Re: The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads

[Warrior]

It's odd how i remember thinking the NHL, Madden, Fifa of the early 00s seemed so realistic at the time, almost like a real sports broadcast. In fact it was really primitive compared to today's graphics. Yet those old sports games were better imo, more effort was put into it back then, more content and not only revolving around online.

The PS1 Twisted Metals were available on PSN Premium Extra Plus and i played for the first time in like 15 years. Of course they aged terribly i've played more sophisticated games on my cellphone

[Vibe]

I tried Twisted Metal on PS+ and thought the same thing. Syphon Filter as well, it was so much better in my memory.

[Lord Spencer]

#A21

Game: Galerians:-
Year: 1999, 2000.
Genre: Survival-Horror.
Publisher: ASCII Entertainment, Crave Entertainment.
Developer: Polygon Magic.




The massive success of Capcom's Resident Evil games heralded the appearance of many pretenders to its Survival-Horror throne, very few of them ever getting close to the level of proficiency needed to match the leaders. Despite being developed by a little-known developer, Galerians was one of the closest games to reach the level of Capcom's marquee Survival-Horror franchise.

"Well, it looks like the rabbit is out of its cage. Return to your room and you won't get hurt"]

Set in a far future world, the story of Galerians follows the escape of a boy, Rion, from a mysterious medical facility while coming to terms with his hazy memory and powerful telekinetic abilities. In his escape, Rion is clued on the state of his family, as well as his connection to a powerful telepathic connection to a childhood friend. Aiming to catch Rion is the mysterious group that was experimenting on him at the beginning of the game along with a group of super humans called Galerians.

The mystery surrounding the world and Rion's place in it drives much of the plot, and a lot of that plot is revealed in brilliant CGI scenes for the time. Yet, I was most impressed not by those scenes, but by the brilliant mechanic of revealing information on the world through Rion's telepathic ability. Basically, Rion can "examine" places and objects in the world telepathically, uncovering their past in a revealing cut-scene or still image. For example, by examining a sink, Rion is sent a flashback to the moment his mother was killed next to the sink, dropping an important ring in the process.

Besides the mystery of Rion's power, the setting of the world itself is interesting due to the contrast it employs. The medical facility that encompasses the first level is sterile and futuristic, while a hotel you visit later is grungy and suggestive of a wildly unequal world.

Overall, I wouldn't say that the story of Galerians or its world is particularly brilliant, but I do think that it was a well-realized place for gaming at the time, and is still interesting today despite some rather ugly visual designs.

"I am sorry Rion, human kind's future is in your hand"

A PS1 Survival-Horror game is almost defined by its similarity to Resident Evil, and as such, Galerians is a bonafide game of the genre. Featuring tank controls and fixed-camera screens, it moves and plays like a classic Resident Evil game.

I have stated before that Survival-Horror games were basically Action-based point-and-click Adventure games. You move from room to room finding items to solve "puzzles" to unlock more rooms, with the combat being a simplistic mechanic that taxes your inventory management more than your dexterity.

So, how fun is Galerians within the trapping of the genre?

In the puzzle department, the game doesn't have as interesting a set-up as the Resident Evil games beyond the aforementioned telepathic examination mechanic, but it is not its weakest system. That would be reserved for the game's combat mechanics, which simply require you to utilize the poor tank controls to the best of your abilities to avoid attacks while looking for an opportunity to charge an effective attack which gets boring quickly.

Yet, despite some pedestrian puzzles and boring battles, the game remains mostly fun. At least, it remains mostly fun outside of some terrible boss battles that you should hope you have enough resources to withstand or you would otherwise be blocked to advance.

"I can feel your suffering; when you feel pain, I feel it too"

Although Galerians could be accused of wholeheartedly copying its game mechanics and structure from the much more successful Resident Evil franchise, it cannot be accused of not bringing anything original to the table since its use and advances of CGI are notable.

With many story scenes, both small cut-scenes and longer expositional scenes, being completely computer generated, the game needed a whopping three discs to encompass it all despite being rather short. Those CGI scenes were some of the best on the PS1 and still look rather decent even if they aged terribly today.

Something else that aged terribly was the English voice acting, which was a mixture of acceptable hamminess and cringe-worthy performances. Nothing as iconically awful as a "Jill Sandwich" remark, but the weak voice acting nonetheless.

Outside of the CGI scenes and the bad voice acting, the rest of the production is par the course with good 3D character models and interesting handpainted backgrounds. Musically, the soundtrack wasn't very memorable to be honest besides an interesting opening video score.

In Conclusion:

Classic Survival-Horror games with tank controls are not must-play games today like they were in the early days of the PS1. Yet, they still have their own charm, and as far as those games go, Galerians is absolutely one of the better ones.

