The PS1 Nostalgia Thread

[FLips]

Resident Evil: Director’s Cut Dualshock Version

What is it?

Resident Evil Director’s Cut is an “upgraded” version of the original Resident Evil, a ground-breaking survival horror game that spawned a bunch of sequels and spinoffs, films and TV shows.
I say “upgraded” because other than the analogue controls and a few added modes, the main addition to this version is a new soundtrack which is still regarded to this day as one of the worst in videogame history and has such a wild and bonkers history it’s hard to believe.

https://www.inverse.com/gaming/resident-evil-25-composer-mamoru-samuragochi-impostor

Playing as either S.T.A.R.S member Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine you must uncover the secret horrors that lurk in the Spencer Mansion by solving puzzles and fighting through hordes of zombies and lab-created monsters.

How is it?

I remember the first time I saw Resident Evil, it was round my mam’s mate’s house and at the time I didn’t have my own PS1 so I hadn’t seen anything that advanced before.
They were fresh into a run as Chris, running around the top floor of the mansion and even though there was only one zombie, the combination of graphics, and tone, and (non-director’s cut) music set an atmosphere that was never matched on the console, not in the sequels, and not in similar games like Dino Crisis or Silent Hill.
The Spencer Mansion still stands alone as such a frightening, tense and unique setting.

The game opens with the S.T.A.R.S Alpha and Bravo teams being picked off the forest outside the mansion by a pack of wild dogs, those that make it into the mansion are Jill, Chris, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker; though you do find other members alive and dead as you continue through the game. From there the game plays almost like a Metroidvania in that you start with barely anything and must navigate through the mansion finding keys and items that will allow you to go back and open new areas. The difference here is there is a strong focus on inventory management. You can only carry so many items, so much ammo and saves are limited. You need to decide in the moment what you need for where you’re going and it adds a whole lot more tension to the game.

Though there are some solid jump-scares, the game isn’t reliant on them. As iconic as the part where dogs blast through the window is, it’s a warning that anything could happen and it sets the tone for the rest of the game. The dogs got me once, so now every window is a threat, every unseen corner is a threat and there are several rooms with nothing in them at all but you’re sure something will happen. Every door plays a slow opening scene, and every staircase has a plodding clomp up them, and you always expect a jump that never comes.
Nearly every enemy in the game is avoidable, including most bosses. You don’t have to shoot every zombie; you don’t have to waste all your ammo on the giant snake boss and often you’re better off running away because if you blow through all your ammo early you don’t want to find yourself trapped with only a knife for defence.

It's not a perfect game however, the “tank controls” made famous by this game are perfectly functional and arguably add to the tension, but they’re not good by any means. The soundtrack in the DC version is a joke and for better or worse the voice acting is all-time bad. The game is equally known these days for the dreadful opening cutscene and dodgy script as it is for popularising a new genre.

Overall it’s a classic that even to this day can still catch you out, and despite a roster of fully voiced characters, the biggest character is still the mansion you’re trapped in. The Gamecube remaster of this added a lot more content and expanded the game but for me the original is better. It’s simpler, it’s more charming and it runs the perfect amount of time. The PS1 sequels are great and have their moments but for me this is still the best of the trilogy.

Currently playing:

Crash Bandicoot 2 - Cortex Strikes Back

Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Crash Bandicoot 2 is the much loved first sequel in the original Crash Bandicoot Trilogy. Collect all the power crystals and secret gems to destroy the Cortex Vortex once and for all! 

Crash Bandicoot 3 - Warped

Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Crash Bandicoot 3 is the final main game in the original Naughty Dog developed series. Some would argue the peak of the series.

[Carbomb]

I must've played Resi 1 at least ten times - my sisters weren't gamers at the time, but enjoyed the story, and kept asking me to play it for them. Was one of the earliest PS titles I played, so I have a lot of fond memories of it.

Oddly, I've never played Resi 2 - I recently found a copy at CEX, but it turned out to be a US version. It seems to be quite rare, because every copy I've found online is at least £20. Not paying that, but I don't want to play any refurbished versions until I've played the original - I feel like playing refurbished will ruin my first time experience of the originals.

[Bus Surfer]

I touched on the unnerving 'dogs through windows' bit previously but that early moment where you encounter the zombie eating the corpse just past the dining room scared the ever living fuck out of me as a youngster. Proper 'I'm not sure I want to play this' thoughts rushing through my head. I'm not ashamed to admit I only wanted to play Resi when I had friends over. It's not something I wanted to experience alone. 

I love horror movies as an adult, but when I got hold of the Xbox one remastered version a year or 2 back, I still had those reservations about playing it. 

What a game. Scarred me for life. 

[FLips]

4 hours ago, Silky Kisser said:

I touched on the unnerving 'dogs through windows' bit previously but that early moment where you encounter the zombie eating the corpse just past the dining room scared the ever living fuck out of me as a youngster. Proper 'I'm not sure I want to play this' thoughts rushing through my head. I'm not ashamed to admit I only wanted to play Resi when I had friends over. It's not something I wanted to experience alone. 

I love horror movies as an adult, but when I got hold of the Xbox one remastered version a year or 2 back, I still had those reservations about playing it. 

What a game. Scarred me for life. 

We got it easy too! Biohazard, the Japanese version, ramps the gore up in that and other parts, including full colour in the opening cutscene. I’ve played a bit and it’s a lot even for the time.

