The 10th Hour 10.24.08: Top 10 PSX titles

Posted by Derek Robbins on 10.24.2008

This week on the 10th hour, the top 10 PSX games are broken down. From Chrono Cross to Crash Bandicoot 3, which of your favorite games made the list? There's only one way to find out.

Hello and welcome to the 10th hour, as always there are a couple of tangents I would like to hit on before I get started with the actual column.

-So I've beaten Mother 3. I don't know what I think just yet, but right now it may be my favorite game of all time. I wish I was kidding, but the story was so compelling that I just don't know if Earthbound can top it at this moment. Weird, huh?

-Is it just me, or does the NFL suck this year? For goodness sakes, there are no teams that leap out to me as "great' or even "very good". The league is wholly average and makes the product kind of hard to watch. That could just be me though.

-Little Big Planet is coming out…next week. Do you wanna make levels with me? Here's how you do so! Add me at my PSN of Croix22. I'm getting a router this weekend so I can finally play on PSN again (it'll be the first time I've been able to since I got a new modem. For whatever reason, it won't let me on PSN anymore)

Well with that out of the way, let's hit on a couple of comments.

Reader feedback

Last week I discussed the top-10 games of this coming holiday season, assuming they haven't been released yet. If they had been released, obviously they were not eligible to be part of my list.

My "Friendly Nemesis" (Knuckles to my Sonic, if you will), Cardinals fan has this to say:

There are actually people out there that don't like Seinfeld?

Really?

There were people in the comment section last week saying that Seinfeld was a horribly written show. I had a professor once who said the easiest way to gauge a person's intelligence was whether they enjoyed Seinfeld or not. I mean, you know, just saying. Glad to see you're with me in the pro-Seinfeld camp Cards fan.

Jimmy doubts my judgement!?

Animal Crossing > Little Big Planet

Seriously why was it only an honourable mention?

Where was Sonic Unleashed? Call of Duty: World at War? The new Bond?

And what about Gears?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, I hate Animal Crossing. I may end up purchasing it due to the fact that a lot of my friends are getting it, but…that doesn't mean I will like it. It is in no way better than LBP. As for the rest? I am a big Sonic guy and there is no way I would list that on this list. I am always optimistic, but this new game…in EVERY trailer it just looks like more of that "press right to win" garbage…and that isn't what I'm looking for in my hedgehog. Sorry.

Simpleton agrees with things I say?

You're pretty much right on here, except for the fact that PoP should be at number MINUS 900.

If it wasn't for the whole "impending financial apocalypse and being forced into prostitution" thing I would so have bought like 12 PS3s to play LBP on.

I'm still far from being sold on Fallout 3, it just seems to lack that certain je ne sais quoi. It seems somewhat sterile to me. If Fable 2 is half as good as hoped then all is lost for Bethesda.

I'm prolly more optimistic than most about Banjo (mainly due to Edge's preview), but it's off my radar at this stage. It kinda seems like they're using B & K for the sake of it. Couldn't they have just used Pinatas?

For me, Gears occupies a strange critical limbo. I liked it a lot and I think it still holds up well today, but I can deffo see why others don't like it and I wouldn't try to persuade teh haterz otherwise.

I suspect Far Cry 2 will stand atop the xmas pile as Eternal Lord of Awesomeness when all is said and done.

You should still buy 12 PS3s man. I mean, after all, we all know the best thing to do in the face of tragedy is to shop, shop, shop! As for Banjo Kazooie…dude, everyone seems to have fun when they actually play the game so I guess it could be interesting. The thing is, why couldn't they have just made a new IP and released this game using that? I'm sure the majority of us would have preferred a current gen platforming Banjo. That would have made me a happy man at least.

We'll see about Farcry 2. I really need to buy that, but I am broke as hell. Writing for 411games doesn't pay like it used to!

Brad is officially the Jimmy to my Superman

Derek, do you insist on being my hero? I swear you're the only person to bury the shit out of the original Fable. Awesome. It was a place once, get over it game. Number 2 has so much hype the only way I can see it going is down.

While we are on the topic of replay value - Super Smash Bros Melee without doubt. I swear I've played that more than any other game not named WWF No Mercy.

Super Smash Brothers Melee is probably the single game I've played the most in my life. When it first came out, I would play with my friends for at least two hours a day. I have a feeling Brawl would be similar if I was younger and had as much time to game as I did back in 2001. Man…I love Brawl, I wish I was a kid again.

