Why I Dug Out My PS1
Found my dusty PlayStation 1 while cleaning the garage last weekend. Plugged it in just for kicks, and damn – those startup sounds hit me right in the nostalgia. Got me thinking about how RPGs back then were either spaceships or swords ‘n dragons. Decided to pit ’em against each other.
Grabbing the Games
Dug through my cardboard box of discs like a raccoon in a dumpster. Pulled out three sci-fi bangers: Xenogears (giant robots!), Parasite Eve (mutant mitochondria? sure), and Star Ocean: The Second Story (space knights, basically). For fantasy, grabbed the obvious: Final Fantasy VII, IX, and Chrono Cross. Threw ’em all on the carpet like a weird game buffet.
The Playtest Grind
Started with sci-fi. Fired up Xenogears first. Combat was clunky as hell – those mech battles felt like wrestling a refrigerator. Story went full anime philosophy meltdown halfway through. Switched to Parasite Eve: freaky body horror but short as heck. Star Ocean? Fun combat but that script… oof. Characters talked like soap opera aliens.
Then booted Final Fantasy VII. Within minutes: “Oh. Right.” That opening with Midgard’s reactors? Still slaps. Fantasy games just felt… fuller. FFIX’s cities had more personality than Star Ocean’s generic space ports. Chrono Cross’s music alone made my spine tingle.
Face-Off Time
- Sci-Fi Pros: Cool tech ideas (Parasite Eve’s “real-time” battles), wilder stories (Xenogears’ religious robots)
- Sci-Fi Cons: Janky execution, rushed endings, budget felt stretched thinner than pizza dough
- Fantasy Pros: Polished combat, towns actually worth exploring, way more content
- Fantasy Cons: Sometimes too tropey (FFIX’s “evil queen” yawn)
The Verdict
Fantasy RPGs straight-up dominated PS1. Not even close. Sci-fi had ambition but kept tripping over its own ideas. Felt like devs were still figuring out how to make lasers feel as epic as fireballs. By disc 2 of FFVII, I’d forgotten all about Xenogears’ confusing plot holes. Fantasy just knew what it was doing – give me chocobos over spaceships any day.
Unplugged the PS1 feeling kinda sad for sci-fi. Those games tried so damn hard. Maybe that’s why I still keep ’em: like weird, ambitious cousins who show up at holidays wearing duct-tape shoes.