There's nothing quite like getting a new console for Christmas, especially if it's your first console and you're introduced to something completely new. My first contact with video games was on a SNES which I played at my neighbour's place next door. So all I knew about video games were its 2D side-scrolling nature. On Christmas day, however, I was surprised that my father (together with his boss) bought me this console known simply as the PlayStation which I hadn't really heard about at the time (I was eight years old).
This was 1997 and PlayStation launched approx. 2 years ago throughout Europe. Mine also came with the original controller and not the DualShock controller that came slightly afterwards. Within the package was also one of the most well-known demo discs ever: the Demo One. Just launching it felt amazing, I mean just look at it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ5FEWJtwfk
That design and music and those sound effects already scream 90s! Probably the games I played most on that demo disc were Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssy, MediEvil, Hercules, Ridge Racer, Kurushi (Intelligent Qube) and Overboard. It's amazing we're still talking about two of these in the case of Oddworld and MediEvil quite a lot recently. Christmas was all about playing this and turning that T-Rex upside down in the tech demo. In hindsight, this was the first foray into 3D graphics and for many, this was also the first time they got to control the camera as well. This is something we take for granted nowadays but was incredible back in then. Here are some of my favourites:
The game that came with the console on that day was nothing spectacular: True Pinball. A simple pinball game with a few stages. My father and I played Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, a platformer with a frustrating camera and control scheme but lovable art design. It even got a sequel a few years later. In 1998, however, I played one of those games that made me fell in love with the hobby of video games itself. That game was Spyro The Dragon. What an amazing game for its time! Great music and animation, varied levels, tight controls and some of the first 3D spaces that felt inviting to explore around in. If I remember correctly, this was also one of the first games where I really needed that DualShock controller. This trilogy of games truly deserve the Crash-style remake if you ask me and I hope Activision, together with Sony, agree on something.
A few years later RPGs slowly also came up with people talking about this little game called Final Fantasy VII. Curiously, I played the newer entry of the series first and that was Final Fantasy VIII at the time in 1999. Had huge difficulties with the Adel boss fight and paused it for some time (eventually did beat him but much later). Then I tried Final Fantasy VII and instantly fell in love with it. It was basically my first game with a real and complex narrative and must have been around eleven years old at the time. I played both FFVII and VIII in German. The spelling mistakes in that version were even more numerous than the English version. But hey, at least they really tried back then! Hilariously, SquareSoft even managed to write hours in German incorrectly on the back of the box as shown below ("Studen" instead of "Stunden", English version left; German version on the right):
The music, characters, graphics (at the time) and just the overall atmosphere of this title is what made it so special. It's why people remember it so fondly and I believe that is why people still feel this deep connection with FF VII apart from a pure nostalgic value, I think. Without knowing what happens at the end of CD1 and the twist about who Cloud really is (or isn't in this case) were shocking to me. Yes, I was one of those people who didn't get spoiled, but these were also the pre-internet days (for me at least). I couldn't believe it at first… I used Aerith a lot in battle throughout the first disc and couldn't imagine they'd just kill off an integral character like that. I think I wasn't ready for that scene back then, in hindsight...
Despite that all that being said, my favourite Final Fantasy and certainly one of my favourite games of all time is number IX. The characters, graphics, narrative all make up a cohesive whole and it's the most charming title I know of. There are light-hearted themes (any scene with Steiner in it) and serious themes going on (complete destruction of Cleyra) in this game that somehow co-exists and meshes beautifully with the more lighthearted stuff. It somehow feels like a fable at times.
I hope many children this year will feel similarly excited about their new and perhaps first console - be that PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. Maybe it's even their first ever experience with video games as a whole. I still get excited about the hobby but sometimes I've noticed that I haven't been enjoying some games despite being called great by many. But look hard enough and you will eventually find that next game which will hook you and be something different which you never played before (for me that was Bloodborne btw). I'll be more critical in 2018 for my purchases to avoid a growing backlog. Despite all the 'payed-lootbox scheme' controversy this year, it's good to look at all the Game of the Year votes and realize how fantastic most of them are. So, here's to the next 20 years! May gaming continually challenge itself as a medium going forward and improve.
So, to get the discussion going:
What are your favourite memories involving the original PlayStation console?