Also, glad to see I wasn't the only person to be disappointed with Fable and not shower it with love. You have my respect sir. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Tony's comment confuses me

It depends on who this list is for. If for children, then this is correct. If for the age that the xbox actually has the strongest demographic in, then you need to put Gears and Dead Space in there and drop Little Big Planet, no one I know is talking about this game.

How is a list with 8 games marketed towards people above the age of 18 for children? Did you just read number 1 and 10 and call it a day? Also, you're not talking to the right people if nobody you know is talking about LBP.

As for Dead Space, it would have made my list and wound up in Metal Slug's spot had it not already came out. I want to buy it on PS3…just no money. Dah.

It's my good friend Toddo's turn!

Left 4 Dead is going to be PIMP!

And, I would just like to say, that Scorpion and Sub Zero would beat down Ken and Ryu every time. LOL, seriously... When was the last time you or your brother played a Mortal Kombat game? If you are only basing oyur hate on the old 2-d games, I implore you to give Deception, or Deadly Allaince a try. MK is actually a much deeper fighting game than it started out to be.

Of course they would win. Scorpion and Subzero use weapons in the recent Street Fighter titles! Ken and Ryu free-ball it and can't stand up to scimitars. Kind of a shame. Also, the last time I played one was whatever the first one that came out on the PS2 was. It was okay, didn't think it was impressive. I think it was DA. Yes though, it is MUCH better now than it was back in the 2D days.

If they made a Street Fighter v. MK I would totally buy it though. And play you online. And beat you to a pulp with Dan. Oh man, you'd be so embarrassed!

Closing up the comments this week is RavenTazECW

Thanks for posting my comment. I think that's twice in a month and a half or so that I've been your only comment in the column itself, heh. Although I preferred NHL 2000 over NHL99, the intro to NHL99 seems to be a lot better for fans than the 2000 version was. Since I owned NHL99 for the N64, I could not see this video and didn't think of it last week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkdKksI_Fhk
There may still be better sports intros out there (I liked Mario Power Tennis' opening), but for the case of hockey and the fact you didn't like the NHL 2000 one much, I figured I should show you an intro that is considered great by other NHL fans. In fact, I think someone else mentioned NHL99 in last week's column's comments, but I'll have to check on that.

Thankfully I'm not spoiled with the #1 game as I just click the link to this column that appears in the Spotlights links on the left margin. Of the 10 games mentioned, Fallout 3 is the only one I'm looking into. I'd look into ToS2 if I had a Wii, which I still don't.

I rarely ever feel like I've wasted my money on a video game after I buy one since I'm very cautious in doing so. I normally don't get games until I see several reviews on them. Very rarely do I get a game at release, and when I do it's because I know it's a game I'm going to like no matter what. I completely whiffed on Spore. I can't help but feel that I wasted $50 on it, and the worst part is that I can't freaking sell it to anyone because of that damn program EA stuck on my computer without my prior knowledge. This is a game that would require 5 huge and FREE expansion packs for me to feel as though the $50 was well spent, and of course EA is going to charge a ton for each expansion. I've played out two races so far and haven't gone back, last playing about a week after it was released. Spending $50 on that game has stopped me from being able to afford games I know I'd like: Civilization IV: Colonization, and NHL09 which is about to be released on the PC.

You're just a consistently quality commenter, what can I say?

I'm kind of surprised that you're not interested in many of the games I had listed…but at the same time, I am not. Before I researched some of the titles for this list, I was embracing for a rather cold, gameless winter. Now? I fucking wish I had more money because there's a lot of stuff coming out I want to play. I just hope that 411 can send me a copy of Fallout 3 because I just don't know if I can afford it now, haha.

Also, wow, I'm usually the same way and every time I've splurged on something it's cost me bad. I'm lucky Drew bought Spore otherwise I'd be pissed just like you. What a let down this was! Of course, the dude made Sims…so perhaps it was silly of us to get our hopes up. Well, you know how Maxis is…we'll see about a billion expansion packs before it's all said and done. Sigh.

The most disappointing game I've bought had to be Sudeki. What a piece of crap. I swear I didn't buy it because Ailish was a ludicrously hot cover star. I swear!



Top-10 PSX titles

This week I break down the top-10 titles to hit the Playstation 1. There really aren't any rules since I'm pretty sure most of these games hit the PS1 first before going to another console (not counting arcades of course). Whatever the case, this list is pretty much opinion and there were a lot of possible options…so I encourage you to show me a list of your own in the comment section. It could be very interesting to see how we all feel about this subject.

Lunar Silver Star Story is excluded from this list due to the fact it is a port from an earlier gen system.

