to collect. It's straightforward stuff and works well. The game was published (but not developed) by Midway in the US, and it's a pretty good game. The developer, Candle Light Studio, didn't make any games other than this one, so I guess it failed, unfortunately. Though jumping puzzles aside the game is easy on the default setting, the game is a decent challenge on higher difficulties, and is fun regardless. The graphics are only average, too, but they're decent enough to do. Overall, I found myself actually having a lot of fun with this game. Recommended for any run & gun fans -- this game is better than its reviews suggest. And yes, it has two player co-op, which is great. The PS1 Contra games don't have that.
Atari Anniversary Edition Redux
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad and Mouse support. This is a collection of 12 Atari arcade games. Yeah, arcade, not 2600. This collection does save your high scores, and includes some interesting games; in addition to the expected Pong, Missile Command, Centipede, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Super Breakout, Tempest, Battlezone, and Warlords, you also get Gravitar, Space Duel, and Black Widow. Each game can be played windowed with machine art on the sides of the screen, or full-screen. Unfortunately there is no tate mode for vertical-monitor games. That's really too bad. The collection does include some promo art and video interviews with the original designers, so it's not just a ROM dump collection, which is great. I also like that it does save your scores and settings, and that it's got some fairly good presentation and full sets of options and settings for each game as well. The main problem I have with the collection is that many of these games are a little hard to read at the Playstation's resolution, or something... the transition to the PS1 is not perfect, many of these games have small text and graphics which can be hard to make out. Still, it's a solid collection, maybe worth getting for cheap. Black Widow is a particularly interesting surprise; I hadn't played it before, but it's a pretty cool twin-stick shooter! I love those. Atari Anniversary Edition Redux is a Playstation-exclusive remix of the PC/Dreamcast collection "Atari Anniversary Edition". The original creator video interviews are all new and exclusive to this version, and Crystal Castles (from the original collection) was removed and replaced with Black Widow. However, I'll bet that the screen's easier to see in those versions... Still, some stuff is exclusive here.
Ball Breakers
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Two player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Ball Breakers is a somewhat odd futuristic vehicular action/racing game. The game's concept is that in the future, some hardened criminal androids are being allowed to fight in this competition for future television. If you win, you might get out. The characters don't have legs, though; instead, for a lower body they have a ball, which explains the title, and driving-game-esque, or perhaps rolling-ball-game-esque (Marble Madness, etc.), controls. The game has solid rolling-ball physics for the characters, as well. The game has a mostly-overhead camera and 3d polygonal graphics. The game is made up of a variety of mission types, so different levels play differently. There are races, gauntlet stages where you have to get to the end without dying, shootouts, tag matches, and more -- seven mission types in all. There are six playable characters, and ten areas full of missions. The game's variety and concept are its strong points for sure, along with solid controls and gameplay... and it originally sold for $10! Sure, the game has some issues, such as some difficult and frustrating parts, and even though there's a lot of variety in game styles they all have the same basic controls and the graphics, while nice, all look similar so it can get repetitive, but even so Ball Breakers is definitely a good game. In the US this was only released on PS1, but in Europe it also had PC and Dreamcast releases which surely are improved over this one, at least visually. In Europe the game is called "MoHo".
Ballerburg: Castle Chaos
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Two player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Ballerburg: Castle Chaos is a port of a PC game released under several different titles, including Ballerburg and Castle Siege Ballerburg. It's a very late PS1 release from the last years of the system. Basically this is an artillery game, sort of Scorched Earth-style, crossed with some basic strategy game elements such as simple base-building. So, you spend some of your time tossing projectiles at the other castle, and the rest of your time building up your base. It's a low-budget game and it shows, though, with mediocre at best graphics and sound. Also, importantly, the controls are frustrating -- this game would be much better with a mouse! It's not a particularly good game, but because I like the theme and concept I find it a little enjoyable. Shooting cannons and catapults at other castles, aiming to hit them taking wind into consideration, and building up your fortress are fun, even if not implemented here nearly as well as they could have been.
Battle Arena Toshinden 3
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Two player. This is the third Toshinden game, and it's the last one that got a release in the US; the fourth PS1 game, and the more recent Wii title, were both Japan only. The first Toshinden was one of the most significant PS1 titles of 1995 in the US, though, so it's interesting that the series had such a hard fall. However, looking at this game, I can see why: Toshinden 3 is a mediocre game even for Toshinden, and was a worse game than either of its predecessors. Yes, Toshinden 1 is a far better game than this. There are lots of characters in Toshinden 3, and you can choose 30 or 60 frames per second modes (with limited graphics in 60 fps mode), but regardless of the framerate, the gameplay is just far too slow and not very fun. Play a better fighting game instead of this one.
