Back to the past

PS1 games come to modern consoles, but how's the emulation?

Thanks to PS Plus’ classic catalogue, PS5 and PS4 can now play home to generations of games stretching all the way back to PS1. If you’ve been keeping up with this RetroStation section, you’ll know this is very much within the PLAY wheelhouse. The idea of dipping into the past to catch up on missed classics, replay old favourites, or for a quick bit of local multiplayer is fantastic, as PlayStation has a unique legacy that makes it stand out as a gaming platform.

PS3 was the last home console to run PS1 games. This was achieved using emulation, just like it is on the new PS Plus. This time around, though, you can’t insert a disc – it’s digital only – but previous purchases of classics made through the likes of PS3, PSP, and PS Vita should work for any games that have been given the thumbs–up by Sony.

PS Plus’ new emulator for PS1 is quite different from the one used on PS3. There are some nice quality-of-life changes that have become standard for emulated rereleases these days, namely the option to create save states you can quickly load from in addition to your standard memory card saves, and the ability to rewind. The rewind here isn’t particularly precise, and has to be controlled from within a pause menu, but it can be a useful tool to get around having to replay sections of a game should you fall off a vertical platforming section or die to a particularly annoying boss.

GAMING HERTZ