An A-Z of great PlayStation games - Part 8: W, X, Y, and Z

And so we reach the end. A bittersweet day as this is the final part of this series. Which today, obviously, means I'm looking at W, X, Y, and Z.

My PlayStation collection has grown slowly over years to well over 120 games and while I do, and in fact just did, call it a ‘collection’, every one of my games was bought to be played and kept because it was enjoyed.

With this in mind I'm allowing myself the caveat of honourable mentions - something I’ve always resisted before.

I’m splitting these up into bite-sized chunks of three or four at a time, so on with the latest, and final, batch. 

Three big franchises in 'W', with multiple entries from Worms, WWF/E, and Wipeout. But it didn't take much deliberation to settle on Wipeout 2097. 

It could be convincingly argued that the 5th generation was when the games industry got really hooked on sequels. I'm not saying that they didn't exist previously, but there weren't a huge number of series achieving trilogy status before this time, let alone stretching on into having more instalments than you can count on one hand. To this end, unlike today, it was usually worth being excited when your favourite game got a sequel because, as with WipeOut, they were usually genuine improvements over the original. 

Developers knew that they could never make the same impact as they had with their first game, so they compensated by improving as many aspects of the game as possible, starting, or at least it seems to me, with the gameplay as the core factor.

WipeOut 2097 fits this ethos beautifully. I doubt I need to explain anything about this weapon enhanced, techno infused, future racer to anyone reading this. But if you inexplicably stopped after the original you should know that 2097 offers everything that was great about the first outing, with none of the nostalgia of disappointment that hangs around the later games in the series, all while bringing a little bit 'more' to the table besides. 

It feels faster, looks prettier, and sounds louder. It has more racers, more tracks, more weapons, and is, to put it bluntly, just plain more fun to play.

I'm not going to deny that there were slim pickings for the letter 'X'. Nor will I deny that my eventual choice, X-Men vs Street Fighter, is far from the best version of this classic game. However, and this is often something that is lost in the noise that surrounds the hobby of retro gaming, just because something isn't the best version, that doesn't necessarily make it bad. 

It's absolutely true that X-Men vs Street Fighter on the PlayStation isn't as good as the arcade or Saturn versions, but playing these iconic comic characters against these iconic fighting game characters is still hugely entertaining, and should not be missed if the yation is your only option.

So, do you remember the letter 'Q'? No? I don't blame you. There was some embarrassing goings on about Quake II, a game I've never played. But at least I wouldn't let that happen again... right?

I've played a good amount of You Don't Know Jack... on the Wii...  a series all about the style of question and where the irreverent host really does make the whole quiz-game standard more entertaining than it has any right to be. But, fess up time, I've never played this game, which you'd have to assume started the whole 'Jack Box' franchise way back in 1999. I guess, given the age of the pop-culture questions this game (probably) contains it would make a fun diversion at a retro themed party.

Anyway. Next time I do an A-Z (Spoiler: I've already started) I'm just skipping the letters where I don't have a good option.

I went on at length about the raft of quality, but short lived, 3D fighters that emerged in the PlayStation era last time out (in reference to the sublime Tobal No. 1), and Zero Divide, with two entries on Sony's machine and a further one for it's Sega rival, is another example of this.

With a style that falls somewhere between the visuals of Fighting Vipers and the moves of the Virtua Fighter series, Zero Divide 2 (the first game is but a shadow cast by it's successor) features an entourage of android combatants in a variety of guises.

One more cynical than I may suggest that, so varied and often animalistic are many of these characters, that the only reason they're androids at all is to keep the polygon count down - but there's no denying the clean look this approach provides. An additional bonus is that the game runs at a silky 60 frames a second and, while usually this kind of thing doesn't excite me, in fighting games it makes a genuine difference to the play.

There are some nice additional features in the mix too. For example it (let's say) 'borrows' from Fighting Vipers with an armour damage system and walled arenas, and there's a neat replay save system that shows off that smooth frame-rate wonderfully.

Zero Divide 2 arrived late in the PlayStations lifecycle, something evident from the palpable fighter-burnout you'll read in most reviews of the game. Re-visit it now, however, and it's hard to see what this game does wrong, had it been earlier to the party, it might be another series that was still around today.

 

And that's it for this miniseries!

I may have made a rod for my own back on occasion but it was to great to rediscover some games I've not thought about for a long time.

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing.

