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!