10-) Tekken 3 - Fighting had always been a favorite genre of mine. If there is a critically acclaimed fighter odds are pretty good that I have played it at some point. The Playstation era helped usher in a new breed of fighter for me to enjoy. The 3D fighter! Tekken was the very first 3D fighter that I owned on a home console, which is kind of ironic because Tekken is one of the fighters that I have been critical of in the past…but the fact is, Tekken 3 was a good game no matter what a jerk like me will say.

First, let's go over the Tekken series as a whole. The original Tekken came out in the year 1994 with decent sized cast of eighteen characters…and it was kind of unique for the time. After all, to that point the fighter was defined as a 2D venture. Street Fighter II was dominating the world at the time and Mortal Kombat, its main competition, was raising all sorts of controversy. Tekken was different in that it used three dimensions…so you had to attack each battle differently than you would if you were battling on a say, 2D plane.

Of course, this is simply the arcade version of the game. Tekken was ported to the Playstation in 1995 and included some extra content. Yeah, I mean, the content wasn't anything special – just the ability to unlock some mid-bosses and FMVs – but it at least offered more than the arcade version, which is something you'd want from a game you play in the household. Tekken 1 wasn't that great of a title, but its gameplay would subtly evolve until it became Tekken 3, which was considered by many to be the finest fighter of all time upon its release…which is lofty praise indeed.

Tekken 3 came out on the Playstation in the year 1998 and featured a cast of 23 characters – down from the 25 of Tekken 2 but still more than the original had – including two characters that weren't in the arcade version of the game. These characters were Gon and Dr. Boskonovitch. Normally the addition of a character wouldn't be particularly note worthy…but the way these guys compliments the greatness that is Tekken 3. Whereas the other characters were unlocked simply by beating the arcade mode with the main cast, these two were unlocked by playing a couple of new modes.

That's correct. New modes with new gameplay methods. Tekken 2 added new modes as well, but they were just alternate ways of playing the same fighting game…Tekken 3 did something different. New to the home version of Tekken 3 was both the Tekken Force mode – which is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up affair – and the Tekken Ball mode (volleyball). Both of these modes had their critics due to the fact they weren't the best things ever, but I know that Tekken Force has a nice following due to the simple nature of it. Even I could succumb to the enjoyment of this mode and I hate everything that everyone loves.

Tekken 3 may not be the most balanced fighter in the world…but it left quite an indentation on the Playstation 1 library and many people remember it fondly to this day. The Tekken series has gotten better since three's release – five resonates with my quite well due to its nature of being a love letter to the fans – but this title resonates so well with people that no matter what year the calendar says it is, there will always be a place for this game.



9-) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - You must know that the Playstation has a strong library when Symphony of the Night is only ranked at number nine. Of course, another excuse for this is my un-founded hatred of backtracking. Whatever the case may be, Symphony of the Night is one of the best games of all time and deserves its own spot on this list.

To those of you who have played the Metroid franchise, Symphony of the Night is a lot like that. Whereas the early NES titles seemed to put more emphasis on platforming and adventure, SotN wanted you to actually explore your environments. You weren't supposed to just run through the game, you were supposed to look at everything as you went by – remember it – and come back with your power-ups so you can do something about it. It made the game kind of a hassle for those of us who don't notice details really well…but it's that very thing that made it click with fans.

I think the thing that I remember most about SOTN though is the story. The story and voice work. To say the translation was poor doesn't even begin to touch on it. To be totally fair, the game gave us the infamous "What is a man?" quote, so there's that. I look at this factor in Castlevania much how the Resident Evil fan looks at the corniness of Resident Evil 1 and smiles. That game as a whole had absolutely terrible writing, terrible acting, and terrible dialogue…and it's remembered fondly, partially for those reasons! Castlevania: SOTN is similar and I think that's part of the reason fans of the series remember it so fondly.

That's another big plus for Symphony of the Night, I should say. Castlevania is arguably one of the most consistent franchises in video game history and one could argue that the only bad Castlevania titles appeared on the Nintendo 64. Say what you will about Castlevania II, but for a "bad" game it was pretty enjoyable. So out of all of these high caliber games, many fans of the franchise hold SOTN to be the best. Game magazines generally agree with this line of thinking. Now, I know that you have to take what the fans think with a grain of salt – after all, many a Final Fantasy fan will claim VII is the greatest – but you should at least give the game extra consideration.

