Operation Nostalgia: Top 5 PS1 JRPGs to Recover During the Summer

Here we are, we have come to August.
Summer has always put an absurdity on me sense of nostalgia; in empty moments I always think back to my childhood and to the hours spent playing both with friends and, above all, with friends Games. The best years of my childhood coincided with a very specific period of the videogame industry: having one PS1 was one status symbol, it was almost a must to have her at home and moreover, thanks to the extraordinary success of the Pokémon, many of us could bring, even on vacation, a Game Boy Color.

By virtue of these premises, when I feel nostalgic about my childhood I also, and above all, think to videogames released in the late 90s. I tried to recover all those titles that, at the time, I could not know due to a low availability on the market or a lack of localization in español. Over the years I have therefore recovered almost all prominent titles one of my favorite genres, i JRPG, and I have compiled a list of who they are, to me, the best titles released on PS1 to be recovered during the summer.

Grandia

Grandia is one milestone landed on PS1 after two years of temporal exclusivity on Sega Saturn, praised by critics for its great innovations in terms of gameplay but, like many titles of the time, sunken by big names like final Fantasy e Dragon Quest. We will follow the stories of the young adventurer Justin and his search for new unexplored lands, the story unfolds in a varied world map full of different places.

A colorful graphics that features 2D characters moving in 3D environments, recalls the fantastic settings of other JRPGs of the software house Game arts, like the unforgettable Lunar: Silver Star Story. The battle system combines a system of combo between characters, critical attacks and spells, perfectly balanced between them, the characters can also approach enemies in the case of close attacks or remain in their place if they wield ranged weapons such as the bow. It was one of the first titles to have the dubbing during the most important cutscenes.

Suicide II

Suicide II is the first RPG released by Konami and, recently, the old development team of the series got together to give birth to its spiritual sequel. The history of the Suikoden saga takes reference from one of the most important books of Chinese literature, "History by the water", translated in the española transposition with the title The Brigands; the story revolves around elements of political fiction and a group of 108 brigands.

Il number 108 becomes recurrent in the genesis and development of the Suikoden saga in which the main focus of all the chapters is to recruit, or at least try to do it, 108 fighters and join them in our cause. The main protagonist of this second chapter is Riou, at the head of the rebel army (created by us thanks to the recruitment of the 108 Stars of Destiny) which, because of the war looming that threatens his land, he will face his best friend Jowy, in the ranks of the enemy army.

An epic tale imbued with political fiction e historical-geographical accuracy as for the lore in which the game that is the background to the dualism between the two protagonists, placed one in front of the other because of the war, in spite of it their feelings, their loyalty, the loves and so on. Suikoden II is a title that it must absolutely be recovered for its contents and for the deep gameplay, on the one hand management and on the other faithful to the JRPG of the time, in 2D graphics and a turn-based battle system composed of a solid party of six characters each with their own peculiarities and abilities.

Vagrant Story

Vagrant Story has just turned twenty and, for many fans, no other title has reached the perfection of this Squaresoft-branded JRPG. Set in the world of Ivalice, the same one that we will find in Final Fantasy Tactis e Final Fantasy XII, Vagrant Story immediately reveals itself as an ambitious project in which, the game designer Yasumi Matsuno, former director of FFT e Ogre Battle on SNES, he decides to create a totally in 3D. This led to the emergence of a action rpg very particular and avant-garde, a genre that was later improved with the advent of PS2.

The cutscenes and gameplay phases, implemented with the same graphics engine, guaranteed one continuity in content and a highly cinematic cut to the whole work, which was appreciated in those years only with Metal Gear Solid. The characteristic balloon for the dialogues they create this dissonance between cinematic cuts and comic representation which in the end create a never repeated union in the videogame field.

We will follow the events of Ashley Riot, for an riskbreaker (a sort of secret agent) who will have to find out the reasons behind the attack on the duke's estate Bardoba, from his son Sydney Losstarot. From there, various intertwining will then start, political intrigues and magic ofoccult which will give a very mature cut to the narration and to the work in its entirety. Vagrant Story is a title that has anticipated many videogame productions giving the JRPG a more mature, dark, medieval edge.

Eve parasite

From the dark medieval world of Vagrant Story let's move on to New York of the late nineties. Parasite Eve is an all-round work that has its roots in science fiction, in the biotechnology and in the JRPG combined with elements borrowed from games such as resident evil.