What are your favourite memories of Christmas involving a new console? Did you also get one for Christmas once? If so, which system and games did you get?
Thanks for reading this little nostalgia piece. Apologies for any mistakes/errors.
This was 1997 and PlayStation launched approx. 2 years ago throughout Europe. Mine also came with the original controller and not the DualShock controller that came slightly afterwards. Within the package was also one of the most well-known demo discs ever: the Demo One. Just launching it felt amazing, I mean just look at it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ5FEWJtwfk
That design and music and those sound effects already scream 90s! Probably the games I played most on that demo disc were Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssy, MediEvil, Hercules, Ridge Racer, Kurushi (Intelligent Qube) and Overboard. It's amazing we're still talking about two of these in the case of Oddworld and MediEvil quite a lot recently. Christmas was all about playing this and turning that T-Rex upside down in the tech demo. In hindsight, this was the first foray into 3D graphics and for many, this was also the first time they got to control the camera as well. This is something we take for granted nowadays but was incredible back in then. Here are some of my favourites:
The game that came with the console on that day was nothing spectacular: True Pinball. A simple pinball game with a few stages. My father and I played Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, a platformer with a frustrating camera and control scheme but lovable art design. It even got a sequel a few years later. In 1998, however, I played one of those games that made me fell in love with the hobby of video games itself. That game was Spyro The Dragon. What an amazing game for its time! Great music and animation, varied levels, tight controls and some of the first 3D spaces that felt inviting to explore around in. If I remember correctly, this was also one of the first games where I really needed that DualShock controller. This trilogy of games truly deserve the Crash-style remake if you ask me and I hope Activision, together with Sony, agree on something.
A few years later RPGs slowly also came up with people talking about this little game called Final Fantasy VII. Curiously, I played the newer entry of the series first and that was Final Fantasy VIII at the time in 1999. Had huge difficulties with the Adel boss fight and paused it for some time (eventually did beat him but much later). Then I tried Final Fantasy VII and instantly fell in love with it. It was basically my first game with a real and complex narrative and must have been around eleven years old at the time. I played both FFVII and VIII in German. The spelling mistakes in that version were even more numerous than the English version. But hey, at least they really tried back then! Hilariously, SquareSoft even managed to write hours in German incorrectly on the back of the box as shown below ("Studen" instead of "Stunden", English version left; German version on the right):
The music, characters, graphics (at the time) and just the overall atmosphere of this title is what made it so special. It's why people remember it so fondly and I believe that is why people still feel this deep connection with FF VII apart from a pure nostalgic value, I think. Without knowing what happens at the end of CD1 and the twist about who Cloud really is (or isn't in this case) were shocking to me. Yes, I was one of those people who didn't get spoiled, but these were also the pre-internet days (for me at least). I couldn't believe it at first… I used Aerith a lot in battle throughout the first disc and couldn't imagine they'd just kill off an integral character like that. I think I wasn't ready for that scene back then, in hindsight...
Despite that all that being said, my favourite Final Fantasy and certainly one of my favourite games of all time is number IX. The characters, graphics, narrative all make up a cohesive whole and it's the most charming title I know of. There are light-hearted themes (any scene with Steiner in it) and serious themes going on (complete destruction of Cleyra) in this game that somehow co-exists and meshes beautifully with the more lighthearted stuff. It somehow feels like a fable at times.
I hope many children this year will feel similarly excited about their new and perhaps first console - be that PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. Maybe it's even their first ever experience with video games as a whole. I still get excited about the hobby but sometimes I've noticed that I haven't been enjoying some games despite being called great by many. But look hard enough and you will eventually find that next game which will hook you and be something different which you never played before (for me that was Bloodborne btw). I'll be more critical in 2018 for my purchases to avoid a growing backlog. Despite all the 'payed-lootbox scheme' controversy this year, it's good to look at all the Game of the Year votes and realize how fantastic most of them are. So, here's to the next 20 years! May gaming continually challenge itself as a medium going forward and improve.
So, to get the discussion going:
What are your favourite memories involving the original PlayStation console?
What are your favourite memories of Christmas involving a new console? Did you also get one for Christmas once? If so, which system and games did you get?
Thanks for reading this little nostalgia piece. Apologies for any mistakes/errors.