BattleTanx: Global Assault
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Two player, saves (one block), Analog Gamepad support. Overall, this is a mediocre PSX remake of the N64 classic of the same name. The N64 version is a favorite of mine, I've played many hours over the years and really love it. This one just isn't the same, though. First, the campaign. There are more levels in the single player campaign in this version, but they are shorter and smaller, so the overall length isn't that different. The PSX version may be slightly longer, but the levels are more boring and less fun because of their reduced size and complexity, so overall the N64 version is definitely superior. Cutscenes are fully voiced FMV now, instead of pictures with text; it's really not an improvement, they made the story even stupider. I mean, the intro before the first level... they made it so that now Cassandra personally attacks Madison and the baby, and Griffin shows up to save her, but instead of shooting Cassandra, who is just standing there right in front of him, he just leaves, "never actually defeat the bad guy" style. Um, no, that's not what happened in the original... on the N64 Cassandra never has a face-to-face meeting with our heroes, it's just that her army is attacking. The change was for the worse, that's for sure. And then from there you go to the new, smaller, less interesting levels, and it may be hard to see why this game was so great on the N64. At least the graphics are decently good, for a PSX game. However, multiplayer was one of the great strengths of BattleTanx on the N64. The four player multiplayer, with numerous modes, and the two player campaign, were both fantastic. Well, the game is two player only here. Even though otherwise it's not that different, some smaller map sizes aside, that limitation really hurts the game a lot. Again, much better on N64.
Beyond the Beyond
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One player, saves. Beyond the Beyond is a fairly early (1996) RPG from Camelot. Camelot had started out on the Genesis, and did develop on Saturn, but made this game too along the way. The game looks like a Camelot game, and the text font is nearly identical to the one in Golden Sun, for instance. I liked Golden Sun, and Shining Force, so it's interesting to see this in-between work. As I said it definitely looks like a Camelot game, and that's great. The graphics are fairly simplistic, with barely-better-than-4th-gen visuals and not a whole lot of cutscenes or voice acting either, but I don't mind that; I think the game looks fine. Gameplay is very standard, with an average JRPG menu-based battle system, random battles, and such. The characters are moderately interesting, and the story starts off generically, but well. Overall, I think I like this game. Its main problem is that it's sure to eventually get frustrating or grindey, since the dungeons quickly start getting larger and there is of course no map. I hate when games have that stuff, and random battles too... oh well. Overall, this game doesn't have the best reputation, but really, it's a simple but solid early-5th-gen RPG. Repetition is the main issue here; apart from that, it seems good.
Board Game: Top Shop
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Four player, saves (2 blocks). Board Game: Top Shop is a 2d side-view, and Monopoly-esque, board game. In the game, the players move around a three-story mall, buying stores as they land on them, stocking the stores, and forcing other players to buy stuff in their stores as they land on them. The twist that you don't just get money whenever someone lands on your shops, but have to actually stock shops so that they will have something to buy, adds some challenge to the game. There are 40 different types of shops to open, and lots of goods, so this game has some nice variety. It's also definitely got challenge, too; the computer AI can be tough. There are a decent number of anime-style characters to choose from, and the game has solid 2d visuals. As for the gameplay though, that depends on how much you like Monopoly variants. It's certainly decent, at least. The main downside is that it's somewhat slow paced, particularly against the computer. Games take quite a while.
Bomberman Fantasy Race
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Two player, saves (1 block). This is an okay but not great 3d kart racing game with Bomberman characters. Poor graphics, mediocre options... don't bother, I think. There are worse kart racing games out there, but there are also much better, even on PS1.
Bomberman: Party Edition
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Five player (with multitap), saves (1 block). This is a 2d, classic Bomberman game, with 5 player play. There's nothing original here; this is just a fine, solid top-down-2d-style Bomberman game. The single player mode is actually a remake of the original NES Bomberman game, which is interesting. This means that single player mode levels scroll, unlike the single-screen battle arenas, as you have to blow up all the enemies in each stage. I don't think that the first Bomberman game is one of the better ones in the series though, so I find the single player a little boring even for a Bomberman game. Still, it's okay, and does have better visuals than the NES at least, and saving of course. Overall though, Bomberman Party Edition is average Bomberman, just like Bomberman usually is. It is nice to have one 2d Bomberman game on each system, though. It's not too compelling in single player, but Bomberman is usually better in multiplayer anyway, so that isn't a crippling flaw. The graphics are solid, and it's a fine, traditional 2d Bomberman multiplayer game. This isn't one of the best Bomberman games for sure, but it's decent.