Final: 7/10

Pros:

• A good story with some solid themes
  
• Brilliant CGI Scenes for the time
  
• The telepathic examination mechanic is brilliant
  
• Good 3D character models
  

Cons:

• Some boring puzzles and combat
  
• Terrible boss battles
  
• Poor voice acting and lack of notable music
  
• Some of the graphics and CGI scenes did not age well
  

"Tips"
1- Use telepathy to interact with everything.
2- No need to kill all enemies.
3- Learn how to run and avoid enemies to preserve ammo.
4- Shooting requires charging time, so master the timing to avoid getting attacked.
5- You can only fight one enemy effectively, so move around to isolate enemies when more than one presents themselves.
6- In the hotel stage, visit all rooms.

"Next Game"

I have thankfully enjoyed Galerians, which was an example of a good Resident Evil clone.

Next, after another report on the addendum list, I am going to revisit one of my favorite games on the PS1, Grandia, which sits at #29 on the Retro Sanctuary list. It would take me a long time to finish it, but I am sure to love every minute of it.

Stay Tuned

[Lord Spencer]

#29

Game: Grandia:-
Year: 1997, 1999, 2019 (Switch).
Genre: JRPG.
Publisher: Sony, GungHo Online (Switch).
Developer: Game Arts.




From the moment the opening cinematic played, when the game's theme opening notes started and the music began to soar, I realized I was on to something great. That was my experience when I first played Grandia more than 20 years ago, and I am happy to say that my experience has not dimmed one bit playing it again on the Switch remastered port. If anything, I appreciate it even more now.

Made by the same team that successfully brought Anime to life in making the Lunar JRPG games, their magnum opus on the Sega Saturn and the PS1 was, and may still be, the closest homage to the adventurous spirit of Studio Ghibli classics such as Castle in the Sky. With its great story, charming cast of characters, innovative and brilliant battle system, and lovely sprite and portrait work, I can easily say that Grandia is one of the PS1's best games.

"You will find the answer that will break the chain of sad fate that binds this world!!"

In a steampunk world at the precipice of significant technological breakthroughs, there is still room for adventure and mystery. Quite different from the edgy stories and protagonists of late 90's JRPGs, Grandia's story is focused on lighthearted adventure and led by the highly optimistic Justin as its main character and aspiring adventurer. Coming from a family of adventurers, Justin possesses a Spirit Stone as a keepsake from his late father. In one of his early adventures with his childhood friend Sue, both are thrust into an adventure to search for the hidden mysteries of Angelou, a pre-historic highly advanced civilization. They are soon joined by Feena, an actual adventurer who becomes enthralled by Justin's free spirit. In the course of their adventure, the party learns that they are not the only ones looking for the secrets of Angelou as they encounter the military Garlyle forces who appear to look for the same goal.

At its heart, the story of Grandia is about the growth of this party as they go into this grand adventure, exploring ancient ruins, resolving local problems, and even crossing what everyone considered the "End of the World". The relationship between these characters feels genuine thanks to some excellent writing and plentiful dialogue, and the world is fleshed out thanks to the abundance of NPC chatter.

You grow to care about these characters, whose personality is expertly conveyed through dialogue, excellent portrait work, and charming sprites. This makes for some emotionally strong scenes as well as one of the best and most believable romances of the PS1 era between Justin and Feena.

One weakness in the story-telling department is in some unfortunately weak scene direction. On multiple occasions, you reach a pivotal moment in the story, and the "camera" pans to the horizon, dwelling on your accomplishment as the main theme plays in the background, just for the scene to abruptly end even before the music hits its climax. Those moments, where the game should have lingered on the emotional heft of the moment and the power of the music, are lost opportunities in scene direction that are baffling to witness.

With its humor, positive focus on adventure, and excellent character-driven narrative, Grandia has one of the strongest stories on the PS1. A story that still holds up today and surprisingly remains one of the few effective homages to the influential Castle in the Sky


"A real adventurer never loses hope regardless of difficulties!"

While a JRPG's main asset has always been its story, it is with its combat system that it truly delivers a complete experience, and that's something that Grandia's unique battle system delivers in spades. Even though the system doesn't reach its full potential until the release of the sequel on the Dreamcast, it has already shown its potential in the first game.

The turn-based battle system is governed by the IP bar system, an action bar that shows the turn movement for both allies and enemies in the battle. Character icons move across the bar according to their agility statistic until they reach the command section, at which point you choose your action, which is performed when the icon hits the "Act" section depending on the wisdom stat. This gives the player information on the order of moves and also gives them the chance to push back enemy moves by targeting those that are close to the end of the IP bar. Naturally, enemy attacks have the same effect on your own, which is why it becomes key to interrupt their attacks while making sure you are safe to dish out your own.

