So I was rummaging through my old things and guess what I found? My old Playstation 1 video games! Wow, what a blast from the past! Naturally, I thought it would be fun to share with you guys.
I played these games with my older brother while we were in grade school. (Shoutout to all the younger siblings who were always player-2 like me.) There were no fancy consoles like the Wii or anything like that invented yet — just the good ol' Playstation 1! These games were such a big part of my childhood, it made me super nostalgic to see them again. :)
So anyway, here are the TOP 10 PS1 games I used to play a lot as a little girl:
(also please ignore my carpet... some professional photography, I know)
10. Megaman Series
The only reason Megaman isn't higher up on my list is because of how much I freakin' sucked at it. I kid you not, I was probably the worst Megaman gamer on the planet when it came out. I spent half the boss fights climbing the walls on the sides (especially for that lava dude) and stayed my happy butt there. I remember my brother screaming at me a lot, although in his defense I was a pretty bad sidekick. My aim sucked balls and I relied on random-panic firing, which was not the best tactic, let me tell you. (But also, I was like 8 ok???)
I'm pretty sure we had more of these games, but the only one I managed to find were Megaman 8 and X4.
9. Monkey Magic
Mon-kaaaahy! I will never forget the many hours I spent on this puzzle/action game. I loved it though! I thought it was super creative because up until then, I had never played a game where you could turn yourself into ice or gold (or was it stone?). Basically, from what I remember, you collect these floating peaches and learn awesome new monkey karate moves while freeing other trapped monkeys all around the world. I hated the battle arenas very much though. I remember the dojo at the very beginning with the monkeys you had to go up against. So much fail! (On my part!) There was also this factory level with toxic green acid and you had to climb all these things to the top, only to have a cage fall on you, underground-wrestling style, forcing you to fight against these... what was it? Rats? Bandit karate monkeys? Something like that!
I did get pretty far in this game. I remember getting the nimbus cloud and my super awesome stick weapon. For some reason, I can't remember fighting the boss. Probably because I never did.
My favorite part of Monkey Magic (besides the hilarious transition of the victory screech,"Mon-kaaaahy!" to "MONKEEEEY!" as you get farther into the game) is definitely the puzzle aspect of it. There are times when you have no choice but to jump off the screen and die because you messed up the level. You have to get the puzzle just right! If you want to play Monkey Magic, but want something solid to compare it with, I'd have to say it's sort of similar to Rayman.
Rayman was another game I used to play, which was SUPER SUPER difficult for my little-kid self. His large disconnected hands freaked me out a bit, to be honest, but he sure is one cool dude. The first few levels were alright, but when I had to swing vines and avoid mustachioed men in the jungle just waiting to shoot me with a pistol, that's when things started to get really difficult. I didn't make it far in Rayman 1 (see: rage-quit), because my kid-self could not handle it, but after playing the newer Rayman games as an adult, I can say that they are equally as awesome and challenging!
8. Pacman World
This is not your average pac-man game. It's three-dimensional, for one thing, and there are different worlds you can visit. Plus, Pacman can jump, barrel roll, and even swim! However, the premise is similar— there are places in each world where you see the yellow dots Pacman loves to eat and your favorite pastel ghosts guarding them. There are also boss fights with a galleon pirate ship, shooting cannon balls at you. It's actually pretty fun! My favorite world was definitely the beach/pirate one. You could shoot cannons!
On another note, I also played Bomber man a lot, which I could not include in this list as I could not find the game. I would say Pacman World is definitely comparable to Bomber man.
7. Magical Racing Tour
Normally, I hate racing games. I don't like playing them because my anxiety shoots through the roof and I just get really stressed out for some reason. Racing games are just really not for me... But boy, did I loooove this one.
You can pick from 13 different Disney characters and choose which raceway (each based on Disney World theme parks) to race on. Splash Mountain and, of course, the Haunted Mansion were my favorite raceways. You could collect and shoot different objects at your competitors and there were hidden trophies to collect in each place. For example, looking at a specific mirror in the Haunted Mansion will get you a trophy, but will certainly lose you the race. Each track also had different Disney-themed music to jam to.
