Summary
The long line ofPlayStationconsoles and their portable siblings has given rise to some of the best titles on the market today, many of which (for better or worse) are exclusive to the PlayStation family of consoles.
It can be a bit of a double-edged sword with these more obscure exclusive titles, or even some cult classic titles that simply never got revived, as the fast-digitizing world of gaming media has left these physical copies to malinger away.PlayStation’s considerable backlogof exclusive games have left many titles off the shelves for good — and a few of these titles were, frustratingly, some incredibly high quality games.
5Crimson Sea 2
A Celebrated Sequel In An Interesting Setting
Crimson Seaas a series has made a rather interesting, if somewhat convoluted, jump. The title exclusive to Xbox for its first installment, and then became exclusive to the PlayStation 2 for its sequel. Many things remain from the original title, such as the ability to play as Sho, the dedicated detective and soldier from the first title. Joining Sho is a new female playable character, Feanay, who trades out the slow and heavy hits of Sho for a more agile playstyle.
This is a fast-paced action shooter with a lot of fascinating ways to change attack styles and use new techniques to mow down hordes of alien enemies. There isn’t much follow up from the first game besides the protagonist and setting, which means anyone lucky enough to stumble onto a physical copy of this will be set to get right into the game. This title actually has a lot of nuance and subtext for what is a flashy game with explosions in space, and while the action will pull players in, like a lotof good sci-fi games, the story will keep them there.
This Monolithic Title Set A New Standard For Horror
Silent Hill
In Silent Hill, you assume the role of widower Harry Mason, who is trying to get away from the pain of his wife’s loss by taking his daughter on a road trip. After a car accident on the outskirts of the resort town of Silent Hill, you regain consciousness to find that your daughter, who was previously asleep in the backseat, has left–or has been taken–from the scene. To find her, you must go into town and unlock the secrets that linger seven years after a tragic fire scarred the town.The game features formidable monsters, perplexing puzzles, a realistic 3-D town, and, most of all, an acute sense of foreboding caused by Silent Hill’s creative lighting and sound effects. The makers have included four different endings, based on performance throughout the game, so think, be quick on your feet, and hope for the best of all possible outcomes.
This still-unsettling title redefined what it meant to be a horror game for an entire generation of players. There are so many moving parts toSilent Hill, and what made it work on a fundamental level as an exploration and horror title — which is ironic considering the uneasy, static nature of the town Silent Hill — is also part of what makes the game so compelling.Harry Mason is a likable, relatable, rational protagonist with the goal of finding his daughter, something that players can get behind.
There isa frequent discussionover the pros and cons of theSilent Hill 2remake coming down the line, but the first game, while definitely not forgotten by players, does seem content to remain a cultural artifact, with no real way to play it as it’s long been off the shelves. Whether or not players can agree on how the sequels surpassed (or failed to surpass) this original title, no one can argue just how influentialSilent Hillhas been to the genre.
37th Dragon 2020-2
A Hard-Hitting JRPG With Addictive Gameplay And Difficulty
7th Dragon,as a series, finds itself ina long lineof JRPGs that won’t hold the player’s hand. Completing the title to 100% — or at all — is a difficult task. Similar toCrimson Sea 2, this successor title is a sequel to a different console exclusive, but7th Dragon 2020-2allows players to jump right in to a party builder JRPG with a lot of fascinating mechanics, similar to JRPGs likeEtrian Odysseybut with a distinct neo-modern, cyberpunk-ish style.
The game has some incredible graphics considering its running on the PSP. Its gameplay revolves around slaying monstrous, stylized dragons, and the in-depth combat system really meshes well with the party building.7th Dragon: Code VFDon the 3DS was a worthy successor to this title, but it doesn’t help the disappointment that this game can’t be bought today. Also, Miku Hatsune shows up at one point, so… there’s that.
For a while,P.T.took the internet by storm, with every YouTuber and their mother rushing out to play what was supposed to be a ‘playable teaser’ for a newSilent Hilltitle. What players got was easily one of the most unsettling and disturbing video games to come out of 2014; and all for free, to boot. The game bent the player’s sense of familiarity into something gruesome and awful, with a quaint, suburbian house becoming filled with more and more gruesome displays, underlying a troubling story of abuse.
P.T.was delisted after Hideo Kojima and Konami had some fairly significant (and fairly public) disagreements, leading to Kojima parting ways with the company. Konami further disappointed fans by delistingP.T.and scrapping any plans for theSilent Hillgame Kojima had in the works, although without the legendary game director there to give it life, perhaps it’s best Konami leftP.T.to drift away like an ominous shadow in a dark hallway.P.T.spiritually lives onthrough unofficial remakesand Kojima’s vision, but players won’t be able to get their hands on the original title anymore.
Bushido Bladewas an incredibly unique title at launch, and nearly 30 years later, there are some aspects of it that remain entirely novel. This fighting game doesn’t feature any health bars, instead holding the threat of a single lethal blow above both the player and their opponent’s heads. Featuring a variety of weapons that are each welded differently, playable characters with different stats, and alternate stances to hold each weapon in, this was a high-lethality fighting game with an emphasis on customization.
Not many games have that same level of dedication to realistically-lethal combat packaged in an action-packed story and built around such unique fighting mechanics. This game and its sequel can not be purchased nowadays, which is a shame considering how well some of these innovations would hold up on modern systems.
