Play Episode

Time for our first draft episode of 2024! It’s the turn of the PlayStation, one of the most important consoles in history. Listen to the episode, then vote on who picked the best 10 games in the pinned tweet @BackPagePod on Twitter.

This week’s music is from the R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 soundtrack by Kohta Takahashi, Hiroshi Okubo and Asuka Sakai, plus the Tekken 3 soundtrack by Nobuyoshi Sano and Keiichi Okabe.

PS Mini
Bubsy 3D
Hooters Road Trip
Austin Powers Pinball
South Park Chef's Luv Shack
Pepsiman
Die Hard Trilogy 2
Chandelier
Cheers Chandelier

Image Credit: EdeleEdo

Spite Platform
Gotta Jogg

Image Credit: EdeleEdo

Psycho Mantis

Samuel, mid-draft

Categories?

  1. Wrestling game where Stone Cold Steve Austin looks like a thumb
  2. War crime of a 3D platformer
  3. I played this once on a demo disc and remember it being good for 8 minutes
  4. James Bond game that wasn’t GoldenEye
  5. Game based on either KISS or the Wu-Tang Clan
  6. Features Chris Tarrant or Anne Robinson
  7. Extreme sports game that was clearly worse than Tony Hawk’s
  8. Cursed Squaresoft RPG that eight blokes on a forum say was good
  9. PC port that was essentially unplayable with a PSone controller
  10. I can’t believe this series made the leap from the 16-Bit era, holy fuck why

Categories

  1. Fighting game
  2. Shooter
  3. Survival horror
  4. Racing or sports
  5. Licensed game
  6. Platformer
  7. RPG
  8. 90+ on Metacritic
  9. Wild card
  10. Free pick

Draft Order

PlayerCategoryPick
Samuel90+ on MetacriticMetal Gear Solid
MatthewRPGFinal Fantasy VII
MatthewSurvival horrorResident Evil 2
SamuelFree pickCastlevania: Symphony of the Night
MatthewFree pickXenogears
SamuelFighting gameTekken 3
MatthewRacing or sportsR4: Ridge Racer Type 4
SamuelLicensed gameDie Hard Trilogy
MatthewShooterSyphon Filter
SamuelRacing or sportsTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
MatthewWild cardVagrant Story
SamuelPlatformerCrash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Matthew90+ on MetacriticLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
SamuelWild cardPaRappa the Rapper Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
MatthewLicensed gameAlien Trilogy
SamuelSurvival horrorSilent Hill
MatthewFighting gameBushido Blade
SamuelShooterEinhänder
MatthewPlatformerCrash Bandicoot 3: Warped
SamuelRPGFinal Fantasy VIII

Honourable Mentions and Also-rans

  • Spider-Man
  • PaRappa the Rapper
  • Rayman 2: The Great Escape
  • Dino Crisis
  • Fear Effect
  • Wipeout
  • Colony Wars
  • G-Police

Picks

CategorySamuelMatthew
Fighting gameTekken 3Bushido Blade
ShooterEinhänderSyphon Filter
Survival horrorSilent HillResident Evil 2
Racing or sportsTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Licensed gameDie Hard TrilogyAlien Trilogy
PlatformerCrash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes BackCrash Bandicoot 3: Warped
RPGFinal Fantasy VIIIFinal Fantasy VII
90+ on MetacriticMetal Gear SolidLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Wild cardSuper Puzzle Fighter II TurboVagrant Story
Free pickCastlevania: Symphony of the NightXenogears

Results

Samuel 49%

Matthew 51%

(373 votes, with some talk of a broken poll)

References

  • The Making of… PlayStation from Edge 200
  • PlayStation - the First 25 Years from GameInformer
  • Also worth a look is “PlayStation: the story behind the brand”, a 20 page feature by Simon Parkin and Edge staff in Edge 274 which can be purchased here. “That Parko feature is incredible, though, you’re right about that. So much access.” - Nathan Brown. Note it contains some quotes from the E200 issue available above.