Tag Archives: PS1

Sony PlayStation Special

The Sony PlayStation was the first machine in the PlayStation series of video game consoles and it came out in Japan first, in 1994, and in 1995 everywhere else. It is widely seen as being the console that changed gaming forever; the console that marked the transition from cartridge-based console gaming to CD-ROM based games, and also the console that ushered in a new era of 3D gaming. It was also the console that made Sony a major player in the video game business.

Over its eleven-year lifespan 7,918 individual games were released for the PlayStation, accumulating just under a billion sales overall. The console itself became the first to sell over 100 million units.

This week I’m going to be featuring screenshots from a number of my favourite PlayStation games. Some you might have heard of (or even played), others you might never have seen before. One thing is for sure, though: interest in the original PlayStation is still going strong, some 27 years after its initial release. And that’s because these great games endure, and because emulation has breathed new life into the format.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what the blue PlayStation is: that is a development PlayStation – used by developers to create and test the games themselves. The photos are of my very own console, taken by myself, specifically for this blog.

Here’s a full list of what was published:

Rapid Reload
Kula World
No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!
Ganbare Goemon: Uchuu Kaizoku Akogingu
Devil Dice
Revelations: Persona
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Pepsiman
Metal Gear Solid
Ridge Racer
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
Strider 2
Jumping Flash!
Vib-Ribbon

Enjoy,
The King of Grabs

More: Sony PlayStation on Wikipedia

Legend of Mana, PlayStation

Legend of Mana is the fourth game in the Mana series. It was once again directed by Koichi Ishii and was published by Square on CD-ROM for the PlayStation only in 1999.

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Harvest Moon: Back To Nature, PlayStation

Harvest Moon: Back To Nature is a sequel to the Super Nintendo classic from 1996, this time developed by Victor Interactive Software and first released for the Sony PlayStation in 1999 in its native Japan (2000 for North America and 2001 for Europe).

It is the sixth game in the Harvest Moon series, and the first on the PlayStation.

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Micro Machines V3, PlayStation

The third Micro Machines was released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation. In V3 the environments and vehicles are all 3D-modelled, and the action is displayed at a slightly tilted angle, rather than directly overhead.

The same excellent gameplay mechanics of the previous games have been retained though. Mostly revolving around getting ahead of your opponents in order to push them off-screen.

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N2O: Nitrous Oxide, PlayStation

This 1998 Gremlin/Fox Interactive release for the Sony PlayStation is a fast, tunnel-based shoot ’em up with trippy visuals and a pumping Crystal Method soundtrack. It was designed and programmed by the prolific Tony Crowther.

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Mega Man 8, PlayStation

By the time Mega Man reached the Sony PlayStation in 1996 he’d undergone another make-over. This one mostly aesthetic – Capcom going for a different look and feel to the SNES games, and – it has to be said – not looking nearly as good.

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Final Fantasy VIII, PlayStation

Considered something of a curveball to the hugely successful episode seven, Final Fantasy VIII (eight) is more great level-grinding goodness from Japanese dev Gods, Square. This one released in 1999.

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Grandia, PlayStation

Grandia was initially released in 1997 on the Sega Saturn in Japan, and then later in 1999 on the Sony PlayStation.

Only the later PlayStation version received an official English translation (although the Sega Saturn version does have a fan translation, using the same text as the PlayStation version, but was not available in English until the patch was released in March 2019).

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Final Fantasy VII, PlayStation

Final Fantasy VII is a legendary level-grinding Role-Playing Game, developed by Square and released for the Sony PlayStation in 1997.

While the Final Fantasy series had grown in stature throughout the 1990s, it was this seventh instalment that broke Japanese CRPGs into the mainstream, with its outstanding mix of 3D, polygonal graphics, Full Motion Video, and pre-rendered backgrounds.

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