The next series is underway and will be looking at the obscure library of DSiWare - I've only just started researching it and it been fascinating already. 

It will be up next Thursday, hope to see you then!

An A-Z of great PlayStation games - Part 7: S, T, U, and V

Penultimate part of this series as I'm upping the count to four games for this last couple of brackets. Which today means I'm looking at S, T, U, and V.

My PlayStation collection has grown slowly over years to well over 120 games and while I do, and in fact just did, call it a ‘collection’, every one of my games was bought to be played and kept because it was enjoyed.

With this in mind I'm allowing myself the caveat of honourable mentions - something I’ve always resisted before.

I’m splitting these up into bite-sized chunks of three or four at a time, so on with the latest batch... 

How many times does a 'hidden' gem need to be labelled such before it's no longer hidden?

I ask because I genuinely believe every list of PlayStation hidden gems ever created includes Silent Bomber. There's absolutely no doubt that this game is a gem - I'm listing here after all, despite extremely strong competition from the likes of Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain, SoulBlade, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and Syphon Filter - but can it really still be considered hidden?

No matter. What's more important is just how good this game is, and it is, to put it mildly, exceptional. Easily one of the best on the system and very likely inside my personal GOAT30, Silent Bomber is arcade action done to near perfection.

It's played in large open areas from a kind of isometric, but actually full 3D, perspective (Apocalypse is the closest thing I can think to it offhand) and your character, Jutah, runs around in these environments blowing up mechs and baddies by the hundred. Of course there are bosses with patterns to be learnt and a story to which no attention need be paid. This is an action game par excellence with the twin pillars of 'running' and 'gunning' supporting nuances of combo's and chains that keep the gameplay fresh and exciting even when it gets brutally hard. 

I'm a bit too old-school to spend much of my time watching other people play video games, but it really hits home when you watch someone play Silent Bomber, that this is a game where you constantly need to be on the move. Enemies track you, targets are often in motion, and your own bombs, which can be laid on the ground or fired directly at enemies, also damage you. This all combines into a game where you're constantly running, constantly gunning (well, bombing), and constantly having the absolute time of your life.

With a trio of Tekkens, a brace each of Time Crisis' and Tenchus, and the opening trilogy of the Tomb Raider series (the first of which is easily one of five favourite games ever), you may be surprised not to see a screen-shot for any of those games aligned with this text.

But, honestly, most of those games aren't better than Tobal No.1, and for those that are, what more could I possibly tell you about them that you don't already know?

The fifth generation was when 3D fighting games really came into their own. The mid nineties was when now-long-running series like DoA, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Soul Calibur first came home from the arcades to land on the PlayStation and Saturn. There were also lesser-known others but, often unfortunately, these didn't have the success or longevity of those that have since become household names. Blood Roar scraped into gen 6 before fading away, but Fighting Vipers and Rival Schools managed just one sequel each - a fate which also befell the stunning Tobal.

Something a lot of arcade ports had in common, from before the internet was really a thing, was the introduction of extensive single player modes. In Japan, Rival Schools had an almost fully featured RPG attached, Soul Blade (AKA Soul Edge), the pre-cursor to the Soul Calibur series, had a story mode for every character that included unlocking 8 weapons each. In Tobal No.1 the console specific mode was - what would today be called - a rogue-like dungeon crawler.

In 'Quest' mode, you ran down simplistic tunnels fighting both basic placeholder enemies and characters from the game. There are items to collect and use also, but the real hook is that you have only one life and cannot save progress. Where the similarity with more modern rogue-likes comes continues is that when certain characters are met and bested in this mode, they become playable in the main game - which is both ingenious and makes the whole effort a lot more worthwhile.

All the other standard fighting game modes are here, and a cast of interesting and bizarre characters populate them. The game runs at a beautiful 60fps, and this really highlights the smooth animations, particularly in complex throws and holds. 

Whether measured by the standards of today or those of 1997, Tobal No.1 is an incredible package of original features and top notch presentation. It may seem a little sad that we're not eagerly awaiting Tobal No.7 for the PS5, but this first game and it's sequel hold up so well that it's unlikely that any further entries would have bettered them.

As Parappa the Rappa didn't quite sneak the choice for 'P', it's only right and fair that Um Jammer Lammy (a 'pseudo-sequel', set in the same universe but featuring different characters) should get the nod in the much less hotly contested battleground of the letter 'U'.