Bomberman World
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Five player (with multitap), saves (1 block). Bomberman World is the first PS1 Bomberman game, though it released after both Saturn titles and the first N64 game, and it's decent. The game has a sort of isometric view of the action, as you see things from the side at a slight angle. The graphics are pre-rendered CG 2d, and look decent. The game has a traditional Bomberman single player mode where you go through a sequence of levels, killing all the enemies on each stage to progress, and the usual multiplayer mode full of options. I think I like this game a bit more than Party Edition in both graphics and gameplay; the game's a bit more visually unique than that one is, and the single player's more updated, as you'd expect from a new game (remembering that Party Edition's single player is actually a remake of the original Bomberman). This game, like the title above, is not original and pushes no boundaries, unlike the N64 Bombermans, but at least the formula it uses is a solid one. I've rarely loved traditional Bomberman as a single-player series -- I liked Bomberman GB for the Game Boy, but that's about it really -- but they are fun multiplayer games and decent single player games too, and this one has some decent graphics and solid level designs, too. Don't expect anything original here, but do expect good, solid, classic Bomberman fun.
The Bombing Islands
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One player, saves. A puzzle game from Kemco, this got some bad reviews. It stars Kid Klown, but unfortunately it's not nearly as good as his earlier platformers. The game's not terrible, but it's not that good either. You move around the field, trying to figure out where to move the bombs to so that they'll destroy all the bombs in one blast; somehow if they all go off at once you're safe, but if you fail to destroy them all you get blown up. Huh. It quickly gets hard and frustrating. Very mediocre 3d graphics too. This game has the same concept and basic game design as another Kemco game from that generation, Charlie Blast's Territory for the N64. They aren't exactly the same in content, but they are quite similar.
Brave Fencer Musashi
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One player, saves. This is a game I really should play a lot more before reviewing. As far as I've gotten it seems pretty good, though the graphics aren't great, but I got stuck not too far in and stopped. I think one problem I have is that I played Threads of Fate first, which sort of is like a sequel to this game, and has better graphics and gameplay, so going back to this one is tough. Still, it is a pretty good game. It has a simple but amusingly comical story, and fun 3d plaform-RPG gameplay. It feels somewhat 2.5d, as you are often going right or left, but areas are 3d and you do move around in 3d. It's a good mix and works well.
Bravo Air Race
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Two player, saves. Bravo Air Race is a plane racing game. The game is dated, with a simple look, narrow tracks, and not much space to fly around in. All four tracks - and yes, there are only four - are in canyons of some kind or another, so there are no open areas. If you go too high or low, you will be brought back into the flying area, too. At first I didn't like this game much, but after a few races I got used to it, and I do think that the core gameplay is fun. The controls work well, and the planes control quite well. Each plane handles differently, too, which is good. The main problem is that simply this game has almost no content. There are only four tracks, and you can play them in any order. Only one of the four tracks challenged me much, once I got used to the controls, too. Once you've finished in first in all four and get to see the credits, that's pretty much it. There really is no replay value here at all, unless you want to play it in multiplayer, but even then, it won't last long. Apparently the sequel, which sadly was only released in Japan, has more tracks and adds a much-needed circuit mode to add more play value, but this first one doesn't have that, unfortunately. As it is, this game is some fun to play despite being badly dated, but expect your time with this game to be very short.
Bubsy 3D
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One player, saves (one block). Bubsy 3D is widely despised as one of the worst 3d platformers ever, so my expectations were absolutely bottom of the barrel when I got it. Well, I was quite pleasantly surprised -- Bubsy 3D really is not that bad. The controls are a challenge, for sure -- this is a d-pad only game, as expected for an early PSX title, and the controls really suffer for it. It's too bad that there wasn't a version of this game released on some system with an analog controller, it'd make a huge difference. Also, the controls are slippery so landing on platforms can be tricky. Finally, for the graphics, at the time textures were the new big thing, so the fact that it has lots of shaded polygons instead, with only some that are textured, bothered people. Today this shouldn't be too much of a problem though, it gives the game a different style. The graphics actually are reasonably good. The game has a sharp, clear look that I almost never see in Playstation games -- it almost makes me think it's running in hi-res or something. There are a good number of levels, and there are things to go back and find in them too, after you beat them the first time. Really, once I got used to the game's eccentricities, I found this game to be both fun and quite challenging. It is frustrating and hard so it's easy to give up when you die over and over trying to figure out your way through the complex, jumping-puzzles-between-lots-of-small-moving-platforms-over-bottomless-pits-filled levels. Still though, that kind of thing is both fun as well as frustrating, so it's not all bad. Overall, it's really not that bad. Yes, I can easily see why Mario 64 destroyed it in the press because Bubsy 3D is nothing like that and obviously is much simpler and inferior, but on its own, really, despite some definite flaws, it's a decent game.
