PS1 REVIEWS Report: A30-A21

The PlayStation 1 had such a massive library of games that it is impossible to do it justice with a simple top 100 games list. As such, I decided to supplement my usual review of a top 100 games list (this time, I used the top 100 PS1 games list from Retro Sanctuary) with other games picked up from different lists. This parallel "Additional List" is not numbered in any ordered way, so the quality of the titles theoretically varies from top to bottom with no rhyme or reason.

This report covers 10 series, with a couple of games that obviously deserve a place in Retro Sanctuary's Top 100 list. Of these games, I fully reviewed six games, since the rest of these consist of genres that I don't usually cover in these reviews or games that I played thoroughly a long time ago. From this report, I think that it is a travesty that Wild Arms or Wild Arms 2 were not included in Retro Sanctuary's list, while Jade Cocoon, Galerians, Arc the Lad Collection, and Metal Slug X all could have been easily considered for it. Some of the other games in the list are interesting, but there are games you should definitely ignore.

Here is a brief on these fourteen games, please enjoy:-

 

A30- In Cold Blood (2000, 2001):

• Genre: Adventure
• Publisher: Sony, DreamCatcher Games; Developer: Revolution Software.

Following the surprise success of the Broken Sword Adventure games on the PS1, a success that was surprising because the genre usually thrived on PCs but struggled on consoles, Sony reportedly requested that Revolution Software make a new game with the PS1 in mind.

The result was In Cold Blood, a new type of Adventure game that was unrelated to their past work, but maybe could offer something new to fans of the genre. Unfortunately, it is exactly the advances that the game made that make it so much inferior to the charming games that preceded it.

As a fan of the PS1 Broken Sword games, I am a bit sad that Revolution Software basically scored a bunch of own goals in making this game. Through a sluggish "update" of the gameplay to introduce more action as well as its clumsy jump into 3D graphics, they managed to eliminate the best qualities of their previous games.

In Cold Blood is a game that will leave you cold and uninterested in completing it, as no intrigue or mystery in the world will have you strain your eyes looking at muddy screens while your boring character lumbers about like a tread-less tank.

A29- Crusader: No Remorse (1995, 1996):

• Genre: Action
• Publisher: Electronic Arts; Developer: Origin Systems, Realtime Associates.

This game was considered another masterpiece developed by Origin Systems on the PC. It was made by a small team within the developer that repurposed the Ultima engine to make an Action isometric game in a futuristic dystopian world. The game was praised due to the unprecedented interactivity with each level's setting.

However, do not think the game's innovations at the time aged well. On the contrary, the game's poor controls, unfair difficulty, and lack of direction make it unpleasant to play today. At best, on the PC, you are playing the game within a fog of confusion and misdirection. At worst, on consoles, you are doing that with worse controls. You shouldn't have any remorse for skipping this game.

A28- Rapid Reload (1995):

• Genre: Run and Gun.
• Publisher: Sony; Developer: Media.Vision.

Rapid Reload was another victim of Sony's North America's crusade against 2D games. It was a very good 2D Run and Gun game in the style, if not the brilliance, of Treasure's Gunstar Heroes. While not a brilliant game in its genre, I think it deserved to be released in North America, but I don't think it would have had the same reputation as Gunstar Heroes and the Metal Slug series.

A27- Fighting Force (1997):

• Genre: Beat 'em Up.
• Publisher: Eidos Interactive; Developer: Core Design

I have no idea why I included this game in the Addendum list since it neither had the reputation nor the critical acclaim behind it for me to consider reviewing it. After playing it for a bit, I am more confused about my decision to put it on the list.

A 3D brawler made by some of the same people that made Tomb Raider, Fighting Force was inexplicably pitched to Sega as a Streets of Rage sequel. Unfortunately, the game was poorly received at launch and wasn't the resurrection of the Beat 'em' Up genre for modern consoles that its developers hoped it would be.

A26- Metal Slug X (2001):

• Genre: Run and Gun.
• Publisher: SNK; Developer: SNK, Prosoft Corporation.

There is no denying that the Metal Slug series sits high on the ladder of the Run 'n Gun genre. With excellent graphics and world design, frantic and tight gameplay, and a brilliant sense of humor, it gobbled up many coins through its place in the Arcades of the day. Naturally, we should expect the same level of performance in its many ports to home consoles, and that indeed was the case for the PS1 port of the remake of the second game. Simply put, this was an excellent port of an excellent game in a genre that I am not very good at.

It should be noted however that the PS1 port of the game suffers from slowdown in comparison to the Arcade version, and that online collections of this port have it even worse.

A25- Arc the Lad Collection (2002):

• Genre: Tactical RPG.
• Publisher: Working Designs; Developer: ARC Entertainment.

The Arc the Lad series was a TRPG series published by Sony in Japan but never published in the West due to what I can only think of as Sony's antagonism to Sprite graphics at the time. For RPG fans, they could only hear whispers about this amazing TRPG franchise that had no chance of being ported and localized, that is until Working Designs-the indie publisher that specialized in porting and localizing JRPGs stuck in Japan-decided to pack all three Arc the Lad games together and release them in a single collection.

Consequently, the West had access to this excellent franchise, or at least, they had access to a promising but rather short first game, a brilliant sequel, and a divisive but still very good ending to the trilogy. I wrote a full retrospective on the franchise, so I will try and repost it soon.

A24- Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu (1998, 1999):

• Genre: JRPG.
• Publisher: Genki, Crave Entertainment; Developer: Genki.

The most striking thing about Jade Cocoon: The Story of the Tamamayu is its relation to the excellent work of Studio Ghibli thanks to the involvement of Ghibli's Katsuya Kondo in the design of the world and characters. It is immediately apparent when you watch the opening anime movie and becomes even more apparent when you consider the environmental themes within. Another inspiration was the fledgling Monster Collection genre, spearheaded by Pokèmon, which inspired the Minion collection mechanics of the game and its core gameplay loop.

