- Image by Sameli via Flickr
How I review video games
I never owned one a Playstation so this makes my view of these games a little unique.
Because I never played these classics in my youth I have the luck to see past the nostalgia that many of these games induce in people. So I can see how they hold up for today’s gamer. Just because many of these games are inexpensive that doesn’t mean they’re worth your time (or the space on your hard-drive).
There are many different things I look at when reviewing a game, of course all the regular things like story, gameplay, and graphics are all important. But I’m looking to see how they hold up today. Nostalgia might tell you that a certain game is great but on revision today you can see that the hype some titles can accumulate over the years sometimes overshadows the game itself.
If you see something ranked 8 or higher it’s great, functional game that was a ton of fun.
9 or higher, it’s a classic and a must buy.
Plain and simple. Hope you enjoy the reviews!
PSoneClassics.com
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January 21st, 2010 on 8:12 pm
New update for Japanese PS network store.
Valkyria Chronicles2
http://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/jp0177npjh50145_00valkyria2dlg0100.html
Dynasty Warriors5
http://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/uljm05584.html
January 21st, 2010 on 8:24 pm
They already have it for sale? Wow, I didn’t know it was already released, I still need to play the first one on the PS3…
February 10th, 2010 on 1:05 pm
From the beginning Sony has been about attracting gamers, not converting non-gamers with casual games.I wouldn’t want to see a touch screen on the PSP. I don’t like how the current PSP models smudge easily and seem to be a dust magnet, but the screen is large and beautiful. Having the possibility of playing good PS2 games is good enough for me, I don’t need a gimmicky touch interface or accelerometers.
The reason the browser is slow on the PSP isn’t because it’s not running Safari, it’s because of memory. Even Netbook computers with a standard 1.6 GHz processor are going to have an issue with media rich sites like YouTube. Maybe Apple chose to not have the iPhone run flash for this reason.
I agree with downloadable games only. It’s friendlier to the environment and not to mention no spinning discs! I play the PSP in bed the majority of the time. Although my wife has never complained about the UMD disc spinning, I’d rather play a game from a Memory Stick or Flash Drive. Having said that, I think the PSP2 should reiterate a UMD drive because of the amount of complaints Sony has received from there not being one on the PSPGo. Nice site BTW.
February 10th, 2010 on 4:08 pm
Hey, thanks for the comment, I see your point that Sony needs to keep their handhelds for gamers, but I wasn’t counting on the touch screen to do much for games, more for an interface for secondary functions. The browser on the PSP for instance I consider it slow not because of the memory, I consider it slow because of the input method. Using the buttons does take quite a while, even to go to one site! Now on my Itouch, I can type much faster, and it makes the browser feel that much more organic.
As Sony has been very much gamer centered with it’s products, it also grew the market with what WERE considered casual games. When the Playstation came out, many people believed that gaming culture would be forever ruined because of the “Frat Boy” element that latched on to gaming with Sports franchises like Madden becoming popular. If Sony wants to make a killer device I think they need to keep it a gamer’s hand held first, but still add in a lot of functionality that would make you choose it over an Iphone. If my psp could hold great apps,and navigate music and media like the Itouch and play great games I would be in heaven, (and I’d chuck out my Itouch).
As for the UMD drive re-iteration I’m not sold on it, I do have a lot of disc based games for PSP but the UMD drive takes up space, costs a lot to produce and is already obsolete. I’d much rather have an 80 gig flash drive. Playing disc based games also eats up the battery life as well, something else that Sony needs to fix with the PSP2 (10 hours would be nice!)
Glad you like the site, I’m working hard to make it even better!
February 10th, 2010 on 5:17 pm
Your right about the input method. I didn’t think of that, it is very slow. If it where quicker, I think I would use the browser more often. The only thing I use the browser for now is to sling media from my computer to my PSP with TVersity, because I’m too lazy to connect it to the PC, lol.
Disc media is a thing of the past IMO. There’s allot of reasons why flash drives outweigh the benefits of disc media. But the thing I like the most about storing games on a flash drive is the convenience of not having to drive to Best-Buy and purchase a game.