It sounds pretty lame, but it was the best thing ever back then. There was no Wii in the 90's, okay?! No fancy-shmancy consoles. Just this plain, gray, playstation that was the most awesome invention ever created. To compare, there were also the much-loved Crash Bandicoot games, (I rocked the pogo-stick challenges, for those who know what I'm talking about) but those racing games were a little too intense for my 8yr-old barbie-playing self.
6. 40 Winks
So I don't know where I got this particular version of the game from, as most of my games were bought second-hand, but this one comes with two racing games (boo!) and a multiplayer scrabble (...why?). The only one I really played on this disc was 40 Winks. And damn, did I play that hard-ass game!! Maybe it would be easier for me to play now, but I am not kidding when I say that this was the HARDEST. Game. Ever.
I absolutely love the design of this game. Kind of creepy and gothic, like Tim Burton-esque. Lots of ghosts and monsters. I was always played the girl character and absolutely owned with my teddy bear-weapon. But I was also horrible with the morphs (too many buttons to press) and also died way too often because I panicked every time enemies saw me and rushed at me. I was also a little bit scared of the game itself... it was creepy, ok!
Biggest regret: never beat that stupid cackling witch at a race, 28/40 winks for life. ;_;
5. Casper
Who knows this game and has played it? I'll be really impressed. I think this is one of those really obscure games that just got buried under the video game boom.
But it's so good! You might look at it, roll your eyes, and be super duper skeptical. Because seriously... a Casper game? But don't knock it 'til you've tried it. It's a really cool old-school puzzle game where you play as Casper, all alone in his really big maze of a mansion. You have to find and earn hidden jigsaw puzzle pieces to put in specific frames around the maze-like mansion (a good memory will help you tons... otherwise, you'll wander for HOURS). When you complete a picture, you are granted a new ghostly ability, such as being able to go through vents for fast access to other rooms as well as secret hiding places, and turning into a ball in order to fit through narrow spaces. The map is huge. The more abilities you unlock for Casper, the more places you'll be able to access. There is also a lot of puzzle-solving, such as moving furniture around to unlock doors and looking behind picture frames to discover hidden buttons. So if that's your thing, you'll definitely love this game.
Meanwhile, Kat and her father moves into the house, and parts of the mansion becomes battle dungeons for each of your mean ghost uncles. You have to defeat each of them three or four times at different points in the story and you must be properly equipped for it. For example, I spent ages trying to defeat Fatso in the bathroom and figured out all I needed was the camera! (And I had to find that first too.) If you don't have what you need to beat your uncle, you can leave the dungeon and go back later. Little by little, you discover the mystery about your father and begin the final mission to find and put-together the Lazarus.
Definitely a game you can play to relax. Nothing too hardcore— it's really casual gaming. It does involve a lot of memory and puzzle-solving skills, but nothing should be too hard. There are ways to 'cheat' (like moving out of the screen and into a different part of the map without having the ability to access it yet), but it's really much more enjoyable trying to figure out how to do things the 'right way.' Absolutely love this game.
4. Tekken 3
An all-time classic. While I'm not a big fan of too many action games (I hate shooter games), I do love one-on-one fighting games like Tekken! I remember playing Tekken 3 a lot because I wanted to collect all the backstories you get when you win with a character.
I always played as Ling (LING FOREVER!) when on multiplayer because I was so good with her combos! I also liked Gon and Panda, just because they were so cute. Loved that panda. (Is that where Kung-fu Panda came from?) Nina Williams was another character I loved to play. Of course, little girls want to play girl characters... so that was me! But all those combos! It was a bit too much for me to try and remember back then, so while I played Tekken A LOT, I much preferred....
3. Marvel vs. Capcom
Chun-Li forever. FOREVER. (Ling who??) I also liked to play as Venom and Strider. I have no idea why I liked Venom so much because his moves were gross, but I remember if I wanted to take a break from playing Chun-Li, it was almost always Venom. And I always had Saki or Anita as Capcom partners and Jubilee or Rogue for Marvel.
