Is the PlayStation 1 the Greatest Console Ever? - Retro Bird 

Games played: Crash Bandicoot 3 (0:00), Rayman (0:16), Resident Evil 2 (0:30), Valkyrie Profile (1:04), Raiden II (2:10)

the Dad Energy of this channel is so strong that I got a youtube ad for gutters

It's always feels like Friday night now when a new RetroBird pops up

I mentioned this in the other thread, but in the U.K. the PS1 drastically changed the perception of gaming. They didn’t target teens here they targeted those in their mid twenties with disposable income. It led to the ps1 being seen as a fashion accessory rather than a kids toy. Geoff Glendenning played a considerable role in this and the PS1 ads in the U.K. won countless awards. Heck I should just make my own video about it haha.

As much as I love video games, the fact that it could also play CDs blew my mind back in the day 😊

New subscriber here, never stop making videos Retro Bird! It took 20 seconds for me to sub to this amazing channel and I've been binging it all week. Keep up the great work 🤙🏻

I was 19 when I got a PS1 in 1996. A grownup console for someone just hitting adulthood. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me.

I think the 3rd part support reason you touched on is very important. PS1 felt like a console you could play almost any genre on, while also creating new genres.

I just bought 3 million apples Mr Bird so you might wanna step it up bud🍎

Always Saturday afternoon in Tokyo when new Retrobird videos are uploaded - my favorite time of the week!

I enjoy the wholesome nature of this channel. Good content and well natured.

The "nanners" thing never gets old XD. Don't change. You make youtube a better place.

This is like classic game room mixed with Scottthewoz. It’s so relaxing and random. I love this channel.

Always one of my favorite things to stumble on and go "on yeah, it's Friday!" Thanks RetroBird for helping me keep my calendar straight.

What's really funny is looking back on the multiplayer component of the mid-late 90s. I used to love watching my friend Matt play Vandal Hearts, Suikoden, Jumping Jack Flash on ps1, and I loved playing MK64, Goldeneye 007, Turok, Mario Party, Smash Brothers with a bunch of different friends. For as good as the ps1 was and as much as I cherish my memories with it, the n64 was a superior console for gaming with friends.

He’s. The. Retro bird. Yeah! And he’s talkin’ - talking about video games. He’s. The. Retro bird. Yeah! And i really liked what he had to say!

Early/"ugly" 3D gaming kicks ass if you can aquire a taste for it. 👍 It often adds an eerie and surreal loneliness that's an entire vibe of its own. Plus, it somehow makes horror games creepier.

i love your channel, never change man.

Can I just say that you gotta be one of the most underrated retro gaming channels. You deserve way more subs. Keep it up man!

KOF 95, Marvel Super Heroes, Breath of Fire 3, Spider-man 1, Tony Hawk 1 and Crash Bandicoot 1, 2 and 3 were my games.

I don't think any system will be able to impress me the way the PS1 did. I went from only having a NES and a GameBoy for 8 years to getting a Playstation for Christmas in '97, and the upgrade blew me away!

Congrats on 60k subs! 👏 Well deserved!

The man who makes YT a better place is back with another banger!

Playstation 1 has become one of my most cherished consoles, the library is vast and has so many great games of all types (especially RPGs). I was 13 when it came out and my brothers and I rented tons of games for it, always being exciting to try something new and see what kind of graphics and gameplay the game would have. Sure there were some stinkers, but that's just how it goes sometimes lol I agree with you that Nintendo took the cake with party games, but I've always enjoyed solo gaming more than anything, so I suppose my opinion is biased in that regard. Looking past the small percentage that accounts for nostalgia, it really does hold up as one of the greatest systems to this day.

At the mention of Final Fantasy VII being toted around in public, I'm reminded of the time I walked several blocks to a game store just for fun. I bought Rayman for the PS1 and they told me they ran out of bags, which was all right because I only had the one game, but I did have to walk back with a copy of Rayman in my hand, and I'm sure many people saw it on those crowded streets.

