Sony releasing PS1 Classic in time for Christmas

[x Tame Impala]

I would include Ape Escape as well,

Loved that game

 

[Big McLargehuge]

*imagines trying to beat Driver's tutorial mission using an original PlayStation controller in 2018*

 

[Beville]

You twisted individual you, good luck remembering how to complete the intro level.

hahaha, touché.

At least there was free mode.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Driver's tutorial mission

Fixed.

Seriously. f*** that tutorial.

 

[Oilslick941611]

While the mini idea was neat for the NES and SNES consoles due to their age and nostalgia factors, this seems like a bit much.

For $100 (or less) I'd wager you could find a used PS1 with the proper analog controllers and pick up a few of the games you'd wanna play. Instead of being preloaded with a bunch of crap.

you know the playstation came out like 3.5 years after the Super Nintendo did in NA right? in terms age they are roughly the same. Nostalgia factor still applies. People continued to be born after you were and for them the playstation was their first console and they are in the 20-30's now. its no less "nostalgic" than an SNES.

 

[Oilslick941611]

My rule is if I ever bought either the system or the games with my own money, I refuse to allow them to be described as nostalgic.

that would work if you were part of the last generation of people on Earth. Playstation is nostalgic to a generation that is starting to get jobs. I remember when NES and SNES games where trash and given away at yard sales. theres nothing special about them, other than they were the "it" console during your formative years. Playstation is the same thing to other people.

 

[Shareefruck]

that would work if you were part of the last generation of people on Earth. Playstation is nostalgic to a generation that is starting to get jobs. I remember when NES and SNES games where trash and given away at yard sales. theres nothing special about them, other than they were the "it" console during your formative years. Playstation is the same thing to other people.

That runs both ways. It's unfortunate that nostalgia is such a huge influence on people liking old bad games that do not hold up (in my opinion, early PSX/N64 games especially), but it's equally unfortunate that recency bias is such a huge influence on people not appreciating the possibility for some old games to be every bit as great and special as the best new games despite superficial advancements, and overlooking the flaws of new games that are not good in a vacuum and will not hold up (facial animations, for example, are still terrible and will make state of the art things seem like a joke in a decade, despite being impressive given current capabilities-- same with the level design of most open world games).

Both influences should be identified, resisted, and rejected, IMO.

Unlike with technology, videogames do not just get better and better over time, rendering previous attempts obsolete. Technology increases possibilities for different types of games that do different things, but ultimately, how good a game is is dependent on how well it works within its limitations, the concepts that it plays with, what it does with those limitations, and how inspired, charming, infectious, and beautiful the creation/execution feels-- Being able to do more != being able to do better. The best games are timeless and hold up the same way that Chess and great art does-- rare events that are peppered throughout the peaks and valleys of history rather than a linear graph that just consistently and endlessly trends upward.

That isn't nostalgia, it's just how creativity generally works in any medium, IMO.

 

[542365]

The library of this thing is pretty lackluster

• Battle Arena Toshinden
• Cool Boarders 2
• Destruction Derby
• Final Fantasy VII
• Grand Theft Auto
• Intelligent Qube
• Jumping Flash!
• Metal Gear Solid
• Mr. Driller
• Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
• Rayman
• Resident Evil (Director's Cut)
• Revelations: Persona
• Ridge Racer Type 4
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
• Syphon Filter
• Tekken 3
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
• Twisted Metal
• Wild Arms

Only games that interest me are Cool Boarders 2, Metal Gear Solid, and Twisted Metal. The top down GTA doesn't interest me, I remember people liking Syphon Filter, but I don't think I ever played it. Rayman is fine, but meh. I don't play Final Fantasy games so that's pretty unappealing to me as well.

How is there no Tomb Raider? Crash Bandicoot? Tony Hawk(maybe a licensing issue with the skaters)? I don't see how this will sell all that well.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Lackluster is an apt descriptor.

Considering this should be in my nostalgia wheelhouse, I only have positive memories of about 3 of those games. They got a lot of the series right, but chose the wrong entry for a few of them (and with some extremely glaring omissions, thanks in part to the moronic decision to use the godawful original controllers).

I do appreciate giving some JRPGs some love...but the original Persona was nothing special, a relic of the transition to 3D hardware. Persona 2, on the other hand, was an overlooked gem. Getting the first game in a lot of these series was a mistake IMO.

 

[RandV]

I do appreciate giving some JRPGs some love...but the original Persona was nothing special, a relic of the transition to 3D hardware. Persona 2, on the other hand, was an overlooked gem. Getting the first game in a lot of these series was a mistake IMO.

