40. WarCraft II
Man, this game is one of my all time favourites... on PC. This game for PS is a piece of shit. It's clunky, and not having a mouse makes it almost unplayable. Real time strategy games aren't meant for console playing - and this is proof. It's last on my list because it's probably one of the worst PlayStation games I've ever played. I think I've only played 40 games, so by default then, this game is ranked number 40.
39. Carmageddon
Killing people, killing cars, or killing the race was a real game changer in my mind. You had choices for how to complete a stage. I drained a lot of time into this game. Running people over to gain extra time and money, and finding creative ways to smash the other cars to beat a stage were really, really fun. The problem with this game, is that, once again, I played it on PC, which was a way better version. That's why it's so low on this list.
38. Moto Racer
Surprisingly, this game was a shit ton on fun. I could care less about motorcycles, in fact, I think they're really stupid, but this game had me ripping around trying to set the best times on races over and over. The controls handled really well, and the sequel to this game had pure Tony Hawk music. It was great.
37. Dino Crisis 2
Well, it's pretty much like the first 'Dino Crisis' except, longer, and ... well, it's the same thing. Add in some newer and bigger dinosaurs, and a couple new weapons, and you have another 'Resident Evil' with a dinosaur skin on it. Was great to play when there were no other 3rd person shooters to destroy.
36. The Need for Speed
I was never a big racing game fan, (Mario Kart was always my jam) but 'The Need for Speed' was a pretty rad game. It had already existed in the arcades in different formats, like 'Cruisin' USA', so it was kinda cool to not have to drop a Loonie in everytime I wanted to play it. They added in cops being able to pull you over if you fucked up, which was a nice addition.
35. Intelligent Qube
I remember playing this game at my cousin Chris’ house, and I remember loving the shit out of it. Problem was, I think I only played the game a handful of times, so I don’t remember it too well. Now that this is out on the PS Mini, I have a feeling I’d like to get my hands back on it. It was a problem solving game that was fun. It’d probably be higher on the list if I play it again.
34. Vigilante 8
Man, this game sucks. I don’t know why it’s ranked 34. I guess it was a cool driving game like 'Twisted Metal', and 'Carmageddon', but I feel like the former games are better than 'Vigilante 8'. It was just a fun game to drive around and attack and blow up the other cars. I probably played this game for 3 or 4 hours and got bored.
33. Legend of Legaia
Taking the now over produced genre of turn based RPG's, and trying to put an original spin on it was starting to get difficult. It seemed like every single Playstation game was turn based, like Final Fantasy. But 'Legend of Legaia' actually managed to put it's own little twist on it. They introduced a sort of 'Tekken' feel to it. When it was your turn to attack, you could choose a combo of attacks, and chain them together into something cool. It kept the repetitiveness of hitting X, X, X, X, X, X, X, fight over, to trying to combo some neat shit to kill your enemies.
32. Crash Bandicoot
Never really got into 'Crash Bandicoot', I was a Mario and Zelda kinda guy, so this game is pretty low on my list. As far as these open concept action games go, this one was pretty good. But I never related to the character, I thought a big Fox as a main character was stupid. Maybe I was too young to appreciate how funny this game could have been.
31. Tomb Raider 2
I loved the first 'Tomb Raider' on PC, and I was itching to get my hands on the second one for Playstation. The game was solid. Not much more to say than that. It was a great Indiana Jones feeling action game with tough jumps, and cool treasure hunting. This was an action game done right, and I feel like it set the bar for all those bazillion other action type games. I loved having the dual pistols with infinite ammo. Ahh, the best!
30. Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
Man, I couldn't get enough of 'Metal Gear Solid' and when they announced they were releasing a new one called VR Missions, I got so excited. Of course, I didn't realize it was just a game about training exercises, but I didn't care. I played through every single one of these fucking missions trying to get the lowest time possible. The game now seems like it'd be a side mode in a full sized game, but some of the missions were really well thought out, and I had to really try and problem solve with this game.
29. The Legend of Dragoon
A shitty version of 'Final Fantasy' is really all this game is. It plays the exact same, but the graphics and story are a little weaker. They added a timing element to the battle, where you had to hit a button to make the attack do more damage, which makes the monotony of turn based games like this a little less redundant. This is what you played if your parents didn't buy you a Final Fantasy game. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great game; it’s more a compliment to how good the ‘Final Fantasy’ series is.
