Lord Spencer's Gaming (and other stuff) Blog

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 Sl...

For all intents and purposes, the PS1 managed to carry the RPG haven mantle that first originated with the SNES. In the PS1 era, we have seen many RPG games spring beside the more famous names. Or rather, besides Final Fantasy . Naturally, the volume of JRPGs released meant few could stand out, especially when the rigid confines of the genre showed signs of stagnation. Enter the Wild Arms series, which managed to stand out from the rest of the pack with its unique setting. While other RPGs usually feature a high fantasy setting, or even a more modern one, the Wild Arms series chose to be influenced by the Wild West and Spaghetti Westerns while maintaining the Japanese roots of the genre. It's like finding a treasure in the middle of the desert With its combination of quality gameplay, interesting puzzles, unique Wild West setting, and excellent soundtracks, the Wild Arms games managed to hang on with the RPG giants for a while. Even reaching the milestone of securing an anime ser...

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 the greatest PS1 RPGs. #A22(S): Wild Arms 2:- Year: 1999, 2000. Genre:...

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. #A22: Wild Arms:- Year: 1996, 1997. Genre: JRPG. Publisher: Sony. Developer: Media.Vision.