A Black Falcon
Member
So, this is a tank action game. You can move the tank with the analog stick, and also control the turret independently if you want. Getting used to the controls can be a little tricky, but the basics are simple enough: point at enemies and shoot them. Do watch your ammo, though; most guns have limited ammo. Exploring levels is worth it, in order to find more ammo and health. You've got a nice variety of weapons to use. Targeting takes some getting used to, though, as was common on the PS1. You can try either auto, partial-auto, or manual targeting, and there are multiple control options as well. Hitting helicopters, particularly, with manual targeting can be tricky, but might be worth the effort, because you aren't allowed to move the turret around in full-auto mode, and this can be a problem sometimes. In this kind of game I want full control over my tank, which means learning the manual targeting controls. You can switch during play, though, which is great; you're not stuck with just one. Levels in this game are good-sized, open levels with plenty of hills and valleys. There's no flat terrain like Battletanx here! Environments aren't as destructible as in that game, but still, there are lots of enemies to shoot, and the rolling terrain is great. The game looks nice, good graphics and level designs for a midlife PS1 game. This is a tough game; it will take a while to learn each level, figure out what you should do, and how to approach each area. You've got a variety of objectives to complete in each level, almost always about various things you have to destroy. There is a helpful map on the pause menu, use it. If you just charge around you'll get killed for sure. I think this is a good thing, and like the thought involved here. Figuring out each stage is a fun challenge, and you can save between levels. The game gets off to a great start, I love the first level. It stays good after that, too. Just be careful and take things slowly, and with practice you'll be okay. Taking enemies out from a distance is great, when you can manage it. There are ten levels, which is plenty for a game as challenging as this one. There are also multiple tanks to unlock as you play through the game, for some variety; though the default tank is pretty cool, the alternate ones do have different weapons. There's also a two player versus mode. A co-op campaign mode would have been better, but this is nice to see as well, even if the two player limit (and lack of co-op!) makes it nowhere near as great as N64 BattleTanx. Overall, I love this game. Steel Reign is one of the PS1's best tank games, and it's a real surprise; I never heard of this game back around when it came out, but I wish I had, because it's a great fun game with good levels, variety, action, and plenty of fun. This game is much more of an arcade game than it is a sim, but it has enough depth to be interesting. Steel Reign is a great game, play it! Highly recommended.
Street Fighter Collection 2
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2 player simultaneous, saves (1 block). Street Fighter Collection 2 is a collection of the first three arcade versions of SFII, ported over to the Playstation. Specifically, this includes Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II': Champion Edition, and Street Fighter II Turbo. The collection was popular at the time of its release, but honestly, I'd much rather have the first one; it has Super SFII, Super SFII Turbo, and SF Alpha 2 Gold, three newer games than these. I know many SF fans prefer Turbo, but I've always liked Super more, myself. It's weird that the second collection goes back to older games, instead of releasing these first. Still, for what it is, the games are solid, for the platform. Of course, "for the platform" is an important qualifier here; as always, the game has long load times, reduced animation when compared to the arcade games, and such. Otherwise they're fine versions of several great classic Street Fighter II versions. Arcade ports also on many other platforms.
Summon Night (J)
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1 player, saves (1 block per file), Analog Gamepad supported. Summon Night 1 is the first game in what would be Flight-Plan's longest-running and most popular series of anime-styled RPG and strategy games. Indeed, even though developer Flight-Plan has shut down, the series is still alive. My first experience with the franchise was with the fantastic spinoff Summon Night: Swordcraft Story action-RPGs for the Game Boy Advance, but the main series that started with this game is a tactical strategy ("SRPG" as many [wrongly] call them) game series. The GBA games are some of my favorite games on that platform, but this main series probably isn't on that level, not least because it's not in a language I can understand much of; story and humor are always central to Summon Night games. Still, even as it is, it's a good game. Basically, Summon Night is a somewhat simpler, anime-styled variant on games like Final Fantasy Tactics. It's still plenty tough most of the time, though. Summon Night also looks good, sounds great, and plays fairly well. The game is entirely 2d, and the graphics are very good for the PS1; PS1 tactical strategy doesn't look much better than this. However, it isn't as deep or complex as a Tactics Ogre or FFT, in either gameplay or plot. I like this game quite a bit, but those who want their tactical strategy games FFT-dark might like it less. I much prefer Summon Night's 2d over the ugly 3d in FFT, though!
