11. Star Wars Episode 1 Racer – Riley
It’s working, it’s working!
I adore the Star Wars prequels, even more so than the original trilogy (I know, heresy). So when I learnt that there was a Wipeout-inspired kart racer based entirely around the pod racing sequence from The Phantom Menace, I had to try it. While the controls are a little slippery, the tracks are well designed for the high-speed action you’d expect. They’re also simultaneously tricked out with shortcuts to take once you’ve gained enough skill, as well as tight corners and obstacles to avoid. As far as PlayStation racers go, it’s not as mechanically deep as others, but as a Star Wars fan, there’s plenty to love here.
As you play through the story, you’ll slowly gain parts and upgrade your ship in various ways, from speed, acceleration, weight and handling. Learning when to buy parts and when to save for better parts is all part of the strategy of the story mode. And if that isn’t enough, you can play as Sebulba, and who doesn’t want to play as Sebulba?
12. Hogs of War – Melty
FIYAH IN ZEE HOOOLE — Probably not the best thing for me to be walking around saying consistently at five years old.
Rik Mayall is an absolute legend in the UK. Whilst renowned for his work on Blackadder, Bottom, The Young Ones, and Drop Dead Fred, my memories of him live in the cult classic that is Hogs of War. Whilst others my age were indulging in the war-stricken world of Worms, my mother was making my brother and me partake in piggy plights.
This game is very much inspired by the aforementioned Worms, Command & Conquer, and, surprisingly enough, the movie Babe. With the witty British humour of Blackadder and voice acting from the late Rik Mayall and the ever-popular Marc Silk, the game is sure to make you wee with giggles. On top of this, it’s chock-a-block with puns; the kind that make you groan with disgust.
The turn-based warfare is an easy way to play co-op, or if you’re so inclined, the single-player story mode is fun, too. If I had the choice to play either Hogs of War or Worms Armageddon, I know which one I’d pick. (Hint: it’s Hogs of War.)
13. Spider-Man – Dave
Before there was Spider-Man (PS4), and Spider-Man 2 (Various consoles), and…
The ol’ webhead has enjoyed a lot of success in video game adaptations. The more recent examples stand on the shoulders of giants. Spider-Man might be doing most of the heavy lifting.
Neversoft’s offering boasted a story featuring a variety of fan favourite characters, quirky quips, and daring developments. New York City had the Baxter building, Venom got to convincingly be an antagonist and plucky sidekick, and it featured the voice talents of Rino Romano as Peter Parker and Stan Lee as Stan Lee. It was more immersive than the comic books and had more action than the cartoon airing at the time.
Webswinging was still a work in progress (Spider-Man would attach his webs to the sky when outdoors), combat was simple, and a lot of the faces looked rockier than The Thing. Yet, there’s an authenticity in this game that other licensed comic book games would build on (e.g. the Arkham series, future Spider-Man games, etc). It’s a great entrypoint for anyone wanting to get into Arachno-Guy’s exploits.
14. Alien Trilogy – Kane
In space, no one can hear you scream
Alien Trilogy is a first-person shooter that shares a lot of DNA with the first two DOOM games. Very vaguely (honestly, it couldn’t be vaguer) following the story of the original three movies, Trilogy was praised for its faithful recreation of the daunting atmosphere the franchise is known for.
Gameplay-wise, it’s a Doom-clone shooter, but with the added aspect that ammunition is now scarce, and enemies seem to jump out at you around corners. Combined with the very dark and dank corridors and its downright unnerving soundtrack, this creates a horror-filled atmosphere that holds up to this day.
Ultimately, it is limited by being a Doom-clone but on the spectrum of bad-good Alien games, Trilogy is still firmly on the good end.
15. Tekken 3 – Dave
It’s all ogre now.
The console version of Tekken 3 is in contention for being one of the best Tekken (and fighting games in general) of all time. It features a large, diverse roster of characters, a sweet soundtrack, and responsive, fast-paced gameplay. It was an improvement on the previous entries in every conceivable way while also making for a good entry point for new players. Nothing changes brain chemistry like delivering that first ten-hit combo.
It was also content-rich, featuring the single-player beat’em up Tekken Force and Tekken Ball. Also, this game introduced Jin Kazama (when he was cool and not a war criminal) and King II (along with his iconic casual fit). For my money, Tekken 5 is probably my favourite Iron Fist Tournament, but no other Tekken game can boast having Gon as an unlockable character, either.
16. Shin Megami Tensei – James
One of the first of many apocalypses
Never released in English officially, we have modders to thank for this one. Originally released in Japan on the Super Nintendo, Shin Megami Tensei is a tough-as-nails turn-based RPG spin-off based on Aya Nishitani’s Megami Tensei series of books. Eventually, after many ports, the PS1 port came. With the advantages of the CD storage format came a brand new soundtrack in full shiny CD quality.
