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10 MORE PLAYSTATION PLATFORMERS WHICH DESERVE TO BE REMASTERED

12/4/2018

28 Comments

 
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Weirdly, the original PlayStation isn't remembered for its platform games.

​The system was so heavily marketed as a "cool" lifestyle accessory - with Sony encouraging people to take it to nightclubs with them, and raise glasses of Southern Comfort and Coke ("So-Co") in its honour, and likening it to a tattooed frenum - that it is largely forgotten that it also played host to a number of properly decent platformers. 

History is in the process of being rewritten, however, with the recent remaster of the Crash Bandicoot games, and the upcoming reimagining of the system's premiere platform hero, Spyro. But if we dive deeper into the PS1's platform game pool, what other treats might we find feeding on its bottom?

Here are ten such games which deserve a re-evaluation. 
THE ADVENTURES OF LOMAX
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The Adventures of Lomax might just be the most Psygnosis-y game ever released by legendary Liverpool-based studio Psygnosis. A shamelessly 2D platformer in the most traditional sense, it starred a lemming from the company's Lemmings series, putting him in a fantasy world that had the sort of lush visuals more commonly associated with Psygnosis's Shadow of the Beast franchise. 

Reviews at the time we mixed, with most critics and punters viewing the 2D side-scroller as a genre that was long past its prime. Every single one of those people is now exposed as a "consumate dunce".

You see, while Lomax might not have been the most original game ever, it leveraged the meaty muscles of the PlayStation to offer an experience that was far, far more lush than anything we got in the previous generation.

​Everybody remembers the limbless wonder that is Rayman, but Lomax was every bit as pretty.
KLONOA: DOOR TO PHANTOMILE
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A genuine lost classic, Klonoa and its sequel managed to avoid criticisms of being old-hat by placing its 2D platforming in a 2.5D environment. It meant that the character's adventure took place on a subtly 3D, curving plane. I could waste more of my precious time and energy explaining what that means, but you can probably work it out. 

It sold well, but its cutesy visuals meant that it stood out as an aberration on a system more commonly associated with grim and gritty "grown-up" adventures, or games with soundtracks by cool dude clubbermen like The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Lou Bega, Len, and The New Radicals.

In short: cool kids thought it was a stupid game for stupid babies.

Ha ha. Joke's on you now: you got old, and one day you're gonna die!
PANDEMONIUM
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Another pseudo-3D title, Pandemonium wasn't the best-looking PlayStation titles - the two main characters (an irritating jester and a bland magician girl) were deeply unappealing - but the twisty-turny levels really felt like they bridged the gap between 2D and 3D platformers.

Indeed, despite the human protagonists, it often played more like a Sonic The Hedgehog game than anything else - some levels almost being structured like oversized pinball tables or rollercoasters, and into-the-screen tunnel bits.

​The main thing it lacked was the unspecified "attitude" displayed by Sega's spiny mascot. Though now I think about it, when they say Sonic is "The Hedgehog with Attitude", perhaps they're referring to Attitude, the UK's leading gay lifestyle magazine. 
HEART OF DARKNESS
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Though defiantly cartoony, Heart of Darkness was essentially a forgotten third instalment in Eric Chahi's Another World Series.

The slower pace, the flip-screens, the shadow-y enemies - even the colour palette - were all deeply reminiscent of the ground-breaking cinematic platformer. Chahi has since admitted that he found the development challenging, having had to adjust from being a solo developer to supervising a team.

It's a shame that he doesn't make more games, because I'd always loved him when the Fonz's younger cousin Happy Days.

​Nevertheless, while Heart of Darkness is frequently frustrating - as were Another World and Flashback - it's a ruddy gorgeous game. Apart from the cut-scenes, which are typically horribly, in a primordial soup of CGI sort of a way.
PAC-MAN WORLD
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In short: this is what happens when you mix Pac-Man with Super Mario 64. And yet, surprisingly, it was far better than the cheap-and-cheerful bandwagon-jumper you might've expected.

That said, the benefit of hindsight suggests it actually played more like Super Mario 3D World than the epoch-defining 64, but it managed to have a few neat twists of its own - such as sort-of-on-rails bits where Pac-Man would just take off on a pill-chomping frenzy. We've all had a few weekends like that right, cool kids?

To modern eyes Pac Man World may not appear to be particularly revolutionary, but it ws a solid stab at making Pac-Man relevant again, demonstrating that the character had enough original ideas to ensure he wasn't just smearing his wrinkled, jaundiced, jowls across the success of more recent successes.
SKULLMONKEYS
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A uniquely creepy "claymation" side-scroller, Skullmonkeys' aesthetic really deserved a less-derivative game. Nonetheless, it had a sufficiently original look that I'd be interested to see a new game which used "claymation" - or, at least, a simulation of it - for its visuals.

​We've had the sublime Cuphead paying homage to the hand-drawn animation of the past... now how about a game that appears to be stop-motion? I dunno. Maybe that's a rubbish idea. Who cares? 

