The Playstation 1 may not look all that great to modern players given how far the industry has come in the quarter of a century or so since its release. However, in terms of the story told and the designs used, there are still some PS1 games that hold up incredibly well today when it comes to the quality of the cut-scenes used between levels.
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Fromthe many great Square gamesthat came before the company merged with Enix to produce some highly memorable cut-scenes and games in the PS1 era to games more forgotten but just as impressively animated for the time, there are many PS1 games that have beautiful cut-scenes and deserve to be revisited today.
1Metal Gear Solid
An easy choice for one of the best PS1-era video games in general,Metal Gear Solidtook the already belovedMetal Gearfranchise to the 3-D animated format and made leaps and bounds along the way. For the sheer cinematic presentation of a game,it is difficult to beatMetal Gear Solidin this era.
It wasn’t only the graphics that helpedMetal Gear Solid’sstory and cut-scenes make such a huge splash at the time and through the history of gaming since. The story told around Snake’s infiltration of the nuclear weapons facility and the intriguing characters within was elevated to another level by the cut-scenes, all of which were built using the in-game engine.
2Twisted Metal 4
A slightly surprising choice from a very surprising source, the vehicular-based combat of theTwisted Metalgames wasn’t beloved by critics until they started to turn a corner withTwisted Metal 4. Still not considered to bean overall masterpiece of gaming, the cut-scenes helped to elevate this game beyond where most fans expected it to be.
For a game that was mostly a demolition derby with projectiles,Twisted Metal 4surprised many with the final cut-scenes. There were multiple endings to the game, and each provided one of several scenes which were all put together magnificently. Though the graphics of these scenes have aged, they were well worth exploring and helped make this entry in the franchise perhaps the most memorable of all.
3Final Fantasy VII
It is easy to talk aboutFinal Fantasywhen it comes to cutscenes. The elevation of the story in general throughout video gaming history is always going to lead back to the classicFinal Fantasygames. Some considerFinal Fantasy VIIto be the greatest of the series, in large part due to the focus on the story and the incredible scenes put together to tell it.
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Although the modern remakeboasts updated graphicsfor these scenes, nothing will beat the original feeling of playing a game that told that magnificent story for the very first time back when such grand, sweeping stories told so beautifully were almost unheard of in gaming. It wasn’t even something that game creators were aspiring to beforeFinal Fantasy VII.
4The Legend Of Dragoon
WhileThe Legend Of Dragoonhas been unfavorablycompared to theFinal Fantasyseriesby critics, there are still a lot of great things about this classic game. The game is set in a world called Endiness and features a group of warriors trying to stop the end of their world. The game was noted at the time for being hugely expensive due to the use of realistic CGI cutscenes.
With a solid story and the amazing graphics for a PS1 game combined,The Legend Of Dragoonhas garnered a lot of praise. It’s also garnered a cult following over the years for having taken the leap to really caring about the appearance of its cutscenes.
5Resident Evil 2
Praised to the degree that it was eventually brought back in a large-scale remake,Resident Evil 2is a memorable game that elevated the franchise in a way that has kept it massive with each subsequent release ever since, leading all the way to the incredibly popular most recent entry,Resident Evil Village.
The story of Leon and Claire is fascinating because it is completely different for each player character, and because the other characters and the scenes put together are excellently written and voice-acted. While most players will now use the popular remake of the game to experience the story, the cut-scenes were already a triumph that told an excellent story in the original.
6Vagrant Story
With an army of cult fans that keep the memory of this game alive, and try to ensure it goes down as one ofthe best PS1 games of all time,Vagrant Storywas developed by the team behindFinal Fantasy Tacticsand is considered by many to be aFinal Fantasygame in all but name. While this has stopped it from being quite as well-remembered as it deserves, the game is nonetheless a triumph.
Set in the fictional city of Lea Monde,Vagrant Storyfollows Ashley Riot, an elite agent trying to solve a mystery involving a cult leader and senior members of parliament. The game was hugely praised for its unique RPG style, having no player interaction with other characters and focusing on weapon creation. The cutscenes throughout the game are beautiful and have been well-revered for their comic-book-style art and speech bubbles.
