A Black Falcon
Member
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 is sketchy, but these are all at least games I like a lot.)
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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, Invasion from Beyond!, Sea-Doo HydroCross, Sanvein
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 entries for these games in the main text; these titles are marked with brackets in the full titles review list below this list. I wanted to write something for every PS1 game I have and have played, even if I can't say enough to really review them. 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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Platformer(3d). 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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Action-RPG(2d). 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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Action-RPG(3d). 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. Plus it has airships, which are usually cool. 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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Flight Action(2.5d). 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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Run&Gun(3d). 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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Collection. 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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Action/Racing. 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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Strategy. 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. Also on PC.
Battle Arena Toshinden 3
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Fighting. 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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Vehicular action. 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, the N64 game is much better.
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 is sketchy, but these are all at least games I like a lot.)
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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, Invasion from Beyond!, Sea-Doo HydroCross, Sanvein
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 entries for these games in the main text; these titles are marked with brackets in the full titles review list below this list. I wanted to write something for every PS1 game I have and have played, even if I can't say enough to really review them. 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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Platformer(3d). 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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Action-RPG(2d). 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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Action-RPG(3d). 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. Plus it has airships, which are usually cool. 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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Flight Action(2.5d). 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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Run&Gun(3d). 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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Collection. 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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Action/Racing. 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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Strategy. 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. Also on PC.
Battle Arena Toshinden 3
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Fighting. 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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Vehicular action. 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, the N64 game is much better.