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10 GROSSLY UNDERRATED PLAYSTATION GAMES

11/5/2017

37 Comments

 
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Given its success, there were a lot of games released for the original PlayStation. Everyone wanted a bite of its sweet cherry pie.

Sometimes, however, it feels as if the likes of Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Tekken, Ridge Racer, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid et al overshadow everything else. What's more, so many PlayStation games seemed to be finding their way in a new 3D world, trying to understand the rules and make the technology work for them. In short: they have aged badly.

But that isn't the whole story. In truth, while it may not be my favourite console ever, the PlayStation was home to a lot of brilliant games which got swamped by the high-rollers. Lots of inspired J-RPGs, lots of splendid side-scrolling shooters, and many games which went against the grain did something entirely new.

Here are just ten of these ripe "plums".
KLONOA: DOOR TO PHANTOMILE
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To play Namco's Klonoa was to love Klonoa. It was a classic-style platformer, using the PS1's power to render some truly gorgeous, brightly-coloured, 2.5-D visuals.

Achingly cute and characterful, it was considered an also-ran next to the Sonics and Marios of the world, but felt completely at odds with almost everything else on the PlayStation. Instead of trying to be all grown-up and dark and edgy and cool, like far too many PS1 games, Klonoa just wanted players to enjoy themselves. It may not have been quite Super Mario good, but it was certainly Kirby or Sonic good.

Admittedly, it probably didn't help that Klonoa - as a character - wasn't as immediately identifiable as a plumber or hedgehog. Was he - or she - a dog? A cat? A stoat?
JUMPING FLASH
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The PlayStation launch title I - perhaps controversially - enjoyed the most, Jumping Flash was a 3D platformer... but in a completely different way to, say, Super Mario 64. In short: it was a first-person platformer, with the player housed inside an exoskeleton resembling a giant rabbit. As you do.

The graphics look basic by today's standards, but it was frantic, and - given the heights you could leap to - genuinely vertigo-inducing. Sadly, it was overshadowed by that one-track special, Ridge Racer, and the too-cool-for-school Wipeout.

You real bad idiots... you all bought the wrong games!
G-POLICE
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G-Police arrived at a point when developers had really started to get to grips with the PlayStation hardware. Though the draw distance came in for some flack, it was clearly not a first-generation game, being set in a beautifully-realised futuristic metropolis. It was a simple, but solid, shoot 'em up, as you piloted your craft through a series of Blade Runner-esque domes. Plus... it still holds up today. 

​What did the G stand for? Garibaldi.
VIB RIBBON
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A rhythm-action game unlike anything before or since, Vib-Ribbon's vector-style graphics were generated on the fly using music from the player's own CD collection. It was a simple concept - vault over obstacles in time, say, S-Club 7 or "Meat" Loaf - but nightmarishly tough to master.

Unnaturally, hitting obstacles would devolve your character from a rabbit to a frog and then a worm. Darwin must've been vomiting in his grave.
BISHI BASHI SPECIAL
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A massive influence on Nintendo's Wario Ware series, Bishi Bashi Special was a compilation taken from a series of games released in Japan. Like Wario Ware, players were confronted with a succession of bizarre mini challenges, some emulating classic video game genres, designed to test the player's reactions; a bride had to throw a pie at her guests... or you had to click the top of a retractable pencil as fast as possible... or spray cockroaches with insecticide.

To play it is to realise that even Nintendo is capable of ripping off somebody else's work, and not giving a fig.
ONE
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You know those bits in Uncharted where it all goes a bit crazy, and you're pushing forward while being assaulted by a tank, and the whole world is blowing up around you, and bridges are collapsing, and that? Yeah, well, One did that 20-odd years ago. Yes, the graphics have dated, but it's alarming to revisit it now and realise how modern it feels. 
INTELLIGENT QUBE
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Imagine being trapped in a game of Tetris. That would be real awful, wouldn't it? The blocks are rolling towards you, and you have to lay traps to destroy them to clear path so that you're not pushed off the bottom of the screen.

​That's the basic idea of Intelligent Qube. It may not have been the prettiest PlayStation game, but it used the technology to offer players something new and unique.
GLOVER
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Originally released on the N64, where it never stood a chance next to a certain turtle-slaughtering plumber, Glover was different to many platform games in that the character's design was integral to the gameplay. Rather than just create a game featuring a generic anthropomorphised animal character, Glover was - as you might suspect - a "funny glove".

​Aside from being able to run on the middle two of his four fingers, Glover could pick up a number of different balls and - depending on the type - bounce, slap or roll it towards enemies. 
EVIL ZONE
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Pretty much any PlayStation beat 'em up existed in the shadow cast by the Tekkken series, but Evil Zone was an overlooked gem.