The lack of multiplayer was absolutely huge for me as a kid. I had a group of cousins and we played N64 together _all_ the time. I remember being at a friend's house and hooking up a 2nd controller to his PS1 to play Tony Hawk, totally filling up the controller ports on the console. I was like, "That's it? This is peak multiplayer?". Then when I saw PS2 do the exact same thing, I passed on that console too. Then Sony went way off the deep end with PS3 and made a 7-controller capable console.

Long time fan and have to admit as a now 42 year child the N64 and PS 1 era were the greatest era in gaming when i was 14. Games were released complete, no DLC nonsense,no micro transactions ,no glitchy games. I remember being super hyped for Silent Hill ,Soul Reaver and Resident Evil 2 and even Gex Deep Cover Gecko. I can't remember the last time i was excited about a current gen release. Maybe its a nostalgia thing and i can't forget the past but i still find myself going back to that past generation of consoles either on a CRT ir retrotink5x.

such dedication to his craft, getting a stab wound just for a bit

The PS1 marked both the pinnacle and last stand of my video game playing days. To call it the greatest console ever might not be hyperbole. I started with the Atari 2600, though the first console I owned (like most of my generation) was the NES. When the SNES came out, I eventually got that for Christmas, while my best friend got a Genesis and eventually the Sega CD to go with it. The PS1 released when I was in high school. The fact it could play CDs made it super modern and versatile, but the initial games seemed like a step down from the pixel art perfection of the 16-bit consoles. Blocky polygons, clunky controls, but then came the quasi-realistic (for the time) graphics of games like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider. I spent hours upon hours playing games like those and Gran Turismo, and even enjoyed Agile Warrior: F-111X, albeit that game was best with cheats from the Game Shark. Looking back, many PS1 games seem like awkward, or at least archaic, throwbacks to a bygone era of grandiose spectacle over pure gameplay. After all, the CD format had started with full motion video games, and the PS1 added in animated cutscenes and other goodies that were time-consuming (the summon animations from FFVII?) but entertaining (at least the first handful of times). Even so, it marked the move from relatively small in scope pixel-based games to the mega projects we have now. Earlier consoles will live forever--I for one bought the FF1-VI Pixel Remasters a month or two ago and have been playing them on my Surface Pro but feeling very much like I was back in the '90s--while later consoles will also live forever but will be continually harangued for being "subpar" for this game or that game in graphics, sound, or controls. The PS1 evolved into the classic console of its time, setting the stage for its later versions while bringing Sony from the world of home entertainment systems to video game excellence.

This is one of the only retrogaming channels that keep being funny, fresh and passionate. Thats why I'm still here watching every video since its beginnings.

We appreciate your editing

I think a huge contributing factor to the PS1's appeal that goes overlooked is how significant third-party developers were in the hardware's pre-production. Namco and Psygnosis were brought on to work on the hardware, proposing specs and solutions to make sure it could live up to their 3D ambitions, and their strong design ethos is carried in the plastic casing and little details like the embossed logos on the controller plugs and AV cables. I don't think any other console had been quite as enthusiastic about third-party support as the PlayStation. Nintendo and SNK had closed-off outside voices from determining their companies' directions, while Sega and NEC lacked the business acumen to really make the most of talent and expertise from partners. Sony was already a huge, globally successful company, and they integrated themselves into the game industry quite naturally, paying attention to the revolutionary work being done in arcades, the Amiga and PC CD-ROM spaces. Developers really wanted something like the PlayStation to come along, and they really made the most of it once it did.

I had to laugh at the Kingdom Hearts thing. My official Sony PS2 memory card corrupted the day after I finally 100% completed KH. I also lost all of the other data for all of my other games. I haven't played another Kingdom Hearts game since 2002. Wish I had a physical copy of Valkyrie Profile, but I've got one for the PSP at least. FFT is probably my favorite FF game ever, but Xenogears, Parasite Eve, and Legend of Mana are all bangers that I own too. I never cared for IX, but give me VIII any day. Too bad you don't have Vagrant Story though. I have so many of the PS1's top RPGs. Only missing a few of them, some of which I resold back when they were cheap... Lunar I'm looking at you in particular. Don't knock the PS1's multiplayer. Sure the N64 did it better, more natively I suppose, but it was there. Not only were there a lot of 2p options aka all the fighting games, but you had the Multitap 4p adapter, and you had the System Link Cable. I did a considerable amount of LAN I guess play with the system link on Armored Core PS1 games. If doing the same thing with Halo on Xbox several years later was so groundbreaking, why do we ignore this stuff? It's just the infancy stage in the tech, otherwise it's functionally the same. I did this on PS2 with the AC2/AC3 series as well, link cables are sick. Just make sure you have two of everything involved.

