Wipeout
Futuristic racer Wipeout, developed and published by Psygnosis in 1995 is a game not easily forgotten. Many will remember it for its absolutely chaotic manner and high speed racing that required super-human reflexes to become top dog.
Set in 2052, players would compete in an anti-gravity racing league known as the F3600. Wipeout is somewhat reminiscent of F-Zero (SNES) in that you take control of a high speed spaceship and have the ability to completely annihilate competitors. However Wipeout seems to take combat a step further, with a plethora of weapons and powerups at the player’s disposal and is much less forgiving when it comes to making mistakes.
The soundtrack for Wipeout perfectly matches the riotous and fast paced gameplay which made this game a hit and ultimately helped it become a Platinum seller. It is no doubt still a favourite amongst many gamers and made an impressive mark on racing games history.
Definitely a game to pull out of the cupboard if you are in the mood for complete chaos.
Crash Bandicoot
Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot is without a doubt one of the most iconic Playstation 1 games to grace the earth. Not only did all 3 platformers make it to Platinum, but racer Crash Team Racing and party game Crash Bash swiped the title too.
The original Crash Bandicoot generally received positive reviews, with the unique art style and graphics being a key talking point and became the first game to receive commercial success in Japan. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes back was described as superior to its predecessor and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped was considered by the official US Playstation magazine to be the best 2.5D platformer ever released.
Arguably, Crash Bandicoot achieved what many other game series did not. From the original platformer, to the third, the game became progressively better. The sequels did not disappoint, by maintaining a level of fun and originality without becoming repetitive.
The gameplay is smooth and just challenging enough to keep us on our toes and collectables are scattered throughout the beautifully designed levels, giving us a reason to return for more.
Crash Bandicoot is possibly one of the best platforming series to ever exist. The combination of great gameplay, humour, beautiful bright graphics and originality makes our favourite marsupial stand out from the crowd.
Spyro The Dragon
Spyro The Dragon is most likely a game that many Playstation 1 gamers will excitedly remember. Three Spyro The Dragon games were released for the Playstation 1 and all 3 grabbed the Platinum title.
This 3D adventure platformer sees players taking control of the adorably annoying Spyro, a young purple dragon tasked with restoring peace to The Dragon Realms. His dragonfly companion Sparx functions as both a helper for collecting treasure and essentially Spyro’s HP. In the later games Sparx takes on a more dominant role and is given levels of his own, but his original functions definately give the game an added innovative edge.
The way the levels and worlds are laid out is astonishing and progression feels natural and is easy to follow. Exploration is highly encouraged and players are rewarded for being inquisitive and daring. The enemies within the game are almost difficult to dislike, as many of them seem to have a great sense of humour and are highly original in design.
The visuals are beautiful, bright and magical which is everything that should be expected in a game with a dragon as the protagonist. The music carries those same characteristics and adds an extra layer of charm and fun to the game.
Much like Crash Bandicoot, the sequels to the original seemed to take the beauty and marvelousness of the series even further and certainly did not disappoint.
It is easy to see how Spyro The Dragon stole many hearts and gained Platinum standing, as it is a game that was clearly made with a lot of love and effort.
Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto… Now here’s a game series that no doubt gets talked about by millions on a daily basis. The original GTA unbeknown to us all at the time, was a game that would grow up to become a titan.
Rockstar delivered us a taste of the freedom and chaos that was to come. In this open world action-adventure game you can freely wander cities, burp and fart on citizens to your hearts content, steal cars and complete criminal missions.
Both old and new Grand Theft Auto games give players a certain level of freedom that makes the games stand out from the crowd. There are many other open-world games but Grand Theft Auto always seems to be one step ahead with what players want.
Grand Theft Auto was praised for it’s replay value and less linear take on progressing through the game but was criticized for it’s graphics. Regardless the pros outweighed the cons and Grand Theft Auto became both a best seller in the UK and a Platinum Playstation 1 game, which should come as no huge surprise as the series has carried on to become massively successful.
Rayman
Ubisoft’s Rayman captured the imaginations of thousands of gamers with it’s delightful side-scrolling platformer gameplay, selling over 900,000 copies over two years, Rayman is the best selling PS1 game of all time in the UK.
Rayman must travel through 6 magical worlds to rescue “electoons”. In each world Rayman is granted extra abilities which help him better progress through levels and allow for new dynamics and challenges to be put into place.
The game was particularly praised for the visuals, which are bright and bold, with the animations of Rayman and enemies being fluid. The soundtrack also caught the world’s attention, with catchy bouncy melodies accompanying the player through each level.
Rayman was criticised for it’s difficulty, but that is perhaps one of the factors that kept players coming back for more, and helped the game become a Platinum selling success.
There are many more Playstation 1 Games that made the Platinum list and we plan to take a more in depth look at more of them a little on down the road. Sadly, though, there are some gems from that era that never made it to Platinum status either. Did your favourite PS1 game make it to Platinum?
