Happy birthday, PlayStation!
Sony’s gaming brand is 20 years old today. To celebrate, we decided to look at 20 games from all of Sony’s consoles that helped to define the PlayStation experience.
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PlayStation
Twisted Metal
PlayStation release date: Nov. 5, 1995
What it was: Twisted Metal was a car-combat game featuring plenty of violence and multiplayer fun.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Nintendo was increasingly becoming known as a kid-friendly company, a reputation that it still faces. Meanwhile, Twisted Metal was the epitome of an anti-Nintendo game. Like Mortal Kombat before it, Twisted Metal reveled in its own violence. It helped to make the PlayStation brand seem edgy.
Crash Bandicoot
PlayStation release date: Sep. 9, 1996
What it was: Crash Bandicoot was a3D platformer starring a cartoony bandicoot who had to jump and spin his way through box-filled levels.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Crash gave the PlayStation brand its first mascot. While this might not seem important today, system mascots were a big deal in the ’90s. Mario and Sonic were the faces of their companies, and Crash served the same function for Sony’s gaming division.
This was also the first PlayStation game that Naughty Dog developed. The studio would go on to have a long, fruitful relationship with the brand.
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Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
PlayStation release date: Aug. 31, 1997
What it was: This was a 2D sidecroller set in the bizarre land of Oddworld, a disgusting, industrial place where the weird creature Abe has to stop an evil company from turning his species into food.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Crash Bandicoot gave the PlayStation its Mario competitor, but Abe’s Oddysee scratched the 2D platformer itch. Even the Nintendo 64 still had sidescrollers like Yoshi’s Story, but that game looked quaint when compared to Oddworld’s darker world and demanding gameplay.
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Final Fantasy VII
PlayStation release date: Sep. 7, 1997
What it was: This was the first installment in the popular role-playing game series to not appear on a Nintendo system. Final Fantasy VII featured an epic story set in fantasy/steampunk world.
Why it was important for PlayStation: First off, Final Fantasy was previously a Nintendo franchise. Jumping ship to the PlayStation brand was a big deal, and in many ways, it started the Nintendo console stigma of lacking third-party games that still exists today.
Besides that, Final Fantasy VII was a huge hit, featuring an epic story, 3D graphics, and prerendered cutscenes that seemed ahead of its time. Even if you haven’t played it, you probably know who Cloud and Sephiroth are.
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Above: It was kind of a big deal.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
PlayStation release date: Oct. 7, 1997
What it was: Symphony of the Night was a 2D action-platformer that added elements of exploration to the Castlevania series.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Speaking of cool 2D sidescrollers, Symphony of the Night remains a favorite entry for many fans of the Castlevania series. Traditional Castelavania games were linear and slow, but Symphony of the Night added elements from Metroid and role-playing games to create something new — the “Metroidvania.”
Symphony of the Night proved that not every franchise needed to move to 3D to stay relevant. While the PlayStation got this great sidescroller, the Nintendo 64 got the ill-received Castlevania 64.
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Parappa the Rapper
PlayStation release date: Oct. 31, 1997
What it was: Parappa the Rapper was a music-based game starring a bunch of characters who were as thin as paper.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Parappa the Rapper was fun, but it was also joyously weird. Although most PlayStation games take a more realistic approach these days, that flavor of oddity was a staple of the PlayStation brand for many years.
Above: What’s so weird about a flat cartoon dog who raps?
Gran Turismo
PlayStation release date: May 12, 1998
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What it was: Gran Turismo was a realistic racing game.
Why it was important for PlayStation: While other racing games were cartoony or arcadey, Gran Turismo tried to emulate the real thing. It featured actual cars and tracks, and it was the system’s best-selling game. It quickly became one of Sony’s most important franchises.
Metal Gear Solid
PlayStation release date: Oct. 21, 1998
What it was: Metal Gear Solid was a 3D action game that focused on stealth. Players took control of Solid Snake, a man on a mission to stop terrorists from launching a nuclear attack.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Metal Gear Solid might be the original PlayStation’s most critically acclaimed game. It featured a gripping, intriguing story (with every line from a voice actor) and memorable characters, and its stealth-based gameplay was a refreshing change from the faster-paced action of other games.
It also gave the PlayStation a hit that could counter Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which came out just a month later.
Above: How did he know that?!
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
PlayStation release date: Aug. 31, 1999
What it was: This was a skating game that focused on over-the-top trick and grinding combos. It starred famous boarders from the day, including the game’s namesake, Tony Hawk.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Tony Hawk would later see release on the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast, but most people still associate the game (and even the series) with the original PlayStation. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was a perfect bookend for the PlayStation’s dominance of the late ’90s. It was cool, hip, and incredibly popular, just like the system itself. The success of this game would result in over a dozen sequels and spin-offs.
Above: So many feels.
PlayStation 2
Ico
PlayStation release date: Sep. 24, 2001
What it was: Ico was a beautiful 3D platformer where a young boy and a mysterious girl try to escape a strange castle.
