Flashback
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Flashback
Special: Sony Goes Digital So We Pick The Physical Games Worth Buying Now
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Sony’s “digital in 2028” headline sounds convenient until you ask one question: what happens to the games that never get re-released, get delisted, or only survive behind a subscription login? We go full Flashback mode and treat it like a preservation problem, not a panic button, then build a practical list of 12 physical PlayStation games to pick up now before price spikes and availability get worse.
We split our picks across PS1, PS2, and PS3 and keep it grounded in what you actually gain by owning the disc: the finished build, the original controls, the packaging quirks, and yes, the manuals that used to feel like part of the world. Along the way we hit timeless heavy-hitters like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII, licensing-limbo favorites like PS1 Spider-Man, and easy-to-miss curios like Porsche Challenge that you probably cannot count on Sony to archive for you.
Then we jump to PS2 and PS3, where “still playable today” becomes the real filter: Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Persona 4 (PS2 original), Bully, Gran Turismo 4, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet, The Saboteur, and Final Fantasy XIII. We also price-check every pick so you can shop smart, avoid overpaying, and prioritize the games most likely to disappear from easy access.
If you care about retro game collecting, PlayStation game preservation, and building a physical library you can actually own, come hang out with us. Subscribe, share this with a friend who still has their PS2 in a closet, and leave a review with the one physical game you refuse to lose.
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Why Physical Games Matter Now
SPEAKER_01Hello and welcome to Flashback. The games you love, the stories you forgot. This is episode 29, and this week we're doing a flashback special for the news of Sony's announcement that our game and future is going to be all but digital by 2028, and the others sure to follow. With our thought, it's our duty as gamers, collectors, and podcasters to give you 12 physical games from the PlayStation Bat catalogue that we think you should pick up now before the prices rise. And it's first in a new series here on Flashback. So thanks for joining us. And as always, I'm RGT and I am joined by the guy who would surely earn a degree if it's about JRPGs, couldn't keep his eyes off the screen whilst playing through Final Fantasy XV. If he ever had a tattoo, there's a good chance it'd be Shenmu. That's UCP George. How you doing, George?
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_01Close or not, close or not.
SPEAKER_00It's like 60% of the time, it was right 40% of the time. So I think that was a good ratio for me. Um good to be here. Um life is good. I'm, you know, controversial times we live in, RGT. And uh like I said to you off air, I've come with a mindset of games that I kind of see are synonymous with not exactly exclusives, but and also maybe a bit hardware locked and the play set mission library that might be worth having a look at from a historical curio point of view, or just from a bloody hell, that's a good game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. And like I say, it's um, you know, as a recordingist, that has been the Sony announcement that's been going on and been hot pressed the last week or so, 10 days. Um so we thought rather than doing a standard show, we'll sort of do these picks from sort of PlayStation 1, 2, and 3. Um, and we'll do a part two where we'll do like PS4 and PSP and Vita and etc. Um and like I say, like George said, necessarily not necessarily exclusives, but we sort of picked ones that we think are are going up, gonna go up, or games that you sort of are more locked to the systems, or ones that you should probably should pick up if you haven't. Um so yeah, there's a bit of a bit of a mix here, but definitely um definitely worth having a look at um going forward as obviously the the uh the playing field is changing a bit in the future. So um do you want to start first with your why is it changing?
SPEAKER_00We're going to an all digital future RGT where these historical curios may be lost to time forever.
SPEAKER_01There's your change. Um yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think we all knew it was coming, but um I didn't know if I knew it was coming quite that quick. So um I found it a bit odd that a three line sort of statement has just gone after generations of um digital games from PlayStation. I thought they'd have been a bit float.
SPEAKER_00There's plenty of time for a turnaround, and between now and then they're probably gonna sell an absolute megaton of physical games. So I think uh it's a win-win for them, I suppose.
SPEAKER_01I think you could I think you could be right. So they've been very quiet on social media for the last week, so we'll we'll see.
SPEAKER_00Well they launched a fight stick today, not that this is retro news, so let's get into it.
Metal Gear Solid And The Box Trick
SPEAKER_00Who's going first? You go first, because I want to see the cut of your jib.
SPEAKER_01The cut of my jib. Um like I say, um I've gone with first one, probably quite an obvious one, but uh I it is keep creeping up every time I keep looking. Um and that is Metal Gear Solid on the PS1. Um, I picked this because I still think it's very playable today for a PS1 game. Um, PS1 games even from someone that collects PS1 games, you know, some of them can be a bit hard on the eyes and difficult nowadays. Um as we've said before, George has said on the show before, a lot of games, um, especially from this era, there still wasn't a generic or an industry standard control scheme. So some of the controls on games can be quite different. Um, but I think as games have gone on, the sort of top-down isometric view of games has come back quite a lot, and you see that in quite a lot of games now. And I think this is sort of one of the originals of that, um, especially on consoles. And I just think, like I say, it's it's very playable, great story, um, gets you in that setting when you're speaking on your radios and that as well. I just I just think it's one that you know it's almost timeless. Um and I just think it's definitely one to pick up. If if you're in that way of physical games um and you want to get a bit of a collection of the classics, then I think Metal Gear really has to be in there. I mean, that was Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, developed at published by Konami as well. We obviously know it as Kojima, um, with the director of the game and producer, designer as well. Um, and we all know the games that that Kojima does. Um, and this is just one of his very best. Um came out on PlayStation and Windows, but I'm obviously talking about the the uh PlayStation version.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's synonymous with PlayStation. You you close your eyes and think of it, and it you know, it's that one brand that's always been very closely linked to PlayStation's history. Um for me, it's Metal Gear Solids, they are games, don't get me wrong, so it'd be quite good for me to say they're not, but they're more experiences. You know, the cutscenes, the way you interact with them is not necessarily the same as you would interact with other games. The emotional storytelling is done in a way. I mean, we talked about an auteur and David Cage, but the true, probably greatest auteur in in my opinion of the computer industry has got to be Kojima-san. Um, and this game, you've been Metal Gears before, but this one really stuck it on the on the on the radar, the the voice acting, the the the script, the no spoilers for a 400-year-old game, but some of the ways you interacted with it, very special, and the way it interacted with you, even more so. And that's something which is a great pick by URGT. See what you've done here. Because how will the digital experience ever replicate finding the codec on the back of the box? See what you've done there. You brought the count forward straight out first time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think also there's certain games that the experiences with that console, we've said this many a times on UCP and we've said it on here. Um I think with Metal Gear, you open that case up and that's just putting that disc in a PS1, the click of the lid, that PS1 controller, and then you really see what the PS1 could do at the time. And this is a great representation of that. I mean, and I just don't think you know, even if you emulate this, which you probably could, and I don't I think there's has there been remasters? Did they get one on the of this first one or not?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, you can get it in the remastered one now, and there was a remastered one on the PS3. There are other ways to play it, and obviously it's been available digital through the PS Classics on like Vita. I think for that reason it was on PSP, for that reason it was also kind of digital download on PS3 as well, through that shared lineage of those three machines. But if you want to play it properly, you need to do it on a PS1 with that controller, with the memory cards, hopefully with some of the other Konami saves on there. If you're lucky, if you want the full experience, you know, just think about it. Yeah. And then, you know, go in blind and go for it, using the box as suggested when you're prompted to, and just enjoy it, you know. What a great all-inclusive experience, like uh an old album from the 60s that had you sort of opening it up and reading through the gate for and doing all that good stuff. How does that exist? I mean, it barely exists now when you open a cart and game thing, and there's there's a health and safety warning about epilepsy in there. So, oh alright. Kind of wanting to read about the lore of the world that I've just bought, but instead for the 50th time as a kid, I'm riding home reading an epilepsy warning. I mean, bizarrely, I know this inside out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I know, and it's you know, this this game was that that experience that I don't really think had been seen before to have that different experience, you know. And it's it always got me as well that it was one of the first games I played that was stealth to that degree that you you play it under stealth like that, and then it's almost like espionage in a really cool James Bond sort of setting. And he I just thought it was fantastic, and I still think, like I say, I still think it holds up well today. I mean, if we go through the reviews that it got at the time, it was all game five out of five, computer and video games five out of five, edge nine out of ten, EGM 40 out of 40, Famitsu 37 out of 40, Game Pro 5 out of 5. Just go on and on and on. So it's a very, very highly rated game of the era. Um, like I say, which I think is very playable in today's um world, I think it's something to look back on and see is one of them gems that made a made a generation of consoles. I think there's when you talk about PS1, I think you can't talk about it the greatest games without mentioning Metal Gear Solid. Um price-wise, I'll go through them all at the end. So if you're listening and you want to know the prices of these games as of recording this show, stay tuned to the end and we'll go through through each selection and and what they're sort of roughly going for at the moment. But yeah, so my number one pick for the PlayStation 1 is Metal Gear Solid. What's yours,
Porsche Challenge And Lost Sony Oddities
SPEAKER_01George?
