Summary
WhenSony launched the PlayStationto directly compete with the Nintendo 64, nobody thought they would succeed against their rival. But after the smoke from this heated console war cleared, Sony emerged victorious and did so thanks to the Herculean efforts of some truly remarkable software.
Spearheaded by talented development teams and a desire for innovation, these games charted new territory in terms of design and gameplay systems. Whether it was making strides in voice acting, the creation of a new genre, or introducing an entirely unique way to experience older games, the PS1 was full of games that were way ahead of their time.
Even before Spider-Man dominated the box office in the early 2000s and starred in the smash hit 2018 open-world masterpiece, he was already a star outside the successful comic books.Spidey’s video game track recordwas hit or miss, but the PS1 game released in the year 2000 set the stage for what superhero games could be.
Developed by Neversoft,Spider-Manwas well before theBatman: Arkhamseries and showed just how well a superhero could be translated from the comic page to a video game. Superhero games were not as well-defined as they would later become, andSpider-Manshowed the true power of what these IPs could deliver. Well before the MCU created a massive shared universe of superheroes and villains, this game included the likes of Captain America, The Punisher, and Daredevil, an ambitious undertaking that worked out brilliantly.
After working on several strategy games for Squaresoft during the mid-1990s, Yasumi Matsuno started working onVagrant Story, an action RPG that featured one of the earliest appearances of the Ivalice setting. First appearing inFinal Fantasy Tactics, what has becomeknown as the Ivalice Allianceexists both within its own world and as part of the mainline FF franchise. And withVagrant Story, Squaresoft used that unique setting and designed an innovative combat system around it, resulting in one of the PS1’s most outstanding games.
Set in the fictional city of Lea Monde,Vagrant Storyis the tale of Ashley Riot, a Riskbreaker who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding a cult and the murder of a duke. Unlike the majority of the RPGs Square was making at the time,Vagrant Storyutilizes real-time movement with turn-based input and an innovative targeting system. Its robust weapon upgrade system was also a highlight, and this unique action RPG remains one of their most elusive titles to never get a remaster of any kind. The fabulous combat and absolutely gorgeous animated cutscenes remain unmatched, as this quirky and brilliant game is still one of a kind.
Well before Naughty Dog cultivated a library of cinematic masterpieces likeThe Last of UsandUncharted, they were an almost entirely different company with radically different ambitions. In their first game for the PlayStation brand before being acquired by them in 2001, they showed just how talented and bold they would later become, asCrash Bandicootwas one of the vanguards of the 3D revolution that took hold in the 1990s.
Released nearly two weeks beforeSuper Mario 64,Crash Bandicootwas one of the first games to solve the issues surrounding the industry’s transition from 2D to 3D. By tunneling the player down 3D hallways and replicating the side-scrolling perspective seen in older 2D games,Crash Bandicootpaved the way for future platform games. It made use of its polygons and colors economically, opting for vertex shading as opposed to textures. It is a technical marvel, showcasing the wizardry that Naughty Dog was, and still is, capable of.
Parasite Evebegan as aFinal Fantasytitle, with a detective in a cyberpunk-styled New York who was chasing a sorceress named Edea. These elements were later re-used forFinal Fantasy 7and8, but the New York detective story remained untouched until Square revived it forParasite Eve, which was based on a novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena. Combining elements ofResident EvilandFinal Fantasy, this survival horror RPG was one of the PS1’s most imaginative titles.
While most RPGs were focused on a party of rag-tag rebels poised to take down a megacorporation or some sort of ancient evil,Parasite Evewas a small, focused horror affair with one playable character in the form of NYPD detective Aya Brea. Its mixture of slick, action-based combat and stunning pre-rendered backgrounds is still absolutely fantastic. It’s the type of game that doesn’t tend to exist anymore, as survival horror JRPGs aren’t necessarily a hot genre in the industry, but was a revolutionary title in many ways.
Drawing inspiration from movies likeNight of the Living Dead, as well as contemporaries likeAlone in the DarkandSweet Home,Resident Evilwas developed byCapcom over the course of two years and helped coin the term ‘survival horror’. This life-or-death simulation was built on limited ammunition and supplies, prompting the player to conserve resources in order to survive.
