As much as I am loathe to admit it, it has to be Final Fantasy VII.

Not only did it direct the progression of the RPG genre, but it directed video games as a whole. Its story and environment really pushed the gaming industry into a new direction of pressing the envelope when it came to development.

You know, as much as I'd like to agree with FFVII, I would argue that when the playstation first came out the idea that arcade games graphics were so superiour to that of consoles that you could never have the same experience at home was completely blown out of the water. I remember RENTING a playstation far before my family could afford to buy one for Christmas for the sole purpose of playing Tekken 2 with my friends.

I loved that game (tekken 2) so much that I used to take all my money to the arcade/pizza place every couple of weeks and play it until all my money was gone. I even got alot of the endings I played it so much. So, when I finally got my PSX and was able to play these games that looked so amazing to my younger eyes (Ridge Racer, Soul Edge, Tekken, Time Crisis, etc.) (lol, all namco there) it was, for me, the difinitive feeling of THE FUTURE IS HERE, IN MY LIVING ROOM!

of course, looking back now it's not so impressive.... but at the time it was a system seller for me and it was something I'll probably never forget.

I hate saying this, too, but I'm also going to have to go with Final Fantasy VII. That's my first reaction.  It's not my favorite in the series, and I've found myself liking it less as time has gone on, but I can't deny the impact its had on the industry and fans alike. I'm guessing most people will probably either mention FF7 or agree with the idea, but there you go, that's probably proof right there.

I'd also suggest Symphony of the Night was an important one. Although Castlevania was already popular, well, thanks to the horrors of the N64 games, fans were starving. SotN breathed new life into the series, and with the 'Metroidvania' format, set the new standard for future games in the series, until Lords of Shadow. SotN also helped show that in the 'Age of 3D', well, 3D is still a choice, and games don't have to be in 3D to be or relevant in that age; 2D can still be excellent.

I also agree that Tekken is also important from the PS, but as for which specific game...I'm not sure.

And let's not forget the importance of Resident Evil, despite what some may think of this series anymore either. Though the original game has horrible, horrible voice-acting, it did help catapult the idea of survivor-horror.

Metal Gear Solid likewise helped re-launch the idea of stealth-action, and well, it just created a sensation among gamers for a number of reasons. I think many in the industry were inspired by MGS in various ways, and not always overt. It was the mixture of story presentation and gameplay, as well as atmosphere.

As for which one of these is 'most important'.....I find that difficult to determine, even as an opinion. I still, unfortunately lean more towards FF7 though, taking into account how it effected the industry, and fans....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_PlayStation_games

By September of 1998, we had Resident Evil 1 and 2, Tomb Raider 1 and two, and many other games.

But they weren't really anything new; just three dimensional versions of platforming shooters, with adventure elements. Kill everything in this room, move to the next. Repeat. Collect items. Repeat.

So technically Tenchu in August started a new trend, but one month later, Metal Gear Solid really changed everything. We finally had a truly 3-D environment, because we had choices as to how to proceed.

You didn't have to kill everything. Sometimes, that was the smarter choice. It wasn't just running away from strong enemies, it was tactical. They tried that with the original Metal Gear games, but it never caught on, because those games were really hard, and there were just too many shooters to notice. After MGS, many clones were spawned.

Also, one of the first games to incorporate first person aiming in a third person action game, which lasted a long time, until the developers just decided it was easier to stick to first person.

Still, this remains a common enough genre. The new Deus Ex game and all the games like Hitman, and Splinter Cell, and Syphon Filter go back to MGS. Before that, it was either just third person, or just first person, and linear.

Like most people, the first thing that came to my mind was Final Fantasy VII, but then i thought about it a while. Final Fantasy was already a pretty well established series, and although FFVII lauched it and the entire RPG genre into the mainstream, look at the genre and the franchise now. Back when FFVII came out, you could talk to pretty much any gamer about it, but after that, when FFVIII came out, no one cared anymore, that was it.

Games I would like to mention are Suikoden 2, Symphony of the Night, and Metal Gear Solid

I'm definitely in a minority, seeing as Suikoden 2 probably wasn't played by that many people, but for me it completely changed what I expected out of a story in a video game, be it RPG, Action, what have you. It was the first time I had ever seen such a well crafted story in video gaming, and it shaped for me what I expected from games after that.

Symphony of the Night, on the other hand, showed that just because the systems were going up in power, new 3d worlds and "amazing PS1 graphics" weren't needed to make an enjoyable game. Plus, I feel like it really innovated the action/adventure genre.

Now, Metal Gear Solid, like Suikoden 2, it shaped what I expected out of a story, but it also shaped how it should be presented. It was like you were actually there, like you were living the experience.

Final Fantasy VII definitely deserves being mentioned, it was my first contact with JRPG, and made a huge leap in terms of presentation to previously released RPGs, I would even say games in general. That game alone was a reason to get a PSX for a lot of people I knew back then.