Bushido Blade 2
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Two players, saves. This is a great, and original, 3d fighting game. The concept is a more "realistic" weapon-based fighting game, where a single hit can kill. The game is executed well, with a nice variety of characters, good controls, and compelling combat. The game's theme, though, is very much anime-styled, so the "realism" is only in the combat system, really. It is funny seeing these anime-style characters killing eachother in one hit, that often doesn't happen in anime... I like anime well enough, but a more realistic theme would have been cool too. The final boss is particularly anime/videogameey in design, and I don't know if it really fits with the rest of the gameplay. Still, this is a very good game, unlike anything else except for the first one. The challenge and uniqueness of the system really makes it interesting, and fighting game fans should consider this a must play. It's a lot of fun, and has good replay value as well. It's too bad that the series did not continue, it should have!
Castlevania Chronicles
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One player, saves (1 block). This is a port of the Sharp X68000 (a Japanese computer) game Akamajou Dracula, or Castlevania as we know it. This was the game's first Western release, and it's a great, but very difficult, classic-style Castlevania platformer. The game has good 16-bit graphics and sound, a good length, and lots of challenge. I haven't finished it; it's very difficult. Still, if you can find it cheap, buy this game -- it's very good. It's great that we finally got this "lost" Castlevania game. It's not quite Super Castlevania IV in quality, but it is a good game. I haven't finished this though, mostly because it gets extremely hard, much harder than anything in SCIV or Rondo of Blood. Still, great game.
[Chrono Cross]
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One player, saves, has Analog Gamepad support. Chrono Cross is the controversial sequel (of sorts) to the popular classic SNES RPG Chrono Trigger. I've only played a handful of hours of Trigger, but it did seem reasonably good for a SNES JRPG (not exactly my favorite kind of game, really). As for this one though, the few hours I did play it seemed good. The graphics are pretty nice for PS1 3d, and the music is good. I like how it has visible enemies, like Trigger did; always very much appreciated! The main problem with the game is that I've spoiled large parts of the stories for both games for myself, and really dislike some of what this game does to Trigger's story...
Circuit Breakers
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Circuit Breakers is a racing game from Supersonic, the same developers as Micro Machines 2, V3, and V4, among others. This game feels like a Micro Machines game, except that instead of being from a top-down perspective, it's sort of three quarters behind. The result is it's not directly behind the car, and not overhead, but something in between. The most important difference between this and Micro Machines isn't that, though, it's that the tracks here do have walls; Circuit Breakers is not as free-roaming a game as Micro Machines is, so staying on the course isn't quite as tough. There's plenty of challenge elsewhere, though. The graphics are okay; definitely nothing special, but for the PSX it looks okay and has a decent style. The game uses some nice visual effects, particularly for the weapons. The gameplay is fun, anyone who likes Micro Machines as I do likely will like this game. It's got a good challenge level, but isn't impossible. Circuit Breakers is good.
Clock Tower
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One player, has saving. This is actually Clock Tower 2, the sequel to a Japan-only Super Famicom (also later remade for PSX, also Japan only) game called Clock Tower. The Clock Tower series is a horror series, but the first three games for the SFC and PSX are not the Resident Evil clones you might expect. Instead, they are classic style graphic adventure games with a horror theme. There are two main playable characters and several secondary ones you play as for short periods of time, and there are many paths through the game -- like the first game, Clock Tower 2 has lots of endings, most of them bad endings where the characters get killed, as you'd expect from a horror game. Your goal is to survive the second appearance of the evil killer with the giant sissors who terrorized (and killed) his way through the first game. This is a direct sequel, set several years later; it must have been be a little confusing for US audiences, given that we never got either version of the original title. Still, it has its own story, and does stand on its own decently well enough that it works, and it's great that we got the game -- we didn't get many graphic adventures on consoles! Talk to people, pick up items, solve puzzles, try to avoid the killer, and try to defeat him somehow... I'm early in the game of course, but it's fun. Oh, it is slow paced -- slow text speed, slow walking speed, only somewhat useful run. Oh well. The graphics have average prerendered/drawn backdrops (no Resident Evil quality stuff here) with mediocre 3d polygon characters. It's obviously not a big budget production, but it's fun and well made.
College Slam
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block). This is a good port of this "NBA Jam TE with college players" game Acclaim made. And it really is NBA Jam T.E. with college players. College Slam uses the same engine and has an identical set of options to T.E., just with college teams instead of pro. That's good, though, because T.E. is the best NBA Jam game, but this is not quite as good as the original. This is a hard game, but I usually have difficulty with NBA Jam-franchise titles, so that's really no surprise. I like the games anyway, even if I'm not that good at them. But even if it isn't as good as NBA Jam T.E. due to the fact that the clone is often not quite the same as the original, and that I find the pro teams more interesting than these college ones, College Slam is a fun game, and does have 4 player multitap support, which is nice. The 2d graphics also work well, and it's got good scaling as you expect from the 5th gen systems. Visually it looks great. Also, it's a longbox title! I love those. Also on Saturn. Other versions of the game were released in Arcades, SNES, Genesis, and Game Boy.