While most games in the franchise are set exclusively in the Summon Night fantasy world, in this first game you play as one of four Japanese high school students. First, you choose your character, either one of two girls or boys. All of the Summon Night games have multiple characters to play as or control, always of both genders, which is great. Then, the long intro cutscene begins. The game starts on Earth, and the choices you make in the Earth section determine which which familiar summon you get; if you know a bit of Japanese the GameFAQs guide will help you choose the one you want, otherwise just guess and get one. This is one of those game with lots of "visual novel-ish" cutscenes, that is, scenes with images of two characters on screen with a background as the characters talk to eachother. It's cheaper than fully-animated cutscene, important for a game with as much story as this one has. Think GBA Fire Emblem and such, here, except with a map where you can choose which people to talk to during the non-battle sections of the game instead of it all just being a long cutscene. Helpfully, all characters EXCEPT for your character are fully voiced. Knowing Japanese would be a huge help, of course, but with the voice acting for the other characters and the fairly straightforward tactical strategy gameplay, I haven't run into any major issues yet playing the game. The only challenge is that I have no idea what I'm saying in the times when I have to choose one of several dialog options, but oh well. Just go everywhere and wait through every conversation, and the game will show you where to go next. Battleas at the Event spots. Fortunately, there's a fair amount of English text on some menus and stats and the like, and also images of weapons. It's easy to figure out.
Also, even if it's not too complex, the game presents a challenge. The game may have a somewhat cute anime theme, but there's plenty of tough battles to be fought here. This is a standard isometric tactical strategy game, with characters that level up and the usual Tactics Ogre-inspired gameplay. Maps are 2d, not ugly 3d like FFT, which is nice. It's not my favorite kind of strategy game, but they're alright, and this is a fun one; I've never cared for Final Fantasy Tactics, but simpler ones like this or Vandal Hearts are fun. You can attack, use magic or skills, and use items, as usual. You can also switch between Defend (reduce damage when attacked) and Counter (counter-attack, but take more damage); this is the bottom option in each character's menu during battle. Unlike the later Summon Night games, it takes a while until you are given your summon companion and the ability to summon things, but you do eventually get both. I do prefer the later style of having a summon ally from the start, but this is the first game, they improved over time. As usual in the genre, you start out with only a few characters, but your party grows. Overall, Summon Night 1 is a good game. The game has a very good soundtrack, great 2d and 2d-isometric graphics, plenty of anime-style story and amusement to experience, and solid gameplay. It's well worth playing, great fun stuff! I only wish it was translated, I'm sure I'd like the story quite a bit. Someone needs to get to this series sometime! Also on Nintendo DS, ported there years later.
Summon Night 2 (J)
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1 player, saves (1 block per file), Analog Gamepad supported. Summon Night 2 is very much like the first game, except with new characters and a new story. Otherwise, it's a sequel that doesn't stray far at all from the first games' formula, and I'm fine with that, it's based on a very good predecessor after all. Summon Night 2 has two playable characters, male or female; this would be how all subsequent games in the franchise go, only the first one has four. As in most of the Tales series, every Summon Night game has an entirely different cast; none bring back the same characters. The characters are also both from the fantasty world, not 'real' Japan, again something repeated in all following games. This is a two-disc game, so it's longer than the first game. Be prepared to wait through a lot of long conversations if you play this game! I expected that though, Summon Night games always have plenty of story. My first impression is that it's better than the first game. Summon Night 2 is very similar to its predecessor, but the formula is a bit refined and graphics and sound are even better. This really is a great-looking PS1 game; the PS1 Summon Night games look fantastic, about as good as most of those N1 tactical strategy games on the PS2 apart for not having 3d rotateable cameras. Of course N1's games (Disgaea, etc.) barely looked 6th gen, but still, this game looks nice, every thing is well drawn. I like the art style too; all Summon Night games have characters drawn by the same person, and it's a good anime art style. The anime video in the intro is high-quality, as well. I love the music too, this game sounds great!