And I'm not going to knit pick too much but is Wild Arms the best choice for a more obscure JRPG? I think I rented it at one point but never got too much into it or its series. I feel like a tactical JRPG would have been better here... FFT or Tactics Ogre are the obvious ones but have since been re-mastered on portables so maybe Vandal Hearts would be more appropriate.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

And I'm not going to knit pick too much but is Wild Arms the best choice for a more obscure JRPG? I think I rented it at one point but never got too much into it or its series. I feel like a tactical JRPG would have been better here... FFT or Tactics Ogre are the obvious ones but have since been re-mastered on portables so maybe Vandal Hearts would be more appropriate.

Agreed. Wild Arms was a good 8/10 game back when I played it...well worth playing, but not something I've ever itched to return to.

It really feels like they blew their licensing budget on FFVII and just went with what they could get cheap. Neither Suikoden getting on there is just wrong.

 

[RandV]

Agreed. Wild Arms was a good 8/10 game back when I played it...well worth playing, but not something I've ever itched to return to.

It really feels like they blew their licensing budget on FFVII and just went with what they could get cheap. Neither Suikoden getting on there is just wrong.

I would have said Suikoden is a must, it's my all time favourite JRPG series, but considering that's a property owned by Konami who only wants to make Pachinko machines these days good luck with that.

 

[Shareefruck]

That game list kind of stinks.

 

[syz]

Japan version is miles better.

 

[McRpro]

Twisted Metal was an amazing game that I absolutely loved. Know which game was even better? Twisted Metal 2. Why not put that one on this?

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Twisted Metal was an amazing game that I absolutely loved. Know which game was even better? Twisted Metal 2. Why not put that one on this?

I really don't understand how Coolboarders 2 (which was mediocre even at the time IMO) is the only game with the number 2 in it on that list, when Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby & Persona at the very least were rendered obsolete by their numbered PlayStation sequels. Oddworld wasn't rendered obsolete, but even there the sequel is a much bigger, better game.

Then there's just wastes like GTA, that were neither associated with the PlayStation (came out half a year earlier for PC) nor fun to play on the PlayStation to begin with, all based on the popularity of the brand well after the fact. Clearly Persona is the same cynical ploy...as much as I adore this series there's just no reason to include the ~25th best JRPG on a console on a 20 game list of anything, especially not when there are problematic elements of that game that frankly should render re-releasing it as crazy talk.

That line-up seriously bums me the **** out, especially when my favorite game on that list (by far, thanks to the wrong Twisted Metal game being included) is one that I have numerous better ways to play right now.


Oddly enough, just including the Intelligent Qube demo would have been the more nostalgic play for me...the days when my first friend got a PlayStation and all we had to play for a couple months were demo discs. Past that demo I hadn't heard a peep about that game in the intervening ~21 years and I know the game was pretty damn rare...another really weird inclusion...I could see it if it were the token puzzle game, but Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is already there. Too much damn filler, Sony.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I really don't understand how Coolboarders 2 (which was mediocre even at the time IMO) is the only game with the number 2 in it on that list, when Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby & Persona at the very least were rendered obsolete by their numbered PlayStation sequels. Oddworld wasn't rendered obsolete, but even there the sequel is a much bigger, better game.

Then there's just wastes like GTA, that were neither associated with the PlayStation (came out half a year earlier for PC) nor fun to play on the PlayStation to begin with, all based on the popularity of the brand well after the fact. Clearly Persona is the same cynical ploy...as much as I adore this series there's just no reason to include the ~25th best JRPG on a console on a 20 game list of anything, especially not when there are problematic elements of that game that frankly should render re-releasing it as crazy talk.

That line-up seriously bums me the **** out, especially when my favorite game on that list (by far, thanks to the wrong Twisted Metal game being included) is one that I have numerous better ways to play right now.


Oddly enough, just including the Intelligent Qube demo would have been the more nostalgic play for me...the days when my first friend got a PlayStation and all we had to play for a couple months were demo discs. Past that demo I hadn't heard a peep about that game in the intervening ~21 years and I know the game was pretty damn rare...another really weird inclusion...I could see it if it were the token puzzle game, but Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is already there. Too much damn filler, Sony.

I agree very much so. The line-up is clearly trying to tap into the modern success of GTA and Persona by including early lackluster titles.

They also really missed the mark by putting Twisted Metal 1 and not 2.

Though I did like Tekken 3, but I preferred Tekken 2 (I'm probably in the minority).

They really left out some huge titles that would have made this a REAL all-star classic line-up:

Spyro the Dragon
Crash Bandicoot

Undoubtedly these games were left out because of the modern re-masters. They don't want to include these because they want the re-masters to be more unique. Which is really irritating to me. If you talk to anyone about their top 5 PS1 games, I bet you'd hear one of those two franchises on just about every one.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 - Could have easily replaced Cool Boarders. THPS is currently the 2nd highest rated video game of all time on MetaCritic... Probably the most highly revered classic extreme sport games ever. How they don't include this game is beyond me.

