PlayStation users can celebrate the 30th anniversary with these free PS1 gems
With the 30th anniversary of PlayStation upon us, what better time is there to explore PlayStation Plus and take a look back at where it all began? While the catalogue of games isn’t as large as we’d like it to be, there’s a great selection of titles to play from the era when Sony stepped into the console market and hoped to dominate.
Whether you’re looking to reminisce, or discover where the PlayStation brand started, PlayStation Plus has you hooked up if you’ve got a premium tier subscription. So, let’s turn back time 30 years and have a look at what we were playing when this CD-based, 32-bit console arrived.
Twisted Metal
Vehicular combat was just taking off over at Nintendo, and more companies wanted to jump in to this genre with both feet. Sony went a more mature route by bringing us Twisted Metal, a game filled with gnarly explosions, real-world weaponry, and over-the-top characters like the maniacal clown, Sweet Tooth. Rather than racing around a circuit, players would enter arenas to blow each other, and the game’s A.I., off the face of the planet using unique weapons and abilities. It was frenetic fun and the maturity shown was a welcome change to colourful and cute.
Worms
Advert
While Worms debuted on PC, it was swiftly ported over to PlayStation to rapturous acclaim. Playing as a team of worms and trying to kill each other with a range of weapons was instantly popular, even though the PlayStation was initially limited to only two players. The sandbox aspect of randomly generated levels combined with the tactical approach needed to win a game was refreshing back in the late 90s, and it’s still engaging today. It’s like Chess, but if you could rename the pieces and use sheep to transport heavy explosives.
Ape Escape
Off-the-wall Japanese games existed before PlayStation, however, this console brought many more of them to western shores and players. Ape Escape likely fits into that esoteric envelope with a super intelligent monkey producing an army of apes to take over the world and rewrite history. Of course, it falls to a young boy to capture them all with a net. Ape Escape delivers wacky humour on multiple levels while showing off where 3D platforming originated before thriving on this console and the next.
Tekken 2
I don’t want to lead you into a false sense of security - Tekken 2 was a staggeringly good fighter back in the day, but it has not aged well. Please try it out anyway, it was revolutionary in helping to bring fighters to a 3D space beyond what Sega was doing with Virtua Fighter. Tekken 2 was also a major highlight for quite some time and found itself being a long favourite of players not only for the combat, which was stellar, but for the story which told of familial legacy and rivalry like so few did at the time. And it obviously worked out as we’re still celebrating Tekken today.
Resident Evil: Director's Cut
The legendary survival horror game that started it all. Resident Evil broke new ground in being able to scare the pants off players in myriad ways and it was only really possible via the PlayStation. The Director’s Cut only makes everything better by giving you more and if you can look past the dated visuals (which I’d argue make it scarier), the core of this game is still as brilliant today as it was then. The camp acting, the ultra-violent visuals, the gameplay loop of exploration, it all built to something truly special that captivated audiences because, like many on this list, it brought something wholly new to games. We’d had horror before, but not like this and not in a way that felt like whisking you from the safety of home and into a creepy mansion surrounded by zombies.
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
It always felt like PlayStation was the place to get a bit weird and try new things, so when Abe’s Oddysee came out, none of us blinked an eye. Oh sure, there’s an alien-looking creature who finds out his race is being turned into food, so he breaks them all out of the factory where they’re already slaves by barking commands at them. And farting. It was a part-puzzler, part-platformer, with a huge social conscience that tapped into your heart and soul at every turn. Kinda felt like Lemmings with a full-blown narrative, and it sparked a universe that was consistently odd in the most delightful ways.
Ridge Racer Type 4
I’d like to put the definitive racing experience of Ridge Racer or Gran Turismo on this list, but Sony has dropped the ball and only given us Ridge Racer Type 4. Which is fine, I guess, it’s still a fun game, but it wasn’t the flashpoint that the other titles were. Although we still all sat around our TVs saying daft things like “doesn’t this look like a photo” and “graphics will never get better than this.” As a proper arcade racer where you could throw cars around corners, each race was an utter thrill and adrenaline pumped along with a kickass soundtrack.
Legend of Mana
While there are countless RPGs I’d love to recommend, so few are available via PlayStation Plus Premium and that leaves the pickings slim, though not without quality. Legend of Mana, part of the Mana series, is a gorgeously presented adventure based on high fantasy, with all the tropes and trappings that make a story like this thrive. Battles were dynamic and took place in real-time, unlike others emerging on the console at the time. Filled with delightful mechanics such as the player building the world around them, Legend of Mana cemented itself as a great example of RPGs and how they were beginning to grow beyond the confines of older consoles.
Jumping Flash!
I have a huge soft spot for Jumping Flash! and its sequel. At the time, little said ‘Japanese’ more than a mecha rabbit that launched about an arena with rocket-powered engines in its feet. The ludicrous, colourful world surrounding the player was a saccharine delight. The object was to collect pick-ups, destroy enemies, and generally traverse the playing area. It was simple, yet engaging, bringing platforming to a 3D style, but as we’d come to know it. This wasn’t a third-person adventure, you sat inside the rabbit mech, looking out, so when you climbed the height of an arena, you felt a sense of scale. A unique game that seems to be slept on when talking about PS1 gems.
MediEvil
If there’s one thing the PlayStation will be remembered for, it’s the start of the 3D platforming era. We had so many - Crash Bandicoot, Gex, Spyro, and then there was MediEvil, where you play as a knight in a dark and brooding fantasy world bashing creepy enemies and tackling tricky traversal. You could argue this game was more about the combat than the platforming, but it certainly feels a part of that great genre. While this one didn’t take off like the others did, it still holds a special place in the hearts of OG PlayStation fans.
Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Playstation Plus, Resident Evil, Tekken, Retro Gaming