SPEAKER_00Okay, well you've gone highbrow, I've gone lowbrow. Um, really off the back of nostalgia, but also because it's a great game, totally locked. It is a Sony exclusive because it was developed by them internally, and this studio did go on to create basketball games for the studio, baseball games, and then became Sony San Diego. So this is Porsche Challenge. It really was a showcase of what maybe the console could do tech demo-wise. I think they hit the mark pretty hard in terms of the graphical fidelity. Like, yes, there's been improvements and other bits and bobs. Um, but coming off the graphical prowess of the Total NBA series, they came in with their um motorsport offering, which was Porsche Challenge built around the Porsche relatively recently launched Porsche Box the car. Um, like I say, RGT, fun little game. Um, not much to write home about. Obviously, there's the um there's a series of tracks in there, and if memory serves, we've got like um a little bit like the N64 game Beetle Racing Adventure. There are like other ways to get through. Um, you picked a character that you could see because they were like convertible cars, you can see the characters driving in the car. It was uh pretty highly detailed for '96. It was you know early days of PlayStation for them to be kind of getting Gran Turismo graphics pretty early on, is uh testament to what they were doing. I'd imagine I'd like to think this was relatively affordable. I wouldn't like to think it was um setting the world on fire financially, but uh yeah, you're not gonna find this anywhere else. Are they ever gonna release this to you for you to be able to enjoy it, even though the only thing they've got to pay is a little bit of license into Porsche for a dead car? Um no, of course they're bloody not. So if you want to play this game, you can't rely on Sony to give you the digital access to it because it's not gonna happen. And it's these little bits of curio from their own studios legacy that one could argue they're not really archiving in a digital way to allow us access in the future. Like they're making efforts to get games out, but their efforts so far range from things that you find bizarre like Toy Story to them sort of frustratingly not bringing what you would call some of the absolute bangers from the era almost immediately. So um yeah, Porsche Challenge is never going to see the light of day, nor are the studios' other PS1 titles, the Total NBA series. And I'll be honest with you, they're some of the uh most graphically um impressive games that you find on PlayStation, especially seeing as they're coming from an internal team. So enough said on a pretty old racing game.
SPEAKER_01I was just gonna ask you about that because I don't think I've played that. So is that like chase cam sort of setting? Is it like you know Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_00I think there's a bonnet cam as well. Um, but it's it's mainly chase cam, so you can see the graphic of the car and the person driving it as you drive across.
SPEAKER_01So, do you do is it like challenges you have to do, or is there like a story mode?
SPEAKER_00It's like little mini races basically that you just hammer around on. It's it's it's fun, it's quite challenging. I remember me and the aforementioned uh Terry Blow. Um, he had this first time round, and I remember him playing through it. It it was quite a classy product as well, because brand new, it was like crystal white on the front, Porsche Challenge with a lovely picture directly from Porsche, one presumes, of the box on the front, and it you know it looked really classy. One thing I would say is that this game must have been printed at a time where PlayStation really had no idea what they were going to do with their boxing because I've had this version to try and get one mint. I've bought this in the about three different box variants.
SPEAKER_01Is that when you had like the blue back sort of drop on it?
SPEAKER_00So it was it was always the same artwork, but it's different sizes to fit the different sort of cases they do. Because PlayStation initially did one with like a black ridge around the outside that was slightly smaller. Yeah, I think more Tekken's like that. That box art won't fit in the standard PlayStation case.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I never knew that.
SPEAKER_00It's too small, it falls out. And then there's another variation of it as well. I can't quite remember where it might not say PlayStation on the spine, it just is plain grey. So, yeah, trying to find one that is as I remember it has proven quite difficult. But that that's just a minor collector quibble. Um, just pick the one on eBay that most looks like the one that you remember or the one that fits your collection and go with it. You won't be disappointed. It's it's a fun blast of a game, and like I say, it's a curio from PlayStation's history that you'll never see made available by then. So grab it physical while you can.
SPEAKER_01Great choice there, brilliant choice, George. Well um I'll jump into my uh second and final PS1 game.
Final Fantasy VII And Original Nostalgia
SPEAKER_01Um and final being the uh appropriate works of Final Fantasy VII. Yes, I'll pick this on my PS1 top 10. Um I'm picking this because yes, it's had remake PS4, PS5, um but that original story, that turn-based gameplay, this is a way to play it. And again, I've picked it because I think if you sit there and look back at the PS1 and the and this massive selection of games, but all the big banger games, as Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII that are gonna be in that list, I think. Um and again, it's a huge game. Um, it's another one that probably overexceeded what they could do on the system. Um Square Enix at a time just seem to get bigger and better stories with these Final Fantasies, uh you know, pushing the hardware, multiple discs. Um I think it's a great story. I love the world as in um and then it's another game where this is like this is what I'd call like the original print, you know, this is like the original one. Um like I say, there is the remakes, which are fantastic, by the way. Um and that is a way to play it. But if if you're of an age where you played a PlayStation back in the day, the way to get that sort of proper nostalgia hit is to open that top drawer up and put this Final Fantasy in and away you go on your adventure. Um again, I think we spoke those before, it's not one you've played, is it George at the Final Fantasies, although being a Final Fantasy fan?
SPEAKER_00And I was always like a bit put off by the graphics, you know, but I've dabbled with it, but um, I think if I was ever to go back, it probably would be I would go back and do that first. Like I'm playing through eight at the moment, and you know, finally got to grips with its magic system, happy with that, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. So um, I mean there is an alert of some people to those Chilby graphics, but to me it's always been of a bar, been a little bit of a bar to entry. I guess that's why the remake has done so well as well, because I don't think I'm alone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, no, I think you're right. It is it's um it's definitely a different way of doing a game, you know. I know obviously they had the pre-rendered backgrounds, but then that art style was different. But you know, it's emotional story, great story, big story. Um, you know, we'd come from 16-bit consoles to then suddenly play a game of 60, 70 hours long RPGs is uh was quite special at the time. Um again, I know I've said this on the show before, but the ratings are all four and a half out of five, four out of fives, nine out of tens, ninety percents, you know, ninety-six percents. Um had great ratings, timeless. Um, if you're into turn-based games um and you're okay with the art style and you haven't played it, definitely give Final Fantasy.
SPEAKER_00I'll forget whether you're right with the art style. You know, if you want, you know, forget my personal dilly-dallies with you know my own way I want to consume a game. Don't know that put you off. It's a fantastic story that's been proven time and time again with the amount of times it tops lists. Um if you want the true experience, you've got to get it here because it's turn-based.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00As soon as you get to the remake, it's um practically Devil May Cry. So if you want the chill experience, you better grab it on PS1.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's you know, I love the remakes, they are very good, but uh it's a retelling of a story, um sort of hybrid action turn-based gameplay style, which is really good, but you you get the story across, and they've the the cutscenes they've done really well. But that original experience, head to the PS1. Um, I definitely think that's got to be there as one of the first ones you buy. But what's your second game then for the PS1 then, John?
PS1 Spider-Man And Licensing Roadblocks
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, this isn't locked to the PS1 per se. Um, but for me, the definitive experience graphically you could argue is I guess it maybe even got a PC port, but on Dreamcast. But for me, the game sold gangbusters on PlayStation 1. It sold gangbusters off the back of its Tony Hawke's uh family lineage. It's Spider-Man by Neversoft and published by Activision. We've spoken about this before, so I'm not gonna go too crazy on it because we featured it in one of our PlayStation top 10 videos or audios, so go check that out wherever you found these. If you haven't heard that, then you must go check those out because you're gonna hopefully be uh equally as entertained. But this is a game for me that uh Sony are synonymous with Spider-Man. You know, they own the rights to Spider-Man, and they've done a lot with the franchise. Um, most recently, obviously, we had the PS4 which got a PS5 remaster Spider-Man, then Mars Morales, and then Spider-Man 2, which uh brought in Venom and Calique the Hunter or whatever his name is. But this game is is technically something they could get their hands on and put out. Um are they going to? No. Are they hackers like? Is this a really great comic book telling of Spider-Man? Yes, it is, and it's one that uh I implore you to look out and um get in your collection. I'd like to think this wasn't um overly expensive. Um and if you're looking to grab things that um won't ever be made digital, um this is another great pick. And underneath all that, it it's a great game that you'll enjoy whiling away on a Sunday afternoon on an autumn's evening, one would imagine. So um grab it while it's hot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, great choice. And up till that game, I'd always played them side scrollers.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01So then having this as the first sort of 3D that I would imagine is the first installment 3D wise of Spider Man.
SPEAKER_00As far as I'm aware, it was And it was the th if it if it wasn't the first, it was the first one that made sense.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. Um and that was just that was different. That was big. It was it was like, well, hold on. We're not just, you know, we're not like a a platform and action game now side scrolling. We are suddenly swinging through a city with limitations, but at the time, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um well they weren't really limitations at the time, they were just part of it. Exactly. To be fair, it's worked into the gameplay to a point where it makes sense.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes. And you sort of you control your character in the knowledge of this, which is which is cleverly done. Um, and also you can see the DNA in this weaved into the later games. Excuse me.
SPEAKER_00Um, without without PlayStation 1 Spider-Man taking a swing, PlayStation 4 Spider-Man never even knew how to jump off the floor.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So it's because it's exactly those mechanics that they've employed in every Spider-Man game since.
SPEAKER_01And you can imagine being a developer thinking, right, we're doing a Spider-Man game, let's try and make him swing round the city. I mean, that would send shivers down your swine. How are we gonna do that? The web, we've got to do the web, we've got to do his animations of his body swinging, we've got to have the control of getting him round the city in buildings, he's got to climb on buildings, suddenly you're like, Whoa, there's a lot of things we've got to do here to get him as Spider-Man would. So, yeah, fair and played to never saw it.
SPEAKER_00To my to my point earlier, though, with the the whole digital versus physical argument, they could have digitally, which would have been seen as a goodwill thing, on the build-up to the launch of Mars Morales and the PS5 or Spider-Man 2, got hold of the rights for these, even for a limited time, ported them, all the Spider-Man games that you can get your dirty mitts on, and for one month you have Spider-Man month.
