Our Favorite Games Through the Years - Part 5 - Gaming Thoughts

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes.

As those of you who have been reading these posts so far, this is all about what appealed to us personally. That doesn’t mean it was the most technically advanced title, the one with the best story or any other singular metric that reviewers look for in a title. We simply enjoyed them for whatever reasons.

Robert:

Xbox: Halo: Combat Evolved

There were a lot of skeptics about Microsoft's new home console being successful (not while in the midst of a Nintendo v. Sony console competition), and adding to that skepticism was the doubt about the viability of a story-driven first-person shooter on anything other than a PC. Microsoft's original Xbox console along with Halo: Combat Evolved laid those concerns to rest.

That doesn't explain why it's on this list, though ... Sure, Halo: CE was a good game, but given all of the amazing games that you can find on Microsoft's maiden voyage into home consoles ... I chose the most obvious? Seems shallow.

Except it's not, not at first glance at least. By the time that Halo: CE released, my brother (to whom I am very close) had graduated from the US Air Force Academy and moved to the other side of the country and I took it hard. When he came home for Christmas that year, he did so with some Xboxes in tow. That entire holiday vacation, he and I played Halo: CE non-stop... first on normal, then on heroic, then finally on legendary. To me, Halo: CE is more than just a damn-fine shooty-shooty-bang-bang space marine game ... It's an entire universe that I got to first experience with one of my biggest role models.

It's hard for much to stand up against that...

 

PlayStation 2: Final Fantasy XII

For all of the absolutely amazing games on the PlayStation 2, I went with one that's both head-scratching and understandable at the same time. Final Fantasy XII was a weird beast of a title. Building it's combat and party system off of the long-running Final Fantasy XI MMORPG combat mechanics and paring it with a highly customizable Gambit system which allowed you to micromanage a companion AI. I personally enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed Final Fantasy VII's Materia system, though I couldn't care less for the initial FFXII leveling board/license system; to me it felt like an evolution to the Jobs system (which was later expanded upon in the Remaster so the North American version matched the more robust and just plain better, EU/International version) and that was okay with me at the time. 

Where Final Fantasy XII trumps all other titles on the platform, it actually occupies this space for a very different reason than one would expect... See, I wasn't able to play FFXII until well after launch, and the opportunity arose for me to pick up an affordable PS2 just before my daughter was born. The one game I picked up for it? Final Fantasy XII. I spent my parental leave/vacation time with her in my arms while I played FFXII from start to finish. To me, it's far, far more than just a video game ... it's a precious memory that I will cherish for the rest of my days.

Pierre-Yves:

PlayStation 2: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

It took a while to figure out what to put here… By this time, I had finally really started to work and could afford, put that in quotations as these games were my paychecks… the games that I wanted to play. Xenosaga Part 1, .Hack//, .Hack//G.U., Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and so, so much more.

But above all of those, Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia Trilogy, and especially the first, had me coming back again and again and again. The platforming mechanics, the wall running, the puzzle solving, maybe not as stellar by today’s standards but this at the time set the bar and without it? No Assassin’s Creed.

PlayStation Portable: Ys Seven

Here was another platform that had some great titles however Ys Seven is king here. Not only is it a great title, it brought the Ys Series back and without it? There would be no Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox or upcoming Ys X: Nordics. Falcom brought back our red haired adventure Adol and I was so happy to continue his adventures as prior to that the most that I had been able to play was Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim which there was zero regret on picking that up off of the used game shelf at an EB Games all those years ago. The Canadian equivalent at the time before they eventually rebranded into just GameStop to match the US.

Xbox: Fable

The original Xbox in some ways is a slim pick for me if only because I didn’t get an Xbox until AFTER I got an Xbox 360. I know, it’s weird. That said, I played a lot of Xbox with friends, Dead of Alive 6, Halo, and Fable.

Fable was another one of those open world do whatever you want titles that chipped away at my hesitancy to get into it. I like my linear story with some open spaces, FFX and FFXIII are prime examples, but in this case, as nothing more than a Chicken Chaser, it was up to me to figure out… everything. What did I want to do? Did I want to get buff? Play with magic? Stay agile and nimble? Do all of the above? The world was my oyster and I’ve gone back to it plenty of times over the years.