As for the gameplay, it's pretty much the same, just with new characters, and that now you have your summon companion from right at the beginning of the game. You choose which of the four summon helpers you want in a choice early in the game; for those like me who can't read much of the text look at the manual to decide which you want, the first character of each name in the ingame list matches the one by their character portrait. In the first game which one you get is pretty much random if you can't read the text, so it's nice they made it simpler this time. Your summon companion will be your helper throughout the game, and a party member from the start as well. The four summons in each game always have very different personalities, so choose the one you want. This time there's a robot, a very quiet bunny-girl in a kimono, a little beast-boy? (not sure on the gender here?), and a brash demon boy. As before, all speech except for your characters' is fully voiced. Your character is a magician, and your first companion is a guy from the same school or whatever. As for the gameplay, it really is just like the previous game, except with two characters from the first battle and magic from the beginning as well. Those are two nice improvements, though I found I needed to use the magic well from the start, your characters are a bit fragile. I almost always prefer the mage characters in games, so I like this design. Overall, Summon Night 2 seems like a pretty good game. This later Playstation release, from 2001, shows what the PS1 can do with 2d graphics, and the gameplay is pretty good as well. It's not the most complex game, but there's enough here to keep me interested, for sure. The only real flaw with this game is that the whole, very long, script is all in Japanese. I want to play this game in English... please. It's playable in Japanese, but it'd be better for sure if I knew what they were saying. I quite like this franchise, and it's sad that only three of the games (two for GBA and one for DS) got localized, none of them tactical strategy games. The only English-language-release Flight-Plan tactical strategy game is Eternal Poison for the PS2, which I have not played. I would like to, though; it's not Summon Night, but looks interesting. Also available on the Nintendo DS, where it was ported years later.
Syphon Filter 2
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2 player simultaneous, saves (3 blocks per file), Analog Gamepad supported. Syphon Filter 2 is the second game in this third-person shooter/stealth franchise from Sony. There are six main Syphon Filter games, three on PS1, one on PS2, and two on PS2 and PSP. This game has a main story mode and also two player versus play, though I've only tried it so far in single player. Syphon Filter 2 is an okay game, but it's a clumsy and flawed stealth game and is only okay as a shooter. The story is also convoluted and implausible. The game starts out assuming that the player has finished the first game; there's no real explanation for why what's going on is happening. I have the first game, but haven't gotten anywhere near the end. There should have been some backstory here. Apparently the Agency that Gabe and Lian were a part of in the first game is actually evil, created the Syphon Filter virus, and are willing to sell it to terrorists. It's up to you to stop them, because apparently no one else who knows about its existence believes that this secret government agency with its own private army that is trying to sell dangerous viruses to terrorists is actually a threat. Yeah, this is bad action movie plot stuff, for sure. This is a two-CD game because of all the prerendered cutscenes, but they don't look great. The voice acting is mostly awful, too. Sony's English voice acting in PS1 games is often bad, and this game is no exception. Gabe doesn't sound like he cares much about what's going on, or that it's a dangerous situation at all, even though this game is all about constant tension and fighting. You mostly play as Gabe, as in the first game, but play as Lian for some mostly stealth-focused segments. As a shooter, this game doesn't do a great job of telling you what you should be doing or where you should go. I got stuck repeatedly in the first level because of lacking instructions. The areas aren't too huge, but the game can be confusing anyway. Climbing on things, with Triangle by default, is important. Also don't always try to kill all the enemies, because in some areas they respawn seemingly infinitely, annoyingly. I hate that stuff.
The controls are okay, but could be a lot better. Targeting is automatic, which is good. One button switches targets. Switching weapons could be better, though; hitting Select changes weapons, or holding it opens a weapon wheel (switch with L2/R2). It takes longer than it should. Trying to hit enemies with melee-range weapons is one of the worst things about the controls in this game, as the attacks frequently aren't quite on target, and you'll probably die before you're able to try to attack again because it doesn't take many shots to take you down in this game. And as for stealth, there are no indications of where guards can see, unlike, say, Metal Gear Solid, so figuring out when you are visible and when you aren't is difficult, and this is one of the bad kinds of stealth games that has levels where if you are seen once by anyone you fail instantly, go back to the last checkpoint. Stealth in this game is pretty much trial and error, as is figuring out what to do in the shooting-focused rest of the game. Fortunately, checkpoints are fairly frequent, which is nice. This game would be very annoying without the frequent checkpoints, for sure, but it has them. There is an area map in the pause menu, which tells you where you are and objective markers. It's invaluable! I wish there was in ingame minimap too, that'd be great, but at least you can pause and see it. There is an ingame radar, but I find those somewhat useless compared to a map. Maps are awesome. Visually, Syphon Filter 2 looks fairly nice for the PS1. This is a later PS1 game, and it shows. There's some nice variety in the level settings as well. That voice acting should have been a lot better, though. Overall, Syphon Filter 2 is an okay third-person shooter with some confusing level designs and poor stealth, with required stealth segments. It's probably about as good as the first game, I guess.