SPEAKER_01Oh, how good would that be? That's a great idea.
SPEAKER_00You theme the store all like this, you have all the different themes and the movies that they can then resell you available through their PlayStation or their Sony movie streaming platform so they can get subscriptions there. I'm not saying that they need to shill dollar and dime and roll over and give us everything for free, but if they want us to move into a digital world, make it fun.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Give us a chance to play games that uh traditionally maybe a casual player might not know. You know, you've got your brand new PlayStation 5 or 6, you sit down, and instead of feeling like you've been dollar and dimed for some premium service that you never really use, they theme it, boom, Spider-Man month, like boom, all the games, these are the ones, this is a story, curation. I've always gone on about this. They've got these wonderful platforms, they don't use it. So, in the meantime, we fill the gaps by saving these physical products to allow people to initially ourselves very selfishly. And then future generations to hopefully play these things and and enjoy them and see, if not enjoy them in the way that we did, but at least enjoy them to see the way the medium has grown.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, and also it's a that's a nod to the physicals that we played. So for a younger gamer who loves Spider-Man is Spider-Man mad, give them that nod, give them that look at what we played, what Spider-Man's we had when we were their age, give them a bit of that history, you know. Like you say, make an event of it. Yeah, and it's it's a shame because probably most people that played the Spider-Man games, did they know about this one? Probably not. Probably not. So yeah, great show that but it takes us on to PS2.
Jak And Daxter Plus The Value
SPEAKER_01We've done two games each on PS1, so let's jump on to PS2. Um my first one, no brainer. Um, it's Jack and Daxter, the precursor legacy on PS2. Um I picked this because again, very playable today. Um I believe it's in the store. You can probably still pick it up on the PS store. Um, that digital version. Will it ever be will it be there forever? Probably not. Um and also they did. I know I was watching Mystique the YouTuber earlier, and he was saying about because he's a big fan of Jack and Daxter, he got the prints of that early PS4 version they done when Limit had run done the physicals.
SPEAKER_00But that's not the version you're gonna play on the store today.
SPEAKER_01That's not the version you're gonna play on the store today. So weird, and hence why it's weird with digital because things could be changed, and the ones before are gone. They are they are gone. Um, so I think this is probably your only way you're gonna get a physical version of this game. But the good thing with Jack and Daxter's Precursor Legacy is looks fantastic, very colourful, so good RGT, plays so well, it's a great game now. It's it's and you know, you look on like Switch Store, there's so many 3D platforms on there that people are making, and probably 90% of them aren't as good as Jack and Daxter. It's that it's that good a game that is it's timeless, it plays so well, it's great fun. Um, and it's that early look into the Jack and Daxter series, but you know, we had two and three and we had X-rays, and they all faded off a bit, but this was the this was the original, this is the one. Um, and I just think it's you know, if if you manage to get yourself a cheap PS2 and picked a copy of this up for cheap, which it is cheap, picked a copy of this up, you aren't going to be disappointed. Now, sometimes you pick these older games up and go, oof, that hasn't aged very well. You won't say about this, you'll think, oh, that that looks decent, that plays well. Um, obviously, as we all know, it was Naughty Dog published by Sony Computer Entertainment um in 2001, single-player platformer. Um, again, review-wise, Metacriticus 90 out of 100, and then as you go down, it's all sort of fours out of fives, 25 out of 30, 9.5 out of 10, 9 out of 10s. Great scores across the board um for just a very, very well-made 3D platformer with a really good story and bit of comedy and new characters that are quite lovable with Daxter and that. So, yeah, definitely check it out. Um, you got anything to say on Jack and Daxter, George? I know you're a fan of Daxter.
SPEAKER_00I I will agree with everything that you said. I mean, I find the game phenomenally playable, it's easy to pick up and play. I think a newcomer could easily pick that up and enjoy it. It's very inclusive, um, and I mean that in every literal sense of the term. A kid could play this and get enjoyment from it, an adult could play and then get enjoyment from this. I know I certainly did. Um, he's got some of the classic tropes, like obviously it's skiddy in the ice levels and all that sort of drama, but you know, other than that, it plays like an absolute belter. Um, there's something quite nice and endearing about the two characters, and I think there's something about the charm of this one. Like, yeah, maybe they couldn't have carried it on because it would have felt like Smurfs, right? But um there's something about this particular game that's just got a real nice charm and feel to it that gets kind of lost along the way. Oh, we've got to be mature and gritty. Like, you didn't have to take it that route, but like I understand why you did. Um, you know, they were maturing as a developer as well, and probably wanted to try and get into something a little bit more story-heavy or something with the slightly mature tones. But fair play, but for me, this is the one, it looks great, it plays well, it it's a beautiful little game, and it it's cheap.
SPEAKER_01It's cheap, and it's it's at a time when games had to be finished properly before going out onto the shelves. So you buy a copy of this, you haven't got any day one updates, you haven't got any, you know, it is just made as it is.
SPEAKER_00I'll tell you one thing for this game. I'll tell you one thing for this game, it's super cheap, and the manual is one of the best manuals you'll ever have. Yeah, yeah, and you're not gonna get anything like that ever again. I mean, this particular one it folds out as a map, does it not, or some sort of artwork, and it also is the game manual inside as well. It's a really clever idea, and it works perfectly, and it it's it's another way of just embodied in that physical product and turning it into something way beyond. And this isn't a collector's edition, it's not you know, oh, you've got to go get the special version to get that in there or any of that garbage. This is the just the standard retail version, they put their heart and soul into it. I think not only are a PlayStation themselves guilty of kind of the switch off, which they're admitting to, but I think everybody in the computer game world, apart from these companies that make money out of printing limited run versions, are very guilty of dumbing the product down to a point where it kind of feels pointless to even bother.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, no, you're you're right. And you know, with like you say with Jack and Daxter, it's that era where the whole game purchase was the experience, the great box art, the waiting to get home, as you say, the manual that folds out in a map, stunning, absolutely brilliant, and that's all part of that experience. And then you play a game where it's just nearly perfect in every way, it controls brilliant, the graphics are awesome, the maps are fantastic that you play on. Um, and it's I just had a scary thought.
SPEAKER_00What when the gaming industry was young, we were young, it was full of promise and young people trying to take a vision and turn it into something. They weren't terribly that focused about money, but then over the course of a period of our lifetime, as we've grown, the money's grown, and somewhere in a business, somewhere as you or me making the decision to X these things because we need our bonus, and we are kind of part of that problem. And I think the gaming industry, the movie making industry, the music industry, it requires artists, right? It does to create these visions to create these things, and yeah, they need paying, I get it, but they're also realizing their vision, and I think the full vision of what they're trying to offer us isn't a thing unless it's physical.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, very true. No, I think you I think you're 100% right, and it's it's a very odd time at the moment. Um, and we we said this on our latest UCP show, go and check it out. We had two and a half gamers UK on there, um, and we were chatting about this, you know, digital era coming in. Um, and I said, you know, the days are gone where probably generation seven, maybe a bit of eight, where to sell a game you had to be different, you had to be creative, you had to make something that caught people's eye that's you know, almost no genre linked to it to some completely different game, you know. And now it's not it's trying to fill a game, so like an FPS game, well there's 50 million pounds FPS, let's make one. It's all for the money now, and the creativity is getting lost.
SPEAKER_00The the scary point of the you know, because as digital takes over and physical fades, there'll be less people looking to stock it, like CEX will like finally run out of games to hold, or they'll just have a load of FIFA's on the shelf, and what's the point of that? So they'll not bother anymore. So then the footfall there drops. You all your local game stores, your your franchises in the States and the UK are very depressed or gone. And what you're looking at is a quite a scary thinning wedge of like no footfall. And we've talked about this with the demise of the Xbox brand in some ways. They kind of move towards this whole everything's an Xbox, the games that all work on each other, but they don't. There's very little branding for Series X or Series S in stores and kind of fueled their own disappearance. And you've got to wonder if we move to an all-digital world where how do people get introduced to games? How do people know about games? You're not gonna go to the supermarket and see this thing and say, Oh mummy, what's that? It's not gonna happen. So then you're hoping that the adult introduces the kid or the kid stumbles across some videos, but those videos in the UK at least are all gonna get locked down very soon and they're gonna be able to watch YouTube. Little Johnny's gonna have to be looking on daddy's account, and uh that's gonna skew daddy's search algorithm, so that's not gonna last long. So, how do they experience and discover games when there's no magazines? There's no aisles in the shop, and they can't even stumble across a place like CEX or local joke or gaming store because the idea of physical is completely lost to them. So these things are just gonna evaporate.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, very true. Yes, it's scary times ahead and very unknown ground as to where gaming's heading. Um I think I know where it's heading, but it's not up, put it that way. Um, but yes, so sorry, we went off a bit of a tangent there, but Jack and Dexter.
SPEAKER_00No, it's all part of it. Yeah, that is part of it. That is uh that's why we're bringing these games today because you know, get them now, you might not be able to.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Jack and Dexter precursor leagues, you've got to say it's available on PS4, but we don't know how long it'll be available on PS4 for in your digital copy. Um, and then if you change consoles or change account to anything, that will disappear. So definitely um try and pick it up. So, what's your uh PS2 game for next pick?
