PSone PaRappa the Rapper PlayStation

The name PlayStation is now synonymous with video games, with a legacy extending back to the mid-90s. At that time, Sony introduced us to a polygonal playground where, finally, 3D games could be fully realised. Ever since, PlayStation has remained at the cutting edge of console technology, with the PS2 bringing us online play and the EyeToy, the PS3 championing the Blu-Ray disc, and the PS4 offering us new functionality like Share Play and game streaming. These are all, of course, important stepping stones on Sony's pathway to becoming a gaming giant, but none were so significant as that first big leap.

The original PlayStation, in other words, made huge waves in the industry, and its early successes cemented it within the gaming landscape for good. What clinched this, though, was the eclectic (and massive) library of games that were brought to the platform. The PSone's catalogue is arguably one of the best in the business, for its diversity and its sheer volume.

There are of course many classic titles from these early years, games that are lauded to this day. Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro the Dragon, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy... I could go on. What amazes me about this decades-old roster of games, though, is that they are still perfectly playable today – and more than that, I'm still discovering new PSone delights 20 years on.

PSone Final Fantasy IX PlayStation

I was five when the PlayStation launched. I remember my seven-year-old cousin trying to explain to me what a PlayStation was, and I remember being excited about it, but I didn't fully understand it. What was a games console? All I knew at the time was that I liked playing Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage.

So when I came home one day to find my Dad playing Actua Golf from the bundled-in Demo 1, I wasn't really sure what was happening. Any doubt melted away the minute that I started up the demo for Crash Bandicoot, however. The rest is history, of course. I went on to play some well-known games and some not-so-well-known ones (Silent Bomber is one of my favourites). I moved on to newer machines as Sony produced them, and now, life without a PlayStation seems ludicrous.

But I digress. The point is, the original PlayStation and its games can still offer me new experiences, and I've been playing them alongside more contemporary games all this time. As I've grown up, I've found more and more to like about Sony's original grey box. From the T-Rex tech demo to Time Crisis, there's a richness and a specific attitude within these games that I've found irresistible over the years.

PSone Time Crisis PlayStation

The most recent example I can offer you is Final Fantasy IX. I started it for the very first time about a month ago, and it is truly a magical game, with an interesting story and complex but approachable gameplay. I've been playing it on my Vita and it has distracted me easily from my PS4 endeavours.

A little further back, I played through PaRappa the Rapper (again for the first time) about a couple of years ago. I revisited Silent Bomber around the same time. A year or two before that, I went through the Crash trilogy and the stupidly hard Rayman. In my teens I would play Time Crisis with my Dad, despite the more recent consoles available to us at the time.

Ultimately, the original PlayStation has provided me more fun and more varied experiences than anything since, and I'm still discovering new games, 20 years after it launched. That, to me, says a lot about the quality of the machine and the quality of the games. The games we have nowadays, with their graphics and their enormity, are all well and good, but during this anniversary year, perhaps you should take the time to look back. Why don't you play through a PSone game that's new to you, or go through your favourite one again? The console may be getting on a bit, but it still has plenty to offer, and I think that any console with this degree of longevity should be celebrated.

Do you agree that the PSone has stood the test of time? Do you still play games from this era on a regular basis, or have you moved on? Put on your rose tinted glasses in the comments section below.