Need advice on a few PS1 games

[KindGrind]

I saw at the store PS1 games I haven't seen much in all my years of collecting. I looked at a few reviews, but find it hard to choose which one to get first in the bunch. I'd like random opinions on the games. A few words on a specific titles are fine, basically any input will be appreciated. If 5 people tell me that Herc's Adventures, for example, sucks ass, I'll get the memo. I'd rather have you guy's opinion than some reviewer from 1998. Here are the game, which are roughly the same price. Important note, I don't have infinite time to invest, which is why you will see no RPGs here despite me seeing quite a few there. I know some of you spoke highly of Strider 2 in the past (Skykid and BIL iirc), but my experience with this game is next to nil, i.e., I played the NES version once or twice as a kid. Here are the games, then:

Strider 2
Herc's Adventures
Intelligent Qube (thinking of getting this first)
Rival Schools
Adventures of Lomax
Countdown Vampires (wtf?)
Skullmonkeys
City of Lost Children

Thanks in advance!

[ACSeraph]

Rival Schools has a lot of personality, but it's clunky and gets old pretty fast. I honestly don't understand why it has the reputation it does. It's not a bad game, but it's not timeless in the way some other fighters from the era (Mark of the Wolves for example) are. Keep in mind I am someone who very much enjoys playing old obscure fighting games in single player mode. But even so, RS was never one that sucked me in for long. After a day or two of play it always inevitably gets shelved for a couple more years. If you aren't a pretty hardcore collector of fighters I don't really see the point in buying a long dead badly aged 2.5D fighter, regardless of how much personality it has.

[iconoclast]

Strider 2 is a great game. Mechanically, it's one of the best action/platformers out there. I'd say it's only been topped by Hard Corps: Uprising. Stage design is good, but most enemies are easy to deal with because they lack collision, so you can run and slide through them without consequence. That doesn't make the game easy, though - it's a lot harder than Strider & Cannon Dancer. It just lets you trivialize some stuff.

Aside from the excellent mechanics, Strider 2 is one of the few action/platform games with a worthwhile scoring system. It's a simple system that's based on speed, item collection, and not taking damage, but it gets the job done.

It's also worth mentioning that the PS1 version has a terrible bonus stage that was seemingly made to highlight every flaw in the game, and it has a lot of slowdown that eats inputs. Getting hit by an attack that you should have dodged can be very frustrating, especially when you're playing for score, because it costs you a massive bonus for completing the stage without taking damage. But that's only relevant if you're interested in mastery.

It's not as well made as something like Cannon Dancer or Hard Corps Uprising, but its mechanics and scoring really help make up for most of its flaws.

[BIL]

Strider 2 is an excellent ninja sidescroller, yep - particularly if you're into short, technical, replay-geared assault course design. The PS1 port has the minor drawback of short inter-area load times, but they're easily forgiven with the breakneck speed and hyper-agile handling.

It also includes (or should include) a second disc with an excellent port of the original arcade game, which is no slouch either and remains a landmark in cinematic sidescrolling spectacle. NB that these are 100% single-sitting action and nothing like the NES game. For the best, tbh. Bionic Commando/Hitler no Fukkatsu does that type of ARPG-leaning sidescroller far better.

It's also worth mentioning that the PS1 version has a terrible bonus stage that was seemingly made to highlight every flaw in the game

IIRC "Stage 0" is actually unused leftovers from the arcade version, haha. It shows.

[BrianC]

I'm actually curious about Herc's Adventures since it looks similar to Zombies Ate my Neighbors and was made by much of the same staff.

[pegboy]

Strider 2 would be the obvious choice for me but I'm pretty sure it's fairly expensive now?

[Obiwanshinobi]

The City of Lost Children (running on DOSbox anyway) doesn't LOOK awful for its time on gameplay videos*), but since the film (which I liked) felt just a bit too "imperial" for its own good to me (think Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) I'm afraid the game might be just a promotional gadget rather than labour of love.

*) Decent voice acting, too.

