Retro Arena: PlayStation Classics

[Leon Retro]

Ridge Racer is an all time classic. One track and I still play it today!

I also still play it now and then. The design and music always have me hooked.

Doom just gets the edge next, amazing port and the best audio in the entire series.

Yeah, the audio really made it stand out as a great version of the game.

Vagrant Story edges out Einhander for 3. Absolutely amazing game with tons of depth and a fantastic script.

It's such a shame that Sony didn't put it on the Classic. I'm sure lots of people would have really enjoyed it.

[Team Andromeda]

Ridge Racer - Namco - 1994

Gunners Heaven - Sony - 1995

Doom - Williams - 1995

Tomb Raider - Eidos - 1996

Pandemonium - Crystal Dynamics - 1996

Einhander - Square - 1997

Harmful Park - Sky Think Systems - 1997

Crash Bandicoot 2 - Sony - 1997

Bloody Roar - Hudson Soft - 1997

R-Type Delta - Irem - 1998

Crash Team Racing - Sony - 1999

Wipeout 3 - Sony - 1999

Driver - GT Interactive - 1999

Silent Hill - Konami - 1999

Rollcage 2 - Psygnosis - 2000

Vagrant Story - Square - 2000

Choose 3 stand out games from this collection of PlayStation classics.

Out of that List

1) Vagrant Story - The most impressive 3D on the PS (and well that gen) and an amazing game to boot too

2) Driver - Such a brilliant and fun game, with SEGA Rally like 'perfect' controls and handling model

3) Silent Hill - Its horrible to play now, but back inthe day it was such a brilliant game to play, with Evil Dead II like crazy camera angles

I also have to say what a brilliant fun game Rollgage II was too, and it looked fab as well. The 32Bit gen was the best for me

[Asura]

1) Vagrant Story - The most impressive 3D on the PS (and well that gen) and an amazing game to boot too

Yeah, I would go so far as to say that Vagrant Story is the best-looking game on the PS1; it has aged extremely well. If you look at it in an emulator in high-res, it still has a certain quality to it which is very appealing.

This is putting aside 2D games, because it's difficult to make a comparison.

[Anpanman]

Ridge Racer, R-Type Delta and Driver for me though I didn't play a lot of them.

RTD was a delicious looking game with a great soundtrack, Driver seemed so fresh when it was released though I remember the first test in the car park really difficult. I ended up having a special save on a memory card at the point after getting through that part in-case I wanted to start a new game.

Would like to have played Harmful Park but never had a go.

Ridge doesn't really need any introduction, awesome game.

[Team Andromeda]

Yeah, I would go so far as to say that Vagrant Story is the best-looking game on the PS1; it has aged extremely well. If you look at it in an emulator in high-res, it still has a certain quality to it which is very appealing.

This is putting aside 2D games, because it's difficult to make a comparison.

Untill Vagrant came out I thought Zwei on the Saturn was the best looking 32bit game, but Vagrant Story just pipped it and it still holds up so well even today. Like the silly sod I was though, I've sold it and a ton of my PS games (i copied them all before selling them, but its not quite the same lol )

[speedlolita]

I don’t think it’s an especially expensive game? Paid £16 for a mint US copy a few years back now.

[Leon Retro]

I also have to say what a brilliant fun game Rollgage II was too, and it looked fab as well. The 32Bit gen was the best for me

Yeah, it really shows what the PS1 can do. I really like the overall design of the game.

Would like to have played Harmful Park but never had a go.

You should try to play it if you enjoy cute 'em ups. It's easily one of the best games in the genre.

I don’t think it’s an especially expensive game? Paid £16 for a mint US copy a few years back now.

Looks like you can get a US copy for between £20-40. Definitely worth owning for fans of the genre.

[Cepp]

I... don't think I can. There's too much quality there.

Ridge Racer is in any list I can come up with. Put a gun to my head I guess and I'd pick Tomb Raider and Vagrant Story but it could change depending on my mood.

It's easier to say what shouldn't be there if anything. Pandemonium, Bloody Roar and Crash Team Racing aren't classics in my book.