Sadly Fable 2 and Fable 3 just couldn’t carry that same magic…

Richard:

PlayStation 2: Trapt

Oof, the PS2 choice was extremely difficult for me. There are so many amazing PS2 games I could list off. It's where I started my over 2000 hours in the Monster Hunter franchise, it had some great RPGs like .hack, as well as one of my top 3 favorite game series of all time: Xenosaga. Now, while I would usually espouse Xenosaga as my favourite game, that's only because people look at me weird for liking Trapt. While both Xenosaga Episode 1 and Trapt are probably tied for my favorite game of all time, I'm listing Trapt here as my favorite due to just how... I don't know, weirdly fulfilling it feels? An entry in the Deception franchise, marketed as Kagerou 2: Dark Illusion in Japan, Trapt is a game about, well, essentially murdering people with different Indiana Jones style traps you set up in the mansion you're hiding out in. With three main and rather distinct different endings, some really cool trap configurations and implementations, as well as one of my favorite cut-ins in a game ever: the Man-Eating Music Box. Trapt is...definitely clunky and by no means perfect. The subtitles are iffy for sure, and the plot can be difficult to follow. It's also gratuitously violent, but I love it all the same.

Xbox: Black Stone: Magic and Steel

Alright, time for the weirdest entry in my listing: Black Stone: Magic and Steel. This game is sort of a Gauntlet Legends rip-off but done really poorly. The game is objectively pretty bad. But you know what? It's got memories and hours of fun(?) spent with friends. This is a game that's my favorite Xbox title you should probably never play.

Nintendo DS: Knights in Nightmare

I'm pretty sure some of the other reviewers are gonna give me weird looks for this one, but Knights in the Nightmare is my Nintendo DS pick for my favorite game. It's...horribly complicated, both theoretically from a gameplay perspective and from a storyline perspective. It's an eldritch mash up of turn-based strategy, RPG, real-time strategy, and bullet hell. Sound weird? It is, but hey, I've got a thing for games that try and redefine a genre or to create their own. Knights in the Nightmare was rough, it had an insanely long tutorial, and a steep learning curve. But you know what? The sheer uniqueness of the entire experience is what drew me in. Hands down this is my favorite DS title, even beating out others of my personal favorites like Luminous Arc and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

Nick:

Sony PlayStation 2: Final Fantasy X

This was another really tough one. There were so many games, from Romance of the Three Kingdoms X, to Tekken titles to the endless hours of Madden my buddy Landon and I played. Still, I’d be remiss in not putting Final Fantasy X at the top of this list. Why? Because I was late to the PS2 party, but one of my best friends was heading out of town for a couple of weeks and loaned me his, with his copy of Final Fantasy X. It was love at first site with that fantastic opening sequence (Auron was the man), the pounding rock music and gorgeous visuals that still make up one of my favorite video gaming scenes of all time. I was about 2/3 of the way through that game when my buddy came back and wanted his system back. My wife, her aunt and my dad teamed up to buy me a PS2 with my own copy of Final Fantasy X that year for Christmas and it’s still my sentimental favorite of the series.

Microsoft Xbox: SoulCalibur II

This was my introduction to what would become one of my favorite fighting franchises of all-time. Seriously – Soul Calibur IV was my first review back when I started this site up (posted on 11/13/2009). This series has stuck with me over the years, and with good reason. It was not the first time I had played a 1-on-1 fighter with weapons (I believe that honor goes to Samurai Showdown), but the speed, graphics and music made this a memorable title indeed, as my buddies and I would play this on one TV on Sundays, while watching NFL games on the other TV right next to it. Ah, the college years…

Sony PlayStation Portable: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Having taken years off from playing handheld gaming systems, the PSP was revolutionary to me. The number of console-quality games on it was mind-boggling, and I played a ton of them. Almost all of my favorites though, where of the Final Fantasy variety. Between Tactics, Dissidia and some of the remakes, there were plenty to choose from. However, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII connected with me on a slightly different level. Likely in large part due to my affinity for the original Final Fantasy VII, but when the ending came to pass, even though I had sunk so many hours into the game, I felt like it was over too soon.

 Article by Robert, Pierre-Yves, Richard, and Nick

Read More

The PlayStation 1: An Appreciation

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

LAUNCH

1993 marked the start of the coveted Fifth Generation in Video Gaming, before being overtaken by the legendary Sixth Generation in 1998, and officially retiring in 2006.

Shifting from pseudo-3D graphics to fully realized 3D worlds (among other noteworthy achievements), the Fifth Generation started a legacy that has failed to stop. One of the major contributors in this Era was Sony’s PlayStation.