February 10th, 2010 on 10:03 pm
Well whatever happens with the new PSP2, I just hope it can be more than a game machine, they need to diversify, not just be a great game player, but be a great music player, and media player, and internet device! I mean, I have a PSP, an itouch and a phone. I want one that does all three, and doesn’t suck in one area. Iphone could be that possibility, BUT the games are really sub-par.
The PSPGo was a step in the right direction with the form factor though, it’s about as big as an itouch, and with the save states where you can pause your game and even watch movies or listen to music and THEN go back to your game it shows promise. If it becomes a 3G/4G device as well, with skype, it would be a knock out.
February 11th, 2010 on 12:09 pm
This series had not come up on my radar when I was browsing through the PSOne classics on PSN. Your reviews on the Legacy of Kain has piqued my interest in this series.
February 11th, 2010 on 6:40 pm
To tell you the truth, it wasn’t on my radar at all either, but after playing the first one though and hearing the great dialogue and story, I was hooked. The first is probably the closest thing you can get to Diablo on the psp at the moment (until they release it as a psoneclassic of course which I hope they do soon!) I went out and bought the last three in the series right away, but I waited for Soul Reaver to come out so I don’t miss anything, I’ll get around to reviewing the other three games, and post them here as well, because ps2 classics are coming soon! And it would make sense for the series to be completely released. Right now I’m finishing up the Resident evil trilogy those reviews should be going up in a few weeks (I also have code veronica for the dreamcast and RE4 for gamecube and RE5 for ps3, so I’ll make it a six part series).
After playing this I couldn’t believe it was only 5.99 after, it’s certainly as good as the 10 dollar games I’ve been playing.
March 3rd, 2010 on 4:03 pm
A few games I enjoyed on this system, and I would like to see released is Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro and Demolition Racer. The Spider-Man games where the best ones ever released on a game console, but I remember the second one being tough.
March 3rd, 2010 on 8:05 pm
Ahh, I’ve never played the old Spiderman games on PSone, perhaps I’ll check em out, everyone says that the best Spidey game is the second Movie game though, another one I’ve never played (though it’s for the PS2). So many games… so little time…
March 11th, 2010 on 7:15 pm
RE4 will blow you away. Try playing the Wii version if you have one.
March 11th, 2010 on 8:12 pm
RE4 is spectacular, I played it through on the gamecube (and still have it). Right now I’m starting Code Veronica on my Dreamcast, I’m thinking it will eventually become a ps2 classic (the code veronica x version)
March 20th, 2010 on 11:01 pm
i think they shoul release alundra as well tho it wasnt a high selling game but it was a classic
March 21st, 2010 on 12:33 pm
@ Sammy,
The old ip holders should release everything they’ve got, especially the hard to find games that seem to become so influential. I don’t want to pay $100 for a classic game when the company that made it won’t get any money and I can’t play it on the bus. The Japanese store knows what’s up, and it seems the NA store is starting to get it’s act together.
April 7th, 2010 on 8:11 am
Good and honest review that isn’t through rose colored glasses! I recently went back and played I-VI on my GBM and DS for my first time. I’ve taken a break from the numbered series. Playing 6 consecutive ones in a row is a massive grind, but I’m looking forward to playing VII on my PSP.
April 15th, 2010 on 5:59 pm
About the only comment I have to leave for this is that Omnislash doesn’t need to be learned at 99; you have to get every other limit break before you can use it. And it’s also not the strongest attack (it can be about equal, but not to all enemies, unlike the stronger one) which is Knights of the Round, which is a right pain to get.
Great review though.
April 15th, 2010 on 6:09 pm
I thoroughly agree on your comment on the film part with a few differences. Example: take a game like, say, Mega Man, or the early Mario and Sonic games. They and all their (initial) sequels featured gameplay that was almost exactly the same with slightly, if at all, changed graphics and fresh level and enemy design. The trick is some play better than others or, in the case of a game like Metal Gear Solid, are more focused on a drive in the continuing of a story, despite very similar gameplay elements.
I also would like to throw my two cents out there and say that as a longtime fan of Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Trigger, I can see I have mixed feelings about remakes of these. Have they aged poorly? Yes and no. Chrono Trigger still looks fresh even after all these years, and the DS port actually made it look cleaner, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a cel shaded remake with no voices.
