PS4 - Playstation 4

To us old farts who were gamers long before the PlayStation first assaulted store shelves in 1995, the system was a massive leap forward for gaming. CD gaming technology was by no means new at the time, having seen the light of humiliating day in the form of Sega CD and 3DO shovelware, and FMV games that masqueraded as movies, complete with grainy and horribly acted FMV scenes interspersed with random and often poorly executed gameplay. For those unfortunate enough to know, I'm talking games like Ground Zero Texas, and Who Shot Johnny Rock?

The dubious nature of CD gaming being what it was at the time, there was mild skepticism of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn when they first released, but thankfully, FMV games were mercifully a thing of the past, and in the case of the PlayStation in particular, we bore witness to some of the most revolutionary and brilliant games ever to enter our homes. These are just some of those games.

Metal Gear Solid - Konami

One of the biggest series in gaming today was first resurrected from its caveman (read: NES) roots back in 1998. Metal Gear on the NES was a brilliant fusion of action and stealth, using a top-down view uncommon for the genre. Metal Gear Solid took the best elements of the original and stuffed into a package consisting of gorgeous visuals and top-notch sound, highlighted by the most extensive and best use of voice acting in any game up until that point. The tale of Snake and Meryl captured the hearts and minds of more than 6 million gamers worldwide, and when the melodramatic story became too much to bear, they could always hide in a box and blow stuff up. Good times were had by all.

Final Fantasy 7 - Squaresoft

Hindsight as they say is 20/20, and while the legendary characters of Final Fantasy 7 now look like a jumbled mishmash of crude polygons, FF7 was undoubtedly the pinnacle of visual splendour upon its initial release, being arguably the first game to bring up the whole games as art debate. The Final Fantasy series was already one of the most popular in Japan, and picking up steam throughout the rest of the world when the giant three disc epic battle to wipe out the Shinra Corporation consumed souls everywhere. FF7 spawned a legion of diehard Final Fantasy fanboys who have never left their parents basements since, gave us the most talked about scene in gaming history, and years later, spawned numerous offshoots due to its overwhelming popularity, including two animated movies. The question still remains though, when will the masters of monotonous remakes, Square-Enix, grace us with the one remake we all want? Perhaps on PlayStation 4?

Tomb Raider - Eidos

Despite occasionally infuriating controls and a wonky camera, Eidos struck gold with Lara Croft back in 1996, and have milked her rather large…guns, ever since. Male testosterone drove Tomb Raider to the top of the charts, spawning two movies, and a number of sequels across multiple platforms. Lara still stands as one of gaming's most enduring icons, having entered mainstream culture and recognition like no videogame character before or since.

Resident Evil - Capcom

If the annoying controls didn't drive you up the wall, the freakish monsters leaping out at you when you least expected it would. Resident Evil may not have been the first survival horror game, but it was without a doubt the most knee-knocking, keep-a-clean-pair-of-underwear-nearby-just-in-case, games to keep us up into the wee hours of the morning. One thing's for certain, we never looked at mutant dogs and zombies the same way again, and lord knows a day doesn't go by where you aren't accosted by at least one.

PaRappa the Rapper - Sony

Guitar Hero and its ilk are all the rage these days, but without the rapping dog PaRappa, you might still be playing air guitar to get your fix of unattainable rock star glory (sorry to break it to you). While not a huge hit outside of Japan, PaRappa made a large splash nonetheless due to its unique and funky graphical style and admittedly catchy rhythm-based play. Being a rapping, paper-thin dog, whilst trying to woo the heart (or perhaps pistil) of a flower has never been more fun.

Gran Turismo - Sony

Gran Turismo was revolutionary for the simple fact that it was a racing game where you actually had to use your brakes. What kind of wild concept was that!? Crazy as it seemed at first glance, the impeccable control, challenging, realistic gameplay, and large selection of vehicles and events vaulted Gran Turismo to the top of the racing heap. The only thing Gran Turismo was missing was the ability to smash up your Honda Civic with reckless abandon, as the licensed vehicles were off-limits from such immature and wholly fun treatment. Oh well.

Spyro the Dragon - Sony

Though Crash was widely considered as Sony's mascot during the PlayStation days, Spyro would've been a close second. The cute little purple dragon got his start in 1998, in his self-titled action/platformer. Unlike traditional platformers of the day, Spyro featured massive levels to explore, and the colorful graphics, sharp controls, and great music only helped add to the game's charm. Spyro has seen numerous releases since the first game, and while the series is no longer a PlayStation exclusive, nor as revered or critically acclaimed as it once was, the original game and trilogy still hold a special place in many a PlayStation gamer's mind.

This list could easily be 4 to 5 times as long, but I'm tired of writing, so it will have to suffice. Hopefully you've enjoyed the journey through memory lane to the halcyon days of the late '90's, a time of great games, basements full of Y2K survival goods, and a New York Yankees team that could actually win in the playoffs.

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Update: The New York Yankees won the 2009 World Series a few months after the posting of this article, so bravo to them for breaking a string of nearly 10 years of playoff futility, despite having by far the highest payroll in baseball throughout that entire period. As you can tell...I'm still not that impressed...