Team Losi RC Racer
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2 player simultaneous, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad supported. Team Losi RC Racer is a sort of kart-ish RC car racing game. It's fairly average, but amusing for a little while. The game has okay graphics, varied course designs, weapons, and a hub world. It's also very easy and simplistic, but is fun for a little while anyway. The handling is arcadey, but the cars feel very light, like they should. Driving in this game is easy, though. It's probably good for the younger audience that this game was designed for. You choose an RC car, and then drive around the hub, choosing which challenges you want to face. It's a simple hub world of cooridors and portals, but it's nice that it's there. You can save in the hub as well, and also change modes. In addition to the main mode, the game also has multiplayer (two player only, unfortunately) and a time-trial mode. There's also an unlockable second, harder race mode, if you beat the first one. Timetrial mode is just for fun, though -- you won't unlock anything there. Too bad, time-trial challenges in racing games can be interesting and tough. The game starts out pretty easy, though. This game is licensed by an RC car company, and the game clearly was aimed at getting kids interested in their cars. As a result it's not surprising that the game is easy, but it is; don't expect much challenge from this game most of the time. You don't need to win races to move on, either; top three finishes are okay. You get powerups in this game by going through gates which litter the courses. Fitting with the over-simplified theme, you don't actually have to activate most of these; you get a powerup such as a speed boost, shield, etc. by going through a gate, and then it's swapped out with a different power when you go through another gate. So yeah, this is a simple game. The graphics can be decently nice for the PS1 sometimes, though. The game is usually smooth, but larger open surface areas can have some issues. Overall, Team Losi RC Racer is an insubstantial game, but it's not that bad. It's simple and average, and I don't know how many people today would actually find it all that interesting, but not actually bad. Zipping through a few races was kind of fun for a while.
Tiny Bullets (J)
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1 player, saves (1 block per file). Tiny Bullets is an anime-style 3d action-adventure-platformer, in the vein of Tomb Raider and the like. It's from Sony, but sadly only released in Japan. Fortunately it's fairly import-friendly. This is a reasonably good game with a lot going for it, if you like this kind of game that is, but it is a product of its time. On the good side, the game is fun, looks reasonably nice, has some good puzzles, and is interesting to explore. On the bad side, it has no analog support for some bizarre reason (this was a 2000 release! There is no excuse!) and the camera is ... not good. Oh, and yes, of course you have tank controls. Yes, the controls and camera take getting used to, but that is true for most games like this in the 5th generation. Try to get used to it. In the game, you play as a boy with a sci-fi-anime styled outfit on who is out for adventure and treasure, but finds a lot more than he bargained for. So far the story is fairly conventional, but that's okay. I haven't finished the game, but I'm sure by the end he will save the day from the forces of evil... with nothing but his slingshot and various non-weapon items you pick up along the way. Yes, a slingshot is your ONLY weapon in this game. The "Tiny Bullets" in the title refers to slingstones, which you will collect various types of as you progress.
This is a linear game, but you'll need to do some exploring along the way. Areas are not large, but they feel bigger than they are thanks to the games' slow movement controls and complex multi-tier environments. A coup0le of hours into the game, I've already spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where to go next. The level designs are clever, and you'll really need to use all of your moves in order to make your way forward. Fortunately, a controls card that comes with the game shows how to do all 16 move types. Use this as a reference, it's very helpful! It's got pictures of the action, and the buttons are listed below. You can jump, slide sideways, grab on to ledges (hold O while jumping), swing on poles, roll, slam the ground, and more. The controls aren't too complex once you learn them, though. The main issue I have is with attacking -- while holding R2, the "use slingshot' button, you CANNOT move, at all. While the enemies come right for you. Yes, attacking quickly and then moving out of the way is key in this game. Hold R2+L2 for first-person with the slingshot, because aiming without first-person is near-impossible, press X to attack (or O to change bullet type), let go and run. That's how you fight. It works, but is a bit clumsy. The exploration and puzzle solving are more fun than the combat for sure. Fortunately, they are better. As I said, the controls are slow and somewhat clumsy, but I had quite a bit of fun exploring the environments despite this. You get used to the handling, and environments are varied and look nice for the platform. Of course there's texture warping, but that's in every PS1 game.