Ding ding! Check, please!
JUMPING FLASH
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Given it was a PlayStation launch title - having started out as a tech demo intended to show of the console's 3D capabilities - Jumping Flash was better than it should've been.

Oddly, it succeeded straight out of the gate, so it's a surprise that first-person perspective platforming is an idea that has rarely been built upon. While it might have aged visually, Jumping Flash still stands up today, almost.

Mirror's Edge has done first-person platforming in a very different way - and there are elements of it in Titanfall 2 and the recent Doom reboot - but none have succeeded in inducing the same sort of stomach-contorting vertigo.

...There are a lot of these aren't there? This list is feeling a bit long. Maybe I should've done just five? Oh well. Committed now. 
TOMBA!
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Though looking like a traditional side-scroller, Tomba!'s real innovation was by introducing elements of RPG. The levels were often more involved and mission-based than most platforms, its cartoonish visuals disguising a "Metroidvania"-like experience, with depth not typically associated with a game that looked like this.

How many more of these are there? I'm getting bored now. There are only so many ways to say "This is an old platform game that I'd like to see a new version of".
APE ESCAPE
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This is probably the most high-profile game on the list, given the number of sequels, spin-offs, and guest appearances by the titular simians, Ape Escape really, really deserves a brand new instalment.

Aside form anything else, it did something original with the genre - making it about capturing living apes rather than the usual coin-grabbling. Also: it boasted a handful of mini games. And it was funny.

We're almost at the end now. You can stop here if you want, but there is an interesting fact coming up. It's a fact about Nintendo. You like those don't you? 
CROC: LEGEND OF THE GOBBOS
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Undoubtedly as bland as platform game characters get - a crocodile wearing a rucksack - Croc nevertheless found himself in a better game than he really deserved.

Here's that interesting fact I advised you of: Croc originally started life as a prototype for a game starring Yoshi - developer Argonaut had a relationship with Nintendo through its development of the Super FX chip. Given this, it's little surprise that it played in a similar fashion to Mario 64, but its origins make it significant enough to encourage a revamp.

Or not. It doesn't really matter to be honest. Do what you like.
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28 Comments
Dan Whitehead
12/4/2018 10:55:52 am

Ironically (or possibly not, depending on how badly I've misunderstood the concept of irony) Pandemonium was an early effort by Toys for Bob, the developer that would later absorb Spyro into its Skylanders pitch and essentially killed off his core series as well as a theatrical Spyro movie.

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MENTALIST
12/4/2018 11:26:21 am

To be fair to Toys For Bob, they're listed as the developers for this remaster, which implies they might be looking to resurrect the series proper.

And also, the Spyro games were in a critical death-spiral, after Insomniac moved on to Ratchet and Clank.

I suspect a Skylanders Academy game, without the toys-to-life concept, or with it significantly reduced, might follow since the Netflix series seems to be continuing.



I wonder if I'll be back with a third Skylanders related post tomorrow?

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Eean
12/4/2018 11:14:20 am

Lomax was named after the iconic Liverpool venue called The Lomax. I think it's gone now, but there was also a Lomax 2. A building sequel.
This is all great and interesting information for you!

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Chris
12/4/2018 01:33:23 pm

If I recall correctly there was a competition to name the character in the Official PlayStation Magazine. They must've used Lomax.

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Ma Egerton
12/4/2018 06:53:26 pm

Funnily enough, I was just down the pub, and happened to be chatting about the L2, about 15 minutes ago. So as I then read this article (on the bus home) I immediately thought "never heard of Lomax, but as it's Psygnosis, I wonder if it was named after the venue?"

And then you confirmed it!

So your great and interesting information was exactly that, to me at least. Thanks :)

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Kara Van Park
12/4/2018 09:42:23 pm

Aye, it opened up again, but the guy running it was dealing coke and got sent down for five years!

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Kara Van Park
12/4/2018 09:47:00 pm

As a side note, it's yards from where Ocean Software was.

Kara Van Park
12/4/2018 09:48:24 pm

Sorry, it was Imagine. Got the two mixed up.

Nikki
12/4/2018 11:26:02 am

Rainbow Islands

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Baron sunfish
12/4/2018 11:32:59 am

Klonoa sort of does have a remake on the wii. (He said like a smart arsed know it all).

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Mr Biffo
12/4/2018 11:36:12 am

Weird. I thought I'd mentioned that. Must've taken it out so I could include some more irrelevant waffle...!

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Darren
12/4/2018 12:40:33 pm

I wish Nintendo would do a remake of Mario 64 for the Switch. Nothing ever came close to it on Playstation.

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Mrtankthreat
12/4/2018 01:48:24 pm

There's too many remakes on Switch as it is. How about a 3d Mario Maker? Probably a bit complicated but some of the ingenious level designs from amateurs on Mario Maker gives me confidence that it could work. Failing that, just a regular sequel to Mario Maker with tons more resources would make Switch a must buy for me.