[Colony Wars]
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One player, has saving, has Playstation Analog Joystick support. Haven't actually played this game yet. This game does work with the Playstation Analog Joystick, so if I ever get one I can play it with good controls... that's cool.
[Colony Wars: Vengeance]
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One player, has saving, has Analog Gamepad support. I played one mission of this game, a while ago. I thought that space combat games like this are no fun with a gamepad, but really should be played with a joystick, and quit and never came back. What it is, though, is a simple 3d space flight combat game. Fly around and shoot the baddies. It's not much compared to an X-Wing or Wing Commander game, that's for sure... not terrible, I guess, but nothing too interesting.
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
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One player, saves (1 block). Crash Bandicoot was about as close as the PS1 had to a mascot character, so like many good Nintendo fans, at the time I disliked him without ever actually playing his games (And no, I still haven't played the first one.). It wasn't until the last year or so that I actually played a Crash game for more than a minute, really. And indeed, I still don't like Crash's design. It really looks like they were trying way too hard to make him "cool", but all they succeeded at is making him look kind of foolish... Mario or Sonic he is not! The collecting focus in this series is on boxes, too. Yes, boxes. It's pretty much impossible to imagine a more boring collection-item focus than "get 100% by destroying all the boxes in each level!" But that's how it is, for whatever reason. Anyway though, Crash 2 has polygonal graphics and two basic level types, into-the-screen running, or side-scrolling. The sidescrolling levels are fun and solidly designed. I like that part of the game. The into-the-screen running parts, though, just aren't as good. This is supposed to be an answer to Mario 64, or something comprable to it, really? How? It's basic, plays like something the SNES could have handled a simplified version of (I mean, the SNES does have some isometric-path platformers, like that Kid Klown game), and doesn't give you anywhere near the feel that true 3d exploration does. Even just having you move around a linear sequence of 3d areas, such as Rayman 2, is far better than this. Still, the visuals are okay to good, and there certainly is plenty of challenge here. I do like that it mixes things up a bit with things like the parts where you have to run into the screen. But yeah, the sidescrolling parts of the game are the best. Overall Crash 2 is decent, but not great. It can be some fun.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped!
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One player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Crash 3, the final platformer Crash game on the PS1, is very similar to the first two. This makes sense since only one year separated the releases of each title, but it is very much like the others. If you like Crash, you'll like it. Otherwise, it's not any better. The main addition here is that there are some vehicle-based stages where you play as Crash's sister instead of Crash himself, and some of them occur in slightly more dynamically 3d worlds than the straight paths of most of the game. They're still ocmpletely linear on narrow paths, of course, but stuff like the jetski-style level is nice to see. The sidescrolling areas are the best part again, though. This is a solid platformer, mostly held back by the same issues it shares with the previous titles in the series. Due to being more varied it's probably the better of these two Crash games, but it's certainly still nothing that competes with the best polygonal platformers. And yeah, Crash's design is still not so good, and it's aged too - he looks very '90s.
Critical Depth
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Two player, saves. Critical Depth is a 3d sub combat game from Singletrac. It's an arena combat game, essentially, except in 3d (underwater) space. There are 12 subs to choose from, a story mode where you go through levels (it's very hard, limited lives...), and more. The d-pad only controls are an issue though, this kind of game badly needs analog control... Graphics are okay for the system, but nothing special for sure. It looks grainy and pixelated as expected. Still, tolerable visuals and the gameplay can be fun, this game's alright. Getting good enough to not die, though, might take a while. You need to not just kill the enemies, but also keep them from gathering all five of the item pieces, because in the main (story) mode if you do that you can win immediately, if no one shoots you before you get to the portal. It is tough to do that without killing everyone, but it is possible. There are several other game modes too, though all of course involve shooting. Two player, this is the kind of thing you wish you could play with four people... still, a decent effort for the system. It's a good game, but would have been even better with four player support, analog controls, and improved graphics.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
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One player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad Support. I've always liked Croc. It's a 3d platformer game from 1997 that started development before the release of Mario 64, but came out the year after it. I first played the demo of the PC version of this Argonaut classic back in the '90s and liked it, and it's just as good on Playstation. The game is a 3d platformer made up of segmented levels that consist of a series of small rooms. Indeed, Croc does not have any huge areas to explore, but it does have some decent graphics and solid level designs. There's plenty to collect in each level, too, as you need to hunt down the five crystals in each stage. The game's main flaw is that it does take a while to get used to the jumping, because making jumps can be a challenge due to perspective issues (the camera is right behind Croc, so it can be hard to see exactly how far you'll jump) and the controls take a little getting used to; Croc's controls are somewhat tanklike, as he rotates instead of just running freely. The game does have good analog controls though, which is great for a game from '97. You do eventually get used to it, though. The nice graphics, cute and fun characters, and good gameplay and level designs hold it up despite the tricky jumping. Croc is a very good game, in my opinion. It's a favorite of mine, and my favorite 3d platformer on the Playstation. Croc is a ridiculously saccharine character, but I don't mind, and the gameplay's great. Also on Saturn and PC.