I like the puzzles, too. One particularly clever one so far involved collecting four panels, then moving a spotlight in a side room to reveal what order the panels would have to put into their places on a pillar they go on. Remember your inventory, items like bombs and keys will need to be activated from the inventory. Not being able to read Japanese makes the game a little trickier, but it's not hard to figure out, and there's a great video playthrough of the game on Youtube if you get stuck. So far none of the puzzles involve language, though, so that's just for the impatient. Overall, Tiny Bullets is a solid game for the PS1. The game has definite control issues, but despite this is a solid, quality title well worth trying. It's too bad Sony didn't release it in the West.
Street Fighter Collection 2
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2 player simultaneous, saves (1 block). Street Fighter Collection 2 is a collection of the first three arcade versions of SFII, ported over to the Playstation. Specifically, this includes Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II': Champion Edition, and Street Fighter II Turbo. The collection was popular at the time of its release, but honestly, I'd much rather have the first one; it has Super SFII, Super SFII Turbo, and SF Alpha 2 Gold, three newer games than these. I know many SF fans prefer Turbo, but I've always liked Super more, myself. It's weird that the second collection goes back to older games, instead of releasing these first. Still, for what it is, the games are solid, for the platform. Of course, "for the platform" is an important qualifier here; as always, the game has long load times, reduced animation when compared to the arcade games, and such. Otherwise they're fine versions of several great classic Street Fighter II versions. Arcade ports also on many other platforms.
Summon Night (J)
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1 player, saves (1 block per file), Analog Gamepad supported. Summon Night 1 is the first game in what would be Flight-Plan's longest-running and most popular series of anime-styled RPG and strategy games. Indeed, even though developer Flight-Plan has shut down, the series is still alive. My first experience with the franchise was with the fantastic spinoff Summon Night: Swordcraft Story action-RPGs for the Game Boy Advance, but the main series that started with this game is a tactical strategy ("SRPG" as many [wrongly] call them) game series. The GBA games are some of my favorite games on that platform, but this main series probably isn't on that level, not least because it's not in a language I can understand much of; story and humor are always central to Summon Night games. Still, even as it is, it's a good game. Basically, Summon Night is a somewhat simpler, anime-styled variant on games like Final Fantasy Tactics. It's still plenty tough most of the time, though. Summon Night also looks good, sounds great, and plays fairly well. The game is entirely 2d, and the graphics are very good for the PS1; PS1 tactical strategy doesn't look much better than this. However, it isn't as deep or complex as a Tactics Ogre or FFT, in either gameplay or plot. I like this game quite a bit, but those who want their tactical strategy games FFT-dark might like it less. I much prefer Summon Night's 2d over the ugly 3d in FFT, though!
While most games in the franchise are set exclusively in the Summon Night fantasy world, in this first game you play as one of four Japanese high school students. First, you choose your character, either one of two girls or boys. All of the Summon Night games have multiple characters to play as or control, always of both genders, which is great. Then, the long intro cutscene begins. The game starts on Earth, and the choices you make in the Earth section determine which which familiar summon you get; if you know a bit of Japanese the GameFAQs guide will help you choose the one you want, otherwise just guess and get one. This is one of those game with lots of "visual novel-ish" cutscenes, that is, scenes with images of two characters on screen with a background as the characters talk to eachother. It's cheaper than fully-animated cutscene, important for a game with as much story as this one has. Think GBA Fire Emblem and such, here, except with a map where you can choose which people to talk to during the non-battle sections of the game instead of it all just being a long cutscene. Helpfully, all characters EXCEPT for your character are fully voiced. Knowing Japanese would be a huge help, of course, but with the voice acting for the other characters and the fairly straightforward tactical strategy gameplay, I haven't run into any major issues yet playing the game. The only challenge is that I have no idea what I'm saying in the times when I have to choose one of several dialog options, but oh well. Just go everywhere and wait through every conversation, and the game will show you where to go next. Battleas at the Event spots. Fortunately, there's a fair amount of English text on some menus and stats and the like, and also images of weapons. It's easy to figure out.