Released on December 4th 1994, the PlayStation was destined to become a fan favorite even before reaching the drawing board. The release of this console gave gamers something new to hook their idiotbox to, and a new rival to Sega and Nintendo – the pioneers and dominators of the previous Eras – and gaming in general.

As one of the top three console available on the market, the PlayStation quickly bested its rivals - the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64 - and established itself as the de facto leader of the Generation.

Since the PlayStation was also chiefly targeted at a much older audience (as opposed to Sega and Nintendo who, more or less, kept their following young), the PlayStation was able to reach a much wider audience; with many games released for the console spawning countless sequels and a dedicated cult following for a fair few, even acquiring its own mascots in the shapes of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Sir Daniel Fortesque; who, though never quite reaching the ubiquitous heights of Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Donkey Kong, are just as lovable and remain permanent fixtures in the industry.

The success of the console led Sony to release a follow-up, the PlayStation 2, in the year 2000, to even more critical and commercial success. Following the path, Sony added the PlayStation Portable in 2004, the PlayStation 3 in 2006, and the PlayStation 4 in 2013, to the ever-growing family. The newest addition, the PlayStation 5, is just mere months away from being released (at the time of writing).

Though each received varying critical and commercial reception, one thing has always been clear: whether Sony is facing off against Nintendo, Microsoft, Sega, or *ahem*, SouljaGame, it has always answered back with a powerful system worthy of more than just attention. True, the others reciprocated with even more robust consoles and innovative features, none have achieved in knocking Sony out of the ball park.

CONTROLLER

The original controller conceived for the PlayStation was nothing more than a modified SNES controller with an extra pair of shoulder buttons and grip holders. Elephant grey in color, the controller was light and easy to use. The design and the different colored action buttons would go on to define the PlayStation and would come to be known as the signature of the series’.

Sometimes all you need to see is the blue X or the green Triangle and you know the PlayStation is lurking somewhere in sight.

But yet there was something missing. Something big. Something the Louvre Museum without Mona Lisa big. With the 3D on the rise, as well as manually operational in-game cameras, Sony knew they had to come up with a feature that would allow the player to control the camera and engage in the action simultaneously. The answer came in the form of a stick. Two of them, to be precise.

Released in 1998, the new and improved PlayStation controller, the DualShock, hit the right chord – bringing a new method of playing games - and satisfied fans the world over. Unlike its immediate predecessor, the Dual Analog Controller, which had an impressed surface on either stick, the dual sticks in DualShock were round and rubber gripped, giving more efficiency. Also, the grip holders were longer, perfectly angled that you could use the dual sticks with your thumbs with ease.

Still elephant grey in color in its original release, they also came in dark grey, black, and transparent blue. Third-party releases included a see-through orange with black buttons and an opaque pink with light grey buttons.

Though the third-party unofficial controllers don’t harm the system, they’re not recognized as official but are still fun to collect, seeing the different colors they appear in. They can also be customized to match with your current favorite game or series.

MODELS

If we were to take the other definition of the word, then there can be no doubt that Reiko Nagase is the official lady mascot of the PlayStation.

She appears in several Ridge Racer installments of racing games – one of the best series on the PlayStation - as a grid girl.

However, the use of the word in this context refers to the internal and external aspects of the different models that were released worldwide. Though many differ only so slightly in terms of chips, graphics, and circuits, there have been only two externally radically different designs overall.

The first and original resembled a square shoe box. Despite appearing to be bulky and heavy, in reality it doesn't weigh much. In fact it is surprisingly light. This model has two large buttons on either side of the CD tray and one smaller button on the left. This one is the reset button. The other two are power-on and open CD tray.

The PAL variants have text on the buttons instead of symbols, which is present in the NTSC versions. Once again, just as how it is with the controller, the color scheme is grey - though customizing is possible.

In 2000, six years after the release of the shoe box, Sony revealed a new and re-engineered model. This time it resembled a perfectly curved scrambled egg. Called the PSOne, this model is smaller in size. In fact, it is only a few centimeters bigger than a standard-sized book.

This time around there are only two buttons on the console, the power-on button and the CD tray one. The reset button has been merged with the power-on button. So basically, if your game freezes, you have to switch off the console and then power it on; something that doesn't pose much of a problem, truth be told.

Another change that was observed was its color scheme of both the console and the controller. Abandoning elephant grey for ceramic white, this color scheme was more easier to the eye and gave off a cheerful air, as though the console was more eager to play the games than you were.