This creates the basis of a truly dynamic battle system, especially when you consider the physical boundaries of the battle space. The location of enemies becomes key as you use area-of-attack moves against them, and their distance from the player has a part in how fast they are attacked.

Enriching an already great battle system is the continuous feeling of progression built into the game's leveling system. Besides each character's level going up with experience, they gain individual levels for their weapon and elemental affinities, which both increase their stats and unlock their special and magic moves. This creates an addictive feedback loop in which you keep progressing.

Unfortunately, the brilliant battle and progression system is somewhat held back by the game's relatively easy difficulty once you figure out how to best upgrade your affinities. Other than the occasional boss battle or optional dungeon, you will rarely be tasked with taking advantage of the system's intricacies, but it will remain a fun and engaging system throughout.

"Wherever you go, try to follow your dreams with all your heart, but don't lose yourself!"

Outside of battle, there isn't much to do since it is surprisingly linear for an adventure-themed game, which is not necessarily a bad thing considering its hefty size. Yet, it highlights one of the game's main shortcomings, and that's the design of its dungeons.

These dungeons are not bad per se, with some interesting variations in design, from a dungeon with wide open fields to another more labyrinthian challenge. They are, however, only excuses to fight more battles, which are thankfully not randomly encountered, and find items strewn about.

It does however point to the game's lack of any meaningful side content beyond a couple of optional dungeons. There is nothing to do other than grind to unlock your special moves and talk to as many NPCs as possible, which is a fun thing to do but lacks the variety of other JRPGs.

Thankfully, I don't think this linearity affects the game negatively since its forward momentum thrust is strong enough to hold your attention through tightly paced runtime.

"No matter how far apart we are, your spirit will be with us all the time"

The world and characters of Grandia deserved a graphical presentation worth it, and Game Arts delivered on that front with an excellent mix of 2D and 3D graphics and several key anime and CGI scenes.

Naturally, the character sprites and portraits, both of which present the charming characters in all of their glory. From their battle sprites, which are big chunky things with lovely animations, to multiple portraits for each character that convey their multitude of emotions. Besides the weakness I mentioned in some scenes, these sprites help sell the personality of these characters in a big way. Of course, that's helped thanks to some solid but limited voice acting, which fits most characters except Colonel Mullen.

As for the world itself, it's not as immediately arresting as the key sprites, but you learn to love the chunky world and low-res textures, and that's mostly due to the insane level of detail in crafting the world's many cities. Each house is filled with random stuff, posters, and small details that give it a lived feeling. Unfortunately, the dungeons don't have that same level of detail.

Musically, the game's soundtrack by Noriyuki Iwadare is more of a mixed bag. True, the key tracks are brilliant, from the amazing "Theme of Grandia" which plays in many important scenes, to the beautiful "Love Theme" which has more emotional undertones. However, the lesser themes, especially the dungeon themes, oscillate from the forgettable to the terrible. One of the reasons you can spot the flawed scene direction is the sudden change from the sublime theme music to the "atmospheric" track of the dungeon you are visiting.


In Conclusion:

Grandia is not a perfect game. It lacks the challenge to fully push its amazing battle system, and it is comparatively linear to the great JRPGs of the era. However, it makes up for its flaws with its abundance of charm.

From its gorgeous character portraits and expressive spirits to its Ghibli-esque story and truly wonderful personal moments, the game drips with a sense of positive charm and adventure that is surprisingly unique for its time.

You will never forget the first time you cross the End of the World.

Final: 10/10

Pros:

• Great adventure-filled story
  
• Wonderful set of charming characters
  
• One of the best PS1 romances
  
• Great and innovative battle system
  
• Addictive sense of progression
  
• Brilliant character sprites
  
• Charmin character portraits
  
• A lot of detail in the world
  
• Some brilliant music tracks
  

Cons:

• Some surprising weakness in scene direction
  
• Somewhat easy game
  
• Lacks meaningful side content
  
• Low res textures in the 3D assets
  
• A lot of forgettable music
  

"Tips"
1- Learn how to take advantage of breaking enemy turns in battle.
2- Magic typically has an AOE both offensively and defensively.
3- Your magic and weapon affinities level up more in multi-target moves.
4- Use magic frequently to help upgrade it.
5- Moves are faster to execute when their specific affinities are leveled up.
6- You can use stage hazards to speed up upgrading your water (healing) affinity but don't overdo it and cheapen the game.
7- The best way to increase your stats is by leveling up affinities.
8- Don't neglect to vary your weapon selection.
9- When party members leave the party, they leave 1/3 of their affinity exp. Wait to use it to get the latter affinity levels.
10- Only go to the last optional dungeon after you get your final party member.