[Asura]

I don’t think it’s an especially expensive game? Paid £16 for a mint US copy a few years back now.

Yeah, I think the value of it crashed during the PSP era when the PSOne games started coming out for digital purchase. Vagrant Story was among the first available, and it had a bit of a resurgence of popularity; for a little while it seemed everyone was playing it over on GameFAQs. This was when I sold my physical copy; I replaced it with a digital one (because it was my last PS1 physical game at the time).

[Leon Retro]

It's easier to say what shouldn't be there if anything. Pandemonium, Bloody Roar and Crash Team Racing aren't classics in my book.

Well. we could go through a long list of good to great PS1 games. I'd say those three are at least good games. So some people might not consider them to be "classics" but they're decent games. And they were certainly quite popular back in the day. I personally have a lot of fondness for Pandemonium and Bloody Roar. Crash Team Racing may not be the best karting game, but it's a really well-made product.

[Cepp]

I loved Crash Team Racing at the time, not so much when I replayed the PSN version on my PS3 a while back though. Bloody Roar I never played much of but I do remember a lot of people and mags loving it back in the day.

DOOM's an interesting one just because the new music adds so much. I've got the PC fan port ready to go and quite looking forward to running through it.

[Leon Retro]

Bloody Roar I never played much of but I do remember a lot of people and mags loving it back in the day.

It really felt like something special back in the day. I remember really getting into it for a while. It's another game that would have been a nice inclusion on the Classic.

I've got the PC fan port ready to go and quite looking forward to running through it.

I'll try and get that running on my PC.

[Dogg Thang]

I'm late to this but Wipeout 3, or Wip3out, or 3 Fast 3 Wipeout, is absolutely brilliant. I know 2097 is often seen as the pinnacle and for good reason but 3 is amazing. It introduced analogue control which takes a good while to get used to after two digital games (unless you had a negcon) but the handling works so well. And the look is incredible. It completely embraces that Designers Republic look in a way the first two didn't and ends up with a clean look that is totally unique. It also has a great soundtrack, more consistent than 2097. It's a superb game and the special edition which added classic tracks is my favourite Wipeout - it's the perfect package.

Tomb Raider is obviously very special. The first got a huge amount right and the sense of loneliness and scale is something no sequel fully managed to match. The pacing was brilliant, even though there was often quite a distance between the save crystal things. It's a classic, no doubt.

And Silent Hill is one of the ultimate horror games. Even though my favourite is 2, no Silent Hill game ever came as close to being as scary as the first one. Its janky animation and stilted voice somehow made it even more scary. The plot is utterly ridiculous and I was glad they abandoned some of it for the sequel (only to bring it back in the third) but it's a brilliant game. So creepy and so immersive.

Rollcage 2 is also pretty great.

Those are my highlights from this list.

[Leon Retro]

And the look is incredible. It completely embraces that Designers Republic look in a way the first two didn't and ends up with a clean look that is totally unique.

Yeah, the "clean" look really helps it stand the test of time. Lots of people are more fond of 2097, but 3 also gets a lot of fanfare.

Tomb Raider is obviously very special. The first got a huge amount right and the sense of loneliness and scale is something no sequel fully managed to match.

I've never been a fan of the Tomb Raider series, but I definitely felt that the first game has things going for it that make it feel more special to lots of people. So I could have put a sequel, but the original is the one I'd have put on the Classic machine.

Those are my highlights from this list.

They all should have been on the Classic console. Sony should have splashed the cash to make it happen.

[Asura]

They all should have been on the Classic console. Sony should have splashed the cash to make it happen.

In truth, I think Sony should've tried to show a bit more creative adventurousness and made multiple machines, or had the base machine and sold expansions. The first machine should've been "the early Playstation", and featured the likes of Wipeout, Tomb Raider, Ridge Racer, Destruction Derby, Tekken 1 (maybe 2), Toshiden... Hell they could've even included a few bits of dross there for nostalgia.

I personally feel this may have been their plan at one time, as I struggle to explain the likes of Toshinden or Jumping Flash otherwise.