More PS1 survival horrors? Also trying to remember one...

[turbolegs]

I've looked over this list pretty often, but I'm still pretty curious if there's more games out there like these for the system?
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/survival ... brary.html

Good RE clones are good in my book. Love that kind of gameplay. I've only gotten to the Dino Crisis games and loved them, Parasite Eve which was decent, and a bit of the first Fear Effect games but the controls and trial & error gameplay in that one were a little tough last I remember. Which can you guys highly recommend?

I really can't remember much of this RE-esque game I played a bit of probably more than 12 years ago, but it's one of those things that's stuck with me and I just hope I can figure out what it was someday. I think I remember the beginning of the game, or where my friend loaded his game, had some people in a sewers like area, and for some reason I want to say the characters had like colorful armor or something. I think it might have been a bit sci-fi. Also as a young kid I will say one of the main things that I remember that I think was the same game, my friend showed me one of the later bosses and it was like this half naked chick in what looked like a normal tall office building or something.

I've looked through racketboy's list and think maybe it was Martian Gothic, but I'm not sure. Maybe one of the Fear Effects too, but I don't think so. I swear the main character and a team of characters were like these red armored units or something.

I think you're talking about Hard Edge on the PS1. It was a fun game but overshadowed by the RE series.

[joey t]

A very strange horror game called 'D' is worth a look at. not really a resi style game but very interesting all the same.

[AppleQueso]

It's possibly worth mentioning that the metroid games have a decent amount of 'Alien'-esque horror overtones.

[Xeogred]

I think you're talking about Hard Edge on the PS1. It was a fun game but overshadowed by the RE series.

...

Holy crap, this is it! I'm looking at videos of it now and that intro definitely brings back memories. I guess my faded memory of weird armor and Japanese-esque anime characters wasn't too off, so I wasn't going crazy! Haha wow, thanks a lot for that. I think it was called TRAG in the US, definitely gonna track that down.

@Ack and others: Yeah I would definitely be interested in hearing about more games like this if you guys wanna recommend away, specifically stuff that plays like the old RE's and such. Also this makes me wanna say that I absolutely love pre-rendered backdrops, it really does make some of these games age really well compared to others as they still can look really good. Always an interesting difference I noticed between the N64 and PSX as a kid, most N64 games were more 3D with less backdrops...

Anyways I'd mostly be interested in ones for the PS1/PS2, although it looks like maybe the Dreamcast has a few good ones too? I've got a DC myself so recommendations there are fine too.

What do you guys think of Countdown: Vampires? Looks pretty good off racketboy's list.

I also realized I still own Galerians and haven't really tried it, but I guess the same can be said about Fear Effect 2 (never beat the first). Gonna have to try and get to these soon.

@AppleQueso: Totally agreed about the Metroid / Alien comparison, heh.

[Ack]

I've actually been working a bit on a PS2 survival horror article off and on since October, but there's a lot of ground to cover there.

You ought to conisder Shadow Tower Abyss and Kuon. I never see these mentioned... Kuon's lack of reputation is especially alerting being that it saw US release. One of the most imaginative survival horror games I've played.

As a matter of fact Kuon's in the main list and also in my personal collection. I picked it up back in 2006 and enjoyed every minute of it. One of my best friends is now scared of wicker baskets due to watching me play it at night.

Shadow Tower Abyss I currently have listed in the very long Honorable Mentions list, where I said it may appeal to both fans of horror games and RPGs like Demon's Souls or King's Field. It's joined by the likes of Ghosthunter, the Evil Dead games, Shadow Hearts, the various horror-themed titles of D3 Publisher's Simple series, Glass Rose, the Hayarigami games, and much, much more. It's a long list with a lot of stuff to check out, though unfortunately not all of it's available in all regions (Shadow Tower Abyss being just one I wish had make it over).

[Ack]

@Ack and others: Yeah I would definitely be interested in hearing about more games like this if you guys wanna recommend away, specifically stuff that plays like the old RE's and such. Also this makes me wanna say that I absolutely love pre-rendered backdrops, it really does make some of these games age really well compared to others as they still can look really good. Always an interesting difference I noticed between the N64 and PSX as a kid, most N64 games were more 3D with less backdrops...

Anyways I'd mostly be interested in ones for the PS1/PS2, although it looks like maybe the Dreamcast has a few good ones too? I've got a DC myself so recommendations there are fine too.

What do you guys think of Countdown: Vampires? Looks pretty good off racketboy's list.

I also realized I still own Galerians and haven't really tried it, but I guess the same can be said about Fear Effect 2 (never beat the first). Gonna have to try and get to these soon.