"Next Game"

I am very happy that I played and finished Grandia, one of my favorite games, at a particularly difficult time in my life. It felt great revisiting this childhood favorite, and it proved to be just as good as I remembered. It truly is one of the best games on the PS1 as far as I am concerned, and I think its Switch remastered version is extremely solid.

The next game on my list may be remade in the future, but I will still play its original version now. I am talking about Front Mission 3, a TRPG by Square that sits at #26 on the Retro Sanctuary list, which I am sure will be a great game.

Stay Tuned

[Lord Spencer]

#26

Game: Front Mission 3:-
Year: 1999, 2000.
Genre: TRPG.
Publisher: Square.
Developer: Square.




The Front Mission series is one of the lesser-known Square franchises of the SNES and PS1 era. Despite releasing 4 games in 4 years, it never endeared itself to the public in the same way the Final Fantasy and Mana series managed to do, as evidenced by Front Mission 3 being the first game in the series to be localized for the West.

Thankfully, Front Mission 3 does a lot to advocate for the series, with its strong and mature storyline mixed with satisfying tactical RPG gameplay mechanics in the unforgettable modern-retro Cold War setting of the 22nd century.

"Desire spawns madness. Madness collapses into disaster. Mankind never learns"

The strength of the entire canon of the Front Mission series depends on its modern-retro Cold War setting, which allows for interesting and varied storylines to emerge within morally ambiguous lines. In the 22nd century, the world is divided between roughly four equally powerful superpowers, the most important of them being the Oceanic Cooperative Union [OCU] (Japan, Australia, and South East Asia) and the United States of the New Continents [USN] (All of the Americas). In this multi-polar world, where war is waged mostly in small combat missions through Mechs (called Wanzers here), technological and resource superiority are the only ways to break the deadlock, and that's where MIDAS comes in.

MIDAS is a nuclear-level weapon without harmful radiation effects, making it an effective tool without the associated environmental damage. It is in the undercover fight to control MIDAS that the game's main character, Kazuki Takemura, finds himself embroiled in clandestine wars beyond his understanding. Originally only attempting to save his adopted sister, Kazuki finds himself allied with different groups in trying to stop the threat of MIDAS, navigate a civil war in China, and even deal with a coup in Japan. At least, that's the story I pursued, since there are two paths that you can choose between at the game's start.

While the over-arching story of the game is interesting and intriguing, I can't say the same thing about the characters, especially Kazuki. Built with the same mold as late 90s Square protagonists, Kauzki is a brash and edgy character that is frankly easy to dislike despite being the most powerful unit in the game. Weirdly, other characters in the team compete to be even less likable, leaving you with a rather dislikable bunch bar the rare exceptions.

But then again, this might be part of the story's intention, which shows how power and greed can easily corrupt the best of intentions, and how humanity is doomed into a circle of conflict regardless of how they try to escape from it. In that regard, the brash set of characters, who may only find themselves on the moral side of the conflict through sheet accident and stubbornness, may make a twisted kind of sense.

"What's done is done. Only thing we can do is to move on"

War in the world of Front Mission evolved in a parallel less technological path than the real world, with battles in the 22snd century mostly depending on a small group of Wanzers controlling key positions, and that's where the player and his group come in. As an elite group of Wanzer pilots, you will be handling the most dangerous missions.

This translates in-game to a group of four, from a possible selection of eight, going against a combination of enemy Wanzers, tanks, and artillery in various grid-based maps. It's basic turn-based Tactical RPG gameplay, where you trade turns with the enemy and have all the time to make your choices. Each of your Wanzers has Action Points (AP), which allows you to move, attack, and counter. The nature of your attacks, movement options, and skills depend on the weapons and parts you fit for each character.

Speaking of parts, the game continues the trend of having four parts to each Wanzer (body, two arms, and legs) each responsible for certain aspects. The game also continues the trend of not being able to specifically target any enemy part. This is doubly annoying because destroying parts is the best way to gain EXP in the game and you don't want to inadvertently kill an enemy. Also, sometimes, you might want an enemy to surrender to gain their parts, but you end up blowing them up with an accidental skill activation. Thankfully, there is a simulation mode you can grind in for experience and money, although I never needed it.

Due to having only four characters, the battles are smaller this time around than previous Front Mission games, and consequently take a shorter time to beat. There are also over 50 battles for each storyline, so it is a hefty amount of gameplay.