With such pedigree, you may be surprised by how little you know of the game since it never reached the wide audience it deserved at the time. Yet, it did have a dedicated cult following, and that's a testament to the inherent quality of the game. A quality that is just close to standing the test of time if not for a few niggling issues.

There are many things that Jade Cocoon excels at, from a surprisingly gripping story and monster-merging mechanics to some of the best visual work in JRPGs outside of the Masters at Square. That, along with the unquantifiable Studio Ghibli effect, explains why the game resonated so much with its cult fanbase. However, the game is not free of shortcomings, and those do drag it down. From a rather pedestrian turn-based battle system to a lack of charm personality to the Minions you recruit and are supposed to care about.

Consequently, this is a flawed hidden gem of the PS1 era, but its flaws cannot completely hide its emerald brilliance.

A23- Blood Omen: The Legacy of Kain (1996):

• Genre: Action-Adventure.
• Publisher: Crystal Dynamics; Developer: Silicon Knights.

Everything about Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain can be explained by director Denis Dyack's desire to make "a game which adults would want to play". As a result, Silicon Knights made a game that deserves the M rating according to the ESRB, and in the process made something that it thinks is for adults.

In fact, Blood Omen was, at best, what edgy teenagers wanted to appear more adult, as there is nothing truly "mature" about the game. In their pursuit of making a game for adults, it appears that the developers not only loaded the game with wanton bloodlust and gore but also removed the "juvenile" concept of "fun" from the game altogether.

If by making a game "which adults would want to play", Silicon Knight meant making a game devoid of joy and fun, then they have succeeded with flying colors. However, I don't think that the end product is something that most people would enjoy. This is a "mature" game in the eyes of edgy teenagers who want to grow up fast.

To be fair, something is interesting about the game's uber-edgy aesthetic and style, and I could see some people enjoy it despite its janky nature. Yet, one thing no one would enjoy is the game's excessive loading time.

That's where I implore you if you are still interested in playing this unfun game (which still wouldn't be fun even if it had instant loading), then play it on anything other than a PS1.

A22- Wild Arms (1996, 1997):

• Genre: JRPG.
• Publisher: Sony; Developer: Media.Vision.

With the explosion of the JRPG genre in the 16-bit era, new games needed something to differentiate them from established franchises. Media.Vision's answer to that challenge was fusing the well-worn fantasy trappings of the genre to a Spaghetti Western look; creating something wholly unique and recognizable in the process.

Besides its "Western" setting, Wild Arms stakes a claim to greatness by simply being a very good JRPG in both its mechanics and story, achieving the rare feat of being an all-around great game. It doesn't reach the echelons of best PS1 RPGs, but oh was it close to doing so.

As one of the first JRPGs released on the PS1, Wild Arms was remembered fondly by those who played it but was summarily forgotten when Final Fantasy VII was released to much fanfare. That was not fair to this series in my opinion, which started strongly with this game and got even stronger with the second.

It is a shame that the series never gained the following it deserved. Otherwise, we would be whistling the new tunes of its sequels today.

A22(S)- Wild Arms 2 (1999, 2000):

• Genre: JRPG.
• Publisher: Sony; Developer: Media.Vision, Contrail.

The first Wild Arms was a very good classic JRPG with a Wild West twist, and it must have been reasonably successful since this sequel was released three years later. With the release of the sequel, Wild Arms became a bonafide franchise, with many of the tropes established in the first game carried over and expanded upon here.

I originally played the game near its release but did not finish it due to my memory card getting twice corrupted, right when I reached the second disc, which must have been one hell of a coincidence. As such, I was fully expecting to absolutely love this game when I finally got the chance to finish it 24 years later. Yet, my rosy memories of the game had to contend with reality, and some serious flaws in the game kept it from being the unqualified masterpiece I thought it was as a kid.

Don't get me wrong, it still is a very good game, but I no longer think it is within the echelons of great PS1 RPGs.

Finally finishing this game 24 years later, I understand why I fell in love with it the first time I played it, but I am also apprehensive of some flaws that I couldn't see at the time. The story is cool at first, especially thanks to a strong cast of characters, but it is let down by a terrible localization job. The gameplay is simple but fun both inside and outside of combat, but it is very easy to remove any challenge from the game. The graphics and music are great, except when the polygons get too jagged and a bad tune repeats one time too many.

Yet, the game is filled with the unique style of the Wild Arms franchise in nearly everything it does. That unique style is the reason I still remember the first time I played the game, and the first time I saw that opening movie and knew, despite the instrumental version having no lyrics, that I will never be alone.

A21- Galerians (1999, 2000):

• Genre: Survival-Horror.
• Publisher: ASCII Entertainment, Crave Entertainment; Developer: Polygon Magic.

The massive success of Capcom's Resident Evil games heralded the appearance of many pretenders to its Survival-Horror throne, very few of them ever getting close to the level of proficiency needed to match the leaders. Despite being developed by a little-known developer, Galerians was one of the closest games to reach the level of Capcom's marquee Survival-Horror franchise.

Classic Survival-Horror games with tank controls are not must-play games today like they were in the early days of the PS1. Yet, they still have their own charm, and as far as those games go, Galerians is one of the better ones.

 

This report is a consolidated review of the top 100 list by Retro Sanctuary. It features the reviews I made for the list but also has a brief paragraph about each game on the list that I didn't review. For games without an official review, the opinions I express are purely based on some little playing time and general research about the game and its reception at the time.

This blog was originally posted in Destructoid Community Blogs on July 12, 2024