28. Parasite Eve
Combining 'Silent Hill' with 'Vagrant Story' is pretty great idea. 'Parasite Eve' plays like 'Silent Hill' but instead of just pointing in a direction and shooting, it added a big circle area that you have to fight in. It seemed to me to just about another 'Resident Evil' style game, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. But playing it again, the game is actually pretty bad ass. Great cinematic cuts, and the action element of the fighting was pretty cool.
27. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
This was the one that started the entire skateboarding fad in the 90's. I had absolutely zero interest in skateboarding, and didn't even realize it was a competitive sport until this game came out. The replayability of it was off the charts. The music was incredible (I still can't hear 'Superman' by Goldfinger without thinking of this game). You could do competition mode against the other pro skaters, and get graded, or you can just try and find the video tapes to advance to the next levels. It was pure genius this game.
This wasn’t just a great game, it transformed the entire sport of skateboarding and brought it into the mainstream. This game was a huge deal.
26. Monster Rancher
Holy shit, did I spend a lot of time playing this game. I had my fix of 'Pokemon Blue' for the Gameboy, and I needed something else, and that's where 'Monster Rancher' comes in. I had a modded Playstation, so my cousin gave me a whole bunch of shit, and this was one of them. As soon as I put it in, and started feeding my Monster food to make him lvl up, and eventually start to breed with other Monsters to grow my collection, I became hooked. You got to battle them in arenas as well. So you'd grow your monster super strong, and then enter them in a massive competition. Winning it gave you a crap load of money and experience to help further grow your ranch. It blended the Tamagachi fad with Pokemon, but added the arena element to it. I dumped so many hours into trying to grow that damn farm, god it was fun.
25. Grand Theft Auto
The first time I played this was at my cousin's place, and I thought this game looked so stupid. Just get in a car, and drive around running people over. I already have done that in 'Carmageddeon'. But for some reason, the thrill I got from stealing fire trucks, sports cars, getting the police on my tail and trying to lose them, was exhilarating! I loved the different music in the cars, and started to really enjoy the top down perspective of the game. Little did I know, this was the beginning of something great.
24. Gran Turismo
My favourite racing game before this was probably 'Super Off-Road', 'F-Zero', or 'Top Gear 2', so I wasn't really burning up the racing games at the time, but when I first played 'Gran Turismo 2', I had no idea that racing games could look so polished, and feel so real. The coolest part of the game for me was being able to pick REAL CARS. I mean, I was cruisin' down San Francisco with a Ford Mustang or something. It was kinda neat.
23. Final Fantasy IX
This is the only Final Fantasy on the Playstation that I never finished. For some reason, I didn't get into this one as much as 7 and 8, but I know, from what I've played, that this one is a gentle return to the roots of the Final Fantasy lore. I had only played 'Final Fantasy 7 and 8' when I cracked this sucker open, so going back to the more magic like, and kid format of Final Fantasy through me off a bit. I was used to this ultra realism, crazy serious cutscenes, and deep themes to the game, so I don't think I was in the right mindset for 'FF9', but now that I'm thinking about it, shit, I gotta go back and play this game.
22. Vandal Hearts
A tactical turn based RPG game that focused on the fun and mechanics more than the graphics. The game looked pretty shitty. It was caught between final fantasy, an anime, and a drunk dude drawing characters. For some reason though, I loved it. It nailed the tactical strategy down. The characters were fun, and the game just felt like the people who made it knew what they were doing. The class system was very shallow, the music got repetitive, but it's another solid tactical RPG.
21. Twisted Metal
All of the 'Twisted Metal's' were pretty good. Being able to pick a unique car with different attack abilities was a nice touch. It was like a destruction derby, but you had weapons on your car. It was a simple game, but it did it very well. It had great replay value as well. Fun to play with friends.
20. Dino Crisis
After finishing 'Resident Evil' and 'Silent Hill', I needed to get my fix of survival horror games somewhere else, and that's where 'Dino Crisis' came in. It's another game by Capcom, so it's the exact same engine as the Resident Evil series, but that's totally fine. They replaced the zombies with dinosaurs, and... yep, that's about it. Since it's Resident Evil, it was a great game! And I like dinosaurs. ‘Jurassic Park’ was my favourite movie in 1993, and 6 years later, I still loved it. So ‘Dino Crisis’ felt like I was being thrust into one of my favourite movies ever, and that was a dream come true!