Symphony of the Night also boasts a phenomenal soundtrack. The audio was composed by Michiru Yamane and encompasses many genres of music. These range from gothic, to rock, to metal. The game also boasts, in my opinion, one of the best and most memorable vocal tracks from a game in "I am the Wind", which was sung by Cynthia Harrell. It isn't the best theme of all time but it's certainly a memorable one and adds to the overall experience.

SOTN is one of the most fondly remembered Playstation titles for a reason. It simply did everything right and went the extra mile to please the fans. You can easily hop on X-Box LIVE and buy the game or simply download an iso – I'm not going to pretend that emulation doesn't exist – because to be quite honest if you haven't played this game by now, you are missing out.



8-) Xenogears - Squaresoft had quite an impressive presence on the Playstation. It's interesting to point out that before the PSX came into our scope, Square was always associated with Nintendo. Can you imagine that? I know that Square produces things for all three major consoles today, but when I hear the name Square (Enix), I generally associate that with Sony. It's amazing what one generation of software can do, but Square's impact on the Playstation was so strong that it shifted that perspective.

At the time of this game's release in 1998, Final Fantasy VII had been out for over a year and everyone was waiting for their next Final Fantasy offering, Final Fantasy VIII. I can't speak for the Japanese, but I know over here a lot of people got their first RPG exposure with the seventh Final Fantasy and were hungry to try another offering by Square. You had other Square titles released since FF VII – namely Bushido Blades 1 and 2 as well as Brave Fencer Musashi – but none of them were really in the same vein as the classic RPG. Then, there was Xenogears.

Sure, Xenogears had an interesting combat system that wasn't ultra typical for a role playing game, but it wasn't something you could write home about. No, what people will remember most about Xenogears is the story. The story is, to say the least, absolutely compelling. It mixes the best of religion and philosophy and is one of the few titles out there that can actually make the player think. Now I know what you're saying, "Derek, games have terrible writing and I'm sure you're just using hyperbole." You're right about that, but what goes on in this game would be strong enough to not be laughed out of the world of literature.

Honestly, this game would be higher on the list if it wasn't for one, glaring detail. Disc 2 of Xenogears is perhaps the biggest let-down in videogame history. The first disk may have been the best disk 1 of all time but the second? Okay, let me set the stage for you. Picture if you will Snake's exploits through the Big Shell in Metal Gear Solid 2. I'm not talking about the cinemas, silly! I know how you could make that mistake, but I am not. No, the parts where you play…picture that. It was exciting, wasn't it? Okay, now imagine having all of this read to you from a book and not really getting to see the action as it transpires.

It's kind of like that, it's a drag isn't it? That doesn't really affect the story of Xenosaga, it's still quite good…but at that point your enjoyment of the game just takes a significant dip and that's just a shame. Still though, this game is ranked 8th of ALL games on the PS1 based on the strength of the first disk. Can you imagine if the second one had delivered the same experience the first one did? I imagine that I might have a serious contender for the top of the list.

I know a lot of you have probably tried out the Xenosaga franchise for the Playstation 2 and may be questioning me. Trust me, Xenogears is a quality experience that you'll remember for years after you play it while its prequels are not. If you have some sort of pre-conceived bias towards this game I can't encourage you to cast it aside quickly enough…Xenogears is a classic.



7-) Silent Hill - Generally speaking, the first thing we think of when we hear the term "horror genre" when applied to videogames is most likely Resident Evil. After all, that series is one of the most popular in the gaming world and helped make the horror genre a legitimate one. Without games like that, masterpieces like Fatal Frame may not exist today. That said, Resident Evil wasn't the only horror game you could play on your PSX There was also Dino Crisis!, you had Silent Hill…which took a significantly different approach.

Resident Evil's fear-factor seems to emanate from moments that will make you jump. From the zombies that you just didn't see to the things jumping through the window…it wants to elicit quick reactions from you. Silent Hill isn't quite like that. It takes a different approach by trying to creep you out through the atmosphere. Yes, the atmosphere in this game is so rich that it can legitimately scare you.

For instance, instead of having bright lit rooms…allowing you to see your enemies right away, you often have to judge on your sense of hearing whether an enemy is around you. You need to pay attention to your surroundings, otherwise you will be torn apart. That's sort of what makes the whole thing so creepy. You need to pay attention to everything as it happens, so you'll always be on edge. The second you hear something, you will freak out and I have to be honest, being scared has never been so satisfying.