Also, even if it's not too complex, the game presents a challenge. The game may have a somewhat cute anime theme, but there's plenty of tough battles to be fought here. This is a standard isometric tactical strategy game, with characters that level up and the usual Tactics Ogre-inspired gameplay. Maps are 2d, not ugly 3d like FFT, which is nice. It's not my favorite kind of strategy game, but they're alright, and this is a fun one; I've never cared for Final Fantasy Tactics, but simpler ones like this or Vandal Hearts are fun. You can attack, use magic or skills, and use items, as usual. You can also switch between Defend (reduce damage when attacked) and Counter (counter-attack, but take more damage); this is the bottom option in each character's menu during battle. Unlike the later Summon Night games, it takes a while until you are given your summon companion and the ability to summon things, but you do eventually get both. I do prefer the later style of having a summon ally from the start, but this is the first game, they improved over time. As usual in the genre, you start out with only a few characters, but your party grows. Overall, Summon Night 1 is a good game. The game has a very good soundtrack, great 2d and 2d-isometric graphics, plenty of anime-style story and amusement to experience, and solid gameplay. It's well worth playing, great fun stuff! I only wish it was translated, I'm sure I'd like the story quite a bit. Someone needs to get to this series sometime! Also on Nintendo DS, ported there years later.
Summon Night 2 (J)
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1 player, saves (1 block per file), Analog Gamepad supported. Summon Night 2 is very much like the first game, except with new characters and a new story. Otherwise, it's a sequel that doesn't stray far at all from the first games' formula, and I'm fine with that, it's based on a very good predecessor after all. Summon Night 2 has two playable characters, male or female; this would be how all subsequent games in the franchise go, only the first one has four. As in most of the Tales series, every Summon Night game has an entirely different cast; none bring back the same characters. The characters are also both from the fantasty world, not 'real' Japan, again something repeated in all following games. This is a two-disc game, so it's longer than the first game. Be prepared to wait through a lot of long conversations if you play this game! I expected that though, Summon Night games always have plenty of story. My first impression is that it's better than the first game. Summon Night 2 is very similar to its predecessor, but the formula is a bit refined and graphics and sound are even better. This really is a great-looking PS1 game; the PS1 Summon Night games look fantastic, about as good as most of those N1 tactical strategy games on the PS2 apart for not having 3d rotateable cameras. Of course N1's games (Disgaea, etc.) barely looked 6th gen, but still, this game looks nice, every thing is well drawn. I like the art style too; all Summon Night games have characters drawn by the same person, and it's a good anime art style. The anime video in the intro is high-quality, as well. I love the music too, this game sounds great!
As for the gameplay, it's pretty much the same, just with new characters, and that now you have your summon companion from right at the beginning of the game. You choose which of the four summon helpers you want in a choice early in the game; for those like me who can't read much of the text look at the manual to decide which you want, the first character of each name in the ingame list matches the one by their character portrait. In the first game which one you get is pretty much random if you can't read the text, so it's nice they made it simpler this time. Your summon companion will be your helper throughout the game, and a party member from the start as well. The four summons in each game always have very different personalities, so choose the one you want. This time there's a robot, a very quiet bunny-girl in a kimono, a little beast-boy? (not sure on the gender here?), and a brash demon boy. As before, all speech except for your characters' is fully voiced. Your character is a magician, and your first companion is a guy from the same school or whatever. As for the gameplay, it really is just like the previous game, except with two characters from the first battle and magic from the beginning as well. Those are two nice improvements, though I found I needed to use the magic well from the start, your characters are a bit fragile. I almost always prefer the mage characters in games, so I like this design. Overall, Summon Night 2 seems like a pretty good game. This later Playstation release, from 2001, shows what the PS1 can do with 2d graphics, and the gameplay is pretty good as well. It's not the most complex game, but there's enough here to keep me interested, for sure. The only real flaw with this game is that the whole, very long, script is all in Japanese. I want to play this game in English... please. It's playable in Japanese, but it'd be better for sure if I knew what they were saying. I quite like this franchise, and it's sad that only three of the games (two for GBA and one for DS) got localized, none of them tactical strategy games. The only English-language-release Flight-Plan tactical strategy game is Eternal Poison for the PS2, which I have not played. I would like to, though; it's not Summon Night, but looks interesting. Also available on the Nintendo DS, where it was ported years later.