The world of Paraside Eve is inhabited by creatures who rule the energy of the gods mitochondria to give life to super-powers, Aya Brea, protagonist of the series and young New York policewoman, experiences firsthand the attack of one of these creatures during a concert at the Carnagie Hall. The singer who was performing, Melissa Pierce, it was none other than Eve a strange creature and main antagonist of the game who, thanks to the manipulation of mitochondria in human cells, can set his enemies on fire thanks to self-combustion. Dozens of civilians instantly catch fire under Aya's horrified gaze who, however, appears to be immune to Eve's gaze.

The plot then follows the story of Aya against this abominable creature and other enemies that she will meet in her adventure in the form of random encounters: the battle system is one of the most innovative of the era, in which you have to fill a bar to carry out a specific action (an element already in vogue in Final Fantasy), to carry out this action, a aiming system on the enemy we have chosen: the peculiarity of the battle system lies in combining various types of bullets, always different, on various types of enemies. Parasite Eve is one of the few forerunners of action rpgs and precursor of the aforementioned Vagrant Story.

A title not to be missed and that, despite the excellent sales in Japan and the United States, Squaresoft never thought of publishing in the Old Continent, which has instead happened for its sequel, the much more famous Paraside Eve II which, unlike the first, presents a substantially different battle system and ever closer to resident evil e Silent Hill without forgetting the RPG elements that characterize Squaresoft's science fiction work.

Xenogears

Xenogears is a title that should not be played in the summer, but at all times of the year. Each period is perfect to throw yourself headlong into one of the most beautiful JRPGs in the videogame universe. Xenogears is one of the many Squaresoft titles never landed in Europe and, before the advent of the internet, often remained in the shadows and exclusively reserved for overseas gamers.

Xenogears is what can be trivially considered as a Final Fantasy with i wick, a videogame appeal that, as a plot and references, winks at Neon Genesis Evangelion; but the complexity of Xenogears cannot be reduced to such comparisons, the complete work of Tetsuya Takahashi, now in force in Monolith Soft and author of that jewel that takes the name of Xenoblade Chronicles, is one of a kind. Although it is difficult to define it in a few lines, Xenogears collects a structured and fun gameplay, really immediate, which takes place both on mecha and on foot. The protagonist Fei Fong Wong he is a talented painter and martial arts expert, who had been affected by one a few years earlier strong amnesia which does not allow him to remember his origins: the young man lives in the modest village Land, located in a strip of neutral land, on the continent of Ignis, between two states at war for years, Aveh e Acid. During a clash between the two factions right at the gates of the quiet town, Fei in a confused state, takes possession of a gear, a mecha left there without a pilot and, without realizing its actions, enters its cockpit and destroys everything in it. stands in front, including the innocent.

Distraught, Fei is driven out of the village and, wandering in the darkness of a nearby forest, discovers a Solaris soldier, an independent city-state, with which he befriends. Fei is haunted throughout his history by flashback e visions of a distant past but don't worry, as you progress with the plot each piece will take its place. Xenogears is full of references to theology, To Cabal, To science fiction film such as Solaris and Soylent Green, alle instinctual theories of Sigmund Freud, to Jung archetypes, To jumps in time, To reincarnation as well as being a declaration of love regarding anime dedicated to mecha, as Gundam. The graphics of Xenogears echo those already seen in Grandia, with characters in sprite 2D that move in environments 3D, a dynamic view and ATB combat. The particular story rich in content is halved during the second disc, due to the cuts made by Squaresoft to the project and any deadlines, becoming almost a visual novel, with rich portions of text and only one dungeon, the final one, totally explorable.

Despite this, Xenogears is a one of a kind role-playing game, with mature and sophisticated contents; the different influences of genres and theories are implemented in a harmonious and gratifying way in the plot, without ever making the gamer who follows attentively turn up his nose the events told with extreme detail. The characterization of the characters, both main and secondary, is avant-garde, moving according to their own motivations and principles, thus giving a 360-degree view of the whole story. Xenogears is one of the best video games of the PS1 era, change my mind.

Here is my personal TOP 5 of JRPG to recover in the summer, dusting off your old Playstation or via emulator or thanks to the various remastered editions in high definition (Grandia HD Collection is available now on Steam e Nintendo Switch). Well aware of having left out other titles valid, take these as a cue for a renewed discovery of the genre, waiting for the start of the new generation of consoles.