This next part of the game is something critics of the game like to point at as a fault, but when I think of Silent Hill, it shines through as a strength. A lot of people think that Silent Hill plays absolutely horribly. It plays like a game where combat is just horrible, something you don't want. Well, uh, isn't that the point? I mean, if you're running around and killing everything with a flick of your wrist, it isn't exactly scary is it? That's what makes me happy, it just feels like a realistic game. Your main character, Harry, is actually a human. If you run for an elongated period of time he will get tired and if you get into a fight with a monster, you can't take much abuse. You're not immortal.

I guess that's what sticks out the most to me about the Silent Hill franchise. I can get horror anywhere but an experience like you would get from Silent Hill is sort of rare. You can easily be scared by a number of things. It's not hard. I mean, for goodness sakes, if I hear a loud shout in a peaceful area it will certainly startle me. That's not working hard for it, to be fair it feels pretty cheap…Silent Hill really works for its fear and it creates an experience that is, overall, more memorable.

I've went on and on about the game and haven't even mentioned the story. Unlike the original Resident Evil, Silent Hill is a pretty psychological game. It takes you through the paths of the human psyche…to say the least, it's wonderful. I really don't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't played it, but trust me when I say it's an experience you need to have. Plus, I mean, this game introduces the single greatest running gag in video game history. No silly, I'm not talking about the doorknob from Mother 3 (Does this LOOK like Mother 3 to you?) I'm talking about the UFO endings. Fuck yeah!

Seriously though, play Silent Hill. Today it may be a shell of its former self, but its former self remains highly playable on this day.



6-) Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - Boy, how far Crash has fallen from the gaming landscape eh? Isn't it weird thinking about the commercials where Crash would pull out the megaphone and call out Sonic and Mario? Crash was the BIG mascot for Sony! Ever since Naughty Dog sold off the rights to the poor guy, it's been nothing but a downhill plunge. The Playstation 2 Crash Bandicoot was a game I was desperately looking forward to and it wound up being a generic platformer. Oy. Luckily this ISN'T the Playstation 2 and this is from the days when Crash was a legitimate star…and let me tell you, this game was the primary evidence that he was, indeed, a star.

For those of you who have never played a crash game, allow me to basically explain it for you. For the most part, Crash is played on a vertical plane. For the most part you're moving up through an environment which may be kind of awkward at first due to the fact that most of us are used to horizontal platforming, but you get over that quickly and are also helped by the fact the game kind of contorts. Yeah, it's sometimes side-scolling.

Basically you just hop and bop your way through levels, looking for occasionally secrets such as hidden gems or something. It's not something you have to do, just something if you want to get 100% completion. Your basic attacks comprise of a jump and a spin. It's pretty basic but it's quite fun and something that you can easily go back to on a lazy afternoon.

Of course, Crash 3 deviates from this a little bit and kind of is the precursor for the fall of Crash. Yes, you still have the typical platforming level, but now you also get vehicular levels. These feature Crash riding on an assortment of things ranging from a tiger to a motor cycle. Now these sorts of things are indeed quite fun, but the over-reliance on these vehicles is what ultimately un-did the Bandicoot. They're used wisely here, but I wish they really would have just elected to keep the franchise simple.

You really can't get on this game's case because it's actually good. You can see the effort that Naughty Dog put into it. It wasn't the soul-less Crash Bandicoot that we could come to know and loathe, but the Bandicoot full of spunk! Vehicular sections were good, the platforming was good, everything the game had to offer was good and as far as mascot games go on the Playstation it was really your best bet. Oh sure, they tried to trot out some games like Jersey Devil but there was absolutely nothing that could top the Bandicoot at the time. Nothing. Crash Bandicoot 3 is the finest Crash game available and a shining example on how to do a platforming game right. It's sad how this and Crash Team Racing were the last two passable games that the Bandicoot starred in. Whatever, at least it wasn't as big of a collapse as Sonic.

Christ, I just made myself sad. Play this game to remember just how good Crash was before the darkest of times.



5-) Final Fantasy IX - As mentioned earlier Squaresoft was one of the most fundamental developers in the advancement of the Playstation. It is my firm belief that if Square had not backed Sony in those days…perhaps Sony would not still be in the console business today? I think Square did for Sony what Halo did for Microsoft. It allowed for the success of their console on a worldwide basis where before that time…there were only two competitors. The mighty Sega and Nintendo.

The last of the PS1 Final Fantasies was Final Fantasy IX and it was sort of a change from the previous two Playstation titles. The two before Final Fantasy IX were fairly darker games with more serious tones. You did not have happy and joyous protagonists, you had guys who wore a compendium of belts and brooded constantly. There isn't really anything wrong with that, but it was the trend at the time. IX sort of broke that by having a character who wasn't always down on himself, who wasn't overly serious…who seemed to legitimately enjoy life and that was part of the game's charm.