Thanks to the increased storage space of CD-ROMs, Capcom was able to fit an enormous number of pre-rendered backgrounds and voice-overs into the game. In an era of increasing reliance on cinematic experiences,Resident Evilaimed to create an interactive horror film that was stuffed with glorious B-movie energy. This same philosophy has carried through the franchise for years, setting the stage for what would become one of the industry’s most well-regarded IPs.
Skateboarding and extreme sports were a dominant part of the 1990s, as the rebellious counterculture movement shaped the teenagers who were living it. And perhaps no game tied into that more thanTony Hawk’s Pro Skater, developed by Neversoft and released during the height of the decade’s obsession with extreme sports.
With the legendary Tony Hawk as its cover boy, Neversoft’s skateboarding simulation felt like a revelation. Building on classic gaming tropes like accumulating points and high scores, but wrapping it up in a youthful presentation and tapping into the culture of pro skateboarding was a genius move.Tony Hawk’s Pro Skaterwould lay the foundation for extreme sports games moving forward and spawned an incredible remaster from Vicarious Visions in 2020 that proved the longevity of this amazing title.
Horror games felt right at home on the PS1, as the analog nature and low-fidelity graphics added to the atmosphere. And whileResident Evilhad a focus on action and fist-pumping moments, Konami took a different approach withSilent Hill, released on the PS1 in the year 2000.
Leaning on themes like trauma, grief, and guilt,Silent Hillwas a landmark release for horror games, as it showed that the industry could be more than the simple stories that had come to define it. Its focus on tight, confined spaces and dark, grimy atmosphere was unheard of for console gaming at the time. The complex story was perfect, and the music by Akira Yamaoka made use of an industrial sound that is still unmatched even today. Where most games were built on happy endings and adventure,Silent Hill’sdescent into darkness was crucial to the industry becoming what it is today.
Thanks to the hardware improvements made by the PS1, developers were able to create games and worlds with much more depth to them than ever before. And withFear Effect, developers Kronos Digital Entertainment took full advantage of that, by creating what feels like a playable anime. While games likeResident EvilandFinal Fantasyused pre-rendered images for their backgrounds,Fear Effectmade use of looping video files for their 3D polygonal characters to interact with.
While it resulted inFear Effectreleasing on four discs, it was worth the effort, as it is still one of the most imaginative and compelling games of its generation.This cyberpunk adventure gamefelt like the coolest anime possible made into a video game, with slick presentation and survival horror-style gameplay. It is truly one of the most fascinating games of all time and is due for a remaster or remake of some kind.
After a falling out with Nintendo, Squaresoft used the seemingly unlimited power of the PS1 to powerthe nextFinal Fantasytitle. Released in 1997,Final Fantasy 7became a cultural landmark, as the outright obsession with ex-SOLDIER Cloud and the crew of Avalanche took the industry by storm and has showed no signs of slowing down. Among the first games to use pre-rendered backgrounds with 3D characters,Final Fantasy 7combined elements of melodrama, slapstick, science fiction, and cyberpunk.
Its ability to vacillate between them, and bring each one together in a meaningful way across an epic 3-disc adventure, was nothing short of remarkable. Square became rather adept at this style of game during the 1990s and 2000s, as they would use what they learned during the development ofFinal Fantasy 7to influence each subsequent game. It was ultimately a testing ground for Square, as their ability to take a few years and produce a high-quality adventure that felt unique is still impressive to this day.
If any title has defined the PS1 over the years, it’sMetal Gear Solid,the stealth-action masterpieceby Hideo Kojima that set the standard for cinematic adventure games. Although he had retired from the series afterMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Kojima was lured back in by the promise of what new hardware could do and tasked his team with creating a 3D stealth game, one that would take full advantage of what the PlayStation could offer.
With its impressive 3D world, incredible music and perfect voice acting,Metal Gear Solidwas the precursor to many of today’s most celebrated games.Metal Gear Solidwas one of the first games to be fully voice-acted, and the cinematic cutscenes are expertly directed by Kojima. Its internal consistency is also outstanding, as using the in-game engine to render the cutscenes makes the transition from story to gameplay seamless. Recently,Metal Gear Solidwas released for modern hardware with theMaster Collection, making this important title easy to experience today.