Thankfully, despite being rather basic, the game remains fun throughout, and that's ironically due to some of its more frustrating aspects. There is a lot of randomness in the game, from which parts you target to which skills you learn and use, and that randomness reduces the predictability of rather simple battles, making them more challenging and fun despite the occasional frustration.

"Even at the cost of one's life, there are those you protect"

It may be slightly controversial, but it is arguable that the most important gameplay element in any Front Mission game, or for that matter, any Mech-based game, is the preparation work you do behind the scenes. While that may not be necessarily true here, since Mech customization doesn't go as in-depth as other games, it is still a big part of the game.

In short, how you fit your Wanzer decides their role and effectiveness in battle. In general, you trade off between bulk and range, and you can mix and match between different models to create your ideal Wanzer. You can buy most of the parts and weapons you need, but some choice Wanzer parts are only available by getting the corresponding enemy to surrender (which is a mostly random occurrence).

Your choice of parts also influences the game's skill system, since characters gain the skills associated with the parts they use provided they have an affinity for them. While the system can promise a lot of customization options, the fact is that it is too random to plan, and you will have to live with whatever skills you accidentally unlock for most characters.

Outside of battles and preparation is the optional in-game internet, which can be considered the game's major sidequest. In this in-game browser, you can explore various websites to get some knowledge about the world, and you can also hack into other websites to get secret intel culminating in finding the game's strongest Wanzer. While the amount of work to find all the information, figure out the different passwords, and decode others can be daunting, it is a charming but ultimately unnecessary distraction.

"Hey, at least they know we're badass! It's showtime!"

Like the rest of Square's catalog of games, Front Mission's move to the PS1 meant an emphasis on 3D graphics instead of the sprite work used on the SNES, and that works mostly fine. In battles, the camera shows an overhead view of the field and there is little difference between the polygonal models used and the sprites. However, during attacks, the camera zooms into the action showcasing larger 3D models that animate convincingly.

In fact, the Mechs, with their varied and realistic design sensibilities, are rendered so effectively that the majority of story scenes feature them instead of their human pilots. That may also be due to how ugly and low-res the human models are. In general, I don't think the game's graphics are its strongest suit, which despite the strong art direction of the series doesn't pop like it did on the SNES.

However, the same can't be said about the game's soundtrack, which is simply brilliant. Not only does it fit the theme and style of the game, but is simply great on its own terms. Featuring a great mix of synth and industrial sounds, it gives an increased sense of gravitas to battles while complimenting the grungy feeling of the Front Mission universe.

In Conclusion:

The Front Mission series, despite its pedigree, doesn't get the same love as other Square games, which is a shame since there is nothing quite like them. Inspired by Mech anime and Cold War era history, it manages to explore humanity from a modern and grey lens that few games touch upon.

When the game is as good as Front Mission 3, then that makes for a winning and unique combination. Unfortunately, it doesn't like the recent remakes of the first and second games on the Switch have succeeded, so I am not sure if the remake of the 3rd would. However, on the strength of its PS1 release, I hope that it does.

Final: 8/10

Pros:

• Great world setting
  
• Mature and morally ambiguous storyline
  
• Solid TRPG gameplay
  
• Unpredictablity adds a bit of fun
  
• Wanzer preparation can be fun
  
• The in-game browser side quest is interesting
  
• Brilliant soundtrack
  

Cons:

• Some of the main characters are truly obnoxious
  
• Some of the randomness is truly frustrating
  
• The random nature of the skill system
  
• 3D graphics show their age
  

"Tips"
1- The first choice you make with Ryogo decides which of the two paths you are going to take.
2- Destroying more enemy parts gets you more EXP.
3- Skills are unlocked randomly depending on the parts you are equipping.
4- It is better to focus on one or two weapon types per character.
5- The character you deploy first in each map attracts more aggro.
6- Equipping characters with shields can help a lot.
7- Make sure to match the defense type (once you unlock defense types) with the battle.
8- You can access the network at any time.
9- You can use the simulation program to grind for EXP and money.
10- Focus on getting enemies to surrender for easy money and extra parts.
11- To ensure enemies surrender, eject from your wanzer and shoot them with a gun.
12- Another method is shooting them with low-accuracy weapons.
13- Your party will split up into two groups several times, so use all members.


"Next Game"

This is not the first Front Mission game I played, so I fully expected to like Front Mission 3 and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I think I had higher expectations of the game, but a few minor flaws kept if from getting a higher score.

The next game in my review schedule will be the first Silent Hill game which sits comfortably at #23 in the Retro Sanctuary list. I am not sure if a PS1 game can frighten me anymore, but I am sure it will try its best.

Stay Tuned

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