19. Grand Theft Auto 2
God I love running people over, burning cars, stealing cars, shooting people in the streets, and having the cops coming after me. 'Grand Theft Auto 2' was a parents worst nightmare. You could just destroy, kill and do the worst things in this game, and it was so much fun! The first GTA was pretty cool, but this one added a couple neat elements to make it a lot better, one being multiplayer, and the coolest one was gang reputation. There were some bars at the top of the screen that showed how tight you were with a gang, and the more you killed the rival gangs, the better you became. It just added little things like that to make it better than the first one. The music was awesome, there were more cars to choose from and it offered more of a storyline to follow rather than the first one where I just drove around stealing shit.
18. Spider-Man
Usually, video games based around movies suck balls, but this one was actually pretty good! For the first time, I really got to use 'Spider-Man' in a open world, 3D environment, and feel like I was actually Spider-Man! Web slinging around the city, and wrapping up bad guys with my web shooters was done incredibly well. I feel like I had also just played 'Superman 64' for the Nintendo 64, which was an absolute piece of shit. So that made this game even better to play.
17. Vagrant Story
Playstation is the ultimate tactical RPG system. It has a deep wealth of turn based games, which happen to be my favourite type of video game (at the moment). 'Vagrant Story' was a pretty cool take on the traditional tactical RPG, because you could choose which part of the enemy to attack. You could take out their legs so they lost all their movement speed, or just go for the head, and risk missing your attack, or landing a huge blow. The story was deep and dark, but I never really followed it. I just wanted to keep trying out this cool attack mode. The problem with the game is that it's insanely easy. It almost made me think i was doing something wrong it was so easy. There's a crap load of health to stay battle ready, and your attacks seemed to kill things so easily. I wanted to attack the arms, and disable them, but all you had to do was attack the head, and they died so much quicker. 'Vagrant Story' was a refreshing take on a game genre that was being overdone at the time.
16. Hot Shots Golf 2
I love the entire 'Hot Shots Golf' franchise. I loved unlocking all the new characters through out the world by challenging them to a match. The game mechanics were incredibly simple, but it was very difficult to yield good results on a consistent basis. The characters were bold, fun, and stereotypical which made it easy to follow. The stages and sounds were meticulously crafted. 'Hot Shots Golf 2' is part of my favourite golfing franchise. No golfing game even comes close to the amount of fun I have playing this one. It does lack a bit of variety for upgrades, and replay value, but getting to the end of it is worth the short trip.
Making golf fun? Now that’s a talent.
15. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
Sneaking up behind people, and sticking a sword through their back in a sweet cut-scene was a new concept at the time. But 'Tenchu' essentially paved the path for a different type of stealth game. Sure, 'Metal Gear Solid' has existed for a while, but 'Tenchu' was... different. Climbing on buildings, creeping down and slicing someone's throat, or hiding in the dark shadows waiting for a kill. The dark ambiance of Japanese village and cherry blossom trees. 'Tenchu' had a really neat stealth vibe to it that 'Assassin's Creed' has ripped off completely. The game wasn't just about stealth, it also had a hack and slash action side to it as well. It was a little more boring than running around a dark Japanese village, but it added a little depth to the game.
14. NFL Blitz
Most of the sports games for Playstation sucked balls. They just developed the 3D animations, and it didn't translate to the required pinpoint precision that's needed for most sports games. But 'NFL Blitz' embraced the shitty 3D graphics and just turned a boring ass sport like football, into the most fun sport of all time. I played the shit out of this game. There were no pauses, the gameplay moved super fast (which is the biggest problem with just about all sports games now a days), and there were lots of touchdowns, and massive body checks. Still the best football game ever made. It focused on the most important word in all of video games: fun.
13. UmJammer Lammy
I was really big into playing guitar when this game came out, and I was already a monster fan of it's predecessor, 'PaRappa the Rapper'. The only issue I had with PaRappa was that it was too short. So getting another version of the game that involved playing guitar rather than rapping was right up my alley. The controls were solid, the songs were fun (I can still sing them in my head - "Hold the hose right tight, and get ready for a real fight". You could free style, and create your own sounding music, it was just really fun game to play.
12. Driver
The hype for this game was the the biggest I had ever seen at the turn of the century. This idea of an open concept driving game. It was going to have a 'movie' feel to it with all these modes, and challenges in the game. It was hyped up so much, that I don't think any game could have lived up to the expectations, but it was pretty rad. The only really good racing games out there, were either battle games like 'Twisted Metal', 'Carmageddeon' or actual racing games like 'Gran Turismo'. I feel like 'Driver' started the entire open world driving concept. 'Grand Theft Auto 3' would be released 2 years later, and pretty much made the same game, but added an RPG and story element to the game.
11. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
This game is high on my list because it's a Resident Evil game, and I love all the old Resident Evil's, but it's because of where I played it. I brought my Playstation with me to Chicago for Thanksgiving one year when I was in grade 9, and on the first day, we went to a mall, and bought a copy of Resident Evil 3. I got back to my cousin's place, and I started playing it with my cousin Mike Hoelskin. We got SO into the game. I think we ended up finishing it the week we were there. We were investigating Raccoon City, fighting the Nemesis, and had a blast going through pretty much another version of 'Resident Evil 2' but without it's raw enjoyment.
10. Silent Hill
The first time I played this game, I was at my cousin's house. We were terrified playing this game! It's like it should have been rated R. The music is just, awful. Awful as in, it makes me so unsettled and edgy. I hated it, in the best way possible. Apparently the graphics for the game couldn't be handled by the playstation, so they created this 'fog' so they didn't have to render out all the buildings and next scenes. It's a genius way of creating a terrifying mystery at every corner, and also saving a hell of a lot of time on making level design.
'Silent Hill' is pretty much 'Resident Evil' but with monsters instead of zombies, and a scary vibe rather than a suspense vibe. The ambiance they created with this game is fucking incredible. It truly is a scary game to play. It made the scariest game I had played at the time 'Alone in the Dark' look like an episode of Teletubbies. The puzzles were tricky to solve, the ammo was scarce, and the morphing into the Hell world was so friggin' cool.
9. Tactics Ogre
This game brings back such good memories with my buddy Mike Comrie and I in highschool. We would stay up til 4am listening to 'Saves the Day' and 'The Get Up Kids', in my parents den, and leveling up our character, Mortilus, in training mode over and over again. We grinded so hard on this game, because when you lose a character, they're gone forever. So we'd train new recruits up to level 15 (which would take us about 2 hours to do), make them a cool wizard or something, and then they'd get in the next battle. For fuck sakes.
The music in this game is really well done. It has a great 'going to war' vibe to it, and gives off a completely accurate vibe based on whatever you're doing in the game. The game itself is another tactical RPG game, and it's very well polished. The graphics are slick, the storyline is very deep and political. The characters feel like 'real' people. They are fallible, they change sides, they have honest opinions about things, it was really quite refreshing to play a game that didn't follow the typical cookie cutter - hero out to save the world feel.
It's side by side with Final Fantasy Tactics and XCOM 2 as the best tactical RPG out there. This game is truly a hell of a lot of fun.
8. Final Fantasy VIII
The thing I loved most about this game, was it's mini game. It had this really cool card game that you played, and when you beat someone, you took an anti card, and could use that in the next battle. Also, if you beat a boss, you got his card to add to your deck. I spent most of my time walking around challenging people to card games, than actually playing the game.
The game itself is also amazing. The graphics were once again, top notch. The cut scenes were like watching a movie. They moved to a different magic use by forcing you to draw out magic to use a limited amount of times. I wasn't a big Final Fantasy guy, so I didn't realize what a big deal that was, but I enjoyed it. It was just another massive, super fun game with great characters and sound track - I mean really, the soundtrack was fucking awesome. It’s no longer a video game score it’s become full on orchestral movie quality scores. Something to listen to for sure.
7. Resident Evil
When I think of Resident Evil, I usually think of this game first for some reason. The zombie turning around and revealing the white, bald, fucked up zombie face, and then him coming at you. I must have crapped my pants, and died 5 times to that guy the first time I saw him. I just wasn't ready for it. No game had given me this sense of true terror. Alone in the Dark was out before this, but the graphics were too primitive to really make me scared, but Resident Evil was there. It was happening.
I can't state enough how much I love this game. Being in a creepy mansion filled with zombies, puzzles and a complete lack of chests to put, and grab my items is incredible. The item management in this game is insane. So many times you have to backtrack because you need a herb, a key, or something, and trying to find your way back is really difficult - especially when the doors you open end up breaking, and you can't use them again - FUCK.
This game started one of my most beloved franchises ever. Such an incredible blend of skill, scares, graphics and story have made this game a masterpiece.
6. Pa Rappa the Rapper
This is one of the most influential games I've ever played. It taught me rhythm. It taught me how to rap outside of the box as well. It was such a bizarre concept. I remember seeing a commercial for it when it first came out, and it was a business man rapping on the streets, and I thought "This is going to be dumbest game ever made", and boy was I wrong. It's a ton of fun to play. It introduced me to a different type of music, and made me realize there's more to video games than Zelda and Metroid. I still play this game all the time. My only issue with it, is that it's waaaaay too short.