The graphics were solid, the characters were great - with some original move sets - and it had a neat, anime, style all of its own. Also, the fact you had just one button for block and one for attack may have upset beat 'em up purists, but made it far more approachable to the likes of me.

Plus, it featured one of the earliest examples of realistic breast physics seen in a game. Which, of course, might  not exactly be a good thing... but, well, it is a thing.
MDK
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Yes, it had appeared on the PC already, and yes the PlayStation version didn't look quite as good, but MDK remains one of the most original - and unjustly-forgotten - games of all time. Being Dave Perry's follow-up to The Earthworm Jim series, it displays the same levels of imagination and weirdness.

A jarring - but welcome - mix of styles, MDK's levels would begin with the character free-falling towards a huge mining machine, which was stripping Earth of its resources. It would then become a third-person shoot 'em up... albeit with snowboarding and sniping thrown in.

​As well as having a unique visual style and colour palette, it also had a sense of humour. Weaponry available included The World's Most Interesting Bomb, which would lure enemies over to it,

Though most believed MDK stood for "Murder, Death, Kill", the manual insists on "Mission: Deliver Kindness". 
FROM THE ARCHIVE:
10 REASONS THE PLAYSTATION WAS OVERRATED
A TRIBUTE TO THE SEGA SATURN - BY MR BIFFO
​
A TRIBUTE TO THE MEGA DRIVE - BY MR BIFFO​

37 Comments
Jim Leighton (Future World Darts Champion) x
11/5/2017 10:20:30 am

FIRST

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John Hewitt
11/5/2017 08:49:08 pm

I love how it must've take you longer to type in your name than it did your comment.

Well done, Jim.

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Dr Alex P. Gaywood
11/5/2017 10:48:59 pm

He probably has those quick fill things so he only needed to type in the first letter then click the suggestion.

PROBABLY.

Jim Leighton (Future World Darts Champion) x
12/5/2017 08:44:48 am

Indeed.

Jane Hussain
11/5/2017 10:31:54 am

Some of my bestest gaming memories involve Bishi Bashi Special. Must surely be a contender for 'funnest multiplayer game of all times'.
Are there any modern day equivalents?

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Hamptonoid
11/5/2017 12:11:41 pm

Totally agree. There's an arcade version (or, at least, something like it) at arcade club in Bury.

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Jol
11/5/2017 12:29:24 pm

In terms of mini-game collections the closest would probably be stuff like Mario Party and Super Monkey Ball, but I've no idea how long ago the last version of either game was released.

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Biscuits
11/5/2017 07:36:08 pm

Loved it mate. Uncle Launcher was a particular highlight

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DEAN
11/5/2017 10:44:50 am

Klonoa and Jumping Flash were definitely 2 great games.

Another that stands out is Pandemonium. To date it is the only 'proper' game my wife has ever completed.

Towards the end of the PS1s life I kept one going simply for multiplayer Worms games. MANY hours spent playing that.

And the PS1 was the first thing my wife and I bought together - sure, it may not be my favourite ever console but it did so much to change the views of so many. A lot of my mates at the the time wouldn't have considered buying a console until it came along.

I think the Xbox has a lot more to answer for - Microsoft have done a lot more harm than Sony.

One of my favourite things about the Playstation is the colour palette I associate with it - no, not that big blue. Think more oranges and turquoises.... like No Man's Sky box art or iOS Monument Valley... there's a mature complexity to it but it's at the same time playful and surreal. Gorgeous!

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Shinpad
11/5/2017 11:13:20 am

Good article, apart from Vib Ribbon, which was a pile of overrated poopoo. I'm calling you out Biffo, I don't think you ever played it!

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Mr Biffo
11/5/2017 11:18:07 am

I did so! I appreciated it trying something different.

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shinpad
11/5/2017 12:37:40 pm

Ha I did the same and bought it on release, it felt worth supporting games like that at the time, however I was so disappointed at how boring it was, I was over it within 30 minutes

Eean
11/5/2017 12:08:43 pm

Intelligence cube?
INTELLIGENCE CUBE?
It was called Kurushi when I bought it from my local Toys R Us in the UK.
How/why did the name change-uss occur?

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Mr Biffo
11/5/2017 01:04:33 pm

Apparently, that was the American name... I did a silly!

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Dangerous Dave
11/5/2017 09:17:02 pm

I skipped through the rest of the list to rage at the very same thing! What a game!

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Jim Leighton (Future World Darts Champion) x
12/5/2017 08:47:43 am

I played a demo of Kurushi when I first got my PlayStation, it was pretty cool, they didn't sell it at the Wrexham GAME back then, so never got to play the full game (sad smiley face)

Matt finish
11/5/2017 12:43:44 pm

Ah,vib ribbon,I loved that game,bought it back in the day and have since downloaded it to love all over again.A couple of earth years ago my eldest son had a 18th birthday party and it was a video game themed fancy dress,i thought I'd be quite obscure and go as vib(white morph suit, white pumps and paper mache mask),On the big night we welcomed a few Marios,sonics,a Mr & ms pacman but my jaw really hit the ground when in came another vib,it turned out to be my wife's uncle(wuncle),he's a massive Japaneseophile and had a shop (Internet) bought suit,really shaming my home made effort,we did though have a good night on the dance floor,pulling some wicked vib ribbon moves.(if you wondered my wife went dressed as the kiwi from New Zealand story).