[CleetusVanDamme]

7 hours ago, Carbomb said:

I must've played Resi 1 at least ten times - my sisters weren't gamers at the time, but enjoyed the story, and kept asking me to play it for them. Was one of the earliest PS titles I played, so I have a lot of fond memories of it.

Oddly, I've never played Resi 2 - I recently found a copy at CEX, but it turned out to be a US version. It seems to be quite rare, because every copy I've found online is at least £20. Not paying that, but I don't want to play any refurbished versions until I've played the original - I feel like playing refurbished will ruin my first time experience of the originals.

The thing I like most about the remakes of 2 and 3 is that they're completely different games than the originals and haven't ruined my enjoyment of regularly going back to them (I still prefer both the originals). Whereas the remake of the first game just completely obliterates the original and made it obsolete, for me, although I respect and can see the argument that a lot of people think the homelier art-style of the og is scarier than the more sterile one in the remake.

 

[Merzbow]

I think the art style of REmake beautiful and the new pre-rendered artwork being up there as the most atmospheric ever. When I first played it on Gamecube it was one of the best looking games out at the time, and not just the graphical fidelity.

Back to PS1 though, did anyone else play that Ghost In The Shell game? It wasn't perfect and didn't exactly convey the storytelling of the film/show although there are anime cutscenes but it was one of the more solid shooters that was seemingly overlooked, I'm pretty sure it never got a big run either so copies were hard to come by. It's very, very slick and even without a proper dual stick control method it's easy to speed about blowing shit up while climbing walls and jumping.

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Merzbow

[FLips]

REmake is fantastic in it’s own right but I personally prefer the shorter and to the point original. The Crimsonheads alone put me off replaying REmake and I’m not that bothered about the Lisa Trevor stuff.

That being said I can appreciate how the entire thing is an improvement over the original.

Like Cleetus said, the Remakes of 2 and 3 are fantastic too and I prefer both of them to their originals. 2 especially.

Edited August 18, 2022 by FelatioLips

[Accident Prone]

16 hours ago, Merzbow said:

Back to PS1 though, did anyone else play that Ghost In The Shell game? It wasn't perfect and didn't exactly convey the storytelling of the film/show although there are anime cutscenes but it was one of the more solid shooters that was seemingly overlooked, I'm pretty sure it never got a big run either so copies were hard to come by. It's very, very slick and even without a proper dual stick control method it's easy to speed about blowing shit up while climbing walls and jumping.

I didn't play the full game but I played the fuck out of the demo. It was a level where you had to go into three or four warehouses and kill all the bad guys, and it was fucking perfect.

Looking back, I think I arguably spent more time fucking around on demos and constantly replaying the same levels than I did on some of my actual full games. Tombi, Kula World, Kurushi, G-Police, Rollcage, Armoured Core, the afore mentioned Ghost In The Shelll, Tomb Raider 2, probably even more I'm forgetting and they all had more play time than full games like Jersey Devil or Croc.

[simonworden]

Out of interest what's the best way to play all these wonderful games again? Are there any emulation handhelds that run PS1 games well? I did have it all set up on an old laptop but I don't get much time with the littleun to set it up these days. 

One that would do up to PS2 level would be perfect for me and an ideal Christmas pressie to press gang the wife into buying. 

[Jesse]

31 minutes ago, simonworden said:

Out of interest what's the best way to play all these wonderful games again? Are there any emulation handhelds that run PS1 games well? I did have it all set up on an old laptop but I don't get much time with the littleun to set it up these days. 

One that would do up to PS2 level would be perfect for me and an ideal Christmas pressie to press gang the wife into buying. 

Heard good things about running emulation on Steamdeck (that Valve handheld) and some decent guides out there on how to easily get it up and running too

[Merzbow]

The Anbernic handhelds emulate PS1 well, I'd watch reviews on YouTube and see which one works best for you. The new Retroid Pocket is class, too.

Or use Duckstation on a PC, it's so good.

[FLips]

I don’t know about handheld but I’m playing all these on a Raspberry Pi 3. Simple enough as putting a Micro SD card in and downloading Retropie and the emulator/games.

[Merzbow]

59 minutes ago, FelatioLips said:

I don’t know about handheld but I’m playing all these on a Raspberry Pi 3. Simple enough as putting a Micro SD card in and downloading Retropie and the emulator/games.

Yeah I've done that and a lot of games seem to work pretty well, I found more demanding titles to chug along tho.

[FLips]

1 hour ago, Merzbow said:

Yeah I've done that and a lot of games seem to work pretty well, I found more demanding titles to chug along tho.

Aye the PS1 stuff works pretty much 100% but has some brief stutters in the bigger games. Nothing to effect gameplay or anything but clearly struggling!

I want to ideally chip my PS1 but I don’t have a soldering iron or anything and don’t want to wreck my PS1.

[Merzbow]

2 hours ago, FelatioLips said:

Aye the PS1 stuff works pretty much 100% but has some brief stutters in the bigger games. Nothing to effect gameplay or anything but clearly struggling!

I want to ideally chip my PS1 but I don’t have a soldering iron or anything and don’t want to wreck my PS1.

I think there's a mod which just needs a memory card and some special save on it? Or that may be a PS2 thing..