I love my original PlayStation, yes I still have it. PlayStation cemented my love for video games. Everything else before was just kid games. I was 17 and got mine day one. Games like Resident Evil, Rayman, Twisted Metal, Air Combat, Ridge Racer, Castlevania SOTN, and Loaded. I was at the right age. I’m currently playing PlayStations classic catalog and it’s great even today.

We should trade bread bag clips soon. I need what you have.

You don't deserve to Donkey Kong! Love you, RB!

You know I dont know why it took me so long to hunker down and get a PS2 (you know with backwards compatibility) I dont know quite enough about this library to be *certain* but this video convinced me there is a LOT of games I want to play on this, I just dont know them very well.

Perfect timing for my coffee break. 🎉

I picked up a copy of Brave Fencer Musashi not too long ago (a bit steep) and it’s been a blast going back on that chapter from the past.

I'm a huge fan of the original Playstation. I was 12 or 13 when it came out, and I was obsessed with gaming during that entire era, but I think it's somewhere between 3 and 5 all time.

Good video! I still love the PS1! I grew up with Nintendo and kind of stuck with them even when they stuck with cartridges on the N64. A childhood friend had introduced me to the PS1 and I was blown away at the variety of great games! The PS1 shares _a lot_ of similarities with the SNES in that it has insane third-party support with games for everyone! I still play a lot of PS1 games now as it just has a plethora of good games! I agree multiplayer wasn't the PS1's strong suit when compared to the N64, but with a PS1 Multitap, 4 friends, 4 Dual Shock controllers, a copy of Bomberman Party Edition and Crash Team Racing, I'd say it can hold its own!

Ps1 gave me some of the first 3D sandbox experiences with games like Warhawk and jumping flash and back then that felt like such a huge special leap :)

This video is how I learned that bananas are the world's best selling fruit. Seriously though, great video!

PS1 is very close to be one of the best consoles of all time. Had a great game library & some of the great franchises started there.

IMO. Greatest console ever? No. Best Business model at the right time? Yes. Sony cashed in hard after dealing with Nintendo's obstinance but the console itself had major issues. Anyone else remember having to turn it upside down, let alone cranking the TV volume (thereby pissing your parents off) to drown out the sound of the drive? I had some fun fixing the hinges on the top loader part several times. Retro gaming is always heavily influenced by rose coloured glasses, but I remember renting so many games that absolutely SUCKED! When they released the Dual Shock version that was much better, but the earlier iterations were not good. Distinct memory. Renting the console with Andretti Racing and a 3D platformer I can't remember for a weekend and being so excited. The next day my brother and I were out playing street hockey and my dad asked why we weren't playing. Both of us were like, enh? I kinda sucks.

No, but it definitely has the best start-up sound!

You should do 16-bit consoles (e.g. SNES and Sega Genesis) vs everything! Those two 16-bit consoles are both my two favorite consoles!

It certainly was a great first foray and established many still ongoing series. It’s a point to where I think people’s view of gaming could be more serious.

Love the PS1 and PS2 era

I thought the whole world ended for a second, then I remembered it’s Friday and retro bird made a video 😂

While I haven't played it in years I have way too many hours in Gran Turismo 4. One of my favorite Playstation games.

I didn't own a PS1 growing up, but I knew plenty who did. Always loved that PS1 boot up sound, takes me right back to the 90s.

I was a sega fan boy PS1 hater at heart. But the impact it had with the 3D, Disk, and revolutionary dual shock controller this console makes it the best by far. If you love the PS2 it was just riding the tsunami-not wave- of the PS1. It was the most hyped console in history and for the first 1 year atleast people just bought to play PS1 games and play DVD.