Another difference was that unlike the previous two Final Fantasy titles, IX was more of a shout out to the past. It could draw comparisons to Final Fantasies IV-VI more quickly than they could to their Playstation brethrens. In my eyes, it was sort of a callback to the older Final Fantasies to appeal to the sort of fan who plugged their fingers into their ears and simply shouted: "Lalalala FF VI is the best ever, fuck everything else". It may not have ensnared the interest of those people as much as they would have liked, but it certainly caught my interest.

Final Fantasy IX featured perhaps the finest cast of playable characters to appear in any game ever. You had the ultra likable lead, as has been mentioned. A female character who isn't just a hopeless, love-struck loon (though it's evident she does care for Zidane), but a contributing member to the success of your party. Vivi, who despite being manufactured, is perhaps the most realistic character in gaming history. Steiner who starts the game as an unlikable dolt and evolves into a loving character. Eiko, a sweet girl who really just needs a family. Amarant, the character that Square threw in for those of you who missed the leads of FF VII and VIII, and Quina the uh…ah, who am I kidding, Quina sucks. As far as playable JRPG parties go, there really isn't one that can match up with this one.

As if that wasn't enough, the game also has an amazing soundtrack. I wouldn't quite put it up there with Square's finest PS1 RPG – which will be detailed here shortly – but of the Sony Final Fantasies I would rate it as the finest sounding. It's just easy listening, something that you can play on your iPod (or whatever) and simply just chill to. I may be a mindless homer for Final Fantasy IX – after all, I tracked down the artbook and the OSt – but I think even from an outsider's perspective this game is excellent sounding.

If you look at the Final Fantasies that followed IX, you will notice that it started a trend. The mains in the next two non MMO main series titles were not brooding characters. Their dialogue did not consist of elipses. The leads were well-to-do, cheerful characters that were worthy of admiration. I am glad FF IX broke the trend and started a new one. In my eyes, it's easily the best and most replayable of the Playstation era Final Fantasy games.



4-) Resident Evil 2 - While I was felating Silent Hill earlier, I hope I didn't give you the impression that I thought it was superior to Resident Evil. No mistake about it, the Resident Evil franchise is still the king of Survival Horror. It may have a different focus these days (which I enjoy. A lot of the diehard fans dislike it though, and I can understand why), but Resident Evil in its prime was peerless in terms of ability to creep you out.

I'm sure I don't really need to explain to you the basics of Resident Evil 2. You essentially wonder throughout Raccoon City fending off zombies as either Claire Redfield or Leon Kennedy. What was particularly interesting about this game and its characters though was the scenario feature. When you played through the game as either Claire or Leon you could save the game and play through it again as the other character, reliving the experience through their eyes. It seems simplistic now, but very few games can execute this as well as RE 2 did.

Here's what impresses me the most about Resident Evil 2 though. While Capcom was developing the game, they had RE 2 pretty much finished. The problem is, they weren't really satisfied with the product. So instead of releasing a game that they were internally not satisfied with, they made the decision to totally scrap it and start RE 2 from scratch. That scratched product was later released as the forgettable Resident Evil 1.5 (It was a good decision), but could you see a company today getting that far in production and then deciding to start over? I really can't. It was a risky move and it paid off. Resident Evil 2 shines through in quality.

What makes RE 2 an improvement over the original in my eyes is the movement through the city. To me the city makes it more surreal, more feasible. Most of us won't find ourselves in mansions, particularly during "zombie infestations"…but the city? It just seems more realistic to see oneself struggling through a city, trying to find shelter than running through a mansion.

There's also a portion of RE 2 I didn't appreciate until very recently. My fondness of the Silent Hill franchise really made the emphasis of a horror game scaring you over playing well really leap out at me. Yes, Resident Evil has an archaic control scheme that makes it a real hassle to actually fight zombies…but if you had the ability to simply just kill zombies with no hassle, it wouldn't be scary would it? As much as I love Resident Evil 4, that game was not scary at all, and part of that reason is that there was no fear of death. I mean, sure, you could die…but you had plenty of ways to fight your way out of situations. There was ammo everywhere, the combat was fun…to be honest it was more of an action game than anything. I may prefer Resident Evil 4 to Resident Evil 2, but I can now understand how series devotees dislike the fourth game.

Resident Evil 2 is the best example of Survival Horror on the original Playstation and, outside of perhaps the Silent Hill franchise and Clock Tower, is perhaps one of the scariest games ever made. After all, what's more fun than having the shit scared out of you?