Persona 4 And The JRPG Goldmine
SPEAKER_00Uh Persona 4, the OG. I know this got remade on other consoles, but it is a different version. Um, this one is the one with a soundtrack, and these games are synonymous. And this one for me is synonymous with an absolutely banging soundtrack. Persona 4 is the story of you sort of going into an alternate world uh in a bid to solve some murders in a Japanese uh town, and you are a high school student and his friends who are thrust deep into the plot. It's a great game, and it's way ahead of its time in terms of its storytelling and the way it interacts with you and the way the menus work. Obviously, it's been made very famous on the Vita, but the Persona 5 has been made very famous worldwide for its slick transitions, etc. That's all here. And this for me, um, my wife and I played this through. She took the lead to be fair and absolutely loved it. As the anime cutscenes in between, it's a it's a story very well told. Um, but this, as far as I'm aware, this original version is only available on PS4, and it's a game that good they've sought to remake. PS2 um PS2, sorry, and it's a game they've sought to remake. So uh yeah, um come grab this while it's probably hopefully still relatively affordable. I mean, just to give you some scope, I think I paid £15 for this, £20 because it had the CD in it. Um, so that's just for relevance. RGT made a George stop talking now, face, because I've probably wandered in with something, but you know, um if you it's a point of listening, you've been umming and ring about this. Not only is it, I assume, at that rate an accumulating asset, it's also locked to this system, it's also synonymous in my mind with this system, very late release on the console. Um, and I think that uh more than just being a piece of something to look at on the shelf, it's probably the best JRPG experience you can get on any system.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's I know it's highly rated. Um never played it myself, but I would imagine as well the art style, which especially personas have, which are fantastic looks amazing on the PS2 as well.
SPEAKER_00The way it just rolls and it plays, it looks very sharp as well. It just feels like something that shouldn't exist on a PlayStation 2. It feels as fresh then, uh, it just feels as fresh now as it must have felt then. It's that slick.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and like you say, apart from I think they done a version, did they do a version on EVITA?
SPEAKER_00Golden Yeah, golden, so it's not this, it's a different, slightly different version. I think there's extra content, but this original OG version is here.
SPEAKER_01That's yeah, and the only place you can play it, like you say. So another proper gem on the on the PS2 that you can't really get anywhere else.
SPEAKER_00So no, and why would they ever re-release that now digitally? Makes no sense. Yeah, and that's not a Sony problem, that's obviously a wider industry problem at this point because it's not a Sony game, but again, it's kind of synonymous with the platform.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. Yeah, great choice there, very good choice.
SPEAKER_00Um, my second what you got, what you got here, bring it out. Let's have a look at it.
Bully And The Problem With Digital
SPEAKER_01My second PS2 game, probably an obvious choice again, but one off, if not my most favourite Rockstar game. Um, I've played this through five, six times, and even on the PS4, I've got the Platinum 4 up because I just love this whole game so much, and that is, as we would say, in the UK is Canis Cayman edited aka a bully by Rockstar Games. Um this game for me dropped at a time when um I loved GTA, me and my mate absolutely adored GTA, and it had always been an idea that we always said, wouldn't that be good if you had GTA in a different set in like a school or a college, and then this dropped, and we were like, oh my god, started playing it, I'm just like this has got all the tropes of a GTA but in a school, you know. Rather than your weapons, you've got catapults, you know, rather than in your cars, you've got you got bikes. If rather than doing drug busts and that for your money, you mow lawns, it was that perfect GTA clone but done by himself in a school. It was just so good. Um I ended up getting every version of it as well because I want to see the differences. I would imagine that the the probably the best place to play it would be the Xbox 360 with the HD on, but I've got a PS2 version here, obviously, as we're doing PlayStation. Um and it's just that story of Jimmy and his parents not really caring, putting him in this school and rag to riches story, and like I say, even if you play this on the PlayStation store, which again, how long I'll be on for, I don't know. I think it's about seven or eight pounds, but you don't know how long it's gonna be on that system for. I don't think Rockstar have got any plans in remaking this at all or re-releasing this. So you want a physical.
SPEAKER_00And isn't it broken if you try and play it on PS5 or Pro?
SPEAKER_01I don't know. I know the Warriors is, I'm not sure about Bully, but I know a lot of them them PS2 games are I tried Warriors, and that was that was on the legal rave in a barn seeing all the graphics flicker, and that was awful. Um, and they didn't tell you that before you purchased it on your PS5 as well, which is slightly annoying. That welcome to digital, baby. Yeah, and that's not gonna say you could probably complain to Sony I aren't gonna uh go out and fix Warriors for you. Uh not a chance, not a chance. They just say, Oh, you know, if you contact them, just oh yeah, sorry, that's one of the ones that play up, but they don't tell you that on the screen before you buy it on your PS5. Why even have it for sale? But anyway, that's a different story. But yeah, Canis Game Edit, bully, awesome game. Um, this is starting to creep up a bit now. I would pick it up while you can, because even if you're playing a PS2 vanilla version, again, like I said about Jack and Daxter, these games had to release pretty perfect, and and it did. It's got that beautiful art style, it's got great controls, it's got a beautiful world. You can go and discover in the town when you get free, you've got your school lessons to do. Yes, there's different versions that have different bits and pieces on the Wii, and like say the Xbox 360, which is probably the ultimate place to play at.
SPEAKER_00But if you're for a PlayStation mate, I came to this late, I played it on PS2, it's the definitive version because it's where everybody knows it from. Yeah, and to me, it's better than the players. Yeah, you could take take this comment, do what you want with it. To me, Bully is better than the GTAs of that era, and I tell you why, because I think it's in my opinion some of their best work graphically, and I also think it laid the foundations of what future GTAs would become and would be.
SPEAKER_01No, I think you're right, and I mean, even the manual is a guide to Bullworth Academy, you know.
SPEAKER_00Once again, mate, I mean, what the hell?
SPEAKER_01You know, it's absolutely brilliant. And I mean, I love this game so much I managed to get an original um bully t-shirt as well, which I still have and I try not to wear too much because I don't want it to go away. Because granted, you know, Rockstar weren't really well known for doing too much merch, so we're quite rare to get hold of. Um but yeah, Canis came and edited. It's gotta be a must on the PS2. What's your next choice, George, as you uh try and hide your laughter? I'll move on to my PS3 game then.
SPEAKER_00I'm back in the room. I was just thinking, well Can't wait to see you in your bully crocodile.
Gran Turismo 4 And Peak PS2
SPEAKER_00Gran Turismo 4. I love you, RGT. Yes, I do. Why are you picking this, George? God's sake, there's like all these new GTs. Why would you say this? Because to me, this has always been there's a lot of nostalgia here, but for me, this has always been like a really definitive game. If you want force feedback, it'll offer you that through a wheel. It's graphically beautiful to look at as far as I'm concerned. The menus, the way you interact with the cars, the feeling of ownership. It's absolutely fantastic. And everything from the way this box, it's the Gran Turismo 4 box. I can't speak for outside of the UK or PAL regions, but it came in a white case, which was absolutely against the grain of everything else PlayStation were doing at the time. Everything was the blue top boxes, all the black boxes, and RGT says it looked classy, it did, it looked super slick. That with the predominantly white cover art made this thing pop on a shelf and look like something other than a game, and that's because it's Gran Turismo 4, the real driving simulator. And I tell you what, you certainly felt like a very privileged person from the minute you picked it up. This game, with its physical presence, its weighty manual, it was certainly something that turned heads on the store, and when you got it home, it just turned your head 360 once again. Uh, it's absolutely beautiful to look at. Like I say, the ownership of the vehicles that I felt in this game was second to none to any other Grand Tresumo before or since. Um, it incorporated the kind of management element, it incorporated the uh photo element in a way that just really worked. Um to me, this is the driving game that I think of when I think of PlayStation. I always think of this version. I'd like to think this is relatively affordable, but what it does highlight is you know, as soon as the new Gran Turismo comes along, they drop the old one like a hot stone. Does that mean that it's not playable? No, it doesn't. Does that mean that we can't enjoy the roadmap of success and evolution that the franchise experience? It shouldn't, but it does. I missed out on picking up Gran Turismo PSP on the Vita store, and I kicked myself because to this day that would have been the official way of having that and it being super cool on the Vita. But because I missed that window of time where it was available to buy before the franchises and exclusivity deal ran out, I can only really now play that physical on the PSP. Like, yeah, that's where it's meant to be played, that's where it's for, but it would have been great to have that on the Vita.
SPEAKER_01Someone else decides that that digital copy doesn't need to exist, you're not getting it.
SPEAKER_00Like I've got a load of digital cars existing on my PS3 storefront for the PSP version of the game. Sat there for when I want to load them in and out as I can as I please because they were cheap, so I picked them up one day. But how long are they going to allow me to support the downloading of a file for a PSP game that they don't care about to allow me to move it on now? Oh, George just downloaded your hard drive. Yeah, but PS3 is aging, you have to swap hard drives out every once in a blue moon, or if the console dies, what then? It's gone. Yeah, gone. So, you know, grab this stuff as I say when you can. Gran Turismo 4. If you're a collector for the PS2, much like in my previous game, if you're collecting for these consoles or in any way have a bit of nostalgia for them, and you want to get yourself a a list of games that are must-plays or bangers, again, go check our list. But added these two spicy extra ones. I might have brought this before, but one spicy extra one for you to enjoy and uh get on board with. RGT, what's your first PS3 game, you sexy little uh devil?
SPEAKER_01Well, just quickly, I was just gonna say about um GT4. Um yes, I still amazes me how they got those graphics on a PS2.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely stunning, and like if you unlike its predecessor, sorry just to say that actually resed up all the cars by this point, so that actually worked hard to get the whole thing up to like a GT4 standard.
SPEAKER_01And absolutely stunning, and you can play it, you know, in the uh was it 480i or 480p?