5. Metal Gear Solid
SNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAKEEEE!!! This game was unlike any other game I've played. I usually rely on my skill in reaction time, and coordination to win, but this game punishes you if you try and be a hero. You need to be patient, alert, and clever with how you advance in this game. I hated it, until I learned to accept it, and it became one of my favourite tactical games ever made. It was just such a different way to play a game. I admired it’s creativity.
The storyline in the game was one of the few I actually really followed and I’m a better man for it. It’s a pretty great storyline. The betrayal, the surprises, and the mini bosses you fight throughout are just totally rad. Everyone always talks about Psycho Mantis, but for me it was the sniper fight against Sniper Wolf. That was something else I tell ya. I was terrified and exhilarated at the same time. ‘Metal Gear Solid’ was a defining game in my life.
4. Final Fantasy Tactics
This game is fucking awesome. It's the best turn based strategy game ever made. Tactic's Ogre is pretty close, but no it's not really. This game is polished. It has a wicked story line, the upgrading and skill system is amazing, and it has vintage Final Fantasy characters, enemies and music in it. I check online to see if there will ever be a sequel to this game about once a month.
The first time I saw someone play this, was an old friend from highschool named Tim, and I went over to his house for his birthday, and he was playing Tactics, while 3 people sat around and watched him. I was intrigued by the game, but it's also not really a multiplayer game, or once you want to play with friends over - it's fucking boring to watch. But the way the game was flowing, and the actions in it, I knew when I got home, I had to rent it, and burn a copy of it from my modded PSX. Best decision I made that year.
3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
I became so addicted to this game, I'm scared to know how many hours I've put into doing dark slides, sick ass grinds, and filthy flips off of a school buildling. This game pretty much got an entire decade of kids into skateboarding (including myself). The music in the game was unlike anything i've ever heard - it was good! For once they played music that I was into, listening to Millencolin, Lagwagon, Rage Against the Machine, it's so awesome! The amazing soundtrack was just the beginning of what turned out to be a very polished, fun game. The replay value in Tony Hawk 2 was crazy - taking turns with friends in 2 minute rounds to see who could unlock all the challenges for the stages, or get the highest score. The sheet at the beginning of each stage gave you all the things you needed to do, and some of them were friggin hard!
You also got to create your own character, and pick their moves, upgrade them, which was a huge upgrade compared to the first game. One of the best sports games out there still to this day.
2. Resident Evil 2
Oh man, talk about a crazy ass game. Resident Evil 2 took everything that was great about the first Resident Evil, and just made it a million times better. The controls, the graphics, the story, and the enemies all got a massive upgrade, and it is easily one of the coolest action games I've ever played. You're no longer just in the mansion, you're now all over Raccoon City, which gives you such a greater wealth of options to stage design, and more than just zombies infesting a mansion.
This game scared me. I was always wondering if it'd run out of bullets, or zombies coming around corners, dogs bursting out, it just managed to create a really freaky vibe, which wasn't all that common at the time. The entire Resident Evil franchise is a favourite of mine, and this one might just be my favourite of all of them.
1. Final Fantasy VII
This is the only game on this list that I still play, and finish at least once a year - and it's a huge game. When I first played this game, the graphics, the music and the characters really excited me. It was my introduction to the Final Fantasy franchise, so I had no idea what to expect, but after playing so many turn based strategy games for Playstation, and then digging my teeth into this one, it was pretty clear that this game was something special.
A lot of games put me in moods, or I need to be in the right mood to play a game, and Final Fantasy 7 seems to fit so many of my moods. Thinking of the music, and even the menu sounds, makes me happy. There are several different ways to play this game, focusing on different characters and battle tactics. There's an open world to explore, crazy hard monsters to kill, and extremely rare materia to find. I'm rarely put in a bad mood while playing it. It's not a frustrating game, but it's very rewarding as you progress.
I love the world of Midgar, and the planet they created. All the characters you meet along the way offer something unique and exciting to the story line, and I look forward to playing with all them. Cid, the cocky pilot, RedXIII the world saving dog, Vincent the genetically altered, kinda vampire creature out for revenge against Hojo, and then there's Sephiroth, one of the most memorable, crazy storylined villain I've had the pleasure of killing.
It's the best game I've played on PSX, and it's one of the best games I've ever played, period.