Syphon Filter 2
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2 player simultaneous, saves (3 blocks per file), Analog Gamepad supported. Syphon Filter 2 is the second game in this third-person shooter/stealth franchise from Sony. There are six main Syphon Filter games, three on PS1, one on PS2, and two on PS2 and PSP. This game has a main story mode and also two player versus play, though I've only tried it so far in single player. Syphon Filter 2 is an okay game, but it's a clumsy and flawed stealth game and is only okay as a shooter. The story is also convoluted and implausible. The game starts out assuming that the player has finished the first game; there's no real explanation for why what's going on is happening. I have the first game, but haven't gotten anywhere near the end. There should have been some backstory here. Apparently the Agency that Gabe and Lian were a part of in the first game is actually evil, created the Syphon Filter virus, and are willing to sell it to terrorists. It's up to you to stop them, because apparently no one else who knows about its existence believes that this secret government agency with its own private army that is trying to sell dangerous viruses to terrorists is actually a threat. Yeah, this is bad action movie plot stuff, for sure. This is a two-CD game because of all the prerendered cutscenes, but they don't look great. The voice acting is mostly awful, too. Sony's English voice acting in PS1 games is often bad, and this game is no exception. Gabe doesn't sound like he cares much about what's going on, or that it's a dangerous situation at all, even though this game is all about constant tension and fighting. You mostly play as Gabe, as in the first game, but play as Lian for some mostly stealth-focused segments. As a shooter, this game doesn't do a great job of telling you what you should be doing or where you should go. I got stuck repeatedly in the first level because of lacking instructions. The areas aren't too huge, but the game can be confusing anyway. Climbing on things, with Triangle by default, is important. Also don't always try to kill all the enemies, because in some areas they respawn seemingly infinitely, annoyingly. I hate that stuff.
The controls are okay, but could be a lot better. Targeting is automatic, which is good. One button switches targets. Switching weapons could be better, though; hitting Select changes weapons, or holding it opens a weapon wheel (switch with L2/R2). It takes longer than it should. Trying to hit enemies with melee-range weapons is one of the worst things about the controls in this game, as the attacks frequently aren't quite on target, and you'll probably die before you're able to try to attack again because it doesn't take many shots to take you down in this game. And as for stealth, there are no indications of where guards can see, unlike, say, Metal Gear Solid, so figuring out when you are visible and when you aren't is difficult, and this is one of the bad kinds of stealth games that has levels where if you are seen once by anyone you fail instantly, go back to the last checkpoint. Stealth in this game is pretty much trial and error, as is figuring out what to do in the shooting-focused rest of the game. Fortunately, checkpoints are fairly frequent, which is nice. This game would be very annoying without the frequent checkpoints, for sure, but it has them. There is an area map in the pause menu, which tells you where you are and objective markers. It's invaluable! I wish there was in ingame minimap too, that'd be great, but at least you can pause and see it. There is an ingame radar, but I find those somewhat useless compared to a map. Maps are awesome. Visually, Syphon Filter 2 looks fairly nice for the PS1. This is a later PS1 game, and it shows. There's some nice variety in the level settings as well. That voice acting should have been a lot better, though. Overall, Syphon Filter 2 is an okay third-person shooter with some confusing level designs and poor stealth, with required stealth segments. It's probably about as good as the first game, I guess.
Team Losi RC Racer
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2 player simultaneous, saves (1 block), Analog Gamepad supported. Team Losi RC Racer is a sort of kart-ish RC car racing game. It's fairly average, but amusing for a little while. The game has okay graphics, varied course designs, weapons, and a hub world. It's also very easy and simplistic, but is fun for a little while anyway. The handling is arcadey, but the cars feel very light, like they should. Driving in this game is easy, though. It's probably good for the younger audience that this game was designed for. You choose an RC car, and then drive around the hub, choosing which challenges you want to face. It's a simple hub world of cooridors and portals, but it's nice that it's there. You can save in the hub as well, and also change modes. In addition to the main mode, the game also has multiplayer (two player only, unfortunately) and a time-trial mode. There's also an unlockable second, harder race mode, if you beat the first one. Timetrial mode is just for fun, though -- you won't unlock anything there. Too bad, time-trial challenges in racing games can be interesting and tough. The game starts out pretty easy, though. This game is licensed by an RC car company, and the game clearly was aimed at getting kids interested in their cars. As a result it's not surprising that the game is easy, but it is; don't expect much challenge from this game most of the time. You don't need to win races to move on, either; top three finishes are okay. You get powerups in this game by going through gates which litter the courses. Fitting with the over-simplified theme, you don't actually have to activate most of these; you get a powerup such as a speed boost, shield, etc. by going through a gate, and then it's swapped out with a different power when you go through another gate. So yeah, this is a simple game. The graphics can be decently nice for the PS1 sometimes, though. The game is usually smooth, but larger open surface areas can have some issues. Overall, Team Losi RC Racer is an insubstantial game, but it's not that bad. It's simple and average, and I don't know how many people today would actually find it all that interesting, but not actually bad. Zipping through a few races was kind of fun for a while.