SPEAKER_00You can play it in which 480i here, but you could take it up further in the states, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I've even played recently um randomly. I was testing some um wheels, PS2 wheels I was selling on getting out of my collection. I thought, well, I need to test them first. I thought, oh, what am I gonna test them on? GT4, put them on, and I've got it through um an upscaler, um, and it's it looks good. It looks good when you think that game come out and you just think, wow, and it's so playable. I mean, just before I got rid of my um got rid of my game shed before that all went, uh a friend of mine's son, who was at the time was about seven or eight, wants to play a racing game, and he said, put something retro on for him. So I put Grand Turismo 4 on for him. He played all afternoon. He loved it. He loved getting the money up, getting the getting, you know, bigger turbo on the car and bits and pieces. Absolutely loved it, you know. And you're thinking he's he's not worried that it's a 25-year-old, 30-year-old game, he just absolutely loved it, you know, and it's it's a it's a testament to how good that game is.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, to your point with the wheel, mate. I mean, I'm such a fan of this game. Um well, two things. I'm such a fan of this game that um I picked up a an officiated Gran Turismo 4 wheel. Um, nice. And it works so good with this. Like the force feedback and everything with it is superb. I mean, yeah, it's not going to be as good as a modern wheel. I'll hold my hands up, but I tell you what, what a hell of an experience to be having in 2004 when this came out, and even today, you know, you're getting feedback from the car that feels realistic to the track conditions and the body handling of the car through the wheel. I mean, that's some really good stuff. My second point, if everyone, if anyone has got the printer that's mentioned in the back of the manual for the PS2, so I can print photos of my car in a full official PlayStation Gran Turismo for experience that I can finally relive my dream of touching every piece of merch or product this game could ever support. Um hit me up. Questions at unofficialcontrollerpodcast.com It's just using it to try and get it. Yeah, then whore myself out to uh whatever ink company for the four grand of ink, it's probably gonna need and special photos.
SPEAKER_01Custom cartridges.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so it might be an unrequited love, but it's one I'd love to at least connect to the PlayStation in a wild dream.
SPEAKER_01You might have to sell your car to print a car.
SPEAKER_00Maybe I'm all in at this point.
SPEAKER_01But no, great choice, yeah. Grand Chismo 4 to end on PS2. It's the daddy of the racing games um of that era and of not of you know modern times as well, because there's been a lot of games come out in recent years that are still nowhere near as good as that game. It's it's phenomenal, the depth, the graphics. Um, yeah, definitely pick up Grand Turismo 4 if you're looking for PS2s.
PS3 Picks And Part Two Setup
SPEAKER_01Um now we go on to PS3s. Um my first one.
SPEAKER_00Before we segue into that RGT, you'd said at the top of the show this was a part one because we're planning on doing a follow-up, aren't we, with PS4, PS4 and PSP. Vita and P.
SPEAKER_01So maybe not five because it's probably a bit too modern, but we'll do that.
SPEAKER_00And I can't see us ever doing a PS6 episode at this point, so we'll probably just leave it there, will we? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That'll be yeah, goodnight nurse, I think, on
Infamous And The PS3 Superhero Era
SPEAKER_01that one. Uh but yes, so my my um my first one is by Sucker Punch Studios. Um and it's a game I've played the two in the series very recently, and that is Infamous on the PlayStation 3. Um I I hadn't really, I always knew of Infamous, never really got into it. Me and George spoke about it a lot. George loves his first game, um, and even the second, and said, Oh, just give it a go, give it a go. So when I purchased my new, I say new, old but new to me, PS3, the Super Slim. I thought, right, it's time. I got I got a PS3 Super Slim, I got my retro fighters defenders, right? Let's give let's give Infamous a go. And I was just hooked. Um I played it over about a week and just completed it and jumped pretty much straight into two and loved that as much and completed that. Infamous is a game that is so at home at this generation, it's so at home on the PlayStation 3. It's it's got that it's got those PS3 graphics, but it's just done so well. I I love the story because it's a bit of an original story with your superpowers, it's almost that Spider-Man-esque way of getting around the city with the side missions, it's got a bit of humor.
SPEAKER_00Which one have you brought today? One or two. One oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and it's I just love that you know this era of games where to be different and good would sell, not just generic to a masses, and this was one of them. And I just think what a great game. If you're into superheroes and you like superhero games and you've never heard of and never played Infamous, buy it and give it a go. Because although it doesn't really look like a superhero game or sound like one, it sort of is. Um and it's very good, and it has that dark and light meter. You choose how you want to go, you choose if you want to be a complete bum round town and you know get the innocent people. I always played it as the good side, just how I am, and I just kept that fully maxed out. Me too. You know, I there was the odd accidental casualty when I set a bomb off, but other than that, I just kept 100% on the good. But you can, if you want, play that way, um, to get your powers up and collectibles and bits and pieces. And it doesn't overstash welcome. It's it's a really good game. Probably 12 hours. If you take your time, you can you can complete this in. Um, and I think it's awesome. And I know you you really you really love this game as well, George.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, to your point, you're not you're not a guy wearing a cape and tights, it's more of a like a handcock telling, you're a cycle courier from memory and a gritty one at that, and it you kind of play it in that way. You can be a nice guy, and as RGT says, that's the way me and him play. I can't bring myself to do all these awful missions. I I find it like a bit of a weird thing to do. Um, but the dark and light meter is innovative, the um cartoon-esque storytelling I think fits the brand and um feels a bit off at first, but you seem to get well into it, and it's it's actually quite enjoyable and and matches a box art of the uh limited edition that they did, a cardboard sleeve, which good luck finding a nice copy of that in the wild. They normally look they've been kicked around on the floor about ten times, but uh keep going, I'm sure you'll be rewarded. Um, this one kick started a brand. I've got so many good things to say about it, but the the storyline alone is one that's so sort of amazing, I can't even imagine they'd even try anything like that these days. And that's a bit harsh, I'm sure they would, but uh it's certainly one that um raised my eyebrow and had to replay it twice just to make sure I'd seen it right. So it was uh you know, it's a great game. Um, one that kind of like holds your hand a little bit to begin with, and then just kind of lets you go crazy with it, which is is always in my mind rewarded so you can fully enjoy the game. Good tutorial or hidden tutorial always works well in my eyes. Um and this is one of the very best, absolutely great game. It is a brilliant game, and and a I bet it's cheap, and it's only on the PS3.
SPEAKER_01So if you want to play this game, that's where you're gonna have to get it. And again, you know, there isn't as far as I know, especially with a PS3 store closing, there isn't a digital version of this. So this is your chance to play it now, you know. Uh this action adventure single player 2009. I've probably spoken about this before. Rating wise, um, it had a few seven out of tens, it had a few nine out of tens, um, and it had a few five out of five.
SPEAKER_00So it's a very available currently through the kind of like digital sort of streaming sort of thing, yeah. Yeah, yeah, but you're not gonna own it and you can only get it by the subscription service.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, so you're gonna sort of cloud play it and stream game it and it's yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So if that's all you got, do it. But if you do that, you're gonna want to own it, and then if you're gonna want to own it, you need a PS3 to play it on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if you've got a PS3, go and grab it. That's what I'd say. Definitely go and grab it. Um, but yes, I I absolutely love this game. Um, and as of planet recently, I can uh vouch for it being absolutely fantastic and um yeah, a great game for the generation. So, what's your first PS3 pick then, young Georgie?
LittleBigPlanet And Creativity Lost
SPEAKER_00My first PlayStation 3 pick, good sir, is Little Big Planet. Um, do you know what? Sony sat there and thought, oh, we need a mascot that we can like dress up as all of our other mascots as well and have fun with. Uh let's do that. Well, they did that first time around with PlayStation 3. Um, you could get this little dude dressed up as anybody and they'd sell you a suit for everything. Suddenly they forgot they had this guy and decided need to do exactly the same thing that they did to him that they did with Astrobots. So Horitons on the Wall, Astrobot, but that's a story for another day. Today we're here to celebrate Little Big Planet. Yes, I do believe this is also trapped on play on the PlayStation 3. Are they ever going to let you play this going forward? I very much doubt it. Is it a really great and innovative platformer? Yes, it is. Has it had the RSEN cut out of it due to the community area? Yes, but it's still an absolutely great game, and um it's a fun playthrough, one that I enjoyed. Um I played a little bit at the time when it first came out, but more importantly, over the last five years I've gone back to um played all the way through it and absolutely loved it. It's a little bit rough around the edges, but um it's again very again, like we said, very creative, very creative. Um, for me, like the box art and the manual, the way it's all put together with the stickers and just the look of it, just screams physical. There's something about the way Sack Boy is like a physical creation himself, i.e.'s made out of a woven cloth that sort of screams something. I've got a Sackboy like little plushy, he's a great little character. I've got a lot of tie for him, and uh, I think at the time PlayStation leveraged him to the absolute max. I mean, they hooked they hoard out poor old Sackboy left, right, and Chelsea, and then they dropped him like a hot stone. I've always found that a bit strange, but uh excuse me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's always been um Little Big Planet for me, has always been sort of close to my heart because there's a local developer close to me who was the creative director of Little Big Planet and Little Big Planet 2, Mark Healy from from Ipswich in Suffolk. So um, I've always kept an eye on his work and stuff, and he was always an amazing coder on a C64. And as his career went on, you could see how creative he was with Little Big Planet and the things he'd done on a PlayStation 3 and such good games. Do we? I mean, you it was almost to me like a triple A indie game because it had that indie vibe about it, how it was made, yet you know, with people like Stephen Fry and that voice and it stuff, it had that that that touch of quality about it, and such a great game.
