We’re back with another five of our Top 25 PS1 Games You Need to Own. This time, we’re presenting the trigger-happiest of the lot: the Shoot ’Em and Runs, where bullets meet all sorts of baddies, from dinosaurs to deadly dogs and more.
Check back for our previous two sets:
The Fighters and Racers (#20-16)
The Platformers (#25-21)
15) Resident Evil 2
The first Resident Evil was priceless: zombies lurk in the hallways of a creepy mansion, which locks secrets behind strange doors and unfolds into a much more unpleasant base of experimental operations. The second Resident Evil sent us running. Immediately, we were on our feet, fleeing from zombies in the middle of an overrun Raccoon City, dangerously tucked beneath the Arklay Mountains and the forest where the sinister mansion was built. RE2 expanded on the basic principles of its predecessor, giving us fouler enemies and more creative situations.
Look for it in the PS Store, and remember to reload your weapon often.
14) Tomb Raider
Lara Croft is the most famous treasure-raiding heroine in video games, so in proper archeological tradition, head back to the place where it all began: the first Tomb Raider. You’ll go toe-to-toe with hungry wolves, gun down a T-rex, wrestle with crocodiles, and splatter mummy parts all over Egyptian walls. Save the world from the detestable Jacqueline Natla of Natla Technologies and then return home for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
Lara’s first adventure is on the PSN.
Close Second: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver plays similarly to Tomb Raider—or at least that was the aim of developer Crystal Dynamics, who now, ironically, handles the brunette adventurer’s series. They’re also siblings in Sony’s Greatest Hits line-up. Grab it off the PSN today.
13) Silent Hill
Depending on how you like your survival horror, you’ll either be shooting everything that approaches or running at every hint of static on your radio. Silent Hill has been one of the most successful series in the genre, but with many believing it’s gone horribly off track (as is so easily done in the eerie town), it’s better to replay the old excursions, starting with Harry Mason’s search for his missing daughter. His tour of the town will reveal infamous locations classic to the series, such as the elementary school, church, hospital, and amusement park.
The game is available in the PS Store—if you think you can survive.
12) Parasite Eve
Some prefer Parasite Eve 2 more, but the first game set a peculiar mood that’s not easy to overlook—partly due to its hot opera scene, so good that nearly everyone in the audience spontaneously combusted. This horror RPG threatens players with unsightly mutations of rats, monkeys, and even dinosaurs (we’re looking at you, Tomb Raider). Protagonist Aya Brea herself suffers with mitochondria impatient to evolve, as the game’s villain observes early on.
Parasite Eve can be purchased on the PSN, but if you’re desperate for more, hunt down the titular Japanese sci-fi novel it was based on.
Close Second: Dino Crisis also stars a short-haired beauty, but think of this one as Parasite Eve meets Tomb Raider meets Resident Evil (especially Resident Evil)—a game that runs high on suspense and focuses on shooting feral dinosaurs (the beasts are fairly common in video games, if you think about it), with some puzzle-solving on the side. You can get it on the PSN.
11) Einhander
Einhander is the standout inclusion of this batch. It’s not survival horror or adventure, but a scrolling space shooter, so we’ll have to amend our category title and call this one a “Shoot ’Em and Fly.” At the time of its release, it had no comparison on the PlayStation. Its solidarity got it attention, as did its quality gameplay. The only drawbacks are its one-hour completion time and a suspiciously absent two-player mode, but it makes a good bang for your buck, and it’s one of Square’s most curious and successful endeavors outside of RPGs.
Speaking of RPGs, come back tomorrow for another round of the Top 25 PS1 Games You Need to Own.
