The PS1 Nostalgia Thread

[air_raid]

Fuck, just remembered the lengthy tournaments, round robins etc for the titles that me and all my mates used to do on WCW vs The World. None of them watched wrestling, but they loved the game.

[Zaheer]

Glorious thread. love reading these.

 

[Carbomb]

Love Micro-Machines, one of the best racing games I've ever played. And Crash Team Racing was a really good rival to MarioKart - sure, it ripped off a lot, but there's only so much original stuff you can do with that format. The courses were fun, the graphics were loud and colourful, and it just made a nice introduction to a universe I'd never been previously into.

On the PSX, I loved WarZone, so much that I picked up Attitude on the DC - unfortunately, as I had a Japanese DC and a European copy, had to go through a whole rigmarole with some version of the Game Genie or something (can't remember what it was), so I didn't play it as much, which is a shame, as I loved the much more customisable movesets, and the customisable arenas.

That said, the wrestling game on the PSX that I wasted the most hours on was SmackDown 2 - that was a massive step up from the first. Customisable trons, the league ranking system was surprisingly fun, and there was a fair bit more story than I expected for a console at that stage. I particularly loved how they introduced new, unlockable stuff via a storyline of a random hired gun that was just made up of a jumble of those custom parts.

The only wrestling games I've played longer have been Fire Pro D, and GiantGram 2000 (which no other wrestling game has ever come close to for sheer longevity, in my opinion - the Build-A-Wrestler and Historic Modes alone are spectacular).

[Jesse]

I loved playing games since my first Commodore64 but the PS1 is the one most firmly burned into my brain from being a kid.

Some of them are real highs for the console in my memory, like playing Vandal Hearts for the first time and being blown away by all the possibilities for character progression, 
competitive games of Command & Conquer with my cousin where we'd sit opposite each other and agree to not attack for the first 20 minutes, and only playing indoor mode on FIFA '97 because me and my brother hated free throws and corners.

But I also have some strong memories that do not hold up - the strongest of which is playing cartoonish 3D platformer Jersey Devil while listening to that one Cleopatra album on loop because it was the only new CD I'd been able to buy in months. Becoming obsessed with Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, which is worse than Spyro in every single respect but because I had it first seemed so amazing compared to everything else.

Last year I made it a mission to play all the PS1 games I thought looked amazing at a kid but I never got the chance to play. Played my way through Parasite Eve 1 & 2, Dino Crisis, Wild Arms, Vagrant Story, and a few more I'm definitely forgetting and they all still hold up. The PS2 is my favourite console of all time just for the sheer number of amazing games it had, but the best times with the PS1 stick out the most in my memory

[HarmonicGenerator]

9 hours ago, Rule One said:

Speaking of demo discs, I'm pretty sure that everyone jizzed themselves when Playstion Magazine Disc 42 was released with the Metal Gear Solid demo. Through them I discovered the amazing Anna Kournikovas Smash Court Tennis and there was a Micro Machines rip off that was incredibly good to play.

It speaks to how ingrained the Playstation was in my life that you could have said "Playstation Magazine 42" and, nearly 25 years later, I could recall instantly "Metal Gear Solid cover". 42 was a huge issue, I must have read and reread it again and again.

8 hours ago, Carbomb said:

That said, the wrestling game on the PSX that I wasted the most hours on was SmackDown 2 - that was a massive step up from the first. Customisable trons, the league ranking system was surprisingly fun, and there was a fair bit more story than I expected for a console at that stage. I particularly loved how they introduced new, unlockable stuff via a storyline of a random hired gun that was just made up of a jumble of those custom parts.

Absolutely. After-school routine for months started with a couple of hours on SmackDown 2. I think at one point I even used the CAW mode to make some twat at school who hated me, then made a 7 foot tall version of myself to destroy him in a Hell In A Cell match.

 

@Liam O'Rourke's amazing post has reminded me of Christmas 1998 - the Playstation Christmas. We had our console by then, but we were away visiting family over the holiday. We were allowed to bring the Playstation with us - which was a good sign - it must have meant new games! Tomb Raider III, Lemmings (which I knew about but had never played prior to this) and the first Spyro. I remember sitting in my grandma's spare room where the PS was set up and trying all these exciting new games and being mesmerised by Spyro.