SPEAKER_00And I'll be honest, in an era of like brand new 1080p TVs, nothing looked as good as Sackboy did in that moment when you plugged it into your HD TV for time, and you've got like stickers popping up with loud, vibrant colours on your brand new plasma, and you've got Sackboy walking out in damned to your eyes at that moment, damn near photo realistic visual quality.
SPEAKER_01I thought you got real material, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Looks amazing, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It was a real coming together of a technology, it was a real coming together of a new TV medium, and I think the game just is synonymous with PlayStation, but sadly, um they don't agree, so it's been it's been buried. We've got to revisit towards the end of the four and five, but that was a a totally different game, and it played in a totally different way and had no allusions to any of the um community elements or anything like that.
SPEAKER_01You know, oh the community elements was fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and like I say, they've all been carved out of the back now, sadly. But uh the good news is there's still enough of a single player experience in there for this to be a very much recommend if you're collecting for the PS3 andor looking for Sony's Lost Exclusives.
SPEAKER_01And if you're listening, Mark, we'd love to have you on the show. Hit us up, that'd be brilliant. Um, but yeah, great show, little big planet. Um, like we like we said before, very creative, something very different. Um, something for everyone of all ages. Great, great game. Um yeah, and it's just a shame that those and I hate to say it, but as time has gone on, you know, those sort of creative games are for the indies now. That's where you look for these sort of games. Your big boys aren't taking risks on stuff like this anymore. Um and it's a it's a shame, but it is a shame, but yeah, great pick there, George. Absolutely great pick.
The Saboteur And Color As Story
SPEAKER_01Um my second but also final game of the pick on this show PS3 um is a game a friend of mine was playing, and when I first saw it, I wasn't quite sure if his TV was broke or not. So, well, you're playing that in black and white. And then that sort of dawned on me what he was doing, and that game is a saboteur on the PlayStation 3. Um EA surprisingly, this game, which um with you know, this era EA did publish, not so much developed, but published quite a lot of these original games, different style of games, um, fighters with different stories, alternate universes. But the saboteur is is is based in World War II, um, and you're in France. And it's got that, like I said at the start, this creative side to it where as you free up, it's black and white, as you free up the city, you bring the colour back to the areas that you've that you've you've freed up as part of the resistance. Um yes, some of the controls are a little bit woody nowadays, it is an old game, but I just think for the experience that's worth playing this game because again, you know, if you speak to a lot of people who are sort of PS3 onwards, not many people have heard of the saboteur. And I'm like, what's that? They wouldn't even know EA had made it. Just this very creative way of playing, um, almost like a sort of I suppose you would class it as open world France where Utron resists against Germany. Um very unique, great game. Um, and again, another one I think that needs to be in a PS3 collection. I mean, I think this was 360 as well, but definitely this generation, definitely this generation, probably PC as well, I think. Yeah, yeah, give it give it a go. Um, yes, it was Windows, PS3, Xbox 360. Um, like I say, this was published in Game Boy colour. Um, this was published by um uh sorry, EA, but developed by Pandemic Studios. That's it, yeah. Um and again it had good scores, eight and a half out of ten. You got Euro Gamer Euro Gamer gave it six out of ten, which I think's harsh for this game, but mostly eight out of ten, seven and a half out of tens, nine out of tens. Um a unique game from the era, a unique creative game from the era, of which, as we said, you don't really get any more. And I just think that's that's a must-play.
SPEAKER_00I would say Eurogamers to review us stood the test of time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah, definitely give it a go. Well, Saboteur, I know you've played this, George.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've played it. Do you know what? Absolutely brilliant. Premise again, one of those games that you know when the 360 and the PS3 launched, um, people were starting to pick up HD sets. Saboteur was another one of those games absolutely fantastic on a plasma back in the day. Um, the black and white with the flashes of crimson, um, the premise of the idea of it being black and white was very bold, very, very bold. That represented the um the Nazi occupied areas, and as you kind of liberated them as a resistance member, um, they became back to colour, which was a really great storytelling technique, and one that represented itself on the screen really well. RGT touched on it, the woolly controls. I think that's for me what holds it back. That's why I think Eurogamer probably spot on. I've not read the review, but to me, I'd give it a six. Doesn't mean it's a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but there would be an adjustment period for a modern gamer, I think. But you would get used to it very quickly, put an hour in, and you'd be all over it like a rash, and I think you'd be having a blast. Yeah. Um i it's a game that I don't I don't know as would maybe get made today. I think as RGT said, I think maybe an indie studio would take a risk on that. You know, we saw maybe Ghosts of Yotai Ghostshima come with the Kurosawa filter where it was like black and white, uh grainy filter to kind of copy the old um black and white Japanese samurai films. But um this is a little bit more I know this sounds criminal, but it's a bit more Shinla's list in the fact it's black and white, but there are flashes of crimson at moments to kind of make the black and white work uh in a more sort of modern way. Um a really great game, one that's yeah, locked on that gen for sure. Um, one that's definitely if you're collecting from a PlayStation slant, one that's definitely locked on PlayStation from your point of view. Um, a game from that era that that's worth if you if you've tried Dead Space and thought, oh yeah, that was okay, you know, you'd do no wrong to try Savateur, and you'd have a probably a similar takeaway by the end of it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. It's you'd say um I picked it because it's unique. I love the way the story is told and the the colour almost brings hope back to the people you're helping. Um very nice idea, very original, and something you aren't gonna get anymore, and something you're not really gonna play unless you've got the physical.
SPEAKER_00So, yeah, the saboteur PS3 was my fine plays further into my mind than anything sort of pre-1950s people saw in black and white as well. So, you know, it really fit with that whole sort of firm mind game, didn't it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, definitely. Um, but yeah, saboteur PS3 is my final game of today of part one of this. Um, what's your final game and final PS3 game today?
Final Fantasy XIII As A Hidden Favorite
SPEAKER_00Final game, final PS3 game, Final Fantasy 13. Um now this is a game that's not really seen the ability to play it outside of the PlayStation ecosystem, or PlayStation haven't made it available. Xbox have through backwards compatibility, and I do believe it's one of the better ways to play that. But if again you're coming at this from a PlayStation point of view, um, after Nintendo Final Fantasy as RGT brought in Final Fantasy VII became synonymous with the PlayStation brand exclusive, and um at this point they were experimenting with uh multiple platform releases, um, but this one for me is still a PlayStation game, um, it's still a PlayStation franchise. It went up for grabs after Nintendo and they grabbed it and brought it down, and they've continued to bring it down with multiple exclusivity offers even to this day. Um, but Final Fantasy XIII, all that sort of digital locked ecosystem nonsense aside, is for me maybe my favourite Final Fantasy. Yeah, it's a bit bloated, but I tell you what, it looks fantastic even to this day. This game looks beautiful and doesn't feel for the most part like it is from that gen of gaming 360 PS3. It it plays so well, the the cutscenes are memorable, the characters are enjoyable, the battle techniques are um fun and different, um, the enemies are diverse, the areas are beautiful to look at. It's a game that if you haven't played and you like Final Fantasy and you want another turn-based experience, but a modern feeling one, this is one you've got to get behind. Um I loved everything about it. Yeah, I said it was a bit bloated. I feel like the mid-to-end section, when you get into the open world, it's not worth it in the modern era. It's a big open space, yeah. Whoop-de-woo, but it feels not much more than Hyrule Field. The places, the dungeons that you go into, or the worlds that you go into, the areas that exist outside of that in the linear way, feel a million bucks, and I feel that maybe that back section could get trimmed down and just go back into the kind of more linear path, and it is uh just an absolute rip-snort of a sort of almost Hollywood-esque fantasy experience, sci-fi fantasy experience that I was blown away by when I first tried it on 360 back in the day. I probably got a third of the way into it, and life was busy and I fell off of it. Plus, it was felt to me a bit overbearingly large. Going back to it later with more time on my hands and uh playing it on PS3. Absolutely loved it. Prepared to dedicate some time to seeing it through, but you'll enjoy it. Um, not much more to be said. I mean, there's various different physical versions of this you can pick up across a medium of different formats, but um I've got the vanilla version and I've also got this limited collector's edition, but I should imagine the vanilla version is relatively affordable, especially for the hours to pound or dollar ratio that you would pay for it in terms of payback of enjoyment and time spent on it, it's certainly a better return than a box set. So, you know, mileage may vary. Um like I say, there's no way you're playing this on a PlayStation um outside of the PS3. So um if you want to experience it and you're collecting for this series or this family of consoles, and you're a bit like, oh god, the end of the end of physical, that's a bit scary. I ought to pick up the things that I remember while I still can, or maybe I never played but was mildly intrigued by. This would be one game that you'd be more than happy with.
SPEAKER_01Definitely, without a doubt. I've never played myself, um, always heard good things. Then I remember when you played for it a few years ago talking to you about it and just the hours that you just pushed into this game and you loved them and you said. It's so rewarding as well. It's so rewarding, and it's also it's one of them that I find people don't speak about a lot with the Final Fantasy series. It gets overlooked quite a lot.
SPEAKER_00Um it's kind of a bit because I think it's because it's a bit dead-ended on those systems. It never yeah, Xbox brought it forward, but again, it's not one that me people really talked about. I guess it was in an era where once you're done with an yeah, it's weird. It is overlooked, but I think when people caught onto it, it's gonna catch on like a like a house on fire. Because, like I say, it feels modern enough and looks modern enough where you play it through and not even give it a second thought.
