December 3rd 2019 marks 25 years of Sony’s successful leap into the gaming world with the Playstation One. To say this system has been influential would be somewhat of an understatement, when you consider the franchises that started on it and the influence that these titles have had on gaming as a whole. It’s where survival horror truly started and will always be fondly remembered as an RPG powerhouse – though let’s not forget about Playstation’s most painfully ‘90s rap star (for better or worse), PaRappa the Rapper!
Even 25 years later, Playstation boasts some of the finest titles on any system, (which makes the Playstation Classic’s mishaps somewhat of a mystery…) With Playstation 5 on the horizon in late 2020, we reach the end of Playstation 4’s life cycle, jumping from advanced polygonal graphics to a 4K future. It’s taken us this long to finally understand Rinoa’s comment about Squall being “the best looking guy here”…
Debuting in Japan and going on to be the first system to ship more than 100 million units, Sony’s Playstation left a staggering mark as part of the fifth generation of games consoles. It managed to hold its own against the Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64 during the mid-‘90s, joining the foray of the Sega-Nintendo console wars – two companies with a significantly longer gaming legacy than Sony’s. Many a good mascot was lost during this strange age of agro advertisements and hardcore system fandoms…
It’s conception started from a failed partnership between Nintendo and Sony, though rather than creating an add-on for the ever popular Super Nintendo – the infamous Super NES CD-ROM, or “Nintendo-Playstation” – Sony’s Playstation went on to utilise a CD-ROM drive, making the transition from cartridges to CD gaming, playing a pivotal role in the transition from 2D to 3D rendering. Even the N64, no thanks to its limited cartridge space, struggled against the impressive FMV abilities granted to Sony’s grey wonder.
It’s also worth recognising that rather than internal saves on cartridges, hard drives, or long (frustratingly) forgettable codes (good thing manuals had a notes page at the back…), games were saved through external memory cards. Though perhaps one of the best designs to come from this system was the DualShock controller – widely recognised as one of the best, and by many the best, controller ever made! While the first model might essentially be a SNES controller with comfy, formfitting hand grips, the second model introduced thumb-sticks that would go on to be a feature in modern gaming we now take for granted. Imagine playing the latest Call of Duty with directional buttons and no thumb-sticks for aiming!
The later PSOne model refined some of the graphical interface of the first, allowing it to play FMV sequences more smoothly, and even came wrapped up in a sleeker, rounder chassis – which, let’s face it, was way more space-conscious and far better looking than its predecessor.
It’s astonishing to think that this console went on to become the legacy system it is, considering it seemingly came out of nowhere. And yet we’re fast approaching the decade that will see the launch of the 5th home console in the series, with its name having previously been attached to handheld devices – some more successful than others. Sorry, Vita, it just wan’t meant to be…
But what is a smash hit console without games? In this instance arguably a surprisingly good CD player. Though fortunately the Playstation boasted one of the best libraries to date, many of which are considered classics through and through, and still releasing today. Then again, the likes of Bubsy 3D and The Fifth Element also exist, so I guess they’re not all hits…
RPG galore
While classic RPGs from Alundra, Suikoden and Chrono Cross – the sequel to Chrono Trigger – were amazing entries on the PS1, the likes of the ever popular and still on-going Persona series got its start in 1996 with Revelations: Persona, itself a subseries of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Similarly, Koudelka fused the RPG genre with its own gothic flare, leading to the Shadow Hearts series, while Parasite Eve bridged survival horror with RPG mechanics. Even Dragon Quest featured with one of its biggest entries, Dragon Quest VII!
But perhaps the most infamous title associated with Sony’s Playstation would be Final Fantasy VII, a somewhat controversial title that saw Square make the bold decision to move Cloud away from Nintendo in favour of the newbie console on the scene – originally planned to release on the N64. Final Fantasy VII reignited a spark for the franchise that has yet to die down, and is soon to receive a rather gorgeous looking remake for the current console generation. Viewed by many with a veil of nostalgia, Final Fantasy VII – though not quite as good looking now – marked a transition that helped establish the Playstation as the new kid on the block. The jump from the 16-bit SNES cartridges to the abilities of the disc based Playstation enabled Square to craft a massive story that spanned three discs, with the eighth and ninth entries spanning four, something that wouldn’t have been possible with the limited space of the N64 cartridges.
“Enter the world of survival horror…”
The term “survival horror” was first used in 1996 by Resident Evil, a cult classic that has gone on to inspire a whole genre that emphasises puzzle-solving and evasion over offensive manoeuvres, making players feel vulnerable and isolated. While the likes of the 1989 Sweet Home (Famicom) and 1992 Alone in the Dark are regarded as key influences over Resident Evil, when gamers think “survival horror” they think of the elaborate Spencer Mansion, Jill sandwiches, and Sony’s Playstation.
Following the success of Capcom’s zombie-infested mansion, with its inconveniently locked doors, hidden keys, and evil lab basements, Konami drove in a decidedly different direction, away from the infamous mansion in the Mid-Western Arklay Mountains, to the eerie town of Silent Hill with its twisted creatures, obscure puzzles, and references to literary and horror culture influences. Veiled in a mysterious fog, players were first introduced to this creepy town when Harry Mason crashed his car in 1999, starting a Demeter journey through the alternating dimensions of Silent Hill in search of his missing daughter, Cheryl.
