When I was in High School (1994-1997) I wanted a PlayStation. Who didn’t? It was a big deal to have a genuine third contender to the Sega vs Nintendo conflict. And there were a lot of unique and impressive games on the console. Of course, I never got to own a PS1 – and it was only after I got a PS2 that I made an effort to seek out, and subsequently enjoy, some of the games that escaped my notice the first time around.
However with the passing of years, the fifth console generation grows further and further away. And in that time, my perception of the PS1 has grown from a tantalizing goal to a something more disdainful. Why the change? Well for one thing I find that a lot of games in the fifth generation have aged quite badly (especially considering I find many games of the fourth generation still appealing two decades later). But the main reason I have grown disdainful for the PS1 is this:
Ask anyone what the defining game on the PS1 and they’ll say one of the ‘Big Three’: Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII and Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Beyond that, anyone may find coming up with another game something of a struggle. And it’s always this ‘Big Three’. Whilst another console may have a number of great games spread across it’s lifespan, it always this ‘Big Three’ that everyone keeps coming back to. It’s as if this ‘Big Three’ were the only games made for the PS1 and the console’s lifespan pretty much started and ended with them.
So for today, a little experiment: I want to tally up my collection of PS1 games and match their years of release against each other. And as I live in a nation situated in a PAL region (read: a place that doesn't matter), the years listed will be based on PAL release dates.
So here we go, by order of year:
1995 Doom
Raiden Project
1996 Darkstalkers
Loaded
Return Fire
1997 Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Final Fantasy 7
1998 Ghost in the Shell
Metal Gear Solid
1999 Wip3out
2000 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
2001 Final Fantasy 9
2002 Final Fantasy Anthology
Final Fantasy 6
Looking at this list, it seems that my hypothesis was correct: The PS1 era pretty much began and ended with the 'Big Three'. Based my collection, before the Big Three there was conversions of well-known games and attempts to get an IP going. And after the Big Three, not a lot else happened. Why, back in the day I recall seeing Final Fantasy 7 and 8 in stores but never 9. And the most recent games I have for the PS1 arrived when the PS2 had well and truly touched down and even those games are SNES conversions!
So maybe it is indeed true: The only games everyone remembers on the PS1 are the ‘Big Three’ and everything that came before and since was of little to no matter. All I can say is that I’m glad that the PS1’s successor, the PS2, boasted a wide and diverse gaming library that left PS2 users spoilt for choice.
First game I ever played on a computer was Civilisations. With a cassette player. And tape. My Dad got me a copy off some bulletin board somewhere - which is what the internet was for us. This was about 1984. One day I accidentally pressed the record button. The tape wasn't write-protected and it was all for Civs. I was devastated. After that we had the Atari 520ST - the disk drive had its own power supply. My sister and I fought like savages over who would play Time Bandit first. And I still have the unbeaten score on Maxima.
ReplyDelete