SPEAKER_01Um, so there's our six games each, 12 picks for you from PS1, PS2, PS3. Probably some you've probably heard of, more generic ones, some you probably have heard of, but never thought of trying. And we're saying, give them a go. Um we're basically saying don't worry about this digital future because there is a backlog of games there for everyone to enjoy. It doesn't have to be the Rip Snort and new PS6 or Xbox Helix or Switch 3, whatever they come out with. There's games there that are so good, hold up well today, and you've got a physical copy of them that you can jump back on whenever you want, and that's why we chose
Live Price Checks And Buying Advice
SPEAKER_01these. Um, as promised, before we get into the housekeeping and end the show, I will jump on to my favourite bit of these top tens or whatever we call it. We'll do a little we'll do a little guessy with George here as I've got these written down. Um, so your first game, George, was Porsche Challenge on the PlayStation 1. What would you say that the value of that is today?
SPEAKER_00I would say that's probably at best a five pound game.
SPEAKER_01Bang on. That's about a five pound game. You might be able to get a little bit cheaper, but yeah, five pound game, that is Porsche Challenge for a decent copy. Excuse me. Uh your number two game.
SPEAKER_00Uh oh, so we're only guessing my ones, okay.
SPEAKER_01Well, no, we'll guess mine as well. We'll just go through or do you want do you want me to do both number ones first, then yeah? Do you want me to do that? Right. So my first game was uh Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation One. What do you think that is going for nowadays, George?
SPEAKER_00I don't know. That version you've got, I would say today, probably 30 quid.
SPEAKER_01You bang on that if you can get Wow yeah, CEX listed at 32. I think if you go in a retro game store, you could probably pick this up just under 30 pounds, I would imagine. I think if you get it for 30, you're done well.
SPEAKER_00It was 20 for the longest time, 2025. Like the Final Fantasies are also kind of locked at a price that I don't think's moved in 20 years.
SPEAKER_01But I think I think this announcement is twitching things at the minute. Things are slowing.
SPEAKER_00I think so. I think I personally think it's a great way for them to sell a load of physical products and then see all their stuff boosted on in the internet as people say, Oh, more than loss of physical, blah blah blah. It's gonna be more PlayStation historic and current content than you've ever seen.
SPEAKER_01Expect to backtrack on that, I would imagine. Um, never know. Um, your number two game, George, was Spider-Man on a PlayStation 1 by Neversoft and Activision.
SPEAKER_00That's an interesting curio because I'm gonna guess at like 20 quid.
SPEAKER_01I think if you can get it for under 30, you're doing well nowadays. That's wow, that's 27 to sort of.
SPEAKER_00I don't bring these to think that they're bangers, by the way. I I mean, yeah, some of them I knew might be pricey, but I never I didn't think that. I you know, to me it's a five pound game.
SPEAKER_01It's a price, yeah. It's a price. I think I paid about five, six pounds for it probably a few years ago, obviously. But yeah, I think for a for a mint copy, you're gonna be looking over 30 pounds nowadays. But if you can pick it up for under 30, you've done well. You've done well. Wow. Um yes, so my second game was Final Fantasy VII.
SPEAKER_00Now, the series I talked about that was either 15 or 20 quid for the last 20 years has got me doubting myself. Now, I don't know, even though it's multiple discs, and we've just talked about Spider-Man being 30, I reckon this is 20.
SPEAKER_01Um, you're looking about 25, 25 for a decent copy.
SPEAKER_00Um unbelievable, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It was 15 pounds for the longest time ever, they were always 15 pounds, but now they're creeping, they're creeping.
SPEAKER_00Think of the think of the economy though, multiple discs versus Spider-Man with one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's mad, innit?
SPEAKER_00Go figure.
SPEAKER_01Um, your third game, George, Persona 4 on the PlayStation 2.
SPEAKER_00Like I say, I said it relatively affordable, and you sucked through your teeth, and it made me go, oh crikey. Now, or like I say, I reckon I paid 20 quid for this because it included the CD soundtrack, but something tells me this is probably I'm guessing, I don't look, I don't really care, but I'm guessing this has got to be I don't know, like 70 quid or something.
SPEAKER_01You're you're about in the middle for an average copy. I think if you want a min if you want a minter of this, you're gonna be looking 85 to 95 pounds for a minter of this. I don't you know I think if you you'll do well if you can pick it up between 60 and 70 for a decent copy, you've done really well. But for a minter, you're gonna be pushing that 100 mark for a real minter of that. Um yeah, it's but is it worth that?
SPEAKER_00Like I don't know, as an appreciating asset, as I talked about when RGT like sort of winced.
SPEAKER_01I mean, maybe good god Well, if you're a persona fan, if you're a hardcore persona fan, you haven't got this and you've got a PS2. I mean, what you have to have this, you've got you have to have it, and you know, modern games are heading towards hundred pound downloads for digital games.
SPEAKER_00True, so true, it's not unreasonable to get one with a soundtrack, is it?
SPEAKER_01Don't look as an old game, it's not worth much. Think if it's value to you. Um yeah, as a persona fan, this is one of the best persona games and looks awesome on the system it's running on.
SPEAKER_00So it really does, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it could turn out to be a very good purchase. Um my number three, Jack and Daxter.
SPEAKER_00And this is brutal because it's in no way disrespect to this game at all. But you know, I for the longest time this was a pound, but I'd like to imagine, I pray, I like to dream that it's worth probably at least five now.
SPEAKER_01I think, yeah, if you want it with that lovely map manual and all that in, you're looking about five pounds, three to five pounds for that.
SPEAKER_00Um such a crime, such a good game.
SPEAKER_01It's an absolute steal, believe me. I know you probably go in CXs and they've all got Jack and Daxters in Precursor Legacy. If you haven't got it and you got a PS2, please buy it because you and hawk for until you find the one with the map, you might as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because five pound anyway, whatever which one you get.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's just brilliant. It's the whole package, great, great game. Um, and an absolute steal at five pound. You can hardly get a pint of beer for five pounds nowadays. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Um find the best box art and then get the best manual and stick it in and go pay you five pounds for it because it's the same price whether you do that or not. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Um your fourth pick, Gran Turismo 4 on the PlayStation 2, George.
SPEAKER_00Again, no disrespect to this game in any way, but I would be shocked if this was any more than maybe it's crept up a little bit because Gran Turiszy, Gran Turismi, let's imagine it's like 10 quid.
SPEAKER_01Nope. 5 pound for a complete copy of this in good condition. Um, and that is probably for one of one of the best driving games ever made. Gran Turismo 4.5 pound. If you got a PSD, even to this day, yeah, grab it because if you like cars and and you've got a bit of a passion for them, this is the passion game for you because it is superb, absolutely superb.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so I didn't do so well there.
SPEAKER_01No, but you you done well with price, though. Um my number four, canis came and edit, aka bully. Um, what do you reckon on that now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because this was a very cheap game. This is charity shop fodder for the longest time, but I reckon it's probably worth quite a bit of money now.
SPEAKER_01With this off-colour spine that does my editing. Yes, I don't know why it's a different shade of white.
SPEAKER_00There's a couple of different shades of white in that PlayStation library. Um, I don't know. I reckon you're probably paying because people are quite nostalgic for it. I reckon you're paying 25 quid.
SPEAKER_01No, surprisingly, no. You you can pick this up complete with the awesome manual and everything for about 15. Yeah, I think if you go to that's CEX Post, if you go to a retro game store, I think you pick this up for about 12 quid.
SPEAKER_00But uh and that, you know, I think that the price that I said is more reflective of the quality of the game. Hey, what do I know? I mean and again, get it bought.
SPEAKER_01You know, I know some people probably think 15 pounds for a PS2 game's expensive, not for the experience. That's only you know a seven or eight pound on on the store for a digital copy. If you want the actual physical and a manual anything for another seven quid, you've got a fantastic game, superb, one of one of Rockstar's very finest. So, yeah, definitely give that a look. Um, your number five, George, was Little Big Planet on the PlayStation 3.
SPEAKER_00Mmm. Yeah, I can't see that being much more than five quid. Two quid. Ah, perfect. What a great price!
SPEAKER_01Two quid, what an amazing price for a very unique and great game.
SPEAKER_00If there's plenty on the shelf, pick through because me and RGT have talked about this. For some reason, this game gets hit with serious sun fade, so pick the one with the most vibrant cover you can find because although it does look a bit faded when you get a good one. Yeah, when you put them side by side on the shelf, you'll kick yourself if you pick that wrong one. You will, and they're and for what, two quid?
SPEAKER_01For two quid, they're always in CX as well. And you I always see when I'm in Hawk.
SPEAKER_00Hawk the right manual, hawk a good looking manual.
SPEAKER_01And you think for two pounds, what a great game. For two pounds. I mean price of a Greg Sausage roller, you know. Well it is, it's crazy. It's mad, it's mad, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00It's worth way more to in and like I said, I know the community's been stripped out of the back of it, but for a one player, two player co-op from play little game, I mean, what more can you need?
SPEAKER_01Um my first but also first PS3 game, but fifth game was infamous. What do you reckon that's gone for now, George?
SPEAKER_00I don't know, that's a fiver, is it?
SPEAKER_01It's for really good copy's looking about eight to ten pounds now for for infamous. There's creeping, and I think the second one might even be a little bit more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Again, I think these these ones that are locked on systems are are creeping a bit now because there's no other way to play them, you know, and and they're some of the best on the system. So yeah, so even though it's still a cheap game, if you pick this up for just over a fiver, I think you've done brilliant for this game. So yeah, that's infamous. Um your final game, George, was Final Fantasy 13. What do you think that is worth now?