Croc 2
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One player, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad Support. Croc 2 has better graphics, better controls, and a bigger, contiguous world than the first game. However, despite that, I don't think it's that much better overall than the first one is. It's not worse either though, which is good -- it's most just similar, with some things better and some things worse than the first one, but without the nostalgia value that I have for the first game. Croc 2 is, obviously, another 3d platformer, and Croc has another adventure to go on. The controls are definitely better this time, and the analog support is good. I like the overworld too, it's better than the simple level-select system of the first game. The level designs aren't as original as the first's were, though; this game feels a bit more generic. Still, it's a great game. It's too bad that the Croc series didn't continue and that Argonaut is out of business now, I'd love to see another Croc game. You can't have too many cute, high quality 3d platformers starring adorable cartoon-style animals. :) Also on PC.
CTR: Crash Team Racing
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. CTR is a good 3d kart racing game, in the Mario Kart mold. Playstation fans like to say that this game is better than MK64 or DKR on the N64, but I definitely disagree. It's an okay game, and for PSX 3d the graphics are decent, but in both gameplay and graphics this game gets blown away by any of the Rare or Nintendo N64 kart racing games, no question about it. The game mechanics don't match up, first. Kart controls here just aren't quite right, compared to the near-perfection of Mario Kart 64 or Diddy Kong Racing. The graphics of course aren't even close, but I'd expect that. At least it looks good for the system. It does have 4 player splitscreen with a multitap, though, so at least there it is even. This is probably one of the more popular PS1 multitap titles, and I can see why, but it really is a clone that isn't as good as the original. Few ideas in this game don't originate from one of those two titles. But yes, it's a decent game.
Cubix: Robots for Everyone
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Four player (with multitap), saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad support. Cubix for PS1 is a top-down 3d racing game based on a childrens' TV show license. The game has simple, easy gameplay, a low difficulty level, and plenty of CG cutscenes in the style of the show I presume; I've never seen the show, myself. The cutscenes and story are bland cartoony stuff. There's worse out there, but I'm not playing this for the story, certainly. Given that this is a racing game, having even less plot might have been a good thing... the cutscenes are a bit long. I got it because it's a topdown racer, and I like top-down racing games. And yes, this is an okay game. The controls are very simple; turn left or right, use powerups, and that's about it. Don't expect anything challenging at all here, but it's a decent amusement with okay top-down-racing gameplay and conventional but fine track layouts. There are nine tracks, but they're short, so you will see all of them quickly and it doesn't add up to much content. The tracks do have speed/slowdown strips and obstacles on them, and weapons powerups too. You can upgrade your robot between races as well. Still, I'd never call this game good, but it is okay, I guess. Probably a bit below average overall; the very short length and complete lack of challenge hold it back. Still, it's cool that it has four player support. Other PS1 top-down-style racers like Micro Machines V3 or Circuit Breakers are probably better PS1 top-down racer choices, but this is an okay one if you want to play a topdown racing game that's a whole lot easier than those other ones.
CyberSpeed
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One player, saves. CyberSpeed is a futuristic racing game with a twist. A bad twist. While futuristic racing games are one of my favorite kinds of games, this one is one of the few of them which really isn't very good at all. CyberSpeed is a racing game on a rail, essentially -- and literally. You see, while the tracks look like tracks, you cannot actually fly around them. Instead, all you can do is spin around a wire. You cannot detach from the wire; the entire game is just about spinning around that wire while adjusting your speed and firing weapon pickups when opponents are in range. This makes it feel like a tube racing game, but the problem is, this game isn't anywhere near as good as good tube-racing games like Ballistic (PC), the tube parts of F-Zero X or GX, or Tube Slider. Here it more feels limiting than anything else. There is some skill required, as learning where to be on each turn does matter, and the game is actually fairly challenging, but still, this game really isn't that good. The lack of any multiplayer is unfortunate as well. Expect little from the graphics too -- this game is an early release and looks it. At least that longbox box looks cool...