Why it was important for PlayStation: While many games were taking after Hollywood blockbusters (loud, violent, fast-paced), Ico was more like an art-house film. It was slow, thoughtful, deliberate, and eerily gorgeous. It spawned a semi-sequel, Shadow of the Colossus, that was another memorable PlayStation 2 exclusive.
Grand Theft Auto III
PlayStation release date: Oct. 22, 2001
What it was: GTA III was an open-world game where you could explore the New Yory City-like area of Liberty City while stealing cars and running over hookers.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Grand Theft Auto III might have been the most important game of its generation. Not only was it hugely popular, but it defined the open-world genre (just think about how many modern games, such as Infamous, Assassin’s Creed, and Shadow of Mordor, fit into that category). Also, while Mortal Kombat and Twisted Metal’s violence had a fantasy element to it, Grand Theft Auto’s acts of murder and carnage took place in a more realistic world. It caused a lot of controversy, which pretty much always leads to a game becoming a huge hit.
Above: “Yup. This is blood alright.”
Final Fantasy X
PlayStation release date: Dec. 17, 2001
What it was: This was the first Final Fantasy released on the PlayStation 2 and to feature voice-acting.
Why it was important for PlayStation: It may not have been as hugely popular as Final Fantasy VII, but the 10th entry in Square Enix’s premier franchise still garnered a lot of attention for its gorgeous visuals. Also, it further cemented the PlayStation brand as the premier consoles for Japanese role-playing games.
Kingdom Hearts
PlayStation release date: Sept. 16, 2002
What it was: Kingdom hearts was an action role-playing game that brought together characters from Disney films and Final Fantasy.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Despite its bizarre premise, Kingdom Hearts became one of Square Enix’s most popular franchises, and its only console releases so far (the original and Kingdom Hearts II) remained PlayStation 2 exclusives (although they recently saw HD releases on the PlayStation 3).
Above: Thanks to Kingdom Hearts, Donald and Goofy are now badasses.
Ratchet & Clank
PlayStation release date: Nov. 4, 2002
What it was: Ratchet & Clank was a 3D platformer with shooter elements and crazy guns.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Crash Bandicoot was no longer a PlayStation exclusive franchise, but Sony still had excellent 3D platformers in the PS2 era thanks to series like Sly Cooper and Jak & Daxter. Ratchet & Clank, however, was the best of them. It combined great platforming action with creative weapons.
God of War
PlayStation release date: March 22, 2005
What it was: An action game set in the mythology of Greece.
Why it was important for PlayStation: If Crash Bandicoot was the face of the original PlayStation, God of War’s Kratos was the personification of the PlayStation 2. Edgy and violent, God of War was another popular exclusive for the PlayStation 2 that would spawn an important franchise for Sony.
Above: Those blades don’t look sterile.
Persona 4
PlayStation release date: Dec. 9, 2008
What it was: Persona 4 was a Japanese role-playing game that combined the elements of high school life with dungeon-crawling.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Persona 4’s production values might look quaint next to a Final Fantasy, but it was a critically acclaimed game that helped to bring attention to JRPGs outside of the giant franchises. Persona 4 would spawn an anime series, a fight game franchise, and an upcoming spin-off for the Nintendo 3DS. A port of Persona 4 for the Vita is also one of that system’s highest rated games.
PlayStation 3
LittleBigPlanet
PlayStation release date: Oct 27, 2006
What it was: This was a 2D sidescroller that let players create their own levels and experiences.
Why it was important for PlayStation: LittleBigPlanet is more of a platform than a game. Sure, it had a single-player campaign, but it’s easy-to-use creation tools really made it stand out. It showed that Sony was still willing to release inventive, charming games.
Above: LittleBigPlanet is all about the “dawwwww.”
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
PlayStation release date: Oct 13, 2009
What it was: Uncharted 2 was a third-person shooter starring the likable treasure hunter, Nathan Drake.
Why it was important for PlayStation: The original Uncharted was successful, but the sequel really garnered a lot of attention, including multiple Game of the Year awards. Like Crash and Kratos, the wise-cracking Nathan Drake became another face for the PlayStation brand, one that was able to have fun and not take himself too seriously.
Journey
PlayStation release date: March 13, 2012
What it was: Journey was a mysterious, beautiful game that has you traversing a desert.
Why it was important for PlayStation: During the PS3 era, downloadable games were becoming more prominent in the industry. While the Xbox 360 originally had most of the downloadable hits with games like Geometry Wars and Braid, Journey was an artistic achievement for the PlayStation 3. Despite being a downloadable game, it had beautiful graphics that could rival any full-priced retail title. It also had inventive multiplayer, where another player would organically show up in your world while playing.
Above: Journey may be the best-looking brown game ever.
The Last of Us
PlayStation release date: Jun 14, 2013
What it was: The Last of Us was a third-person action game set after an odd virus turned most of the world’s population into fungi-infected zombies.
Why it was important for PlayStation: Developer Naughty Dog was on a roll with the Uncharted series, but it took a risk with The Last of Us, a darker, more adult story that became one of the PlayStation 3’s best received games. Naughty Dog established itself as the PlayStation’s premier developer.