 

And that has just reminded me of my 13th birthday and this beauty of a game:

Glorious, joyous fun. I remember me, my dad and my grandad (who never played games) having a brilliant afternoon taking turns at blowing up enemy pigs and laughing at the Rik Mayall voiceovers. Great memories.

Edited August 10, 2022 by HarmonicGenerator
25 years not 15! Oh I’m so old

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, Rule One said:

Through them I discovered the amazing Anna Kournikovas Smash Court Tennis and there was a Micro Machines rip off that was incredibly good to play.

I too had a demo of the game that would become Smash Court. Me and my mate played it all the time even though you could only play Paul or Nina. If there was ever a day where one of us was winning every game it was customary to start handicapping yourself by playing Nina which was always big bragging rights when you could defeat Paul. I did eventually pick up the full game for £1 from a boot sale but we never played it as much as the demo.

[Accident Prone]

What a fantastic thread.

Stealing a bit from the EXCELLENT Back Page Podcast, if you were part of a PSX draft and had to curate one game from the following categories for a new PSX Mini, what would you aim for? Here's mine;

Racing: Ridge Racer Type 4

Platformer: CastleVania: Symphony Of The Night

RPG: Breath of Fire III

Action/Adventure:  Grand Theft Auto 2

Puzzle: Kula World

Fighting: Tekken 3

Sport (yes includes wrestling): WWF Smackdown 2

Sim/Strategy : Worms Armageddon

Horror: Dino Crisis

Licensed: Jackie Chan's Stunt Master

Free Pick: Tombi

 

This was TOUGH, and definitely cements the backwards-compatible PS2 as the second greatest console of all time (first place is the backwards-compatible Xbox 360, third is the backwards-compatible Gameboy DS Lite).

[Hannibal Scorch]

to add to @Liam O'Rourke's post I had stopped watching WWF when Mankind was talking to JR in those interviews and I was out. But I still remember walking through Watford Shopping Centre the day WWF Warzone came out. There was a big cardboard cutout of Stone Cold Steve Austin (Who I had no idea who it was at the time) in the shop, next to a console, set up with a big screen and a crowd of people watching other people play it. I recognized Marc Mero as I remembered Johnny B Badd and he was one of the characters being played. The enthusiasm didn't make me buy a copy, but it did make me think I should maybe start watching again. However, it was actually a friend renting out WCW vs The World on N64 which really got me back interested ("Why is Hogan in B&W?"). When I did finally get Warzone it was as Attitude was coming out. I wasn't a fan of the gameplay, especially after paying WCW on N64 which was so easy to play, but it definitely helped bringing me back into wrestling and all because I happened to be at the right place when the game was released.

[gmoney]

2 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

to add to @Liam O'Rourke's post I had stopped watching WWF when Mankind was talking to JR in those interviews and I was out. But I still remember walking through Watford Shopping Centre the day WWF Warzone came out. There was a big cardboard cutout of Stone Cold Steve Austin (Who I had no idea who it was at the time) in the shop, next to a console, set up with a big screen and a crowd of people watching other people play it. I recognized Marc Mero as I remembered Johnny B Badd and he was one of the characters being played.

Are you thinking of WWF Attitude? Mero wasn't in War Zone. 

[King Coconut]

4 hours ago, Rule One said:

I can't remember who brought it up but did anyone do the double Multiple-Taps?

YES! We were 9 mates renting 3 flats in the same building and we spent most of our time with the all tanks cheat on Micro Machines destroying friendships. Now and again we'd also have a BYO Telly session, link up all of our PSXs and destroy friendships in Doom. Great days.

[Hannibal Scorch]

36 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Are you thinking of WWF Attitude? Mero wasn't in War Zone. 

Oh no it was definitely Warzone, because the standee matched the cover but I probably mis-remembered who they were playing as.   

[air_raid]

46 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Oh no it was definitely Warzone, because the standee matched the cover but I probably mis-remembered who they were playing as.   

That roster was reasonably random, it had a selection of the top guys and some high level midcarders, plus.... the Headbangers. Bet Hawk and Animal loved that.

[Loki]

I remember taking my PS round to a mate’s house and setting up two Playstations LAN connected with back to back tellys.  Wipeout was the only game that supported that I think but it was amazing.

 

[FLips]

 Great idea @Accident Prone here’s my list!