Tiny Bullets (J)
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1 player, saves (1 block per file). Tiny Bullets is an anime-style 3d action-adventure-platformer, in the vein of Tomb Raider and the like. It's from Sony, but sadly only released in Japan. Fortunately it's fairly import-friendly. This is a reasonably good game with a lot going for it, if you like this kind of game that is, but it is a product of its time. On the good side, the game is fun, looks reasonably nice, has some good puzzles, and is interesting to explore. On the bad side, it has no analog support for some bizarre reason (this was a 2000 release! There is no excuse!) and the camera is ... not good. Oh, and yes, of course you have tank controls. Yes, the controls and camera take getting used to, but that is true for most games like this in the 5th generation. Try to get used to it. In the game, you play as a boy with a sci-fi-anime styled outfit on who is out for adventure and treasure, but finds a lot more than he bargained for. So far the story is fairly conventional, but that's okay. I haven't finished the game, but I'm sure by the end he will save the day from the forces of evil... with nothing but his slingshot and various non-weapon items you pick up along the way. Yes, a slingshot is your ONLY weapon in this game. The "Tiny Bullets" in the title refers to slingstones, which you will collect various types of as you progress.
This is a linear game, but you'll need to do some exploring along the way. Areas are not large, but they feel bigger than they are thanks to the games' slow movement controls and complex multi-tier environments. A coup0le of hours into the game, I've already spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where to go next. The level designs are clever, and you'll really need to use all of your moves in order to make your way forward. Fortunately, a controls card that comes with the game shows how to do all 16 move types. Use this as a reference, it's very helpful! It's got pictures of the action, and the buttons are listed below. You can jump, slide sideways, grab on to ledges (hold O while jumping), swing on poles, roll, slam the ground, and more. The controls aren't too complex once you learn them, though. The main issue I have is with attacking -- while holding R2, the "use slingshot' button, you CANNOT move, at all. While the enemies come right for you. Yes, attacking quickly and then moving out of the way is key in this game. Hold R2+L2 for first-person with the slingshot, because aiming without first-person is near-impossible, press X to attack (or O to change bullet type), let go and run. That's how you fight. It works, but is a bit clumsy. The exploration and puzzle solving are more fun than the combat for sure. Fortunately, they are better. As I said, the controls are slow and somewhat clumsy, but I had quite a bit of fun exploring the environments despite this. You get used to the handling, and environments are varied and look nice for the platform. Of course there's texture warping, but that's in every PS1 game.
I like the puzzles, too. One particularly clever one so far involved collecting four panels, then moving a spotlight in a side room to reveal what order the panels would have to put into their places on a pillar they go on. Remember your inventory, items like bombs and keys will need to be activated from the inventory. Not being able to read Japanese makes the game a little trickier, but it's not hard to figure out, and there's a great video playthrough of the game on Youtube if you get stuck. So far none of the puzzles involve language, though, so that's just for the impatient. Overall, Tiny Bullets is a solid game for the PS1. The game has definite control issues, but despite this is a solid, quality title well worth trying. It's too bad Sony didn't release it in the West.
). Amusingly, even though everyone's in Japanese school uniforms, they have American names and are supposedly "American". Yeah, right. But hey, on the positive side, this is an XS Games PS1 localization release which they actually didn't remove saving from, so hey, it's not all bad! Overall this game is okay, but not that great. Genre fans probably will be amused, but I just don't care as much for Super Dodgeball and its clones as some do.
