PlayStation Pastime 002: Baroque, Incredible Crisis, King's Field (US), King's Field II (US), Wipeout 2097

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• 001: Gamera 2000, Gungage, iS: internal section, Panzer Bandit, Rising Zan

My quest to discover PS1 games I missed out on continues! In this edition of PlayStation Pastime I check out a Japan-only dungeon crawler, an iconic PlayStation racer, the origin story of FromSoftware, and more!

Baroque

Year: 1999 (JPN only)

Developer: Sting Entertainment

Publisher: Entertainment Software Publishing

To those of us in North America, Baroque is an obscure third-person dungeon crawler circa 2008 that came out on the PlayStation 2 and Wii. But that release is actually a remake of the original 1998 (Saturn) and 1999 (PlayStation 1) releases that only came out in Japan. Thanks to the wonderful world of fan translations, now we can all experience this incredibly dark and somber first-person dungeon crawler.

Baroque has two main things going for it: an at-the-time novel roguelike structure in which you start over with nothing save for a few items you can potentially carry over between runs, and the most bleak, oppressive atmosphere of any PS1 game I’ve ever played. The former runs thin as the combat is clunky and obtrusive. It’s really the aspect of mystery and discovery that carries the experience on a moment-to-moment mechanical basis; many items are unidentified, so it’s exciting to experiment with distinct combinations as you gradually learn the game’s systems (for example, you can consume items or throw them at enemies to trigger similar effects).

The atmosphere though… I couldn’t get enough of it. Enemy designs are twisted, everything is soaked in dingy grays and browns that feel suffocating, and the industrial-esque music – if you even want to call it music – perfectly adds to the overwhelming dread and depression of its world. There is a story that I can’t pretend to understand, and many of the story triggers are far too obtuse to figure out without a guide, but I enjoyed my time with Baroque.

I got to the big story trigger that then allows you to beat the game with one more successful run, but at that point I had tired too much of actually playing Baroque. Apparently the PS1 version adds many more floors to the tower unlike the Saturn original. It makes the game easier to a degree because there are more opportunities to level up, but it also makes the experience feel like a slog at times on the Sony console. It might be worth checking out the Saturn version if that sounds like a turnoff.

Incredible Crisis

Year: 2000

Developer: Polygon Magic

Publisher: Titus Interactive

Oh how I long for the days of wacky, off-the-wall Japanese games that make little sense but put the biggest smile on your face. Incredible Crisis falls into this category comfortably. It’s a collection of mini-games in which you follow the daily activities of the Tanamatsuri family. Only their daily activities include dancing near the cubicles at the office, escaping wolf-masked criminals at the bank to go make dinner, and getting shrunk to the size of an ant (it was a really eventful day for them). Each cutscene is more ridiculous than the last, and the absurdity of it all adds so much to the game’s charm.

The ska soundtrack courtesy of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra also adds to that charm. That’s right everyone – it’s SKA time! The peppy, horn-fueled music isn’t the most obvious choice on paper, but boy is it clever. It gives the entire experience a relentlessly joyous and energetic tone that feels necessary to counteract the frustration of playing Incredible Crisis. The premise of each mini-game is a fun little discovery each time (except for the repeat games which are a bummer), but many of them are finicky and require a ton of button mashing which just resulted in my forearm hurting after each play session. When the cutscenes are this entertaining though, I’m willing to suffer through the pain.

King’s Field (US)

Year: 1996

Developer: FromSoftware

Publisher: ASCII Entertainment

*This is the first US release from 1996 titled King’s Field, not the original Japan-only 1994 release also titled King’s Field. It’s confusing, I know.

I love the Souls games dearly. I consider FromSoftware to be my favorite video game developer. So there’s an innate part of me that wants to know the lineage of the Souls franchise, the foundation that led to some of my all-time favorite RPGs. I’ve always known King’s Field to be the series that laid that foundation, but I’ll admit, I was scared away by the slow-as-molasses gameplay and rough framerate. But I’m at the point in my life where I’m willing to look past some of those flaws as I explore more retro games, so I figured I’d give King’s Field a shot.

Those flaws are certainly there; combat feels glacial and boils down to strike, strafe, repeat. The framerate is all over the place, often dropping to the low teens or single digits. But damn, this game is incredible. It’s got the looping world design of Dark Souls 1. Crystal flasks serve as the Estus flask system in infancy. There’s even a unique fast travel system in which player agency is emphasized, allowing you to place or replace warp gates/keys throughout the environment. I was genuinely astounded to see how many of the core tenets of the Souls franchise could be found all the way back in 1996. I know looking past those aforementioned flaws is a big ask, but if you can manage it, you’re getting one of the most forward-thinking and ambitious games on the PS1.

King’s Field II (US)

Year: 1996

Developer: FromSoftware

Publisher: ASCII Entertainment

King’s Field II (US) came out in the same year as its predecessor in North America. The same year! Despite the short turnaround time, King’s Field II is a fantastic sequel that manages to forge its own distinct identity. First, the enemy AI has been upgraded, so the ol’ strike and strafe strategy isn’t quite as reliable. It requires a bit more finesse since enemies can’t be stunned immediately, hinting at the future poise system in the Souls series. Fast travel has also been simplified to specific points on the map with specific items required. Though I prefer the key/gate system of the first King’s Field since it allows for more player freedom, that doesn’t necessarily mean the new system is worse. It’s just a different philosophy, and we’d see that same kind of progression from the first Dark Souls to its sequels.

The biggest change comes in the form of the world design, and it’s what really distinguishes King’s Field II from the previous release. There were maps in the first game, but I almost never used them. Instead, I created my own 3D map in my mind, learning every looping route and locked door. King’s Field II features the Pixie Map, which is an automap that fills in as you explore. That means you’ll be going into the main menu to refer to it a lot, but it adds a satisfying cartographic layer to the journey. Ultimately I preferred King’s Field to its sequel, but I appreciate that King’s Field II isn’t just more of the same. That kind of reinvention and willingness to move out of a comfort zone has become a staple of FromSoftware’s game design.

Wipeout 2097

Year: 1996

Developer: Psygnosis

Publisher: Psygnosis

Wipeout 2097 was named Wipeout XL in North America, but 2097 is an infinitely cooler name. And if there’s one thing the Wipeout series has, it’s a cool factor (the European box art is also way better).

I guess on some level you could say 90’s electronic soundtrack featuring the likes of The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy dates the game, but for me there’s something timeless about the “awesome European club in video game form” aesthetic of Wipeout 2097. The pulsating rhythms and sleek menu designs give Wipeout 2097 such a captivating flare that stands out from other racers in the 90’s.

Though I was smitten with Wipeout 2097‘s presentation, I also enjoyed playing it. This is a damn good racing game. There aren’t a ton of courses, but what’s on offer provides plenty of fun (literal) twists and turns with a satisfying progression in difficulty as you scale up. It’s fun to pick up weapons and abilities to aid on your path to victory, but mastering the handling and learning the ins and outs of each course is where the game really shines. I only wish I could have played this back when it came out so I could enjoy some intense local multiplayer matches with friends.