You might not have played Ehrgeiz (PSX)

Ehrgeiz is an arcade 3D fighting game from 1998 that was later ported to the Playstation. The port contains some extra minigames and an all new "Adventure Mode" that turned out to be the main attraction of the game and will in turn be the main focus of this presentation.

Gameplay(1) - Normal Game: 3D, Fighting Game, Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Because the fighting game mode of Ehrgeiz does not play very fluid for a fighting game, its only saving grace is that you can play as characters from Final Fantasy 7.


Gameplay(2) - Quest Mode: Dungeon Crawler, Single Player
The way the game is played, which is similar to a sluggish Soul Calibur game, works out in the Quest Mode of the game though. The combat will probably remind people a lot of Dark Soul. It is mandatory to block or dodge the attacks of the opponent to then retaliate with a few attacks without overcomiting and thus lowering your guard. The goal of the Quest Mode is to reach the bottom floor of a dungeon - standard Dungeon Crawler. To reach that destination you have to fight your way through various enemies and bosses. You have 2 characters (one better suited for melee combat, the other better suited for magic) to chose at a time. If you should die in the dungeon, the other one can set out to rescue the "soul" of the other character and all the items he had on him. Since your characters do level seperately, it is mandatory to switch between them regularly and keep them at a similiar level.
After certain bosses you will unlock shortcuts that allow you to leave and enter the town, where you can heal and purchase/repair equipment, on lower floors. Should you be in trouble on tough spot in the dungeon, you can use a Dragon Wing to open a portal into town (and back). This is especially important because you have to eat food in order not to starve, but at times you wont find enough food in the dungeon. What food you eat, changes the way you gain stats on level up. Eat a lot of meet, become stronger - eat vegan, gain inteligence, etc. This way you can shape your character to your liking.
The story of the Quest Mode is quite simple, your 2 characters are Archeologists that want to explore a dungeon, reason enough to fight monsters, don't you think?


To get this game I suggest searching in your local Retro-Games-Store as the price on amazon is quite high and ebay doesnt look much better. But if you are looking for a solid dungeon crawler this is a safe bet.

You might not have played Grandia (PSX)

This JRPG-gem is a classic for most people who know it.

Gameplay: JRPG, Singleplayer

The protagonist of this game is Justin, a boy who longs to become an adventurer like his father. The game manages easily to get you interested in him as a character with his feats and flaws and soon you will want to go on an adventure just as much as the main character. 

Storywise the game definately delivers. The combatsystem is exceptionaly unique and interesting. It is turn based but allows you to interupt foes and prepare for heavy attacks because every action needs some time to be performed and some interupting or saving actions take less time to be performed than the stuff you usually want to prepare for.

If you are looking for a JRPG to play. Play this one! 

The game is available on the Playstation Network for PS3, PSP and PSVita for around 6$.

You might not have played Vib Ribbon (PSX)

Vib Ribbon is a very unique rhythm game for the PSX released in the year 2000.

Gameplay: Rhythm-Game, Singleplayer
The games charm comes from its simple graphics and cute character/music. On first glance you might expect the gameplay to be quite simple as well and to some extend this is true. You only use 4 different buttons in this game, which is not much compared to other rhythm games.
While your character walks down a one dimensional pathway you encounter different obstacles and you have to press the correct buttons to make it through. One button lets you step over holes in the floor, one button makes the character roll over spikes, another button lets you jump over Boxes and the last button lets you slide through a looping. Thats not all though. When the difficulty increases you will encounter obstacles that are combinations of the 4 shapes. If you have to get past a Looping that is covered in spikes, you have to press the button for rolling over spikes and sliding through a looping at the same time. The game will also try to screw you over by sending non static obstacles towards you on the pathway (e.g. a box that will move past other boxes to get to you faster) or suddenly change the speed of the music to throw you off guard.
One mayor feature of this game is that you can play automaticaly generated courses of your favourite tracks by inserting a music CD into the PSX drive. But the original soundtrack of this game is so charming that you wont necessarily have to do it to have fun.
 

 You can still get this game at a moderate price on ebay.