Iron Man was really good too, but I didn't like how he looked so I mastered Chun-Li instead. Looking back on it now, it seems like I mostly focused on aesthetics in games back then. I occasionally played Morrigan as well, but I remember worrying a lot about my parents seeing her outfit. Haha!
Gameplay is super simple: you have one character to choose from and one sidekick— the equivalent of an assist in MVC3. There are three rounds and it's basically just one-on-one all the way.
Also, I did get MVC3 as soon as it came out and I was obsessed for the first couple of weeks. This is my ultimate team in this exact lineup: Dante (of course), Deadpool, and Amaterasu. Occasionally I switch out Deadpool for Wesker or X-23... that girl's got some fast moves! My ultimate team almost never loses, with Amaterasu as my "last resort" ultimate character (I've totally mastered his skills) and Dante as my strong start. Yayaaa! Bold cancels ftw.
2. Spyro the Dragon
Spyro was my absolute favorite game to relax to after a hard day of elementary school... ha! I could literally spend hours charging at those little green monsters and turning them into butterflies for my trusty dragonfly friend to eat up. Or otherwise chasing those mysterious little dudes with the dragon eggs for ages.
The main plot of the game is that all the dragons have been crystallized all over the world and it is up to Spyro to bring them back to life. Sounds pretty simple... but it is so much more than that.
I spent SO much time on my Spyro games that if it was a pie chart, my 9-yr old social life would only show Spyro. I remember being so psyched when I progressed to a different world because the places are so visually different from each other and it was just so amazing to look at. Compared to games out on the market now, the graphics are pretty bad, but it was really cool back then. It's still pretty darn amazing to me now. It's not too hard to play once you figure out all the basics, but there are some challenging monsters that don't make it too easy.
One of my favorite parts has to be the bonus 'free flying' levels, where you control Spyro as he goes through loops and collects as many goodies as he can... kind of like flying the Kingdom Hearts gummy ship when traveling between worlds. I also just like cruising and flying around. I'd waste time just climbing up to the highest point I could reach and flying down, collecting treasure chests. So much fun.
1. Tales of Destiny
And presenting my all-time favorite PlayStation1 game in the world! No surprise it would be an RPG. Many of you would be appalled to know that I did not discover the Final Fantasy series until later on in my life, so while all of my future friends binged on Final Fantasy 7, Tales of Destiny was my jam. And I was so freakin' obsessed. OBSESSED. (yes, I really needed to emphasize that.)
It's about Stahn, a stowaway aboard a flying ship, who comes across a 'Swordian' (basically a talking, living SUPER sword) named Dymlos. Not too long after that, a bunch of stupid Zubats and barbarians start infiltrating the ship— turns out that they are after the talking sword. Here's where it gets all Harry Potter: the Swordian chooses the user and Stahn has been chosen by Dymlos. They manage to escape the flying ship and not too long afterwards meet a bunch of other Swordian-users (aka, chosen ones). They band together to, of course, SAVE THE WORLD!
It sounds corny (it probably is), but it sure was epic. There are SO many things you can do in a city, for example, and so many hidden 'secrets' that you have to discover on your own. I played NiNoKuni recently and thought that the dragon-flying thing was totally ripped off from Tales of Destiny! And the world map: Tales of Destiny! And the ship: Tales of Destiny!!! Basically, all I could see was Tales of Destiny in that game... that's obsessed I was. (Still am, tbh.)
I've played through this game beginning to end more than five times and pretty much know all the secrets and extra things you can do. For example, there's a way to save Mary's husband. There's also a way to bring her back to your party later on (not worth it, in my opinion, as she is extremely weak). Also, when you're being invaded by the pirate ships, collect all your mackerels. Don't sell them and never put them in the food sack because it'll poison everyone. Just keep them— you'll need them much later for a dragon named Gourmet and you can't get them anywhere else. (I will forever have this bit of info in me 'til the day I die— just in case anyone's wondering why I'm talking about saving mackerels on my death bed in the future.)
Pretty much just an old-school RPG game, ToD just has priceless sentimental value to me. It's a LOT like Final Fantasy 7, except it's by Namco so the style's a bit different. If I played Spyro "all the time," then I played ToD "all the time"x100. Just sayin'.
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Some honorable mentions:
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