Darkstalkers 3
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Two player, has saving. Darkstalkers 3 is a great 2d fighting game. This version isn't the best version of Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior in Japan) graphics or load times-wise, but it makes up for it with an unbeatable in the series lineup of extras. Saturn Vampire Savior may have shorter load times and better graphics and animation, but the PSX version is the only one with multiple hidden extra options menus, modes to play the game with the "Vampire Hunter 2" and "Vampire Savior 2" rulesets instead of the basic original "Vampire Savior" one, music options so you can play with any version of the soundtrack from the original game up to Darkstalkers 3, the Original mode where you color-edit a character and then build up their level in fights from 1 to 99, and more. It's a great package, and any Darkstalkers, or 2d fighting, game fan should get this. The Darkstalkers series isn't as well known as Street Fighter, but it's a great series of simple but fun fighting games. Darkstalkers characters are unique and really cool looking monsters with simple, straightforward movesets full of basic quarter circles and stuff -- this is not a hyper-technical fighter, but one designed to be easy to play and fun. It works, the game is fun and the characters are just awesome. Have the manual though, as with most fighting games of this era, that's where the moves are listed, there's no ingame movelist. Based on the arcade games. A better-playing, but less feature-rich, version is available for the Japanese Saturn.
Darkstone
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One player, has saaving (6 blocks), has Analog Gamepad support. This is a port of the PC Diablo clone dungeon crawler action-RPG of the same name. It's a decent game with solid gameplay and large dungeons to explore. The PSX version is a little cut down from the PC original, losing things such as the voice acting in towns (on the PC townsfolk all talk, here it's just text) and more, though, and the game requires a full six blocks of memory card space to save, but it's a decent Diablo clone, and fans of clickfest action-RPGs should give it a try. It's not too bad, flaws aside, and while the graphics are quite simple and low detail top-down 3d, they work and look decently good. Also on PC.
Dead or Alive
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Two player, saves (1 block). DoA for the Playstation is the most feature-complete version of this classic 2.5d fighting game, and going against general opinion, it is my favorite version of the game as well. Like Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive is a Sega Model 2 arcade game with polygonal graphics, but no real 3d movement -- the 3d is mostly for show. It is a fun game, though, surprisingly so -- I wasn't expecting to like this game that much when I got it as I do not like Virtua Fighter very much, but I got hooked and played it a lot. The game has its own style and isn't that much like Virtua Fighter, aside from the hardware and superficial basics. It's a fast, fluid fighting game with a decently varied character list and a good amount of stuff to do. You have a punch button, a kick button, and an "avoid" button that sort of is 3d movement, but not really, and takes some time to learn how to use. Simple, but it works. Arenas are squares, but instead of VF-style automatic loss when pushed out of the arena, the outer area has an explosive floor and if knocked down there, the hit player takes damage and gets blown into the air. It's a cool effect, and makes for some different gameplay. While graphically the PSX version is even with or slightly below the Japan-only Saturn version of the game, some opinion is involved because the two have different looks to them, though most do seem to prefer the Saturn's visuals. Features-wise though the Playstation blows the Saturn away -- it has one new character, Ayane, who in my opinion is the best one in the game, and increases the costume count from two to four costumes each to three to twenty. The female characters in this version have 20 costumes each, and the male ones 3-8 or so each. You unlock one costume each time you beat the game with the character, so you'll need to beat it a lot of times to get them all, which I did, eventually, because it was fun. Other than arcade mode costume unlocking there's not a lot here, but it's a fighting game so what do you expect? It's got some odd "30 battles" and "100 battles" where you fight that number of fights in a row and see at the end what your win percentage is, but you can't unlock costumes (or anything else) there so it's of limited use before you've gotten them all, and even then, 100 battles is a lot and gets boring played all in a row. Oh, yes, the breast bounce in this game is truly crazy, it's by far the most in the series when on. It is optional, though, the game has a great options screen with all kinds of options for not just that but also arena size, making the whole floor explosive, etc. Overall, it's a good game. DoA is simple, but fun. This is the best version -- the many added costumes and Ayane more than make up for the perhaps slightly weaker graphics. Another version of the game is on Saturn and Xbox.
Deathtrap Dungeon
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One player, has saving. I'm only a few levels into it, but so far I actually like this game. It's a little bit like a fantasy Tomb Raider, but it's also enough different that it's its own thing. It's a fantasy medieval dungeon crawling game where you choose to play as a male or female character braving the dungeon. You explore dungeons, kill monsters (most die in just a hit or two, which is different, bosses excepted), solve puzzles, find switches, jump between platforms, and more. The digital-only controls are frustrating though, I really wish it had analog. The graphics are similarly iffy, it's not awful looking for its time and platform but, well, most 3d Playstation games haven't aged well, and this isn't one of the best looking ones. Still the good art direction does shine through, and the game has a good sense of atmosphere. I can see it potentially getting frustrating, as even in the early levels the puzzles can be tricky, but it seems pretty good really, I'm surprised. Also on PC.
