Celebrating 500 Million: The Geekly Grind Calls Out Playstation's Greatest Hits
By: Mithrandiel & The Geekly Grind StaffIt's been nearly 24 years since the original PlayStation set the gaming world on fire. Since then, Sony's consoles have continually pushed the envelope of home entertainment, and helped to elevate the medium in ways we never could have thought possible.In recognition of a remarkable 500 million total units sold (525 million and change, actually) Sony has announced a limited edition PS4 Pro to be sold starting on the 24th of this month. In the meantime, we thought we'd take the opportunity to look back on nearly 25 years of Playstation and call out some of our favorite titles - from the original PlayStation through the latest and greatest PlayStation 4.So come along, and take a trip down memory lane with us!
Archmage's Pick: SSX 3
Back before EA was the devil we all know and despise, they published some of the greatest sports games of all time under the EA Sports logo. None so perfectly balanced as SSX 3.This game is an amazing mesh of graphics, music, mechanics, progression, and challenge that kept me hooked for hours. Nothing beat hearing DJ Atomika riff on some punks vandalizing one of the lodge houses then seamlessly transitioning into Way Away by Yellowcard. Then you catch big air and that music mutes until blasting back in as you land a wicked trick for all of the points. Oh MAN the hype from landing that perfect trick.
I spent so many hours playing through the full mountain course, which was something like 19 minutes or so, over and over again. Time to crack out my PS2 Slim and see if I can still carve the slopes like I used to. Shout out to my boy Mac Fraser!
Grimlock's Pick: Resident Evil 2
From the intense soundtrack to the chilling cutscenes introducing new baddies, Resident Evil 2 was perfect. I absolutely loved the way this game built tension. I know lickers are running around the building, but will they jump through the window? Mr. X is here…WHY IS HE WALKING SO SLOWLY? It’s a long game, but it’s super fun. Wait, beating one scenario unlocks another? Now there’s no choice but to play it again! In addition to the main scenarios, there are mini-games with unlockable characters such as Hunk, Tofu, and even old school Chris Redfield. Games with high replay value really make me feel like they’re “worth it,” and RE2 did that very well. IMO, Resident evil 4 is probably the best overall game of the series, but RE2 is by far the most memorable. Time to go play it again.
Lowfat's Pick: Xenogears
Mithrandiel's Pick: The Last Of Us
Naughty Dog had been shaking the boat of storytelling and action-packed narratives for a while with the Uncharted series before they announced The Last of Us. When the game arrived, nobody could have predicted the extent of its worldwide acclaim. Major reviewers showered the game with praise, aptly defining it as the PlayStation 3's "swan song". With stellar graphics, a compelling cinematic plot, superb voice acting and crisp gameplay, The Last of Us checked every box when it came to delivering a next-level gaming experience. My time spent with the game, along with the DLC that arrived a few years later, was some of the most impactful and memorable moments I've had in my 30+ years gaming.
Rae's Pick: the .hack// series
I will shamelessly admit that, growing up, I was a Nintendo girl. I was literally raised on it. So I missed out on the PS1 experience altogether (which was fine – I was still pretty young, so aside from watching my cousin play Resident Evil, it’s not like I knew much yet outside of my SNES). Then came .hack//… I actually bought the first game without even having a PS2, which successfully encouraged my mom to get me one for Christmas. As an only child living in a super-rural area, things got kind of lonely, and I spent a lot of nights gaming by myself. At that time, .hack// felt so immersive to me – Internet was hard to get in my area without spending a fortune, so I couldn’t play MMOs and didn’t get the online gaming experience either. .hack// gave me the feeling of playing with people – it felt like a game where the characters were really interacting with me, and I fell in love with experiencing the storyline alongside them. In the third game, there was a plot twist that honestly just broke my heart. I loved the mystery, the interactivity, and the world I got to explore. There are a lot of things I’ve loved playing on Playstation since then – I even raid on FFXIV on PS4 #consolepeasantsrepresent – but I’ll never forget that game as my first PS experience, and all the time I spent finding every secret. Thanks for the good times, Sony – it’s been a fantastic ride so far.
RogueSymbiote's Pick: Legend of Dragoon
Legend of Dragoon for PS1 is my favorite game ever released on PlayStation. It was the first game I ever played with solid world building. An early death by one of the main characters shattered my world when I was a kid. I had never felt a genuine connection to a video game character before. At the time, the graphics and dragoon armor blew me away. The fighting mechanics were fun, engaging and required actual thought. Upgrading character stats and gear was a blast. Not only was this game fun, but it was four discs! I am desperate for a remake, but will settle for replaying the original until that glorious day arrives.
The Jewphin's Pick: Killer 7
Prior to Killer 7, I had played a wide variety of games on my Playstation and Playstation 2, ranging from Final Fantasy RPGs to the original Onimusha. Killer 7 was the first game that made me see games differently. It was a game that combined a crazy style with interesting gameplay and philosophical musings I was likely to young to understand. Yet it was the depth of what this game achieved while being the weirdest thing I had ever seen that keeps it fresh on my mind. And it's not just the ending, which hit me on a deep emotional level. It was the fact that I spent hours after beating the game reading theories and discussions on the different scenes and their possible meanings. Games were always fun to me, but Killer 7 was the first game that made me realize that games are also art.
ThunderHeavyArm's Pick: Ring of Red
There have been a lot of games that Playstation has given that have influenced me. From Final Fantasy 7 being my first RPG, Resident Evil being the first horror game I ever experience and some of their massive fighting titles that I played with my best friend. But nothing will hold a candle like Ring of Red. A tactical mech game in a distopian North against South Japan, to this day I still have fond memories of the game. While I'll likely never play it again, the memories of the fun time I had with that game will stay with me forever.What about you? What are some of your favorite PlayStation titles?
