Summary
- PS1 games had visually stunning locations that still hold up today due to limitations pushing developers.
- The original PlayStation showcased cities like Midgar and Raccoon City with beautiful and immersive designs.
- Esthar in Final Fantasy 8 stands out as the most futuristic and grandest city in the entire series on the PlayStation.
When the younger generations think about the original PlayStation — a console that may have come out years before they were born — it's natural for them to picture incredibly old graphics immediately. They would, however, be wrong. Though the PS1 naturally had processing limitations unimaginable by today's standards, the same limitations forced developers to push their artistry to their limits to come up with the best-looking imagery that they could. The results were some of the best-looking locations in video game history, which still hold up to this day.
The Final Fantasy series does have more technologically advanced-looking graphics nowadays, but do they touch the souls of new gamers the same way looking at Midgar touched the people venturing into the world of Final Fantasy 7? It's possible, but unlikely. Let's look at the absolute best-looking locations in the history of the original PlayStation.
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7 Midgar (Final Fantasy 7)
The First In A Long Line Of Beautiful Fantasies
Final Fantasy 7
- Released
- January 31, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- RPG
While it's true that the Final Fantasy series has undergone a huge graphical leap, both in terms of 3D and pre-rendered backgrounds, Final Fantasy 7 looked astounding when it came out. Despite it likely not looking amazing to newcomers, anyone born in the late '80s or early '90s can attest to how spectacular it was to see Final Fantasy abandoning its more traditional medieval-like setting and going full-on steampunk — without it looking completely out of place.
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Midgar is a triumph for showing both incredibly dystopian areas made beautiful by neon lights created by generators sucking the life out of the planet. Yet, it also has tiny cozy corners geared towards regular citizens in the most unlikely of areas. This city was where the PS1 really started to shine.
6 Raccoon City (Resident Evil 2 & 3)
Surprisingly Pleasing
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 21, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The original Resident Evil changed the way gamers played horror, but it didn't exactly change how they looked at horror. While the Spencer mansion from the original game looked decent, it was never spectacular. Resident Evil 2 and 3, however, looked sublime — though it may be hard to notice at moments because of all the zombies trying to eat the players' faces.
Though Raccoon City's police station is the most talked-about part of the game, the entirety of the city looks beautiful, courtesy of the beautifully drawn and rendered environments that permeate the entire game. If players check this one out and happen to love it, they should also check out the Resident Evil 1 remake, as that one finally does the Spencer Mansion justice.
5 Alexandria (Final Fantasy 9)
Peak Pre-Rendered Res
Final Fantasy 9
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 81%
- Released
- July 7, 2000
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Alexandria, the city where Final Fantasy 9 starts, starkly contrasts Midgar from FF7. Instead of a place that's beautiful because its true darkness lies underneath, Alexandria is the comfiest, nicest-looking classic medieval-inspired Final Fantasy town that players can get. It's the perfect place to start the story, as it perfectly sets up the cozy vibes players should expect from this game.
Anyone who likes the looks of the original Alexandria and would want to see it in HD is in luck. This is the only game out of the PS1 trilogy that got a remaster that truly captured the beauty of the game's pre-rendered beauty in true HD.
4 The Abyss (Soul Reaver)
Harrowingly Beautiful
Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver
- Released
- August 16, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Crystal Dynamics
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Platformer, Fighting, Puzzle, Adventure
Right at the start of the game, the Abyss in Soul Reaver is the stage for one of the most cruel and brutal acts ever seen in a game. It's a true testament to its beauty that even that, somehow, doesn't make it any less pleasing to the eye. Whether it's in the game's original cutscene or when the players revisit it a little bit later, the Abyss is not only a scarily beautiful place to look at, but also a true testament to the power of the original PlayStation when used right. Anyone who wants to feel the still-existing magic of the Abyss can now revisit it in true HD glory in the beautiful Soul Reaver 1 & 2 remasters.
3 Lea Monde (Vagrant Story)
SquareSoft's Beautiful Twist
Vagrant Story
- Released
- May 15, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Animated Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
After the all-around dazzling Final Fantasy 8, players expected SquareSoft to simply never stop putting out better and better pre-rendered backgrounds. With Vagrant Story, the company decided that they didn't need to rely on pre-rendered backgrounds to make amazing visuals, so they decided to go the full-on 3D route. The result isn't any less impressive than any of its outings with pre-rendered backgrounds, and now players even have the chance to control the camera to better appreciate the vistas. Sadly, Vagrant Story went on to sell way less than it deserved to, but this hidden gem deserves a look.
2 Lara's Home (Tomb Raider Trilogy)
Simple And Gorgeous
Tomb Raider
- Released
- November 14, 1996
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Animated Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
Tutorials and tutorial areas tend to be rather bland. It's strange, because the good people at Core cracked the code way back in '96, when they decided to make the tutorial area for the original Tomb Raider, Lara's own incredibly huge English manor. On top of making sense thematically and giving non-written insight into the character. This person believes having a fully-equipped gym at home is more important than displaying the riches expected of British quasi-royalty, yet still has a great eye for beauty.
Lara's Croft Manor looks beautiful in the first game, but only gets better as the series progresses. It's a real bummer that so many games in the series forego featuring their version of such a historically beautiful place.
1 Esthar (Final Fantasy 8)
The Future Was 1999
Final Fantasy 8
- Released
- February 11, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
If one is to pick the most impressive location in PlayStation history, perhaps it's wisest to go with the city that inspired the developers of the series' best-looking games to create a thought balloon saying "What an incredible city." Esthar is the largest and most futuristic city in Final Fantasy 8, and also the grandest city in the entire series.
Though the games in the Final Fantasy series would go even wilder on the graphical side of things, no game on the PS2 dared to create a city to rival the scope and beauty of Esthar. Though Final Fantasy 9's cities feature somewhat higher resolution than Esthar, this one is still the one to beat due to its inspired architecture.
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