[KindGrind]

Thanks for the input here. Strider 2 and Intelligent Qube seem like my best bets.

[BIL]

Also, for the love of god, look up Silent Bomber. Razor-sharp and astonishingly violent topdown demolitioner. Mentioning as I know you like the SFC Kiki Kaikais! Rarely does early 3D complement, let alone enhance traditional action so satisfyingly.

Unfortunately I think the US/EU versions have a crash bug, after a later boss battle... JP doesn't seem to. The game itself is solid as hell. Its tag/airdash/detonate rhythm is easily 2D-tight, and its carnage takes on a floor-shaking enormity in 3D.

I like Omega Boost for similar reasons (arcade hype+cool efficient 3D), though it's got more of a learning curve where SB is instant nirvana. OB is essentially Panzer Dragoon 3D lockon shooting repurposed for arena time/score-attacking (there's only two linear stages and neither's anything like PD's usual cinematic rail shooting). Arcadey and tight as hell if you can get into demolishing it for high ranks. Stylish as hell too, replay viewer is an infinite mecha porn factory (Macross mech designer worked on this, along with ex-Team Andromeda members).

Old post with some more PS1 recs + Omega Boost PROTIPZ

[Obiwanshinobi]

I need advice on Time Commando. Looks pretty early PSX (so it's 3D and that's about it), but it's by Adeline Software, whose other works are Little Big Adventure 1&2 and Motoracer Advance, no less. I can't help thinking "Time Commando" is one cool title, too.

[lilmanjs]

Intelligent Qube is worth it even if just for the haunting orchestral score. Cheapest I've seen it around here is just under $100usd though.

[KindGrind]

Intelligent Qube is worth it even if just for the haunting orchestral score. Cheapest I've seen it around here is just under $100usd though.

Unlike Nintendo and Sega stuff, it seems like some pricy PS1 games have gone down in value over time. I remember Intelligent Qube being 70$+, and it's lower than that now. Several copies available below 50$ on eBay.

Thanks BIL, looked into Silent Bomber. My LGS has a complete copy of it at an okay price, so I might snatch it when I visit next!

[Austin]

Strider 2, easy.

IQ if you prefer puzzle games over action games.

I hear Herc's is great but I haven't sunk any real play time into it.

[KindGrind]

Picked up Intelligent Qube, Herc's and Silent Bomber. Strider 2 had disappeared... I think I saw a copy somewhere else in town, so once I'm "done" with these 3 I will grab it probably.

Lots of love to give these games.

First things first, Silent Bomber is the shit. How had I not heard of this game before? Completed the first 10 mission, and it's absolutely amazing. Reminds me of Sin and Punishment a lot, for some reason. A game that defies you to come back and master. The controls are, for lack of a better word, superb. Definitely the discovery of the year for me, and I've played quite a lot this year. Just wow. You were right about this and SFC Kikikaikai, a game I love; somehow these games are similar in many respects.

Herc's Adventures is basically ZAMN in Greece. It controls well, doesn't take you by the hand to tell you where to go at all (which isn't always good), and does occasionally suffer from the same little problems ZAMN suffered from. Because of its isometric nature, you sometimes don't know you can go a certain way through a hedge, for example. You wiggle the d-pad and sure enough, the character goes through. It's quite evident they tried to fix in in Herc, putting random signs "Path here!" or stuff like this, which is a good fix. Not very far in this one, Silent Bomber took up most of my gaming time the last day. I'm glad I picked Herc's up, because I had never seen it anywhere. I hear it's a pretty rare game (on SAT, too).

IQ is excellent. I'm sucker for a good puzzler, and this works very well. A bit bland for my tastes, the sound effects are a bit redundant "Puuuuurfect!" every 15 seconds or so, I wish you could turn them off... The score is indeed excellent, swelling at times. Felt like John Williams a lot, with echoes of Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Going back to PS1 games I miss auto-save and auto-load features. Having to load your games and never forget to save is a bit of a drag, but it's really a small price to pay. I play this on my ps3 hooked up to a HD CRT through HDMI, and the games look crisp as hell.