3-) Chrono Cross - The final Squaresoft game to appear on this list, and one of my favorite JRPGs ever. Chrono Cross was a game I was waiting for, for what seems like the longest time. I loved Chrono Trigger when I first played it in around the year 1996…and really couldn't wait for a sequel. When I heard of Chrono Cross I simply couldn't wait…I mean, would it continue the story that I had lived through in Chrono Trigger? To be honest, it doesn't really do that in the most direct way. Sure, there are connections to Chrono Trigger throughout the title, but it really stands on its own legs. I never would have imagined this going in, but Chrono Cross came out as my favorite game of the series. It was better than Chrono Trigger.

The first thing that helped set the table for this title would be the soundtrack. Throughout this list and most others, usually the last thing I mention about a good game is its soundtrack. That's for a good reason, usually the soundtrack is second to the game experience as a whole, but in Chrono Cross the music experience is really something special. It adds to the gameplay and makes the game memorable. For instance, I have the Chrono Cross soundtrack on my MP3 player. When it's on shuffle and I hear a Chrono Cross song, I don't simply wonder which game it's from…I know. And I can picture where from the game the song is from. I love how the songs in the game really speak to you. The fact I can still place where the music is from after all these years is amazing and really speaks volumes.

Of course, while listening to this music you may get into a fight or two. Chrono Cross's fighting system is one of my favorite to ever show its face in a role playing game. It uses a combo system to get things done. Essentially you have three levels attack. 1, 2, and 3. The numbers represent how hard the attacks hit. The harder the attack hits, the less percentage it has to hit. If you chain a light hitting hit into a harder one though – hence the combo system – you have a better chance of landing a hard hit. You're not just landing these hits for damage though. Each hit you land builds your element gauge. Prior to battles you place elements in certain slots and if you can build it up to there in battle you can use that element, only once. I like this system over the simple magic system because it requires more strategy, more thought. You often have to think about how you will build your team's element configuration prior to a battle and I think that's a pretty cool thing.

Of course though, this is a role playing game…so we all know what people are really playing this for. It's not the gameplay, it's not the music, it's the story. As a whole, the game's story can stand on its own. It doesn't really need the Chrono Trigger tie-in to be compelling, but the thing is they do throw it in. That really only makes things sweeter. The most memorable moment of the game for me was seeing Leene's bell with my new party of characters. It was like I was reliving the early moments of Chrono Trigger. It was pretty nice. Of course, the ending and the subsequent plot twist also tied it end with CT pretty well, but I won't touch on that for now. Just trust me, if you're a fan of the classic RPG you'll appreciate what you get here.

Chrono Cross is a game that fans of Chrono Trigger love to hate, and I just don't see why. Is it because your favorite characters aren't prominent in the game? Is it because it isn't the original? I'm not sure, really. I bet they'd enjoy the game if that ‘chrono' bit wasn't there. Whatever the case, Chrono Cross is one of the most compelling games on the Playstation and I hope it sees release on the PSN like Xenogears got in Japan. It's a game I'm sure a lot of PS3 owners could do with playing again.



2-) Street Fighter Alpha 3 - I don't try to hide my love for the Street Fighter franchise. I mean, why would I? I've been playing the game series for about as long as I can remember, and I honestly can't remember one game from the franchise I didn't at least moderately enjoy (even the wholely average Street Fighter EX. Also no, I'm not counting SF I). Is it any surprise that one of the greatest fighting games of all time manages to make it to the penultimate point of my list? It really shouldn't be, because if you've played the title you'll know it was one to remember.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 was by far the smoothest playing of the Alpha series. Oh sure, it's not like the other two games were sluggish or anything…but everything about the third Alpha title felt smooth and silky. It also introduces one of the best systems in modern fighting games – the isms. Instead of being restricted to one style of play, you had many. You could play as the A-ism, which was like the previous Alpha games, the X-ism which is more reminiscent of Street Fighter 2 Turbo, and the V-ism, which is more for custom combos like you could see in Street Fighter Alpha 2. It was nice, because before that it felt like you only had one way to go in a fighter. That was cool.

Another neat thing was added to this game, but it wasn't so much on the gameplay side but on the extras side. You could now play through a mode called World Tour mode which forced you to win various fights in a number of different ways. It was similar to what you and I might call event battles. As you fought through this mode, your character would level up (based on your score) and if you reached a certain level before you beat the game you could unlock three different hidden fighters. You can get the classic Guile, the brooding Dark Ryu, and the masterful Shin Akuma. This is probably my favorite way to unlock fighters, because it incorporates actual struggle. You have to try different things in order to get the requisite number of points and I quite enjoy that.

