If you were a kid in the 90s this is going to be a moment of sweet nostalgia for you. Saturday 3^rd December 2011 was the 17^th birthday of the original Sony games console: the Playstation. Part of the fifth-generation of consoles, the Playstation upped the ante from the Sega Saturn, SNES and Neo Geo which were both part of the 16-bit era. Sony sold over 102 million Playstations worldwide; way over double the amount of Mega Drives or Neo Geos sold. The 32-bit graphics were mind-blowing to the 90s gamers and there was the arrival of the analog sticks we know well and love dearly. The Playstation is the reason for the gaming industry being the size it is today. Today, I’ve retrieved my PS One from the cupboard (my original Playstation is more decorative than functional so many years on) and I’m absolutely thrilled to take a look at the games I played on it, almost 20 years ago, and compile a top 10 of the best Playstation games. Before I start, I want to stress how difficult it was to put these in order, and there a few games that got left out. Especially when I got into the top 3, I struggled to order the ones I had left. But I powered through and immensely enjoyed remembering these games. Here’s my top ten:

10.) Gran Turismo

Gran Turismo, the first instalment of Sony’s racing simulator game, holds the record for the best-selling PS1 game. For the time, the quality of the game was incredibly high and it rarely got boring. For me, this was because the developers (Polyphony Digital) were clearly focused on what they wanted to come out of their hard work, and so Gran Turismo is very well-developed. The series has continued to sell extremely well and produce more and more sequels; truly it stands out as a PS1 game of not only high quality, but also one that is fun and immersive.

9.) Medal of Honour

Another game that is still popular and was born on the original Playstation: Medal of Honour. Despite its place being behind Call of Duty and Battlefield, back in 1999 it was the FPS war game to own and began the genre of game which now dominates the gaming market, laying out a basic blueprint for them to be built upon. For those of you who don’t know, the Medal of Honour story was written by Steven Spielberg, and so the campaign was very strong and captivating. This is what pushes into my top ten – because even though in these games most people prefer multiplayer playing, this shouldn’t be what holds the game up; it should have a strong campaign as well. Medal of Honour lived up to this.

8.) Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

It’s important to remember that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was not the first video game that simulated skateboarding. The first game was Street Sk8er which was fairly disappointing, even though it couldn’t encounter any competition. In 1999 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was released by developers Neversoft who were also the minds behind Guitar Hero. Because of this I think it’s safe to say that Neversoft know how to pick a target audience, appeal to it and get them addicted to games. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater defined the idea of skateboarding and other sporting simulation games. You could never complete the game; there was always something crazier that you could do. As a light-hearted game, it really is a classic that interested not only skaters – and there was an abundance of them in 1999 – but wannabes and other gamers both casual and dedicated. For a lot of people, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is something that defines their childhood or teenage years. So it has to be in my top ten.

 

7.) Croc: The Legend of Gobbos

Right now you can be classified as one of two people: you either said “Croc?” in naïve confusion or “Croc!” in infinite excitement. For readers in the former category I would love to enlighten you about this curious game. Croc: The Legend of Gobbos was released in 1997 by developers Argonaut Software and publishers Fox Interactive. Argonaut was a British company, based in London, who also developed the Alien and first two Harry Potter games. Croc was an orphan crocodile who was found floating in a basket in the sea and was raised by Gobbos. When the evil Baron Dante imprisons the Gobbo King Rufus and other Gobbos, Croc sets out to save the island. I was young when I played this game, and as were most of the people who did, but I replayed it and still thought it was brilliant. It’s wonderfully childish but also well done, showing the innocent fun that is in games like Little Big Planet. Croc is one of those games you would have to try very hard to dislike.

6.) Silent Hill

If you have played any of the Silent Hill games you will know that they create a very convincing atmosphere. The original is by far the best, and was released for PS1 in 1999. The game took advantage of the newly developed graphics to capture the eyes of the player, and it definitely worked. Silent Hill was the first survival horror game and stands as a landmark for the Playstation 1 because of its absolute focus on storyline and characters. This was generally a new idea in gaming and since Silent Hill’s release it has carried on to be an alternative gaming choice, and also a feature that is evident in action based games like Bioshock. For the time, Silent Hill was an enormous achievement.

 

5.) Doom

Although neither the game nor the developers carried on to become as famous or memorable as DreamWorks with Medal of Honour, Doom was the game that popularised first person shooters. It took advantage of the new available 3D graphics to create atmospheric gameplay in both single player and multiplayer. The multiplayer was very raw and basic, not adding any complications but leaving the players to have fun. It isn’t complicated and it hasn’t carried on a series of games, but because of its simplicity and focus Doom truly is a landmark game.

4.) Crash Bandicoot

No I haven’t specified one of these games. For the Playstation 1, there were 5 games Crash Bandicoot games released. Like many on-going series the first one was the best and the most recent ones don’t live up to that standard. So at number 4 I am collectively putting Crash Bandicoot 1, 2, 3 and Crash Team Racing, and let’s pretend Crash Bash didn’t happen. Everyone knows and loves these games and it’s for a good reason. They are original and offer a variety of types of gameplay that is all fast paced and captivating. There is also an amount of comedy in the games, and when you’re older and look back on the games – some substance references that you wouldn’t have noticed in your childhood, so it’s worth revisiting even if just for that. Crash Bandicoot set the ultimate level for platform games in 1996 and hasn’t been topped since.

3.) Hogs of War

I’ve met too many people who had never heard of this game. Hogs of War is another game that defines my childhood, and it does it so greatly because it never got boring and I played it so often and watched it being played just as much. If you don’t know what it is I would describe it as an expansion of Worms: it has a 3^rd person view that isn’t a side-view and it is 3D. Oh and you control pigs. The fact that the game was unique and the developers did not survive is bittersweet. It is such an enjoyable game that is really is a shame that there is only one, but also this makes is special and makes you appreciate it more. The game is narrated by Rik Mayall and has plentiful humorous voiced phrases, all suiting each of the nationalities in World War 2. For Hogs of War, the best way to explain it is for me to urge you to get a copy of it and play it.

2.) Metal Gear Solid

Before 2010 and the plane crash that was Metal Gear Solid 4 occurred (imo) Hideo Kojima was a very talented games writer who could balance storyline with gameplay. How times have changed. Metal Gear Solid is incredibly stealth based, and requires a lot of concentration because it is very challenging. I liked this because generally I preferred the easier, laidback games on the PS1 and this offered a great alternative. For the time MGS was a very mature game, and is what turned me to gaming as a passion and not just to cure boredom. Although it definitely did that.

 

1.) Final Fantasy VII

You either love it or you hate it. The seventh instalment of the Final Fantasy franchise was released in 1997 for Playstation, and was the first of the series to see a lot of success; selling about 10 million units. RPGs are overwhelmingly popular in society now, and Final Fantasy is the series that inspired it; more specifically it was Final Fantasy VII. As well as teaching me roman numerals, these games really captured the imagination of gamers and because of the turn-based tactics and strategy battles it could keep the player’s mind engaged. It was a very different style of gaming at the time, but still balanced gameplay and storyline so both were convincing and enjoyable. There are also no other games that have original music written for their score which I listen to when not playing the game. The music is beautiful and incredibly effective for gameplay both in and out of battle. However, the sound of my childhood still remains as the sound you hear when you select an option on any menu in Final Fantasy. So famous and such a trademark, Square Enix had it copyrighted.