I'm not sure why they needed both Syphon Filter, Metal Gear, AND, Tom Clancy on here. I would think they'd try to avoid overlapping in genres, but there are three major stealth/action shooter games there...

Sony, as expected, really missed the mark here in my opinion. And that seems to be the general consensus based on the folks I've spoken to.

Edit: Side-note, what game were you talking about in the part I bolded?

 

[Shareefruck]

Spyro the Dragon
Crash Bandicoot

Undoubtedly these games were left out because of the modern re-masters. They don't want to include these because they want the re-masters to be more unique. Which is really irritating to me. If you talk to anyone about their top 5 PS1 games, I bet you'd hear one of those two franchises on just about every one.

Whoa, I wouldn't go that far.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I was referring to Final Fantasy VII.

To me the two biggest misses are licensing nightmares...but those headaches should have been worked through to make this work. Not having a Tony Hawk or Gran Turismo game on this thing is inexcusable. Spyro & Crash are on a similar level, but the remakes at least give a better reason for their absence...though I also won't miss them because I have zero affinity or nostalgia for them.

Spyro had as big of an impact on me and my friend's lives as Blasto did. Crash is almost on the same level, but I had at least one friend who loved them. I think that's the difference between this being my middle school console and not my first console...I played the Super Mario games to death by that point and anything less was just seen as a waste of time and money. I get why those who were weaned on it would be so nostalgic for it, but that just didn't exist in my friend group.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Whoa, I wouldn't go that far.

I feel as though if you walked around with a clipboard and asked 100 old school gamers their top 5 "best" or "favorite" PS1 games that at least 90 of them would put Spyro or Crash in there somewhere. Top 10 for sure, I'd say.

This isn't to say that's what I think, but it seems to me that those are two of the more beloved franchises on the ps1.

Even if my comment is off-base, it's kind of crazy for Sony to not include one of those two, but because of the re-masters I didn't expect either of them to be on there.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I was referring to Final Fantasy VII.

To me the two biggest misses are licensing nightmares...but those headaches should have been worked through to make this work. Not having a Tony Hawk or Gran Turismo game on this thing is inexcusable. Spyro & Crash are on a similar level, but the remakes at least give a better reason for their absence...though I also won't miss them because I have zero affinity or nostalgia for them.

Spyro had as big of an impact on me and my friend's lives as Blasto did. Crash is almost on the same level, but I had at least one friend who loved them. I think that's the difference between this being my middle school console and not my first console...I played the Super Mario games to death by that point and anything less was just seen as a waste of time and money. I get why those who were weaned on it would be so nostalgic for it, but that just didn't exist in my friend group.

Yep, Gran Turismo was my other beef. Even though I can't stand driving simulators, GT is and was one of the defining driving games of the era.

Leaving out Tony Hawk is simply, as you said, inexcusable.

Coolboarders was cool (no pun intended), but Tony Hawk soars above it (pun intended) in terms of quality and popularity.

 

[Shareefruck]

I feel as though if you walked around with a clipboard and asked 100 old school gamers their top 5 "best" or "favorite" PS1 games that at least 90 of them would put Spyro or Crash in there somewhere. Top 10 for sure, I'd say.

This isn't to say that's what I think, but it seems to me that those are two of the more beloved franchises on the ps1.

Even if my comment is off-base, it's kind of crazy for Sony to not include one of those two, but because of the re-masters I didn't expect either of them to be on there.

I'm pretty skeptical about that. Five is a pretty short list, and there are at least that many that are more popular, beloved, and enduring than them (Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo 2, Resident Evil 2, Tekken 3, and Tomb Raider is already six, and you'd get a ton of random answers and sequels of these franchises filling up those slots as well). I would be surprised if that number was even 50%, personally. I agree that most would have it in their top 10, and that they should have included them, though.

 

[Ceremony]

I'd imagine Ridge Racer makes it ahead of a Gran Turismo because of licensing issues.

 

[RandV]

I didn't play many after it but the first racing game I thought was great on the PS1 was the original Need for Speed, a good mix of arcade (RR) and realism (GT), not sure how well it holds up but personally I'd have like to seen that here. Anyone remember the Warrior?

Didn't Sony also try to release their own 'Smash Bros' type game? While it's a huge strength for the actual console the massive reliance on 3rd party titles doesn't help them at all when they try to do these nostalgia kicks.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I'm pretty skeptical about that. Five is a pretty short list, and there are at least that many that are more popular, beloved, and enduring than them (Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo 2, Resident Evil 2, Tekken 3, and Tomb Raider is already six, and you'd get a ton of random answers and sequels of these franchises filling up those slots as well). I would be surprised if that number was even 50%, personally. I agree that most would have it in their top 10, and that they should have included them, though.

Yeah I get what you mean. Even still, regardless of placing, I just feel like they're such iconic games from that era, I can't believe that they weren't included. I mean, I can believe it, but It's pretty weak.