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PeskyFletch
11/5/2017 02:21:22 pm

FINAL FANTASY 7? oh, and die hard trilogy, loved that.

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ThatsNoMoon
11/5/2017 02:57:40 pm

Carnage Heart. Utterly compelling strategy game like no other before or since.

It had mechs but, instead of the usual direct control we all expect, the player had to fund research into parts/weapons then design each series for production. The clever bit was the behaviour of your units had to be programmed using a tile-based system on a limited grid.

Think it reviewed well and was very popular in Japan but had next to no marketing in the West and thus quickly forgotten. PSP sequel was released over there but was never translated.

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PeskyFletch
12/5/2017 04:07:08 pm

Yeah i liked that game. Especially when you'd design some hyper destroyer, mess up some of the programming so it did something completely irrational

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Duckman
11/5/2017 03:34:40 pm

I am so glad I picked up Vib Ribbon back in the day. It was going cheap and looked so original. Great game indeed.

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That Guy
11/5/2017 03:52:04 pm

One of my favourite Playstation games that deserved more recognition was Jade Cocoon - Hundreds of monster combinations and tons of fun.

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Voodoo76
11/5/2017 04:18:35 pm

I was too busy playing Sega Rally to worry about all this SHITE.

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Wrist Flapper
11/5/2017 05:55:57 pm

Huh. I thought I was the only one who liked Garibaldi Police. Played it on the PC with a flight stick and it was very much "the shit" as the younger members of your species are wont to say.

I was expecting a remaster to be anounced as a tribute following the death of Jerry Doyle last year, the actor who played Garibaldi in Babylon 5, and after whom the game was named. This world is ever a disappointment.

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Jackson Fashanu
11/5/2017 06:17:41 pm

That is the best thing I've read all week.

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Wrist Flapper
11/5/2017 08:22:22 pm

I very rarely comment on Digi, but I've done two this week and they've both been complimented. Is that you Biffles with fake names and a secret plan to get more people engaging with the site?

Either way, I'm feeling all a-tingle.

Kelvin Green link
11/5/2017 06:51:33 pm

True fact: I won a PS4 by saying that Jumping Flash was my favourite PlayStation launch title. I wasn't even lying!

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Paul Maul
11/5/2017 08:24:55 pm

Jumping Flash was incredible, I remember it being reviewed badly at the time as it was 'too easy', like that matters when it was so much fun and unlike anything else at the time! the difficulty did not hamper it in any way.

Didn't again experience the feelings of vertigo it creates in a game until Mirror's Edge.

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J. Grizzlington
11/5/2017 08:51:32 pm

Sanvein!

So underrated I constantly forget the name of it despite my love for the game

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Nin
11/5/2017 10:19:37 pm

Needs more Syphon Filter, Future Cop LAPD, Fear Effect.

Oh and Final Fantasy VII, seeing as some people clearly don't appreciate it.
* Glares *

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Hamptonoid
11/5/2017 11:08:47 pm

I'd forgotten all about fear effect, that was a fine game. Also remember being very fond of tenchu - the first game that I remember where stealth was actively rewarded.

Would love to go back and play these again. They're probably lame-o, though, right?

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Spiney O'Sullivan
11/5/2017 11:40:20 pm

I spotted a Fear Effect booth at EGX. I think it's coming back.

Dr Alex P. Gaywood
11/5/2017 10:52:58 pm

But what does GARIBALDI stand for? Here, let ME tell YOU.

GIANT
ARTHRITIC
RABBITS
IN
BIG
ANCIENT
LEMONY
DEMON-FREE
IGLOOS

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Spiney O'Sullivan
11/5/2017 11:52:38 pm

Klonoa is an absolute treasure of a game, sadly released on the console with the userbase least likely to buy a cutesy game featuring a flying cat that had 0.5 less dimensions than the full three that they craved.
It didn't even have a demo machine in the Ministry of Sound you could play while getting trashed on alcopops and waiting for Channel 5 to start airing or whatever else they were doing in 1997. Probably still arguing over which Spice Girl was best-looking.

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Voodoo76
12/5/2017 09:49:21 am

Definitely Jason Orange.

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Seano
12/5/2017 05:55:41 am

Ape Escape

(monkey boxing)

Oh my <3

Reply
Johnny Crash
2/6/2018 05:05:19 pm

Tekken aint a beat'em up

Reply



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