Don't get me wrong, this is no 'default' pick, Lammy may not have had the same impact as Parappa, but everything great about that game is present here; from the paper thin cartoon art and the rhythm-matching 'simon-says' gameplay, to the crazy characters , bonkers story, and infectious tunes.

Also of note: As much as this game's similarity to the original generated some disinterest back in the 90's, re-visiting either Parappa or Um Jammer Lammy today will bring about equal levels of pure cartoon joy - and with a two player mode and more songs, it could even be argued that Um Jammer Lammy is actually the better game.

Twisted Metal may have done it first, but Vigilante 8 does it best.  Set in a Pseudo-seventies world with big afros, big flares, big glasses, and big guns,Vigilante 8 elevates itself above the competition through implementation of fantastically fun special moves, entertaining physics, and a hugely varied cast of characters (and their vehicles) to choose from.

Chassey Blues 'Rattler', clearly inspired by the Shelby Cobra Daytona, is my personal favourite. Not only was it fast and agile, but paired with Chassey's 'Gridock' it was a combo machine! It was so lightweight that you could really feel the effect of firing off the more powerful special moves like the mortar-esque 'Crater Maker' or shotgun-on-steroids 'Cow Puncher'.

Alongside the cars and characters, V8 also features brilliant environments to charge around in. Most have secret areas to discover and traps to trip. For me, along with the sense of fun, it's the environments that push Vigilante 8 ahead of the competition. The Twisted Metal series' levels were small, dark and blocky, whereas here the spaces are as wide open as the desert, as bright as the sun, and more fun than a disco ball that fires lasers.

While I have no qualms about given the 'V' spot to Vigilante 8, I have to give an honourable mention the brilliant Vib-Ribbon, a fantastically minimalist rhythm-action game that generates levels from any cd you put in your PlayStation. It's scratchy, chalk-board inspired art is wonderfully unique, and the whole games is loaded with idiosyncrasy and style.

Last one of these next time, as I try to find good entries for W, X, Y, and Z.

I hope to see you then!

An A-Z of great PlayStation games - Part 6: P, Q, and R.

Part six of this series brings me to the awkward P, Q, and R section.

My PlayStation collection has grown slowly over years to well over 120 games and while I do, and in fact just did, call it a ‘collection’, every one of my games was bought to be played and kept because it was enjoyed.

With this in mind I'm allowing myself the caveat of honourable mentions - something I’ve always resisted before.

I’m splitting these up into bite-sized chunks of three or four at a time, so on with the latest batch. 

With due respect given to three great Point Blank games and a couple of Parasite Eves, I find it pretty difficult to look past Pocket Fighter when it comes to the PlayStation 'P's.

Does that rhyme? Maybe, nearly. Anyway.

Taking the little chibi characters that acted out moves in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and giving them a full on fighting game engine to knock about in was a genius idea - and the result is a mad-cap fighter that's loaded with fun and a surprising amount of depth.

In keeping with the cute graphics, Pocket Fighter is far simpler than Street Fighter 2 or any of the other series with characters represented, but has enough going on to prevent it feeling basic or dull.

There are gems to collect, Flash combos to learn, and specials to unleash - each delivered with the same flair for silliness that permeates every aspect of the game.

And it's this silliness that makes Pocket Fighter such an absolute joy to play. Whether it Chun-Li cosplaying as Jill Valentine or Zangief's 'evolution of man' combo, the creativity and humour of every frame od animation makes this a game worth playing with every single character in the roster.

Good old Quake II, eh? Where would the humble A-Z writer be without the classic shooter from ID?

Honestly, I haven't played the PS version of Quake II, the series only entry on the hardware, but wikipedia tell's me that the port team went out of their way to get it as close to the PC version as possible, even including support for the PlayStation mouse... which is pretty cool really.

So, erm, yeah. Quake II, it's pretty good. Probably.

Hideaki Itsuno is not a household name like certain other Japanese game directors, but when you see his CV it's difficult to know exactly why. His credits as director include the 3 most recent Devil May Cry games, both of the fantastic Power Stone titles for Dreamcast, cult weapon fighter Star Gladiator, Capcom vs SNK 2, and, most recently, he was the creator of Dragon's Dogma. Way back in 1997, though, he came up with the sensational Rival Schools: United by Fate.