Have you seen her, by any chance? Short, black hair? No? Either way, there’s no denying the impact over the genre these two games have had, with more developers attempting to copy their formulae and style with the likes of Outlast, Amnesia, and Silent Hill: Homecoming. Don’t get me started on Homecoming. Even now these franchises are going strong, with new entries… oh, wait. Except Kojima’s long awaited Silent Hill entry won’t be happening anymore… at least we have Resident Evil to keep us comfort! Relatively speaking…
The decade of the mascots
During the ‘80s and ‘90s, every good gaming franchise needed an equally charming mascot! Enter Naughty Dog with Crash Bandicoot, a mutant bandicoot (believe it or not), Insomniac’s Spyro, a purple dragon – not to be mistaken for the purple dinosaur Barney – and the music icon… PaRappa the Rapper. You know the console wars were heating up, because TV commercials started to feature Crash taunting Mario – surely among the most recognisable mascots in gaming – outside Nintendo HQ to come out and fight him one on one!
While Smash hasn’t quite got round to introducing him to the line-up to realise this fight just yet (go on Sakurai, you know you want to!), the Playstation certainly made its presence felt with its own cast of charming characters – continuing 25 years later as iconic pop culture icons. It’s a shame they aren’t made with the same charm as frequently now, though the Playstation 2 introduced us to the likes of Jak and Daxter, Sly Raccoon, and Ratchet and Clank.
Birth of the Metroidvania genre
In 1986 Metroid introduced gamers to the mysterious, eerie caverns of Zebes, as well as our favourite Nintendo bounty hunter Samus. The series has become well known for its emphasis on atmosphere and backtracking, hidden items, large maps, and a satisfying progression tree revolving around uncovering new items and upgrades to add to Samus’ immense arsenal, while also doubling as a way to adventure deeper and deeper into previously explored territory. Also released in 1986 in Japan, Castlevania put players in control of Simon Belmont, sparking a family tradition that would see future Belmont’s enter dingy castles filled with reanimated corpses, vampires, gothic imagery, and floating heads on a never ending quest to stake Dracula once and for all…!
Borrowing its name from the two series’, the Metroidvania was born in the mid-‘90s when Super Metroid (SNES) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) released, crafting an expansive, non-linear exploration style gameplay that offered multiple paths to follow, hidden crevices, and massive scale boss fights. The Metroidvania is renowned for making use of backtracking to previous areas with new items to uncover hidden areas, while a satisfying upgrade system continuously gives players a feeling of empowerment. It’s fair to say Super Metroid and its Playstation cohort, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night have left themselves a legacy that is still being explored and refined in gaming today, with the likes of Axiom Verge, Hollow Knight, and countless others. And let’s not forget Symphony of the Night director Igarashi’s return with the Bloodstained games!
Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider
While Samus was busy patrolling moody space caverns and blasting giant space-dragons, Lara Croft was leaping from one uneven, dangerous surface to another, locking butlers in walk-in freezers, making real-life magazine cover appearances, and evading surprise dinosaur encounters. While she came into the scene in 1996, she’s certainly one-upped Indiana Jones at archeology and become the ‘90s most prolific video game feminist action-adventure heroine!
There’s no question Lara Croft has become a powerful pop culture icon, as well as a strong, intelligent role-model. The Tomb Raider series has been on-going since 1996 (having been rebooted in 2013), and has received the cinematic treatment, portrayed by Angelina Jolie in 2001 and 2003, as well as the more recent 2018 Tomb Raider reboot with Alicia Vikander – who has herself expressed a more personal connection with the character as the first time she had seen a female protagonist in a video-game.
Tomb Raider added a more high-octane action-adventure edge to archaeology that is sadly missing in the real world, with temple exploration, gun fights, Matrix-esque dodge jumps, and a gun-toting stylish heroine. Not only did Lara Croft make an explosive debut on the original Playstation, she’s also one of the most iconic female action protagonists in modern media!
At the time of its 25th anniversary, Sony’s original Playstation is the 5th best-selling console of all-time, with the Playstation 2 taking up the number one spot. As a system, it innovated by making use of the CD-ROM drive, making the leap its cartridge based competitors were yet to make, with important renovations to the control pad.
However the PS5 ends up next year, there’s no doubt the Playstation family has been a major influence over the gaming landscape. Going forward, we’re sure to have lofty expectations about the revival of beloved franchises while anticipating the unveiling of brand new ones: though a return to Silent Hill wouldn’t go unnoticed, by the way! Nor would a brand new Klonoa title…
While we look forward to another 25 years of scrapped Jak 4 games turning into other new IPs, while hoping for the resurrection of our favourite ’90s mascots, now’s as good a time as any to relive Playstation’s foray into gaming by dusting off your old system and booting up some of those old classics. That or download them off the PSN store! Either way, you’ll have a better lineup than the Playstation Classic, that’s for sure.
Seriously though, what happened to Jak 4…?
