20 Great Games For The PSOne Emulator: Part 1 of 2

Let me start by saying this is by no means a “10 best games on PSOne” list, what follows is simply a stroll down memory lane highlighting some of the classics that debuted on Sony’s cute grey progenitor. It’s a list of cool, fun games, some more well known than others. It’s a list of games that were great then and will most certainly be great today. The PSone era had so many ultra cool titles it’s mind boggling, creating this list and researching all the titles that came out for the platform, it ccurred to me that it’s no wonder Sony dominated the competition. And now in no particular order, let’s have a look at some of these classics shall we?

Read the full list of games after the jump!

Let me start by saying this is by no means a “10 best games on PSOne” list, what follows is simply a stroll down memory lane highlighting some of the classics that debuted on Sony’s cute grey progenitor. It’s a list of cool, fun games, some more well known than others. It’s a list of games that were great then and will most certainly be great today. The PSone era had so many ultra cool titles it’s mind boggling, creating this list and researching all the titles that came out for the platform, it occurred to me that it’s no wonder Sony dominated the competition. And now in no particular order, let’s have a look at some of these classics shall we?

Vagrant Story: Vagrant Story had a real unique sense of style and a classy, grown up vibe that just drew you into the complex, compelling story. The graphics were intelligently stylised to take maximum advantage of the PSOne’s teeny polygon budget, and the gameplay was refreshingly different from the majority of RPG’s out at the time. It used a real time battle system that allowed you to focus attacks on certain parts of the enemy’s anatomy, and chain attacks together with timed button presses (called Break Arts) for maximum damage. The cinematic presentation of Vagrant Story holds up with the best of the best, using its real time in-game engine it often approached and sometimes surpassed the amazing presentation of even the legendary Metal Gear Solid.

Rollcage: Many combat racers try to balance racing with actual combat, but few have come as close to perfection as Psygnosis and ATD’s ultra fast paced futuristic racer. Hot on the success of Wipeout, Rollcage adds wheels back into the equation, but offers the ability for racers to reach such ludicrous speeds that they’re capable of racing upside down on the ceilings of tunnels and on the sides of cave walls. The frenetic pace of the game was further enhanced with some truly wild weaponry, including destructible environments that could come crashing down onto the track, homing missiles, electrical weapons, a wormhole gun that teleports its target one position behind you and loads more. Let’s have some infrastructure play with this one Sony!

Heart of Darkness: It’s a crying shame Heart of Darkness got treated the way it did, constantly delayed and lounging in development hell for nearly five years, the game finally debuted on the PlayStation in ’98… to the sounds of crickets chirping. Heart of Darkness tells the tale of a young boy on a quest to find his dog, Whiskey, who disappeared during a freak solar eclipse into a world filled with wonder and oozing with imagination. Very few platformers since have been as likeable, inventive and quirky as this gorgeous 2D side scroller, a game very much in the vein of Doug Tennapel’s The Neverhood and Abe’s Odyssey. Let’s hope Sony’s virtual console will provide a better surrogate home for this charming cartoon classic.
 
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: A brilliant marriage of action rpg and exploration, this entry in the Castlevania series had lush 2D graphics and a huge amount of depth and customization to offer. Memorable lines such as Richter’s, “Die monster, you do not belong in this world!” and Dracula’s retort, “But enough talk, have at you!” will ring in gamers ears for years to come. We’re yet to see a videogame vampire slayer quite as cool as Alucard (that’s Dracula backward y’know). One thing that makes SotN so satisfying is the amount of game there is, you can spend hours and hours just exploring Dracula’s castle, finding secret passageways and trapdoors and hidden rooms scattered all over the place. The retro style graphics and oodles of content would be a great match for the PSP’s glorious screen and built in save to memory card features.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver: Although the story began with the excellent RPG Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, the epic adventure really took off with Soul Reaver. We were introduced to the brooding tortured soul, Raziel, brought back from the abyss we follow him as he embarks on his journey across the eerie land of Nosgoth, slaying his vampire brethren on a quest to find his master Kain and pay him back for the torment lavished upon him. Soul Reaver featured beautiful graphics and award worthy level design, and a truly epic story that laid the foundation for an amazing trilogy.

Crash Team Racing: Nearing the end of the PlayStation era, Naughty Dog, having released three stellar Crash Bandicoot games decided to take the furry marsupial in an altogether different direction than everyone was expecting. CTR was Naughty Dog’s first foray into Mario Kart-esque cutesy racer territory, and many were uncertain if the boys at the kennel really had the chops to take on the ragin’ red plumber. But they do, and they did, Naughty Dog arguably took all the best elements of Mario Kart 64 and improved upon them by adding slicker graphics, a consistently smooth frame rate, zanier weapons and tracks and a simple but intuitive boost mechanic. This one would be an absolute riot if it supported four player infrastructure.

Dino Crisis: Dino Crisis came at a time when the world was infected with Dino-Mania, it was basically Resident Evil but with million year old reptiles instead of zombies. Looking back there are certain gameplay elements of Dino Crisis that are somewhat similar to those found in Resident Evil 4, such as the timed button mashing scenarios and a couple of the large scale boss battles. The games got fluid graphics, real time backgrounds (as opposed to the pre-rendered kind found in the RE games of the time) and of course some of the most unintentionally hilarious dialogue this side of  a Chris Redfield soliloquy.

Driver: Before Grand Theft Auto, there was Driver… wait that’s not right. Before 3D Grand Theft Auto, and before the Driver series of games started its downward spiral, there was Driver. Driver was a game with a sleazy sense of seventies style, substance and focus. You played an undercover cop masquerading as a getaway driver, and you were to get your clients from point A to point B, simple, no sandbox gameplay, no living city, just pureunadulterated driving fun. Check it out for the crashes, the physics, and the badass seventies tunes baby.

Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions: “What’s this? Where’s the original Metal Gear Solid?” You ask, simply put, we’ve all played MGS, we know it’s great, it’s awesome, so why bother putting it on the list really? VR Missions came out a while after the first groundbreaking game on PSOne, and promised to tide us over till MGS: 2’s historic debut on Sony’s new hardware, the PS2. VR Missions is a series of gameplay scenarios  that take the very essence of the MGS games, the core gameplay, and delivers it in a potent package that’ll have even the most hardcore tactical stealth action specialists scrambling for a game guide. There are over 300 missions squeezed onto the disc, and each one’s more complicated to solve than the last. If you’re a guy who believes in gameplay over graphics, then this is your nirvana.

Medal of Honor: A first person shooter… on the PlayStation? Yep, in case you’ve forgotten, the famous WWII franchise from EA got it’s start on the great grey machine, complete with creative input from good ol’ Stephen Spielberg. Masterful sound production, addictive gameplay, frenetic multiplayer action and suicidal Nazi hounds from hell made this one a game to remember. If you’re an FPS fan and you’ve never played the original, give this one a go and get to know your roots, there’s plenty to love.

And that about rounds out the first ten in our series of 20 Great Games to get for the PSOne Emulator. Hope you’ve enjoyed taking this little detour down memory lane. As always I’d love to hear from you, so why don’t you share what your top ten games to get for the emulator are, they just might be on the next list!