Actually Countdown: Vampires is known mainly for its horrendous voice acting and poor plot, but that doesn't make it not worth playing. Check it out, especially if you like the RE-style survival horror.

I know you said you prefer pre-rendered backgrounds, but if you're willing to step further into the realm of 3D, Carrier for the Sega Dreamcast is one you might enjoy. It features targeting enemy body parts as the main characters attempt to discover what sort of horrific nightmare has gone down on an aircraft carrier. There are parts where it got rather intense, though it's not a terribly difficult game. I also recently played through Extermination on the PS2, and while I do have some criticisms for it concerning its controls, aiming, and health systems, there's some good ideas in it that I quite liked, especially the modable weapon system. Cold Fear's another pseudo-Resident Evil survival horror, but it borrows much more from RE4 in its gameplay.

And there's always Resident Evil, RE2, and RE3 for the PlayStation. 2 was ported to the N64, and both it and 3 appear on the Dreamcast along with Code Veronica (and Dino Crisis).

[Xeogred]

Countdown: Vampires, can the voice acting really top the original RE's?

Dino Crisis' was pretty hilarious too honestly, but yeah I have no problem dealing with this stuff... it's timeless charm, usually.

I've got all the RE's covered, least the main ones and Code Veronica at least. There were a few on the PS2 that actually looked kind of interesting (not the rail shooters), might have to given them a shot sometime. How are the ports of 2-3 and Dino Crisis though? I've seen a lot of mixed things on them, like some sources saying they're exact copies of the PS1 versions, and others saying they're like the PC versions which have slightly upgraded graphics. The old ones don't bother me a bit though, I'm one that went from REmake to RE1 back to back and thought it was cool seeing the changes, graphically and everything.

Extermination definitely looks pretty cool and I've been wanting to check out Cold Fear for a long time. And Carrier just looks awesome!

[Ack]

Countdown: Vampires, can the voice acting really top the original RE's?

I'll be honest, it's pretty terrible, but I'll let you be the judge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c26dE0Cq ... re=related

I've got all the RE's covered, least the main ones and Code Veronica at least. There were a few on the PS2 that actually looked kind of interesting (not the rail shooters), might have to given them a shot sometime. How are the ports of 2-3 and Dino Crisis though? I've seen a lot of mixed things on them, like some sources saying they're exact copies of the PS1 versions, and others saying they're like the PC versions which have slightly upgraded graphics. The old ones don't bother me a bit though, I'm one that went from REmake to RE1 back to back and thought it was cool seeing the changes, graphically and everything.

Actually the Dreamcast ports included all of the extras from the PC ports on a console. The games also use the VMU to display health, which is a nice touch. Resident Evil 2 on the Nintendo 64 saw the biggest changes, with material put in that was unavailable in other versions. The resolution gets upgraded and looks great when playing it with the N64's Expansion Pak. The music was also retooled to sound better.

Extermination definitely looks pretty cool and I've been wanting to check out Cold Fear for a long time. And Carrier just looks awesome!

Of the three, Cold Fear impressed me the most. It integrated some of the best parts of Resident Evil 4 and kept it feeling like a horror game, something RE4 failed to do in a lot of folks' eyes, but it's not nearly as smooth. None of those three are perfect, but they all fit the RE-clone bill.

Now if you want something radically different but still horror, check out the "running" subgenre. There's not really a designation for the different styles in survival horror, but I'd compare these guys mostly to slasher films: the Clock Tower series, Haunting Ground, and Hellnight. In them you don't fight, you run. Run run run as fast as you can, and pray to God the thing chasing you doesn't get you, because if it does, you're dead. Clock Tower 3 is probably the most accessible of the lot, but its plot is incredibly cheesy.

[Xeogred]

THIS WHITE WATER TURNS THEM BACK TO NORMAL

Haha wow, yeah that is a little beyond "funny/bad". I'll have to check it out sometime though.

I'll definitely have to check out RE2 on the N64 sometime then, from what you're saying it maybe didn't suffer any censorship or anything either?

The "running" side of the genre does sound like it could be good stuff, potentially more scary too. When you're not loaded up with rocket launchers and stuff, it can certainly make it more intense. Like the Fatal Frames or something... here's a camera!

[AppleQueso]

Now if you want something radically different but still horror, check out the "running" subgenre. There's not really a designation for the different styles in survival horror, but I'd compare these guys mostly to slasher films: the Clock Tower series, Haunting Ground, and Hellnight. In them you don't fight, you run. Run run run as fast as you can, and pray to God the thing chasing you doesn't get you, because if it does, you're dead. Clock Tower 3 is probably the most accessible of the lot, but its plot is incredibly cheesy.

Silent Hill SM count here?