I'd like to say that Silent Hill was an experience, that I never before had seen in any game. Sure, graphics were not too great, even when it was released, but it created such a deep and tense atmosphere, that made it impossible for me to play it longer than half an hour. Residen Evil scared you here and then, while Silent Hill created a mood of fear that made you constantly feel uneasy. Now many will say that Silent Hill 2 was the better game, and I certainly agree with that, but SH 1 still is the first in the series, that introduced a survival horror game that really deserves the name. I give Konami a lot of credit for not copying Resident Evil (simply because it was so succesful and people would have probably bought anything tagged survival horror back then) and creating something new and unique. Though I remember many people didn't like Silent Hill at that time, because it was less action oriented than Resident Evil and the controls were a bit clumsy (well, you weren't playing a full trained soldier but a father who is looking for his lost daughter, with no combat experience at all). They also expected it to be a RE clone, and luckily Silent Hill is far away from that. Just too bad that it's not featured in the Silent Hill HD Collection (really doesn't deserve the name collection, because part 1 and 4 are missing).

Fun weekly wringer!

As for the question, FFVII is the obvious choice, and Metal Gear Solid is a distant (but comfortably in) 2nd place. But since FFVII is well covered already and Metal Gear Solid is also mentioned, ill go a different route with Gran Turismo.

Gameplay:

Gran Turismo is one of the few games that I feel caters equally to both casual gamers and hardcore gamers. Yes, there is a massive debate on "whats a casual gamer", and "are they ruining/helping gaming", etc. With that said, Gran Turismo had the appeal of casual gamers as you can pick it up, select a car, and enjoy a solid racing game. However hardcore gamers (which i easily fell into this category in the late 90s), could try to get better cars, better licenses, and tons of other unlockables. It helped create a realistic street and circuit racing environment, while allowing casual gamers to just have races with friends or against a computer.

Graphics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-uGJJiz-Ok

Gran Turismo, to this day, is graphically appealing. Ya its obviously not high definition, or even to the standards of last gen, but the PS1/N64 era is known for some blocky graphics that didnt age particularly well. Hell, id argue that the SNES/Genesis era aged better graphically as a whole. Gran Turismo is a massive exception to this though. The only thing that might cause modern day graphics obsessors to dislike this game is the audiences in the stands on various courses, as they are kind of blocky.

Music/Sound:

I won't say Gran Turismo paved (get it!?!) the way for using pop/rock/rap songs in video game soundtracks (that probably belongs to the madden franchise honestly), but Gran Turismo definitely helped speed up the process. This is an obvious double edged sword, as you could argue that we've gotten less gaming songs in the recent eras due to implementing top 40 hits into games, but id argue that even today we have a good mix of original songs/music in gaming, and implementing hits from rock bands and rap artists. Like i said earlier, gran turismo wasn't the biggest pioneer in doing this, but it was one of the earlier ones to do so.

As for my final selling point, I'll say this. What the highest selling PS1 game of all time with close to 11 million copies sold? You guessed it. Gran Turismo.

Why must we talk about Final Fantasy VII?

Anyhow the only reason to have the original PlayStation is for RPGs so it has to be mentioned.

^^^ this

I would have to say Metal Gear Solid. No matter how big FF7 is now, I just know that, even as anrpg player, Metal Gear Solid is what made me replace my 64 with a PS as my actual home console

Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think I'm really qualified to answer this question. I did own a PSone, yes, and it was my first system, but therein lies the rub: I had barely started grade school at the time. Heck, the first game I played for my brand new game system was Pooh's Party Game (wow...that's sad). All the same, the point is that as a brand new, very young gamer, living in a foreign country at the time might I add, I didn't have access to or knowledge of a lot of games. Because pirating games wasn't as cracked down on there as it is here in America, those was essentially the only games I got at the time, if only because they were cheap. When going down to the mall with the family, pop in a "legitimate" video game store, and buy 5 random games that sounded interesting for $3. Of course, most of these games were licensed games because...I was a little kid, and anything with a franchise I kinda liked was golden.

Well, this has gotten way off topic and turned into my video game life-story, sorry about that. Back to the topic: most important game on the PSX. I'll go ahead and give you two answers because of what video games were to me back then as opposed to now, my first answer being what game I thought was very influential to video games as a whole, and my second being the most influential to me.

My first answer is Final Fantasy VII, for the perhaps obvious reasons of it helping to lock in RPGs as a solid genre here in America...to my knowledge. Admitedly, and shamefully, I've never played any games in the Final Fantasy franchise, so this is mostly going on what I've heard, which is partially why I'm giving two answers. Other good games like Metal Gear Solid (which I haven't played either...for shame sonofwiseii, for shame) are other examples of being very influential, but I still think FFVII's contribution to gaming, at least for what it did in America puts it at the top of this list.

My second answer is...102 Dalmatians. Yes, I know, spare the jokes, and keep in mind I was practically six at the time. Why did I choose this game? Well, it was influential to me because it was the first game with an actual story that I actually completed. Is it a good game? Eh, I'd say if I take off the rose-colored glasses, probably not. But is it important to me? The answer to that is very yes. Well, now that I've embarrassed myself here, I'll stop talking and get back to Minecraft.

P.S., because you had a little trouble last time, here's the basic pronunciation of my name: (son-of-wise-ee). I think I need an actual name before "son," because as it is it's more of a title, but whatever.