I bought my "model 2", the PSOne, in the year 2000, hot off the shelves straight from the Sony HQ in Muscat, Oman. At around 115 riyals, the price was reasonable enough. For those comfortable with dollars, this equals to $299.99. My PSOne came with a free controller and a memory card but with no game. I don’t exactly remember what my first game on the console was, but I’m pretty sure it was the original Medal of Honor.

After storing countless memories on various 1MB memory cards and having some of the most happiest memories I can think up of - one of which is detailed below if you care to read it - it was time to retire and climb up one rung on the ladder; enter the PlayStation 2.

When this bad boy entered my life, I gave my PSOne to my (then) young cousins; who then proceeded to break it apart in two in just a week. I’m dead serious

I never thought it possible to cause any kind of damage on the ferrite bead of the controller, but my cousins did the impossible. The CD tray was ripped off, my 90+ collection of CD’s was reduced to no more than 20-25, one of the controllers – a translucent blue – was cracked, with one of the dual sticks taken out. And the wires... oh, don’t get me started on them. To spare you the horror, the best I can say is that they were covered from top to bottom in electric tape for fear of a shock.

I repeat: I’m dead serious.

Quite a-while ago, someone was selling his PlayStation and PlayStation 2, with a bunch of games, EyeToy for the latter, and Light Guns for the former. I was particularly interested in the former - the model 1, or the shoe box.

I don’t know why, but I always wanted to own that particular model, so for about 20 riyals I bought the whole lot. That’s about $51.25.

Talk about a bargain, eh?

MY FAVORITE MEMORY

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of the Super Heroes is a superb crossover fighting and one of the finest from 90's gaming. As the name implies, familiar characters from the more famous titles of Capcom and the Marvel universe clash and collide - and occasionally join forces as allies.

Each character is beautifully animated. Characters like Hulk and Venom are wonderfully detailed; their sinews and popping veins standing out like no other. When the green rage-monster moves, aggression and force can be felt at every step; likewise with the symbiote, whose slimy nature is fluid and precise. The energetic, detailed sprites not only give life and energy to the characters, but also to the whole “I’m just here to win” attitude that is so prevalent with such fighters. I haven’t played a more energetic, electrifying and awesome game as Clash of the Super Heroes.

With that being said, a particular memory that I hold close to my heart comes to mind, which I would like to share it with you:

Back in 2003 when I was in the 4th grade, my school held a fundraiser for the hurricane victims in Sri Lanka. Since there were no limitations as to what one could do to participate and donate, I and a couple of my friends decided that we would use my TV and PlayStation (since I lived practically next door to the school) to accept donations.

Our idea was to charge a small fee per game for a limited play-time (500 baisa for 30 minutes; 1 riyal for 60 minutes); with the money incurred going to the fundraiser. At the end of the day, we managed to accumulate round 15 riyals (roughly $40). Though this wasn’t very much - even at the time - it was a major effort for a couple of ten year olds.

When the fundraiser time was drawing to a close, and with the crowd thinning every passing hour, my friends and I decided to stick round and play games to our liking. The one game we all agreed on was Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of the Super Heroes: a favorite across the classroom.

For the next couple of hours or so - well into midnight - I and four of my friends took turns to whip the virtual asses out of each other. No alliances mind you, only enemies. At every successful victory, the victorious would retain his position, while the defeated would get rotated to the other person, and so on. What makes this particular memory such a happy one, is it was the first time I was engaging in multi-player co-operative style of playing I had only heard about in magazines and online forums.

Our playful, hushed swearing, attempts at distracting the other player, and screeching reminders to use the combo attack are all what stick vividly in my mind. Anyone who has ever engaged in multi-player combat with their friends - especially when it gets loud and chaotic - will know the feeling. It's one of those memories that etches itself permanently in your brain.

Though I'm not at all close to my classmates now, and it's been decades since I last touched my PlayStation, this particular highlight stands out among the rest when I think back of school. Whenever I'm having an off day or just want to think about a time where innocence reigned supreme, I often invariably go back to this moment... a moment where we acted good for a cause and kicked each other's asses.

GAMES

The PlayStation 1 boasts an impressive library of games that is at once versatile, with defining titles from practically every genre. Several of the launch titles became an instant hit and the immediate success enjoyed by many led to numerous sequels and spin-offs.

Rayman by Ubisoft marked his first appearance on this console, though it was originally designed for the poorly received Atari Jaguar. Rayman was very well-received and the console was blessed with three sequels, with the immediate sequel, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, being one of PlayStation greatest games.