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Spiney O’Sullivan
12/4/2018 01:52:18 pm

It would be nice if Nintendo would put ANY of their old games on the Switch. They’re porting every single game that nobody bought on the WiiU, but seem to refuse to get Virtual Console up and running.

Also Peach’s castle in Odyssey made me incredibly happy. The game had been heavily referencing the old Super Mario Bros, but I was starting to think that Mario 64 was going to be forgotten as it just doesn’t seem to be as iconic as the old sprites. Thankfully I was wrong.

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Mr Bump
12/4/2018 06:33:35 pm

It's possible to do so much more now, I'd be happier with a brand new title. The DS version added some new content, don't know if they improved the camera much or not though. You had to use the c buttons on the N64 to change it so I assume they did something different with it.

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Spiney O’Sullivan
12/4/2018 01:20:53 pm

Klonoa is one my favourite games ever. Lovely visuals, great gameplay twist on the genre, and an excellent soundtrack that could stick in your head. Spider-Man might have been the game that finally made me buy a Playstation, but Klonoa was the first game to make me wish I owned one. Back then I never cared about Gran Turismo’s full car fetishism or Resident Evil’s clunkiness and frankly didn’t even enjoy Tomb Raider much until Legend (I appreciate the old ones in context, and what Lara as an icon did for gaming, but they were hard to play at the time, and moreso now) but that flying cat was something else.

Also it’s nice to see that one other person on earth remembers Lomax.

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Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
12/4/2018 03:32:58 pm

Agreed! Klonoa was vastly superior to Ape Escape, I’d put it close to the same level of some Treasure Games like Mischief Makers.

If they do remake Ape Escape, I hope they don’t do a UK-specific localisation to make all the characters sound like punchable public school children again.

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Spiney O’Sullivan
12/4/2018 03:50:24 pm

That’s an annoyingly common issue. The voiceovers for the kids in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams were truly horrible attempts at English voices as done by actors who I can only assume did all their role research by rewatching Mary Poppins.

Neptunium
12/4/2018 04:09:34 pm

I *loved* the localisation of Ape Escape, at the time it just felt fuzzy and warm that SCEE cared to give us a proper UK localisation. Thinking back the voices probably were naff, but I appreciated the effort.

I also appreciated that SCEE's decent localisation policy (making use of the extra resolution of the PAL TV system for first party titles, mostly) also turned the thumbscrews on Nintendo whose first few games like Mario 64 were given shitty huge-border and slowness treatment- forcing their later localisation efforts on the N64 to be less shit.

Spiney O'Sullivan
12/4/2018 10:41:40 pm

@Neptunium:

Can't argue with that. It's easy to forget just how much of an afterthought the UK and PAL as a whole was to Nintendo in that period (I mean, it still is, but the situation is probably somewhat better). Sega were a bit better in the 16-Bit era, but the Saturn's failure anywhere outside of Japan meant they had to pull efforts back a bit too.

Porridgepants
12/4/2018 01:53:33 pm

I clearly remember the looks of incredulity when, on "Bring your console to work day" after we switched Mario 64 off - a colleague fired up his PlayStation & Crash Bandicoot, claiming it was a better game. I did feel quite sorry for him as the laughter died down.

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Spiney O’Sullivan
12/4/2018 02:05:28 pm

I’ve always seen Crash Bandicoot as inherently flawed. The biggest problem with 3D platformers is judging depth, which is harder than judging width in 2D platformers. Crash is a 3D platformer that pretty much only plays on a backwards/forwards axis, with no way to use the camera to improve your judgements nor any forgiving way to really alter your trajectory (double-jump etc), making it a game composed almost entirely of the exact biggest problem in the genre.

Luckily Naughty Dog redeemed themselves with Jak and Daxter, which was basically platforming perfection.

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colincidence link
12/4/2018 02:27:50 pm

I just had a panicked few seconds when I checked what "SoCo" is short for. It's short for Southern Comfort. So SoCoCo would be Southern Comfort and Coke, or go SoCoCoCo if you specifically want Coca-Cola. It's so-so.

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Dan Whitehead
13/4/2018 02:41:46 pm

Congratulations, you have been chosen as Norway's entry in next year's Eurovision song contest.

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Johnc
12/4/2018 08:18:17 pm

Wild 9. Liked it to the extent that I have a weird fondness for "tommy tallarico studios".

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Mchawkeye
13/4/2018 07:57:30 pm

I came down here to say Wild 9. It was brilliant, played brilliantly, had a dark sense of humor, looked fantastic.

I would pre-order any kind of update just as a thank you for trying to update it. the finished game could be a D-Cell-battery-in-a-microwave bad, but I wouldn't care.

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Starbuck
12/4/2018 09:59:21 pm

Enjoyed the Happy Days joke!

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Hamptonoid
12/4/2018 10:11:58 pm

I always thought it was called Tombi! ...it was excellent either way. Going for at least a hundred quid on eBay, not sure it was that excellent though.. ..

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