Similarly with VII, I’d like a remake with enhanced graphics, no voices, and a better translation. Playing it on my PSP when the Japanese version came out was a blast and it looked great, but once I actually got it up on my HDTV that I hadn’t played it on before, I realized it won’t hold up very long on these newer TVs. I’ve been a fan for about 7-8 years and even I admit that they’re looking pretty bad these days.
April 15th, 2010 on 8:09 pm
Thanks for your feedback guys,
@Zack I did figure out that you don’t have to be at level 99 for it, but I did read that your health has to be maxed out for you to use it which is a pain. Especially after spending the hour or so it took to get it, thinking I would be able to defeat the final boss with ease. Sadly though it was all wasted time. I guess it’s an easter egg for those willing to spend the extra time on this game, and really there are a lot of people who have done that. It’s easy to get caught up in the world. It’ll be a while before I get going on FF8 though, I’m a little JRPGed out at the moment.
April 15th, 2010 on 8:26 pm
I agree with you that it would be nice to see these games in high res graphics, but I think it’s a little different re-making games than re-making movies.
To me much of the charm of these older games which I have never played before are the somewhat poor graphics. What’s really ageless in these stories is the story telling, and the ways the developers built something engrossing despite the console’s limitations. Remaking FF7 they would probably change the camera angle to something more contemporary, they wouldn’t be able to get away with no voice actors I don’t think, the cinematics would have to change… I just don’t see how they could do it without pissing off the fan base. It’s not quite the same as remaking a movie because if you do remake one it will never be perfectly the same, and the actors would have to change etc. Perhaps for new gamers it would be ok… but after playing the original I just feel like it would be dooming the original property to be lost in time instead of cherished as a part of gaming history.
For instance, I played Tomb Raider Anniversary on my PSP, and I had never played the original (or did but when I was very young probably at a friends house once or so). With this game I was really impressed, I loved it. Everyone had always said that Lara Croft controls like a cow, but I found myself loving the gameplay, and the puzzles racked my brain. This worked well as a entertainment, but oddly enough I don’t think I would go back to play the original (Until I do a Tomb Raider month on here or something…). Other than for review purposes I wouldn’t touch the old one (maybe a comparison of the two would be a good article…) But I digress, something should be left alone, when the original tomb raider made it’s way out on the Playstation Store I probably would have bought it had I not played the original to see what the game that started it all was. (I don’t see why anyone would do that now because the Anniversary edition is available for only 2 or 3 dollars more on the store). That game for most people who played the re-make will pass them by, and that’s too bad I think.
Maybe when Graphics get to a certain point people will stop remaking games, just like special effects now have been kind of life-like for a while, I don’t see much improvement year over year on them, maybe now summer blockbusters will need a good storyline as well as great special effects to keep the audience interested.
Oh well, I’ve ranted quite a bit, it’s an interesting topic, but I don’t think I would buy the remake if Square made one for FF7.
April 15th, 2010 on 8:58 pm
Full health? Where do you get this info?! The truth is: this is not the case. What you probably misread is that Cloud’s Ultima Weapon does more damage the higher his HP is, same with Cait Sith’s HP Shout. Also, if you missed it, all of them have a level 4 (except Cait Sith) and, in my opinion, some of them are actually better than Omnislash. Also as a fun tip: Cait Sith’s Slots can get you an instant win. How’s a first turn one-hit KO on Emerald Weapon sound? It’s possible, I actually did it and was shocked as hell when I did.
April 20th, 2010 on 9:52 am
Ahh, I must have been misinformed I did know that cloud’s ultimate weapon did more damage the higher his health, it’s the only reason I made it through that game. I also got Tifa’s and Vincent’s ultimate weapons, and really Vincent’s weapon is barely better than the average. There is a glitch you can use with his ultimate weapon though with emerald weapon, supposedly one hit from his ultimate weapon will drop that boss flat. You’ll have to investigate it further. I never used cait sith though, I thought he was a dick. lol.
April 20th, 2010 on 8:13 pm
The thing about Vincent’s weapon is that it does more damage the more enemies you kill with it. Eventually, it can get strong enough to do 9999 every time but that does take awhile.
