![]() It was never exactly revolutionary in terms of its characters, plot or setup, but for being one of the first brawlers to really translate the action from 2D to 3D, Fighting Force deserves more attention than it ever actually received. That all said, the first Fighting Force game is something of a lost classic, a satisfying brawler that gives you everything you could want from a fighting game released back in the 90s. Situated slap-bang in the middle of a wave that was enduring a trough rather than happily enjoying a peaking crest, Fighting Force’s tale of a brave crew of fighters taking down a criminal mastermind by punching everything in sight failed to generate much critical or commercial attention. Perhaps that’s why Fighting Force and its maligned sequel ended up falling between the cracks at a time when the industry was enjoying something of a transition. The genre would see a resurgence thanks to the likes of Viewtiful Joe and God Hand in the 2000s, not to mention the rise of the hack-and-slash genre, but in 1997, things weren’t looking so rosy. Beat ‘em up games had enjoyed their initial peak in the 80s with franchises such as Streets of Rage and Final Fight cornering this enjoyably hard-edged corner of the market. Late 90’s beat ’em up Fighting Force debuted at an odd time for the genre as a whole. Cartoonish, fun and with an identity all of its own, Wild 9 is easily one of the most underrated PS1 games ever made. Shiny Entertainment may have built a reputation and ultimately a legacy on profound weirdness, MDK and Earthworm Jim in particular highlighting the now-defunct American studio’s capacity for out and out surrealness, but they were never a developer to let quirkiness get in the way of quality.ĭesigned by David Perry, the same man who worked on the original Earthworm Jim in 1994, Wild 9 was a sort of 2.5D platform adventure that took many of Shiny Entertainment’s offbeat sensibilities and transposed them into an adventure platform that was as boldly individual as it was punishingly difficult.įollowing the brilliantly-named Wex Major as he navigates his way through a strange new galaxy making eccentric friends and forming the game’s titular group, Wild 9 was never quite as polished or cohesive as Earthworm Jim or its many sequels, but it’s well worth digging out for anyone who can’t get enough of the sort of quirky humour that made Jim a household name. It isn’t the perfect game, hampered occasionally by a lack of proper depth and some pretty dreadful dialogue, but what Psychic Force does have is charm and novelty, its fun twist on the format bringing something new to a genre that was in danger of going stale. What set the game apart was that fights occurred not only from left to right but also up and down as players floated up, down and across the screen and proceedings tended to look like a brawl had broken out inside an indoor skydiving facility. Instead of the standard underground fight clubs and pristine dojos that usually made pleasing backdrops to two burly men kicking one another in the head while shouting incomprehensible catchphrases, Psychic Force’s action is framed by a cube-shaped magical force field. ![]() Originally an arcade game, Psychic Force was ported to the PlayStation in 1997, a transfer that did little to diminish the charm of Taito’s ambitious if deeply flawed take on one of the 90s’ most popular genres. Lots of games during the PS1 era had ‘Force’ in the title, but few were as underrated or underappreciated as novel 90s fighting sim Psychic Force. Publisher: Taito (JP), Acclaim Entertainment (NA, PAL) With this list of the most underrated PS1 games, we hope they can be found and enjoyed once again. This was the genesis for so much gaming greatness.Īt a time of experimentation and innovation, a few gems have inevitably fallen through the cracks and become lost to time. Birthed here were some of the most influential, important and beloved brands in gaming, from Tomb Raider to Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil to Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. The PS1 was truly instrumental in catapulting games into the mainstream public arena, helping to take the industry away from the realm of the arcade and firmly into the domestic sphere. The PS2 may have eclipsed its older brother in terms of sales, but that’s no reason to consider the original Sony console as somehow less deserving of reverence. Nearly every subsequent console, regardless of manufacturer, has taken influence from the PS1’s enormous and esteemed legacy, Sony’s masterpiece shaping the gaming landscape as it battled it out against the Nintendo 64 and, to a lesser extent, the SEGA Saturn. If the PlayStation 2 took the ball and ran with it, the original PlayStation can be credited with pretty much creating the ball in the first place.
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