It is exhausting for me to think about a extra essential or influential console than the PlayStation within the Nineteen Nineties.
Rising up as a Nintendo child, the attraction of PlayStation was primarily based on how mature the video games have been. In spite of everything, all I might do was take heed to my pals from faculty brag concerning the cool, grownup video games they’d been taking part in for therefore lengthy.
Wanting again at what the PS1 meant to me as a child jogs my memory that this timeless gaming console has been locked away in our collective reminiscence for a very long time. Every year has its personal story and its personal recollections tied to it.
So when you grew up with the PS1, or are simply now experiencing these video games, let’s have a look again at every year of the PS1 and the way these video games evaluate.
I am solely counting the years this console ran as a part of Sony’s flagship {hardware} machine. Roughly from 1995 to 2001. Then, after the launch of PS2 in 2000, the console obtained restricted assist, primarily for random sports activities video games.
7
2001
alive and kick
In 2001, the PlayStation 2 was on its approach to turning into one of the dominant forces in online game {hardware}, however the PS1 nonetheless had fairly respectable assist that yr.
It wasn’t a very down yr for consoles, with releases like Dragon Quest VII, Castlevania Chronicles, and Last Fantasy Chronicles. I continued to make use of my PS1 throughout this time as there have been some video games that weren’t accessible on my PS2.
In truth, 2001 was the yr Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro was launched, certainly one of my favourite video games on the console. It was one of many first video games I purchased with my very own cash, and despite the fact that there have been some large PS2 releases that yr, it was certainly one of my most anticipated video games of the yr.
6
1995
Put together for startup
The PS1’s launch yr wasn’t with out its flaws, however it was additionally fairly spectacular for what it supplied.
A great mixture of RPGs, racing video games, and platformers made up the majority of the console’s launch providing. I wasn’t capable of get my fingers on a PS1 on launch day, however I’ve performed most of it since then, and it is clear that it is a console meant to please everybody.
King’s Subject stays a extremely partaking expertise, with equal components baffling design decisions and compelling world-building. Twisted Steel began my love for vehicular fight video games, and Suikoden was a groundbreaking launch for strategic RPGs.
Many of those video games could be iterated and even improved upon in later years. Nonetheless, it was a launch lineup full of some revolutionary experiences which are nonetheless fondly remembered.
5
1996
cook dinner with fuel
1996 was the yr when the PS1 turned common. The main target has shifted from fascinating little experiences to full-fledged, big-budget blockbusters.
Tomb Raider was born together with a number of different debut sequence. Trade icons like Resident Evil, the SMT spin-off Persona, and Crash Bandicoot all debuted in 1996.
Lots of the franchises that I maintain expensive to my coronary heart have been conceived throughout this nice yr. It was actually a preview of what was to come back for this console.
The darkish, dirty aesthetic that folks affiliate with the PS1 really began right here. Video games on this console seemed and felt utterly completely different, and it actually began to take off in ’96.
4
1999
A yr of full conquest
1999 was the yr I bought my PS1. After begging my mother and father to purchase it for me, I took a weekend journey to Pittsburgh and picked up a mini PSOne model with just a few video games.
That emotional connection has been happening for many years, and I feel I picked up this console on the excellent time. 1999 was one of many console’s strongest years, producing certainly one of its most numerous lineups of video games and promoting 50 million items.
1999 noticed the discharge of video games like Resident Evil 3, Valkyrie Profile, and Gran Turismo 2. As with earlier years, 1999 had one thing for everybody on the PS1.
First-person shooters and action-adventure video games have been additionally properly represented, with Medal of Honor, Soul Reaver, and Siphon Filter rounding out a really nice yr for Sony {hardware}.
3
2000
The calm earlier than the storm of the subsequent era
Though the discharge of the PlayStation 2 was simply across the nook, the primary half of 2000 was a really sturdy interval for the PS1.
Chrono Cross lastly made its method west, proving that on the time the PS1 was nonetheless the most effective place for JRPGs. It additionally spawned certainly one of my favourite RPGs of all time, Vagrant Story. This masterpiece has remained untouched since then.
2000 additionally noticed the discharge of Last Fantasy IX, Parasite Eve II, and Legend of Dragoon. It is no exaggeration to say that RPGs have been doing properly on the PS1 in 2000.
Harvest Moon additionally got here to PlayStation, though beforehand it was solely launched on Nintendo {hardware}. In the meantime, excessive sports activities and superheroes have been alive and properly, with Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 2 and Spider-Man each launched that yr.
2
1997
Firing on all cylinders
1997 might be remembered because the yr of Last Fantasy 7, however much more occurred this yr than you may assume.
Last Fantasy 7 is my favourite recreation of all time, however 1997 was additionally the yr of absolute masterpieces like Tekken 3, Mega Man Legends, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night time. You actually cannot discover a unhealthy one out of so many.
It is a yr that will be unimaginable in fashionable instances. Simply certainly one of these video games would require a five-year improvement cycle at this time, however throughout this time they have been launched each few months.
We’ve got an enormous number of video games, from fighters to racers, JRPGs and nice sports activities titles. Many of those have been additionally exclusives, displaying how dominant Sony was within the console market throughout this period.
1
1998
Top-of-the-line years in gaming historical past
When you consider the discharge of Xenogears, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, and Parasite Eve within the PS1’s first three months of 1998, you possibly can’t assist however understand how fortunate we have been.
1998 was a very good yr for gaming basically, with a number of the most iconic titles of all time being launched that yr. Nonetheless, on the PS1, there was actually a parade of masterpieces.
It was the yr that Steel Gear Strong modified cinematic storytelling in video games, and it was additionally the yr that Resident Evil 2 created one of many survival horror style’s most charming adventures.
I later rented WCW Monday Nitro for my PS1 and had a number of the finest instances of my life taking part in continuous late night time periods with my brother. It and WWF WarZone have been launched in the identical yr and can perpetually stay in my reminiscence of this legendary yr.