Deception: Invitation to Darkness
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One player, saves (9 blocks). Deception 1 is the first of four Deception games on the PS1 and PS2. This series, set in a fantasy world, is about people in trouble who go to this mansion to hide from their enemies. Instead, what they find is a demonic power. The core gameplay of all four titles is about setting up traps in that game's mansion in order to kill everyone who enters. This game, unlike the sequels, plays entirely from a first person perspective; you're some prince (the only male lead in any of the four games), but he's never seen. As usual in these games, you start out apparently as a victim, a decent person forced out of your position by enemies, but once he gets the power of the mansion, he (and you) become cruel, killing or capturing everyone who sets foot inside. Considering how easily they turn to darkness when pressed, maybe these main characters (in the series) weren't so good after all... Also, each enemy has a name and backstory, and while many are soldiers sent there to kill you, some are just random people who entered, or people angry about others who you killed earlier; regardless, all of them will need to be killed or captured. Some need to be killed; others will try to escape, but you won't get money if you let them go. Kills get some money, but captures get the most. Captured people can be killed, imprisoned and turned into monsters, or you can steal their souls for magic. Yeah, this franchise is like that. The gameplay is a strategy/action cross, as you strategically set up the traps, and then run around trying to lead the enemies into them and such once they attack. The system works fairly well; I don't love the gameplay, but it is unique, and the game is good. The graphics are basic, early-PS1 stuff, and that save file is crazy-large, but overall, this is a good, and challenging, game.
Destruction Derby
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One player (two player via system link cable only), saves (1 block), analog via neGcon only. A good, early Playstation racing game. It has the bad 3d graphics you expect from the early Playstation, and no multiplayer without a system link cable, and is only analog with a neGcon or wheel, but the gameplay is much better than the visuals. I remember playing the demo of Destruction Derby 2 for the PC back in the mid '90s and really liking it, but while this game isn't quite as good as the second one, it is still good. Destruction Derby is a racing game where car damage is central. Cars all have damage zones, so different areas take different damage, and you, or your opponents, will be eliminated if you or they take too much damage. The amount of damage you can take is not too high, so the first two Destruction Derby games really are quite challenging. Still, it's pretty fun, and I definitely like the game. There are both racing series and crash arena modes, and both are fun. But yes, the graphics are pretty bad. It's also too bad that the multiplayer is system link only. Still a game worth playing, though. Also on Saturn and PC.
[Dino Crisis]
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One player, has saving, has Analog Gamepad support. Resident Evil with dinosaurs. (What, isn't that pretty much a complete review of this game? :) It's okay.) Also on PC and Dreamcast.
Driver
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One player, has saving, has Analog Gamepad support. Driver is a port of the PC game of the same name. I got the PC version of this game back in 2000 or so when it came out and loved it, with one major qualm -- the game was insanely, "not fun anymore" hard. The first mission, in fact, is probably the hardest first level of any game I have ever played in my life. The "tutorial" level is a complete nightmare that will haunt your dreams... As for this PSX port, it's the same thing as the PC game, but with the expected much worse graphics. The graphics are okay for the Playstation I guess, but Playstation 3d looks pretty bad compared to PC 3d of the same age, so that's not saying much. At least you do get the same huge cities to drive around in and the same driving action, though. Driver 1 is by far the best game in its series, because it's the only one with no guns and no killing -- Driver is not Grand Theft Auto, but its own thing, entirely focused on driving missions where you get from point to point and evade the police along the way. You can't run over pedestrians either, they're there but always avoid your car. Instead of trying to be GTA like the series has tried to do since this one, Driver 1 is focused and great at what it does. It's far too hard, but a great game -- though play it on the PC if you can, the graphics there are far better. Also on PC.
Evil Zone
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Two player, has saving (1 block). Evil Zone, or Eretzvaju in Japan, is a great, and quite original 3d fighting game from Yuke's, who mostly makes wrestling games but made this as well. I don't like wrestling games at all, but this is, in fact, my favorite PS1 3d fighting game. In the game, you control one of a variety of warriors who have traveled to Eretzvaju in order to stop Ihadurca, the "ultimate existence". The game is both simple and complex, with many moves that have very basic, unified commands, and utterly unique gameplay. There is really nothing else out there like this game, and that's too bad because it's probably my favorite 3d fighting game on the Playstation. Evil Zone almost feels like a projectile-heavy 3d fighting game version of Super Smash Bros., in its simplicity -- moves are all done with a single or double tap of a direction arrow and then a button press, no complex button moves (not even quarter-circles) here -- and there are only two buttons, an attack button and a block button. That's all. Despite that, there are over 12 moves at your disposal, including different moves for single and double taps of a direction followed by a press of the button, plus several moves that change depending on how far you are from the other character, and a few that change depending on how you press attack -- the long-distance grab for example has two attack patterns, and you switch by pressing attack again after you start the move. Once I learned how to do all of the moves, I realized how much depth this game has. Yes, there is a learning curve, bu it really is quite well designed. Once learned, the action is fast, fluid, unique, and rewarding. The game's mixture of simple action and a fascinating variety of original move types sets Evil Zone apart from, and above, most PS1 3d fighting games. The characters and story are heavily anime styled, and all characters ...
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