Thankfully, the PS1 version has been fully translated and is fully playable in an emulator or, even better, a modded console (If you’re okay with giving up the fast-forward function). Without spoiling the plot, you start as a nobody Japanese schoolchild. You go to school, hear rumours about possible demon sightings and come home. Stephen Hawking (???) visits you and pleads that you download his demon-summoning program, and it just becomes weirder from here. With three routes you can take (law, chaos and neutral), you will eventually end up killing God or some variation thereof. The visuals aren’t changed from the original, but it’s still the best version. Well worth a play.
17. 40 Winks – Riley
Sweet dreams have been cancelled.
40 Winks is one of those surreal and weird games you remember playing as a kid, but totally forgot until you see it in the wild. That’s likely due to its premise: two kids, Ruff and Tumble, tackling their nightmares in the dream world. They encounter horrifying spiders, creepy ghosts and other delightfully spooky fiends. They’re out to rescue the titular winks who have been kidnapped and trapped across the dreamscape. It’s their job to fight through the nightmares, capture the winks and hold onto their Zs (yes, the health collectables are Zs, genius!).
Being an early 3D platformer, you can expect to see open areas with plenty of hidden collectables to find, creatures to fight and arbitrary ability roadblocks. Some of these are costumes, which each character gets exclusive access to. These include ninjas, robots and superheroes, all with their own unique ability to help the characters traverse their dreams. This is definitely one to pick up around October time for a nostalgic spooky blast to the 90s, and it holds up surprisingly well!
18. Rugrats: Search For Reptar – Melty
The editor rn
Tommy Pickles, the 1-year-old protagonist of Rugrats, has lost 11 pieces of his 12-piece Reptar puzzle. We’ll come back to how appropriate the puzzle is for Tommy in a sec. To complete this game, you need to play through various levels based on the TV show’s episodes. This includes “Grandpa’s Teeth”. In this level, you must ride Spike the dog and chase a goose, who has stolen Grandpa’s teeth. We also have a mini-golf match between the main characters, including Angelica, in the “Ice Cream Mountain” inspired level. This is easily my favourite in the game.
Though the more difficult levels require unlocking, Search for Reptar doesn’t have a linear story, so you can play the levels in any order. This is perfect if you get stuck on a certain task; you can move onto another level, then make your way back around… bearing in mind, this game was made for 7-year-olds.
If we take a look back at the main premise of this game: searching for pieces of a 12-piece puzzle, this gives us some interesting lore. We know that Tommy is a smart baby, but this just shows that his parents also likely think of him as smart. 12-piece puzzles are typically created for the fun and development of 2.5-3-year-olds. This is double to triple the age of the youngster. You also need to complete the puzzle as you collect the pieces, and as you play as Tommy, his smarts are confirmed within the game. I dunno, I just find that quite interesting.
19. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – Kane
Damn you, Kain!
Narrative action adventure games came into their own in this generation, and Raziel’s journey of revenge through Nozgoth is no exception. Raziel, a powerful vampire, is betrayed by his master, Kain and thrown into the abyss. Returning after ages pass, Raziel is now a spectre, feeding on souls instead of blood.
Playing as Raziel, you use the remnants of your vampire powers and a few new ones to traverse Kain’s fallen empire, killing your former brethren in an ongoing quest for vengeance. The biggest draw here is definitely the incredible world-building. The lore and history of Nosgoth borders on Tolkien-esque in its depth and iconicism. While Blood Omen was the first game of the franchise, Soul Reaver was easily its true debut.
20. Silent Hill – Sean
There was a hole here. It’s gone now,
While Silent Hill 2 is undoubtedly the darling of the franchise, the original Silent Hill on the PS1 is still worth a visit.
It’s a game that probably could have gone terribly wrong had the development team at Konami not been absolute wizards at their craft. The thick, atmospheric fog that’s become synonymous with the franchise? That’s a result of a technical limitation the team had to work with, and found a workaround that made sense. The amazing FMV cutscenes? They were done by one person who slept under his desk and used every PC in the office at night. The fiddly combat? Okay, that one I can’t really explain.
Gameplay-wise, Silent Hill isn’t anything special. It’s your typical survival horror with tank controls, limited resources and an emphasis on avoiding combat should the situation require it. If you wanted to visit this foggy lakeside resort town for a pulse-pounding horror thrillride then you may be disappointed. It’s the atmosphere and presentation where Silent Hill truly shines, with its blood and rust-encrusted otherworld full of horrors and screeching industrial soundtrack courtesy of the legendary Akira Yamaoka.
Silent but heady
Silent Hill’s narrative is fed to the player through not only dialogue and cutscenes, but also tidbits that can be found scattered through the world, like torn pages from a book or old records in a hospital. It’s a form of storytelling not unlike what the Dark Souls series would become known for, and it would be very easy for a casual player to miss or not really understand any of it while simply playing the game. However, by piecing everything together, the story of Silent Hill is a tragic, haunting tale of gods, monsters and very bad parenting that sets the stage for the next few games.
Though Silent Hill 2 is the most well-regarded entry by the fan base at large (not without reason, mind you) it’s actually somewhat disconnected from the overall narrative that 1, 3 and 4 are tied to and almost feels like a spin-off in comparison
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