May 7th, 2010 on 9:43 am
Review VIII if you want your money’s worth, much better than all the recent FFs and miles better than VII in terms of graphics, story, and gameplay.
May 11th, 2010 on 5:00 pm
It is a good blog , and its really informative.Comments are good in sites because this is one of the proof that your site is helpful to readers and many readers patronize your post.I just wanted to say a quick thank.
May 11th, 2010 on 9:41 pm
Appears like ps3 fanatics here, I am a fan too and like to play video games… my girl says I play too much, but man it’s so entertaining. I’ve been playing modern warfare and among thieves: uncharted 2 for weeks and can’t quit! What would you gamers recommend? Anyhow, seems like a good site, is this wordpress? I’ve made a few pages myself and it ain’t easy. Thanks for taking time to post this up.
May 27th, 2010 on 3:29 am
Oh man 9.5?! I was waiting in anticipation for a 10 ;P
May 27th, 2010 on 11:58 am
This is probably the closest one yet i think to getting a 10! I love this game.
May 30th, 2010 on 6:30 pm
I personally would rate it higher for adults– even though the trappings are sickeningly colorful, and Spyro has the most obnoxious voice ever, it’s still pretty fun. One place it actually compares favorably to Mario 64 is the combat; the game plays more aggressively, with more enemies and more visceral means of defeating them.
It isn’t the best game, but it’s definitely a very good standard 3D platformer.
May 31st, 2010 on 2:37 pm
I’m going through this game right now and I’m at the Sniper Wolf boss fight. I’ve never played any MGS games and this is the first one. This game is absolutely awesome. The graphics definetly show their age, but the gameplay is solid and still holds up today. Definitely don’t go in thinking you can run n’ gun because you will die right away. The production value for a game that came out in 1998 is amazing. I give it a 10!
June 1st, 2010 on 3:02 pm
It is a spectacular game, by far my favorite on the PSone, soul reaver is a close second though. Giving out a ten though is something that I’m weary about doing, can any game ever be perfect?
MGS though is certainly close though, especially with the gameplay that is so ahead of it’s time. Just wait till the final chapter it’ll blow your mind.
June 1st, 2010 on 3:06 pm
I did enjoy it, but for me I just couldn’t get into it. The gameplay just seemed a little too loose for my tastes. At least in Mario 64 when you screw up you know it’s your fault. You might enjoy it more, but for me I just didn’t love it. Personal taste I guess.
June 4th, 2010 on 11:50 am
The slow, slow rate at which we’re getting good new PSOne Classics releases is bugging the crap out of me. Sony’s got this huge catalog of great PS1 titles that they can give to old and new gamers alike, as relatively inexpensive downloads for both console and handheld ( the latter being even more impressive ), and they’re just dumping stuff like Bomberman Racing on us?
( And I haven’t actually played said racing game, but I’d rather get something higher profile, like, say, Final Fantasy IX sooner rather than later ).
June 4th, 2010 on 2:03 pm
It is strange eh? Europe got FF9 last week, just a few days after the Japanese release. This week we got another no name racing game. I would love a straight answer from Sony as to how they decide what to release, and when.
They say it takes a bit of work on the hand of the publishers, but there are numerous psone classics released when the Japanese store updates. ( though they only update twice a month).
I think most of the time they only release high profile psone classics when they don’t have any psn games coming out. A game like ff9 would beat the shit out of any pixeljunk game in sales, not that I don’t love the pixeljunk games, but it makes sense on that account at least.
Quality assurance would be a nice addition though, they should go through the metacritic list for best games, or designate one month as psone classics month ( similar to summer of xbox live) where during the drought of retail releases, they let loose all these great classics. If only I ran the playstation store!
June 26th, 2010 on 2:17 pm
I hope there’ll be a PSP2. The system has too much going for it to be discontinued, but it looks like the 3DS will annihilate it. I mean, not only does it have the 3D screen and superior processing power, but Nintendo’s system has an analog stick– the big oversight on the DS, and one of the PSP’s great strengths ( that it allowed you to play three-dimensional games on a portable ).