Rival Schools is so good, in fact, that despite 2 Resident Evils to consider, 4 Ridge Racers, 2 RollCages, and even fantastic curiosities such as Rising Zan: Samurai Gunman, and R/C Stunt Copter, it's without hesitation, reservation, or caveat that I've chosen Rival Schools on this occasion.

This fast paced tag fighter features a brilliantly original cast cultivated from the students and faculty of 4 rival schools in Japan.

There are story-lines and perspectives aplenty, but it the hugely inventive special moves and team-up animations that set this apart from almost every other fighting game out there - and make it almost as much fun to watch as play.

An A-Z of great PlayStation games - Part 5: M, N, and O.

We cross the halfway mark as part three of this mini-series of blogs brings us to the letters M, N, and O.

My PlayStation collection has grown slowly over years to well over 120 games and while I do, and in fact just did, call it a ‘collection’, every one of my games was bought to be played and kept because it was enjoyed.

With this in mind I'm allowing myself the caveat of honourable mentions - something I’ve always resisted before.

I’m splitting these up into bite-sized chunks of three or four at a time, so on with the latest batch.

Obviously Metal Gear Solid is the biggest, most important, most popular, and most obvious choice for a great PlayStation game starting with 'M', which is precisely why I'm I'm not selecting it.

And this isn't (for the most part) about me being some kind of hipster twat, MGS is a really good game, and if you somehow haven't played it already then you really should - but if I were you I'd play Motor Toon Grand Prix (2) first.

The entomology of the title for this one is rather bizarre. 'Motor Toon Grand Prix' was only ever released in Japan so, when the sequel landed a publisher for all territories, the US release was renamed quite simply to 'Motor Toon Grand Prix', whereas in Europe they decided to leave sequel-revealing '2' on the end - and confuse the life out of people like me who loved the game and wanted to find the original.

This is a game clearly born to compete with Mario Kart and there's no denying that when comparing to that series in general it falls far short. Compare it, however, to it's direct peer; Mario Kart 64, and it comes out far more favourably. 

Of course it was never going to sell as well or receive the fan adoration of anything with the super-powered plumber on the box, but for my money the game from the team who later became Polyphony sneaks over the line first.

Where MK64 struggled to bring mode 7 tracks into the 3rd dimension, MTGP2 revelled in it's polygon glory, bringing an almost sand-pit level of physics fun to the party too. Where Nintendo's game fumbles the fairness of it's predecessor, the Sony game has beautifully balanced weapons. And where the content of the N64 franchise-entry is a series low, Motor Toon's extras and unlockables are true rewards for perfecting the games more-realistic-than-it-has-any-right-to-be gameplay.

The cartoon visuals and shouty announcer are pure joy, and the music is catchy and fits the action well. Characters are hugely creative, as are their respective vehicles, and the tracks, although low in number, are varied and rife with short cuts.

As much as I have compared this game to others here, it's not really in the same genre as anything else. Polyphony bringing an appreciation of racing lines and handling to this otherwise toy-box game makes it somewhat unique, and if you find that hard to believe from screenshots, take a look at this video of the unlockable Motor Toon R mode, which transposes the games physics and handling onto more realistic racing car models. https://youtu.be/SQvUXWYEHis?t=36

No One Can Stop Mr Domino is one of many games that I played to absolute death via a demo desk from the front of PSM, I actually only bought the game a couple of years ago when I saw it in local game shop.

It's a reflection of the game's difficulty that, despite literally years of playing the first level, each subsequent level remains controller-hurlingly hard.

The aim of this idiosyncratic puzzler is to move your domino character around a course leaving a trail of other, inanimate, dominoes in your wake. When you complete a 'lap' you knock over the first domino and the chain reaction continues as you would expect - with success, failure, and score dependant on how long your unbroken chain of dominoes is (along with other, less obvious, factors).

The style is reminiscent of Micro Machines v3, with life size obstacles and interactions forming part of the courses, with many that can included in the layout for spectacular results. There are also special tiles on the floor that grant stamina or have negative effects, and there are even unlockable characters available, as the game goes on, who have different speeds and abilities.

It's a simply premise but a hugely complex game that requires immense precision, particularly if you want to perfect every level. Luckily, the game is hugely entertaining too, with music and level design that is top notch and plays no small part in the game's addictive 'just one more go' appeal.