Good on you for using so much Valkyrie Profile footage. Criminally underrated RPG.

Most certainly the one that showed me games I never thought possible lile RE1.

PS1 era devs were still able to take chances so you have so many different experiences. It was also rather cheap to buy games compared to the later PS2 which drove me to game on PC due to the same price in games and them being superior in size and scope on the PC. I do have a soft spot for it even though i didnt play it as much as my PS1 because it was the first console i bought with my own money that i had saved up over many years as a kid.

The Playstation connected so many people! To me, it really did feel like the Super Nintendo+. It offered one of the last bastions for 2D gaming with INCREDIBLE sprite art, while at the same time letting developers dip their toes into 3D graphics. On top of that, the sound/music quality of the system was so good that many used it as a CD player. Not to mention it was also cheaper than an N64.

Raiden Project was one of the first games I bought for my PS1. It’s so good. Everyone said Sony didn’t want 2D games on PS1, but Raiden, MK3, SFA, Darkstalkers, Rayman etc say otherwise.

Thanks retro bird! If I ever forget it’s Friday, I’m reminded when I see your weekly upload pops up. Love it!

I have been a lifelong JRPG fan since the original Dragon Warrior was gifted to me by Nintendo Power. I feel the JRPG hit its peak during the PS1 era. Every generation after, the magic seems to decline.

Some of my favorite family memories came from the ps1❤

Such a great console. RPGs on this system in particular have aged beautifully. A console that immediately felt ahead of its time.

Valkyrie looks awesome, I remember seeing magazine ads as a kid, will have to try it.

Dreamcast, PS2, PS3, PS4 Pro, X360, WII U, Switch, PSP, PS VITA, and 3DS are my favorite home and handheld consoles.

8:54 Alright I'm speechless right now. Sega made a controller to it's competitor back then!?. Wow I didn't know that and I'm shocked with that!. 😂

I can remember working at my local super market for a whole summer to buy a PlayStation with tekken since it only came with a controller. I played the demo disc to death and my dad was blown away by the smooth movement of polygons in tekken playing in the living room. Good times. Good memories.

. You sir are a national treasure 🤣stop tickling me endlessly with these facial expressions

The PS1 Turning on sound was amazing and still is! Good video

PS2 has some of the best no compromise games ever. Tekken is awesome, devil may cry, street fighter ex, light gun games, Castle of shikigami, are all amazing best of all time games

The PS2 will always be my favorite Sony console but you made some great points in the video. Honestly didn’t realize how much the PS1 did for the gaming landscape, or how many great games really did exist for it.

I'm glad you started the video with that little tidbit talking about the Sega Saturn, there's so much bad information about it. "It was a flop because SEGA didn't know what they were doing and it lead to SEGA'S DOWNFALL!!!!" "It BANKRUPTED the company" "They were RUINED" "Sega released the 32X right before the Saturn BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND IT DOOMED SEGA FOREVER!!!!" I have a suggestion for a video, "The Truth about the Sega Saturn" or you could make it a segment if you did a Sega Saturn vs Everyone video

I loved the ps1 as a kid. Sorta slept on it after that but in the last few years ive come ro appreciate it and dig into games I didnt play before!

That Sega PlayStation controller was something new I have never seen before, anyone know the history of it?

Loved the PS1 during its time but for me personally it's hard to go back to that generation, especially the 3D games of the era. If I'm retro gaming 90% of the time it's in the 16 bit gen which I see as the pinnacle of 2D. 3D gaming I'm good with the PS4/PS5.

Valkyrie Profile looks amazing

Friday night is now complete

The Playstation 1 was my first console I ever owned and will always have a special place in my heart

The PlayStation 1 was the console that cemented my love for JRPGs and survival horror games it even got me into genres that I'd never played before such as ace combat and ridge racer It had something for everyone imo

1) I've slowly been making my way through your back content and I love your channel. 2) For me, the PS1 hasn't held up all that well. When I consolidated my collection a few years back, I found myself only holding on to four games (Wild ARMs, Breath of Fire III, Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy Tactics). Not a knock on anyone that loves PS1, though - just not a system that resonated much with me.