I'm also a pretty big fan of the bonus modes, such as team battle. I know it's sort of "more of the same"…but at least they're giving us multiple ways to play the same fighter. It only adds to replay value. I figure the team battle is pretty similar to what you would see in King of Fighters and later the Capcom vs. SNK series. You have a different fighter every round. It's cool.

There's really not a whole lot I can say about Street Fighter that you don't already know. It's a classic franchise that has had a certain level of quality ever since number 2 came out all those years ago. The only thing I can tell you is that behind Street Fighter 3, this is my favorite SF game of all time and that is really saying a lot. This game is incredible and worthy of all the praise it receives.



1-) Metal Gear Solid - Metal Gear Solid is a franchise that I will always associate with the Sony brand. Yes, Metal Gear Solid 4 might yet be released for the X-Box 360 and we already know that MGS 2 was cross-platform…but the success of the original Metal Gear Solid and what it meant to the Sony faithful will always have the series firmly in the Sony camp, for me at least.

Metal Gear Solid was the update of the classic Metal Gear franchise. Metal Gear, as we all know, was a stealth based game that emphasized your knowledge of the terrain and enemy movement over your ability to fight. That same idea stuck with it in its transfer to the third dimension and thus Metal Gear Solid was born. The thing was, before the original MGS I didn't really enjoy the Metal Gear franchise. It was alright, but there was something about it that just didn't quite click with me…Metal Gear Solid filled that void and remains one of my favorite games ever to this very day.

What made Metal Gear Solid so great was its combination of gameplay and story. Oh yes, you may be thinking, there was a bit more story than gameplay – and this may be a valid complaint – but this really helped establish the cinematographic feel of the series. It's sort of something that takes getting used to and can scare off many a gamer who prefer, you know, playing all the time. To those are actually fans of the series though, that very idea is what makes it so lovable.

Of course, the game couldn't just survive on cinema alone. I mean, it's nice and all having a story that can keep your interest but if the gameplay in between isn't worth the struggle, can you really see yourself working away just to see what happens? To be honest, I can't. Especially in this day and age. If the gameplay turns me off but the story is good, I'll just hop onto the internet and learn what I am missing out on by not playing through the rest of the game.

Luckily for everyone involved, Metal Gear Solid doesn't fall into this pit. Its stealth based gameplay is pure fun. I honestly felt compelled to get Snake through the game while playing properly. I didn't want to sound the alarms, I didn't want to get into gun fights, I wanted to play the game the right way. Usually stealth games can play really quite frustrating. When I think of games that are sort of "jacks of all trades"…the worst part of the game is invariably the forced stealth section. Metal Gear Solid isn't like that, it makes stealth fun.

I really can't say enough good things about Metal Gear Solid, but it's just the sort of game that you, the reader, probably know everything about by now. I am preaching to the choir. I can't help it though, the story and the gameplay are so compelling that I just keep finding myself coming back for more. No matter what year it is, no matter what mood you are in…Metal Gear Solid is a game that can withstand the test of time. Twenty years down the road, if you can ignore the graphics, Metal Gear Solid will still be highly playable. You really can't say that about every game. Even if you hate overly cinematic titles, Metal Gear Solid is worth your time.



Honorable Mentions: Resident Evil 3, Final Fantasy Tactics, Digimon World 1, a few others that elude my mind right now.

Well, that's it for this week. As always if you wish to send me feedback simply leave me comments below or shoot me an e-mail at [e-mail]. I really appreciate all the feedback I get, even if it's not overwhelmingly positive. After all, I think the criticism helps me improve as a writer. So thank you.

Well before I go, let's check out some articles from around 411mania. Of course, I am running out of time, so this week it's another abbreviated link section. I apologize, comments and stuff will return next week!

Theo Fraser writes The Nintendophiles

Jordon Williams brings us Working Title

Vincent Chiucchi writes The Hall of Shame

I write B3yond the Report

Chris Vicari writes The PC-Spotlight

Chris Evans writes The PC-centric Extravaganza

Mark Salmela subbed for Fact or Fiction this week.

Ty Huston writes The Classic Flashback

Drew writes Coming Attractions

Rod Oracheski writes Achievement Unlocked

Joe Roche writes the Full-Circle News Report

Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report

AJ and Mike Minotti orate the Exploding Barrel Podcast

Well, that's it for today. I'm out.

'til the crossroads

Screenshots
All 9 The 10th Hour Screenshots