Racing: Crash Team Racing

Platformer: Spyro The Dragon

RPG: Final Fantasy IX

Action/Adventure:  Medievil

Puzzle: Bust a Move 4

Fighting: Tekken 2

Sport (yes includes wrestling): WWF Smackdown 2

Sim/Strategy : Theme Hospital

Horror: Resident Evil

Licensed: Rugrats: Search for Reptar

Free Pick: Ape Escape

And another quick review.

MediEvil

What is it?

"It has risen again!
Sir Daniel Fortesque, see?
The Hero of Gallowmere who fell at the first charge!
The fog of war and the shrouds of time conspired to turn the arrow fodder into the saviour of the day. But we knows better!"

MediEvil is a hack and slash action game in which you, the disgraced hero Sir Daniel Fortesque is accidentally resurrected by his nemesis Zarok and must not only save the town of Gallowmere but also earn his rightful place in the Hall of Heroes.
A genuinely unique, witty and brilliant game that got a slightly worse but not bad sequel on PS1 set in Victorian London and not one but two remasters on PSP and PS4.

How is it?

Maybe I’m being biased but one of the huge draws of the PS1 was the quantity of rightful mascots the console had. If we consider Lara Croft their Mario or Sonic, then those lower tier mascots like Link, Samus, and Shinobi are what PS1 had in abundance. Abe, Heihachi, Crash, Spyro, Sir Dan, Spike from Ape Escape, Solid Snake, Cloud Strife, etc, all made up a huge roster from brilliant PS1 exclusives (at the time) and Sir Daniel Fortesque is a standout among them.

In Medievil you make your way through levels starting from Dan’s Crypt all the way through Gallowmere to Zarok’s Lair. Each level has a unique mixture of hack and slash, platforming, puzzles and an almost Metroidvania style to the way you will get and item or weapon you can then take back several levels to open secret areas or unlock hidden weapons.
The level variety is spot on. While most are standard key-finding action levels, some other standouts include a hedge maze full of riddles, a possessed town full of puzzles and a crumbling mausoleum full of sticky-fingered imps and collapsing floors. The enemies are varied and the bosses big and imposing with unique ways to off them. The main baddy Zarok is terrifically camp which they toned right down in the remaster. A shame.

While the movement can be a little loose, it’s perfectly functional especially for the time and can be forgiven just for the pure joy you get from playing through the game. There is so much colour and character to the whole thing. One minute you’ll be fighting your way through the undead in the graveyards, the next you’ll be fending off mutated pumpkins in a field. There is everything from stained glass demons to ghost pirates to possessed villagers you have to tactically avoid hurting.

Every NPC is interesting. You’ll have solid jawless banter with the heroes already inducted into the HoH who will tease you for getting shot in the eye or being a coward. (FORTESQUE YOU JAWLESS ARROW MAGNET). The gargoyles that act as guides will argue amongst themselves whether or not they think you’re up to the task. A gobby witch will flirt with you before shrinking you down to infiltrate an ant’s nest full of small bearded cockney fairy men straight out of an episode of Ren and Stimpy.

The music is beautiful and really sets the tone throughout. There’s a whole Tim Burton/Danny Elfman feel to the whole thing that never fully crosses that line into lazy, but is always hidden in plain sight. Many games since have tried it but it’s so overdone now it’s hard to pull it off. This was the right place at the right time.

Overall it’s one of my favourites on the console, and if you can get past the fast and loose control scheme (even now jumping around in the swamp full of death pits is a nightmare) then there’s nothing else really to dislike. Great look, unique underdog hero, sounds brilliant and is packed with enjoyable and funny dialogue.
One of the few games I played to death on a demo and went “right I need the proper thing” and I’ve never looked back.

Currently playing:

Valkyrie Profile

Developed by Tri-ace and published by Enix before it got Squared, VP is a turn based RPG that sees you play as Lenneth, a Valkyrie tasked with collecting the souls of warriors on Earth to send up to Asgard to fight for the Gods.

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! 

Edited August 10, 2022 by FelatioLips

[Carbomb]

Great call on MediEvil, and an excellent review. Pretty much agree with everything you said about it.

Because of an earlier mention, I'd also like to say that Wipeout, or, specifically, Wip3out, was my favourite racing game ever, not just because it revamped a concept I normally find boring into a state-of-the-art futuristic blast, but also because of the stellar soundtrack of classic electronica which had the Chemical Brothers on it.

Edited August 10, 2022 by Carbomb