Speaking of analog sticks, if there is a PSP2, they need two sticks. It would make so many more games possible.
June 26th, 2010 on 8:32 pm
Exactly right, the PSP2 needs two analog sticks for sure, to see everything I think the psp2 needs to succeed check out this older post.
http://psoneclassics.com/miscellaneous/the-top-ten-things-the-psp2-needs-to-succeed/
That 3D screen would be amazing though, it’s a pretty simple technology solution, but it does drop the processing power by half, seeing as they need to render everything twice that way, making the graphics not that much better than the PSP at the moment. I’m sure as they tweak it, and third parties get going on it the graphics will be amazing.
The real win for the 3DS I think is the fact that it got third party support. For the most part the DS got a lot of low quality games, games that were barely recognizable in comparison to their console, and even PSP counterparts. Now that it has full 3d Rendering tech, all the hardcore gamers will get into it as well, which was really the only market for the psp.
The PSP2 will certainly come i think, it would be foolish for Sony to loose that market share they have to Nintendo, they didn’t conquer the handheld market, but they’re still making some money. With their next handheld they need to get the Piracy thing solved, like they did for the PS3. If they did that they’d make a killing.
We can only hope, and wait, for TGS.
August 6th, 2010 on 2:12 pm
Totally agreed with Fabien but i also would like to see MORTAL KOMBAT TRILOGY on PS one Classics
August 6th, 2010 on 2:20 pm
Is it possible for SONY making MORTAL KOMBAT ARMAGEDDON ON PSP like they did it for MORTAL KOMBAT DECEPTION renamed it as an UNCHAINED and also adding 4 new characters. i hope we will see ARMAGEDDON on PSN XXXX year
August 16th, 2010 on 7:34 pm
That would be a good seller, but I bet Midway could make more money off of it with full console releases. But if you want you can get Midway Arcade Classics on the PSP for 9.99. It has all three Mortal Kombat games on there, and a whole ton of throw away titles as well, that is unless you like paperboy.
August 17th, 2010 on 7:24 pm
Great review, very objective and informative
August 30th, 2010 on 9:36 am
Good idea. The 3rd Birthday looks like it’s going to be an awesome game. I’m looking forward to this game and Ghost of Sparta and that’s it for now. I’ve heard of this series back in the 90’s but I’ve never played any of them. I hope it goes up.
August 30th, 2010 on 9:40 am
Great, but I don’t have any use for the video store. When are comics coming to Canada? I’m not 100% what’s involved but I think they have to get approval from the CRTC and we all know how fast the government moves. SONY please get us comics in Canada!!!
August 30th, 2010 on 5:26 pm
Awesome game. Miles better than RE1. RE1 was a lot of backtracking the same areas to extend gameplay. Now I need to download and play RE3.
September 1st, 2010 on 5:30 pm
I’m going through FFVII right now and I was going to try IX and then VIII, but I think I’ll skip this one now.
September 2nd, 2010 on 8:51 am
gimmie gimmie gimmie…, I want her right now at the eu PSN
this is the best news since front mission 3 came out.
September 3rd, 2010 on 4:13 pm
I just bought this game and i m having issues playing with the battle mode I am not able to play against my friend Can someone help me out?
September 3rd, 2010 on 7:44 pm
Really would depend on what system you’re playing it on Crashfan, on the PS3 there shouldn’t be that much of a problem, and if you’re playing on psp you can’t play against your friends (sadly) because it’s emulation on the PSP.
September 3rd, 2010 on 7:57 pm
@ Fabien,
The third birthday does look great, the PSP does seem to have a good amount of games coming out that I’m interested in, I was really looking forward to Birth By Sleep, but sadly they said it’s not coming out on PSN, and considering I’m in Russia at the moment I’m not really going to import it from my home country, I’d rather just get it off the network you know? At least I’m sure that Ghost of Sparta will be on the network, I’m going to grab that day one for sure.
@ Kminkie85
I’m very excited for this coming out on PSN, but sadly they only confirmed those two for the US and Japanese networks, but then again, EU PSN has a lot of great people working there and I’m sure it’ll be there soon. I’m jealous of you because they haven’t even released Vagrant Story on the NA network.
. Wait and see though I guess.