SPEAKER_00Um the vanilla version. I can't see on PS3 being much more than like maximum 15 quid.
SPEAKER_01Um you can pick this up three to five quid if you final fantasy. Wow! Fuller vanilla version, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Mate, I don't know what the return on price is of that, but there's like 60 hours of enjoyment in there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, you could probably pick a minter up for £3.50 from CX.
SPEAKER_00Shoot me down.
SPEAKER_01Xbox 360, it's like £2.50.
SPEAKER_00What about the limited collectors edition?
SPEAKER_01Um, you're looking £25 to £30, depending on condition for that.
SPEAKER_00Hey, I tell you what, there's absolutely that's a great collection for that. There's absolute if you get this game for three quid and you like enjoy it as much as I did, you're gonna immediately on Xbox or on PlayStation gonna want to get this limited collector's edition. It's beautiful, it's got a little art book in it, it looks so nice. And the Final Fantasy like splash behind the logo, that picture that they do for each Final Fantasy game. This is one of the nicest pieces. You have to have this, and for the price you just said, I bet the thing is like you can get nearly mint-looking brand new ones on there for that money.
SPEAKER_01And I think just remember as well, this is a massive JRPG, beautifully done, one of the best on the system, looks fantastic. By all by all means, you're not buying an old game, you're playing an HD game that plays really well. Yeah, you could you could own the vanilla copy, and if you really love it, you could buy the collector's edition copy for still half the price of a modern game. You're getting all the benefits of a modern game out of that. I think it's absolute steal. Looks lovely, the collector's edition on your shelf. That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_00That's get on that, guys. Get on that.
SPEAKER_01My final game is the saboteur on the PlayStation 3.
SPEAKER_00This is interesting. I I mean I've my eyes gone out as I've gone through the game, so I'm just gonna chuck a wild 15 at this and hope for the best.
SPEAKER_01Bang on the money, 15.
SPEAKER_00Thank God.
SPEAKER_01Um, this was this was a two to three pound game for the longest time.
SPEAKER_00But again, you charity shop again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh again, as time's gone on and these generational games that have just stayed back there and we've gone away from them, they're starting to creep. You can get it on if you've got a 360 and you're listening to this, you can pick it up for a tenner on a 360. That's that's slightly bit cheaper. But PS3 is 15 pounds if you want a copy of the saboteur.
SPEAKER_00I think it sold really well on Xbox at the time because it was just at the peak of its kind of attractiveness as a brand. That console was like riding real high.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Bang on. Um, but definitely worth it. Uh, again, it's it's an older game, and some of the it is a little bit woody with the controls, but once you get used to it, it's just for the premise of the game and and the setting of scene, definitely give
Housekeeping And Where To Find Us
SPEAKER_01it a go. Um, but I hope you like that. That was um that was sort of that was a lot our reaction a bit to the the the upcoming digital news that's coming out, and we just thought, well, hold on here at Flashback. We looked we like talking about physical stuff here, you know. Let's do a little PlayStation one. This is uh part one. We'll do a part two. Should we do part two next week, George? Or should we do part two next week? Can we should we?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, if you want. Well, what they want.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, let us know. Let us know if you listen on YouTube, subscribe, comment down below, give us a like, um, let us know what you think. Let us know, let us know what you think about our game choosers. Um, and if you've got any suggestions as well from that era. Um, and this just leads us on to our housekeeping perfectly because I've got a piece of housekeeping.
SPEAKER_00Away you go. Absolutely fantastic solo. I listened. I want a badge that says I listen to RGT solos.
SPEAKER_01I'll only need to print one.
SPEAKER_00RGT solos solo. That's what I want.
SPEAKER_01Oh bless you. I thought I'd struggled with that, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_00Well, I'll only carry on if you bring out the badges. I loved it. Yeah, I thought it was great. Oh, brilliant. Oh, thank you very much. One wonders what the hell I'm doing here.
SPEAKER_01Oh no, we need you here. Don't you dare do that.
SPEAKER_00Do not, mate. Don't blow smoke up my ass. It's not needed and it's not a big thing.
SPEAKER_01You're the oracle that we need. You're the oracle. I doubt that very much. You are. But also, obviously, if you uh listen to this and you think, oh, I won't mind listening to more stuff that these guys do, jump over to the UCP. We have a few more presenters on there as well. That's our weekly, more modern um gaming uh podcast, which goes out every Sunday and has gone out every Sunday for eight or nine years now. Well over 300 episodes there. Jump on there, have a listen, give us a follow, give us a like. Same again. You can watch the video of that on YouTube. So jump over there and you can see our ugly mushes and give us a comment and a sub. Um next up our website UnafficialController Podcast.com. We have recently added reviews on there. So check them out. There's a couple on there at the moment. I'm writing mine at the moment. Um Munkri is writing one as well, so we will start filling the um pages.
SPEAKER_00I'm out of it for a little while and everyone gets delusions of grandeur. What's going on here? You're Jedi's now, are you?
SPEAKER_01No, just doing a review page. Don't don't blow it up to be more than what it is.
SPEAKER_00I imagine you're s like laid out on the grass writing this with an ink quilt. I'm still waiting for the badge.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, oh yeah, you you'll be waiting a while for the badge. But yes, check out the website. Um Captain's done a fantastic job on that, and it just keeps getting growing and getting bigger. Um I noticed though our hits on the website are going down, so please go and check it out if you are listening. UnofficialController Podcast.com. Even if you just type in Unofficial Controller Podcast, it will come up as one of the very early uh links to go.
SPEAKER_00We need to learn from our forebears mistakes. We need to make it a place to go. We need to come up with a month and then we go all in on it and everyone's there.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Yes, yes, definitely.
SPEAKER_00I'll leave that where you come up with something good.
SPEAKER_01I knew you would. Um yeah, so definitely definitely check the website out. There is a mobile, you know, if you're on mobile, there is a mobile version of it on there as well, as well as the desktop version. Um but we're very proud, very proud of Captain for all what he's done. That looks very, very good. Email if you want to contact the show anyway, you can. Um questions at unofficial controller at podcast.com. Um give us about flashbacks, but flashback is a title. Uh it could be anything from wow, we really like your show to oof, you miss these games out, or what you know, give us a suggestion for a show going forward. Whatever you'd like to use it for.
SPEAKER_00Um is George AI.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Um no one ever knows, do they?
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01No one ever knows. Um also we have a fantastic Discord channel. Um, jump on there. We've recently just had the guys from uh Two and a Half Gamers UK jump on and join us on there. So if you like their stuff. That was great. They're our last show where we're talking all things digital and the digital future of you know GTA 6 and Sony and PS6 and all that good stuff.
SPEAKER_00And they're younger than us, so you know, they brought a fresh take on it and not necessarily what you think.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Yes, uh great guys, great YouTube channel. Check them out um as well. Give them a sub and a like and see their vlogs and gaming collection history and where they're going with their bits and pieces. Very interesting. But yes, check out the Discord, plenty of things going on there from uh challenge accepted to monthly playthroughs and bits and pieces. Um very good, very good game and little home there, little hub. Um check us out on TikTok. The videos go out there quite regular. Check us out on Instagram if you want to join the Discord. Check out the Instagram for the links to the Discord channel, or check me out at RetroGamerThomas, there is links on there as well. Um yes, we're also on X also. Um so yeah, I think we've covered all the bases. I think George. I believe we've got everything.
SPEAKER_00I just need my I listen to RGT solos. Solo? Uh yeah, I'm happy with that. Um but no mate, a great episode. Hopefully everyone found it enjoyable. Hopefully everyone's been inspired to go maybe pick a system or maybe get go in the loft and drag that system out from mum'sy and dadsy's loft that they said they'd collect a couple of years ago, set it up on the telly, start picking up some games that they kind of aspired to own or did own, rebuild that collection, get that little physical library going of the games that matter to them. And hopefully today we've enlightened you to how uh expensive or affordable that could be. But um you know, don't let that put you off, shop around, but the thrill of the hunt is what it's all about. Um but thank you for listening, you beautiful, beautiful, sexy human beings.
SPEAKER_01Brilliant. Yes, thanks for that, George. Great picks as always. Um we had some great games here. Just remember, guys, the future doesn't have to be digital, it can be physical. You can have hours and hours of fun gaming, it doesn't necessarily have to be on the latest hardware. There's plenty of stuff out there, and hence why we do a show called Flashback, because there's so much good stuff out there. Well, I hope you like the show. Let us know what you think. Give us plenty of comments. Tell us games that you pick from PS1, PS2, Pierce 3. Plenty of comments on the YouTube, come and join us on Discord. You can even on your podcast provider contact us with a little bit on there. So chuck some on there, we'll have a read, we'll have a readout. Um but yeah, brilliant. New premise. Going forward, we'll cover other systems as well as we go along. But yeah, really enjoyed that. Thank you, George. Um I will see you next week, young man.
SPEAKER_00New catchphrase. Let's get physical.
SPEAKER_01Ooh.
SPEAKER_00So I need a t-shirt as well.
SPEAKER_01Ugh, it's gonna be an expensive week. So uh yeah, thanks, George. Um, like I say, I'll see you next week. And listeners, thank you again for downloading, listening, commenting, and supporting the show. Um, and I'll see you all next week.
SPEAKER_00Take care, everyone, thank you.
SPEAKER_01And remember, flashback, the games you loved, the stories you forgot.