The intro of ONE features a single line of monologue; "I made a mistake." before a futuristic jet-helicopter thing fires a missile through Mr John Cain's window, disturbing him from an afternoon nap on the floor. At this point the player takes over.

Instantly you’ll be aware that there are some early 3D-era issues in this game. Namely that there's mild platforming elements, and too often it's very difficult to judge your jump. So far, so 1997.

That notwithstanding, it is with not a single iota of hyperbole that I say this is easily one of the best action games on the PlayStation. 

From that moment at the start the game is a non-stop onslaught of gunfire, enemies, and explosions. It's viewed with a ‘dynamic’ camera - which basically means the game chooses the viewpoint and perspective, and there were some points in the games where I cursed this, loudly.

But all was forgiven come the stage 2 boss fight. During this particular set piece the action is viewed from the perspective of the boss itself, which is certainly a new one on me, and it’s not only a very cool effect but is also key to figuring out how to defeat this antognist. The game is full of neat touches like this that keep the action varied, interesting, and fun. 

The designers of this game say their main inspiration for ONE was the likes of Contra and Gunstar Heroes and that their aim was to bring that style of gameplay into the ‘3D’ era - and it’s no small praise to say that they achieve that goal resoundingly.

An A-Z of great PlayStation games - Part 4: J, K, and L.

Part three of this mini-series of blogs brings us to the letters J, K, and L.

My PlayStation collection has grown slowly over years to well over 120 games and while I do, and in fact just did, call it a ‘collection’, every one of my games was bought to be played and kept because it was enjoyed.

With this in mind I'm allowing myself the caveat of honourable mentions - something I’ve always resisted before.

I’m splitting these up into bite-sized chunks of three or four at a time, so on with the latest batch.

Here’s a fun fact: When Jet Riders (as Jet Moto was renamed in the UK) came out, I had no idea that Mountain Dew was a real product. I just thought it was a vaguely 7up themed creation from the development team. I’m going to go right ahead and say that this was because the brand had zero penetration outside North America in the mid to late 90’s, but I’m happy to be corrected. 

This is a game that has you race across various terrain on hover-bikes which, to the designers' credit, bear no resemblance at all to those from the Star Wars universe. Instead, the hovering bikes in the Jet Moto series look like, well, hovering bikes. Or, probably more accurately, hovering Jet Skis.

In a theme that’s true of so many older games, Jet Moto is really, really hard. It may look like an arcade racer, but there are layers of techniques and skills that mean the player's ability is tested from pretty much the second race, as you race over mountains, along wooded rivers, and over very uneven terrain.

But mastering the game’s mechanics, and learning it’s complex courses, is incredibly rewarding, and an investment of effort that will have you, eventually, feeling like a future-racing deity.

I have two games in my PS collection beginning with ‘K’, but I haven’t actually played either of them. I don’t even know where one of them (Knockout Kings 2001) has come from. Looking at game lists elsewhere doesn’t bring up anything interesting I've happened to play either, so I’m left with the rather uninspired choice of King of Fighters 98, which - despite being a very obvious selection - remains, both to me and many others, the best entry in that long running series.

It’s utterly beautiful, features a huge roster of characters, a culmination of techniques from the 3 preceding games in the franchise, and - thanks in part to near perfect balancing - feels fresh yet intuitive to play.

I haven’t actually played the PlayStation version but as far as I can tell it’s a very faithful port of the arcade original, although there are several other, potentially better, ports that are both cheaper and logistically easier to play.

If ISS Pro Evo 2 featured a kernel of ‘arcade soccer’ buried deep in its heart, Namco's LiberoGrande oozes coin-op gameplay from every pore.

In this wonderfully unrealistic effort you control a single player in a team from a kind of third person down-on-the-pitch perspective.

In play, you are able to pass, shoot, tackle and additionally call for your teammates to do the same. With this simple interface, plus a few flashy tricks, you set about taking on teams from around the world.

It’s a hugely entertaining game, with hidden depth and a variety of effective play styles.

I find it most satisfying to pull the strings through the midfield before breaking the defensive line and calling for that perfectly timed final pass - but it’s equally effective to ball-hog your way into the box with tricks and jinks before rifling the ball past the hapless keeper.

By the time this concept was revived in the ‘Become a Legend’ and ‘Be a Pro’ modes from Konami and EA respectively, football games had become obsessed with realism, and these modern versions play very differently (i.e. are not as much fun) as this game and it’s equally excellent sequel.