Popular arcade hits like Tekken were successfully ported onto the console to even more acclaim, spawning an ongoing series that is still being cited as an influence by contemporary developers and designers. The racing genre found a new abode, and the console enjoyed a wide and varied range of racers from Need for Speed to Gran Turismo to Ridge Racer to Test Drive.

The tail-end of the 90’s was the golden era for the console. Legendary titles such as Tomb Raider, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Tekken 3, Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VIII, Ape Escape, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night all made their first appearance on this console and are closely associated with it.

Most of the aforementioned games have been ported to other platforms - and with improved quality - but for most of us, it was on the PlayStation that we enjoyed them first.

One of my favorite genres, the first-person shooter (FPS), didn’t exactly embrace the console with open arms, with only a handful of good FPS’s to speak about.

The progenitor of the WWII FPS sub-genre, Medal of Honor, remains the best ever FPS to ever grace the PlayStation 1. True, Quake II was also a tremendous success, but the PC version is what everyone remembers the best (and maybe perhaps the N64 port, too). If you were to take out the ‘shooter’ part, then Myst and Riven were also very good ports. Other titles - namely Doom, Duke Nukem, and The Stygian Abyss - also got ports and received varying degrees of feedback, but it's their original PC / DOS versions that remain the best.

In terms of pioneering or originating a genre, the PlayStation has had quite a few. The survival-horror genre had already existed since the age of Atari 2600 and SNES; but it was through the combined successes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill that the 'true' blueprint of the genre was laid out: one that is still being followed to this day.

The stealth genre, along with dramatic, cinematic cutscenes and symphonic music, was single-handedly invented by Metal Gear Solid: considered by many to be just about the greatest game ever to be released on the console.

In the role-playing game genre (RPGs), all the Final Fantasy games are considered as not only some of the best in the genre, but as also some of the best the industry has to offer. The most cited instalment is Final Fantasy VII. Known for changing the blueprint of the genre completely, it features a death of a prominent character so shocking and saddening that it changed people's perceptions on video games forever; and is almost universally declared as an apex point of art, expression, narrative, and emotion in video games.

The impressive capabilities of the console meant that 3D titles and FMV-heavy games could finally be given ample of elbow room to show-off their potential. Unfortunately, as it goes in the world of technology and innovation, most games have now aged rather badly.

In an age of realistic graphics and cinema-like quality, games like Tekken 3 and Bushido Blade are jarring to look at, what with all the polygons and edges going around in frenzy circles. One of my all-time favorite games in the world, Colin McRae Rally, now looks like a hodgepodge of porridge.

But I cannot harp on the now-outdated visual fidelity too much. Graphics alone do not a good game make. Did Colossal Cave Adventure have graphics? No, nothing but text, but yet it is still one of the most popular and groundbreaking titles ever made. Playing as the The Rock in all his glory in WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role was a fan-favorite of everyone back in the day. His misshapen, pixelated nose stands testament to how far we've come in visual quality.

But misshapen nose or not, Spidey’s point butt in Spider-Man 2000 or not, these games are still as enjoyable as they were when they first came out. In fact, I dare say they’re more entertaining than most contemporary games, simply because of the fact the developers took extra time to balance the look and feel of the game. Nostalgia and a certain respectful regard for vintage graphics also adds to the charm.

Yes, I respect my elders.

Here's a little animation I'd made last year for the PS1's 25th Anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXDdWW-ImaA

Feature article written by Hamza and re-published with permission for Chalgyr's Game Room.

Read More

Final Fight - Retro Reflections

I thought Final Fight was a good old beat-’em-up but I was wrong. This has got to be one of the most unfair, poorly designed, frustrating games of the 16-bit era. I found it in the Capcom Classics Collection among interesting games such as Section Z or Bionic Commando but, inexplicably, chose to waste my time with it instead.

Read More

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows - Retro Reflections

Gauntlet was a famous hack and slash dungeon crawler during the eighties and this is why I bought this remake years ago. My initial experience was not pleasant, as the DVD had loading problems and, when I started the first level I was assaulted constantly by endless enemies running to me like maniacs. However, soon I begun to enjoy the game.

Read More

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 - Retro Reflections

The city of Baldur’s Gate is in peril again and you decide to defend it. You become member of the Harpers, a secret organization that protects the Realms, and face the Zentarim, a wealthy, ambitious group with supernatural allies. Your final opponent is a vampire, who schemes patiently in his keep. The story is unoriginal and unexciting and lacks a decent ending but the rest of the game is great.

Read More