My first console was a gamecube, and I never had a PS2 but I started playing retro consoles in 2020 and immediately fell in love with the PS1 Library. Its just about the most exapansive, well rounded, and experimental libraries of any console ever. You wont find the diversity seen in PS1 games on just about anything else. I love that Sony gave developers the opportunity they needed to make some absolutely amazing titles. That liscense for creativity is something only the PS2 comes close to but doesnt quite match. Fan Translations of japanese only releases has made it that much better.

never saw valkyrie profile gameplay before, looks real cool

The PS1 had the Multitap for 4 player action. Played quite a bit of Pitball with buddies. Still have it.

I’ve seen all from 1980-Now I have every console and tons of games PS1 is a top tier console to me my other favorite consoles are NES Turbo Grafx Neo Geo Genesis/CD SNES Saturn Dreamcast PS2 Xbox 360 PS4 and Switch

Not really that much into retro games, but I like you. It's fun listening to you. Although that the PS1 is considered retro now makes me kinda happy. Breath of Fire 3 was my first JRPG. ❤

Hello Bird! Can you please make a case for the Sega Megadrive? Have a great weekend!

Took us a year after the system released they were sold out like crazy had to get ours shipped to us in the mail it was a Awesome Christmas 😮

How can he so perfectly record a CRT without flickering? Nice video as always.

Does a banana count as a console?

7:51 It wasn't just that the Saturn was tough to code for (and nintendo being nintendo) it was also that the PS1 was incredibly easy to code for. Sony literally went to hundreds of game devs when they were designing the PS1 and asked "What can we do to make this as easy to code for as possible?"

PS1 was made for 2D sprites primarily. The 3D aspect was quickly and simplistically added at a late date into development and added to the 2D engine Sony had created, which was quite good. But the low resolution of the geometric grid, extending no further then the pixel grid. Developers were never able to fully correct the problems inherent in the low geometric grid resolution which doesn't support sub-pixel mapping (unlike the Saturn). A 2KB texture buffer improved polygon texture draw speeds, but a lack of texture correction, added to the low resolution geometric grid, amounted to a pretty inaccurate 3D engine. However, these concessions made it possible for a reasonable frame rate to be achieved fairly easily in 3D scenes, with the help of a robust developer software package which supported triangles and quads.

This was the console that ended one era in gaming and created a new one. The first console to prove you could not only succeed but be THE gaming console without the words Atari, Sega or Nintendo attached to them. It had so many literal game changers that directly affected how gaming would be going forward: Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider just to name a few. It's importance in gaming history cannot be understated.

Thank God for this video, even though SNES was my main console as a kid PS1 really took me to the next level of gaming addiction!!

Sony benefitted a lot from being the default option, especially for Japanese developers. For the PS2, the Dreamcast had the stink of Sega's history of endless failure, the Gamecube had a bad controller and desperately struggled to avoid the stigma of being seen as a console exclusively for kids, and the Xbox had zero market share in Japan. For the PS3, the Wii had a bad controller, poor hardware, and multitude of gimmicks, and the 360 again had zero market share in Japan despite a genuine effort to improve. For the PS4, the Wii had poor hardware and nonsensical marketing, and the Xbox One was once again a pointless failure.

After watching this channel, I’ve have fallen back in love with bananas

The PS1 is an impressive system. At the time when it got 100 million plus sales that was more impressive than consoles doing that now. 1st, it was a totally new hardware, 2nd Way less people in 1995 & 3rd Video games were not as popular as they are now.

Oh awesome I forgot the ps episode was today. Freaking sweet, bout to grab a nanner and get watching! Playstation may be my favorite console incidentally. My modded classic gets a good amount of play for sure (yes I have the OG hardware and hdretrovision cables to a Trinitron also lol).

Resident Evil on the PS1 - still one my my favourite games ever. I recommend the Director's Cut btw.

Dragging my crt and PlayStation into my brother's room for link cable Destruction Derby has to be a top 10 gaming memory for me

I still have my original PlayStation from December of 1995. Also just found a PSone with the official lcd screen for 60 bucks. Love the ps1.

Sega Master System versus everything would be amazing. It was definitely the underdog of its generation