Alright so today I wanna talk about gettin’ into PS1 RPGs. Sounds old school? Heck yeah, but trust me, it’s gold. Here’s exactly how I did it last weekend after diggin’ out my dusty console from the closet.
The Hunt for Stuff
First thing? Needed games. That old PS1 disc case was mostly empty. Scrounged around online forums and local buy/sell groups just askin’ folks if they had junk discs lyin’ around. Took me like three days just to find two decent-looking cases – one guy sold me Final Fantasy VII with a scratched label but said “it boots, maybe”. Whatever man.
Setting Up the Mess
Found my ancient PS1 slim model under some VHS tapes. Plugged it into this tiny CRT TV my neighbor almost threw away. Thing smelled like old carpet dust. Then the panic hit: where’s the memory card?! Dumb rookie move. Thought my save files lived on the discs. Nope. Ripped the living room apart for an hour. Found one jammed in a PS2 controller – score!
Plugged everything in: Power brick got HOT real quick. Controller felt… sticky? Whatever. Popped FFVII in. Screen went black for like 10 seconds. Heart stopped. Then suddenly – that blocky Cloud guy leaning against a pipe. YES.
Fighting Myself More Than Monsters
Forgot how damn hard just NAVIGATING these old menus feels. Controls are… special:
- Ran around Midgar like a drunk chicken for 20 minutes
- Got stuck on literally the first ladder prompt
- Fought a random cat monster & nearly died because I mashed X randomly
Searched “ff7 basic controls” and felt like an idiot. Had to actually read text boxes. Who does that?? Progress was just me staring at blurry backgrounds trying to find doors.
Getting My Butt Saved
After like four Game Overs? Caved. Asked my nephew to come over. Little dude plays Fortnite on a spaceship tablet or whatever. He laughed at me for ten minutes straight before showing me:
- How to actually target enemies PROPERLY (yes I was hitting my own team)
- Where the “magic” menu hid behind three layers
- That running requires HOLDING a button. Oh.
Sat there grinding weak monsters near the start for EXP while he watched TikToks. Felt kinda like a caveman discovering fire. Slow but kinda satisfying once you stop dying every fight.
So Why Bother?
Look. These games feel janky next to modern stuff. Characters look like Lego people. But sittin’ there figuring out turn-based fights or laughing at goofy cutscenes? Feels real. Kinda like diggin’ through vinyl records instead of streamin’. Messy, physical, and weirdly special once you stop fightin’ the old-ness.
Tips for anybody tryin’ this?
- Expect clunk. Like, ALOT of clunk.
- Get a memory card FIRST or prepare for eternal sadness.
- Find a 90s kid nearby. Seriously.
Maybe it ain’t “easy” like flashy new RPGs. But man. That PS1 startup sound still hits different.
