Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

Not having RPG games of its own, Activision in the 1990s attempted to latch onto any obscure RPG properties from Japan and support localizing them. Surprisingly, these localization efforts were highly competent but were honestly mostly wasted on mediocre games. It might seem a bit harsh to call Guardian's Crusade a mediocre game, but in a way, it is designed that way. This is a JRPG that is designed to be a person's first JRPG, and as such, it is basic in its mechanics, story, style, and difficulty. Unsurprisingly, for any experienced player, the result is a simply boring game. #A58: Guardian's Crusade:- Year: 1998, 1999. Genre: Turn-Based RPG. Publisher: Tamsoft, Activision. Developer: Tamsoft.

The most striking thing about Kartia: The Word of Fate is immediately apparent, and it is the distinctive artwork and character design of Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy and Front Mission fame. Attempting to support Amano's art is an ambitiously unique Tactical RPG system with a mature and character-driven story. Admittedly, the gameplay and story do not consistently live up to the excellent art design, nor do the basic sprites translate the full character of the many portraits Amano drew. However, its ambitions in both story and gameplay do go beyond their minor hiccups and annoyances, and the result is a perfectly respectable hidden PS1 gem. #A59: Kartia: The Word of Fate:- Year: 1998. Genre: Tactical RPG. Publisher: Atlus. Developer: Atlus.

Despite the stellar reputation and good commercial performance of the first three Mana games, all of which followed a similar formula and gameplay template, Square never returned to that style with the remaining games in the franchise. Instead, it experimented heavily with each game, creating something that is only connected by name. The first title that started this trend was Legend of Mana on the PS1, which aimed not only to subvert the expectations of its series but all expectations of RPGs in general. It deviates in nearly every way from the games of the past and those of its era for better or worse. Unfortunately, other than the decision to go with extremely beautiful hand-drawn 2D graphics instead of the prevalent polygonal style of the day, every other deviation doesn't lead to a better experience. #A60: Legend of Mana: Year: 1999. 2000. Genre: Action RPG. Publisher: Squaresoft. Developer: Squaresoft.

For me, the top 70-61 games according to Retro Sanctuary's Top 100 PS1 Games list are proof of the strength of the PS1's library. It includes genuinely very good games like Klonoa and Fear Effect as well as games with the respectable legacy of Oddworld, PaRappa the Rapper , and ISS Pro Evolution 2 . As usual with Retro Sanctuary's list, not everything belongs here, including ports of better Arcade and PC games. Of the games in this list, I have reviewed three games as wells as two games related to them. Generally, this is equal to other games I reviewed but is actually lower in the list than I would have put them. There are better games outside of the Retro Sanctuary list that deserve to be here. Let's see how the next 10 games turn out to be. Please enjoy:-

Just a year after the release of the first game and envisioned as a spin-off sequel, Abe's Exoddus isn't actually a much different game. Yet, it is improved in many small areas that is a much more enjoyable game to play. If you loved the first game, you will probably love this one more. Conversely, the game doesn't do anything to change your mind if you hated or were ambivalent about its predecessor. #63: Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus: Year: 1998. Genre: Puzzle-Platformer. Publisher: GT Interactive Software. Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants.  

The massive success of the PS1 took the success of home consoles to a new level, in a way signaling the death knell of the game Arcade, along with the types of experiences made for that format. Strider 2 is exactly the kind of game that was built for the arcades but was so extremely short that very few people could justify paying the full price for it. At least, no one was planning on playing it only once. Like any Hack n' Slash game worth its salt, Strider 2 invites players to play it several times in the pursuit of perfection, and it has the mechanics to back up that conceit, but not the stage design to pull me back for more. #A18: Strider 2:- Year: 1999, 2000. Genre: Hack n' Slash. Publisher: Capcom. Developer: Capcom.  

There is no doubt that Oddworld was a unique breath of fresh air (despite Abe's foul farts) when it was first released on the PS1. It was an interesting Puzzle-Platformer with a unique look and a subversive story. Also, it had hugely ambitious lore behind it. Yet, playing it now, I cannot but wonder at the patience players at the time must have had to enjoy it. Abe's Oddysee is a game that demands precision without being equipped for it and has some very obtuse solutions to puzzles on top of that. That's not to say that its unique charm cannot be engaging some of the time. #63(S): Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee: Year: 1997. Genre: Puzzle-Platformer. Publisher: GT Interactive Software. Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants.

We have reached the Top 30 PS1 Games according to Retro Sanctuary , and I feel that there is no longer any room to excuse the construction of the list. Games like Grandia , Silent Hill, and Front Mission 3 fully deserve their place while I am surprised that such an innovative title as Vagrant Story did not have a higher placement. However, we are still seeing too many games that had superior PC versions such as Quake II and Red Alert . Still, that is at least forgivable with such household names in a way that including the fun but the rather limited I.Q.: Intelligent Qube isn't. I have extensively played three of the games on the list as a kid, and surprisingly all had remakes or remasters released on the Nintendo Switch. While I opted to play and review Grandia again, which was remastered without changing much of the DNA of the game, both Crash Team Racing and the three PS1 Spyro games had much superior remakes that effectively supplanted the PS1 originals. In a way, this proves ...

Fear Effect 2 is a prequel that is very much in the image of the first game but with some additions for better or worse. It has more action, story complexity, puzzles, well-directed cut-scenes, and more cleavage. Originally, I thought that the overt sexuality of Fear Effect could be considered an empowering factor. That argument is blown out of the water with this second game, where the sex factor is clearly gratuitous and exploitative, but apart from two or three points it's not far removed from a typical action movie. Depending on how you like the first game and the specific combination of things the sequel has, you will like it more or less. Personally, I found the first game to be slightly better, mostly because of its tighter story and better character interaction, but they are very much in the same league. #64: Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix Year: 2001. Genre: Action Adventure. Publisher: Eidos Interactive. Developer: Kronos Digital Entertainment.  

Vagrant Story may be one of the most ambitious game made by Square on the PS1, and that's a big thing to say considering Square games were synonymous for ambition since the days of the SNES. That's a major reason why reviewing this game may end being my hardest review to write yet, since I am still unsure if I can do the game justice while looking at it from a modern lens. This is, after all, the game I would consider to be the true inspiration for FromSoftware's Souls games. Yet, despite some truly revolutionary aspects in design, it doesn't mean that the game is free from hiccups that detract from the experience today. #21: Vagrant Story:- Year: 2000. Genre: Action RPG. Publisher: Square. Developer: Square.