That's quite a question!  I could dig out my PSX games and make a strong case for each of them being the most inmportant.  There were so many fantastic games, and you can still see the influence in many games today that have ties back to the PSX era.  Wow.....not sure how to answer this one.

For me, the PSX was what introduced me to the concept of the RPG.  I never really played many of them before, but the overwhelming number of great RPGs on the platform (many of which are still great to play today) are what really shaped my personal taste in video games.  Of my top 10 PSX games, 7 or 8 of them would be RPGs.  If I had to pick the most important genre of the PSX, that would be it.  FFVII is the one that gets the most recognition, for good reason, but there were many others that I think were just as well constructed (Legend of Dragoon being a personal fav, but I also spent many an hour on Chrono Cross).

That being said, I think Metal Gear Solid is a good obvious choice for most important game.  For the time, I had never really seen a game like it.  It was cinematic; every line of dialog was voiced over.  (Something that blew my mind many years ago.  Yes other games did it, but I say MGS was the first to do it well.)  It told a story the way a movie tells a story, and you can see that influence in many games today.

In reality, I would say the PSX is one of the most important consoles made.  It's a clear bridge out of the 16 bit era and into what we would consider the modern age of gamming, starting with the PS2.  Yes that's by design, but I don't thnk you can really see that clearly with other consoles of the time.  While fundamentaly different than the PS3 and 360, when you take a hard look at the PSX, you can see it's design influence on todays consoles.

I'm going to have to keep up with the consensus and say that the most important games were

1)Final Fantasy VII for basically popularizing the JRPG with mainstream audiences and being a successful transition from 2d Sprites to 3d for said RPGs (a transition that, when poorly implemented, ruined more than one franchise back in the day). 

2) Metal Gear Solid for being the quintessential 'stealth action' game for consoles, and for launching the biggest Playstation-specific game series.

3) Gran Turismo for basically setting the template for all racing games that went for a more real-world look than Mario Kart (not saying that as an insult to Mario Kart).

But this has been said already, so let me mention some that were important in their own way. Twisted Metal was probably the most successful melding of racing and shooting, and the black humor and dark endings were quite novel at the time. Final Fantasy VIII was the first occurance of many of the elements that went on to ruin Final Fantasy for me (linear, yet pointless and meandering plot, unrelatable characters, overreliance on cutscenes, character designs that just didn't make sense), so I suppose being the point where it all went wrong is 'important' in a way.

This may be a bit off-topic, but during the PS1 era I really appreciated re-releases of classic Squaresoft games like Chrono Trigger and finally getting ports of unreleased (in the U.S.) Final Fantasy games like FF V. There was a time when it was downright impossible to get the old SNES cartridges. While not technically games of the playstation era, it did a lot to lure me away from Nintendo and probably helped fuel the desire for backwards compatibility and the ability to conveniently play games from previous eras.

I also spent many an hour on Chrono Cross

Thank goodness I'm no longer the only one who feels that way.

I remember getting tomb raider III for PC, I was originally a PC gamer, and still mostly am, and playing the hell out of the FFVII demo, I probably played it 20 or 30 times. The graphics were so awesome then in fourth grade I had a friend who invited me over to his house to play FFVII. That game really changed everything. I played Chrono trigger far more than FFVII but the graphics and character design in FFVII were amazing. While it blew me away at the time I don't know how much I would say it really changed gaming, it molded gaming, but Chrono Cross and Legend of Dragoon did more to evolve the genre, although their inovations were mostly brushed over. But I digress, I think the most influencial game for PS one was tony hawk pro skater. In the 90's skating was big, and the Tony Hawk games served as the foundation for xtreme (complete with 90's spelling) sports games, skate boarding games prior to it were lame, and it really built an empire, blending real tricks with the world of video gaming. The open environments, and the roster of real skaters made this game classic. It made a couple of bad games come out of the woodwork, Surfing games, BMX games, and the like. But without Tony Hawk, we wouldn't have SSX, or Skate. While I am not a huge fan of the game, its influence is undeniable.

My personal favorite is probably FFIX or Chrono Cross I also played the hell out of Syphon Filter (What happened to this franchise) and Crash Bandicoot, there were other I picked up later and played a lot, but these were my childhood faves.

Ok the obvious answer that comes to mind is final fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid, but i want to try and look a little deeper than that. Really the biggest genre on the ps1 had to be the RPG with the final fantasies, grandia etc. I would argue that the earlier RPGs, Wild ARMS and Suikoden 1, were the most important games because they set the groundwork for how an RPG should be made on the ps1 in terms of intigrating new graphics and gameplay ideas. They showed how the transition from SNES to ps1 could be done now that the third dimention was involved, and the genre really took off from there. Of course i could be way off, but i wanted to offer a different perspective rather than the obvious.

P.S: In my opinion, chrono cross was an ok game, but not a worthy sequel to chrono trigger, but I can definantly see why others could love it but its just my opinion.

Ohh. this weeks wringer is a toughy.  I've had little experience with playstation.  I was always a Nintendo 64 kid and to this day the N64 stil has soem of the best games.  If we were talking about that system I could pull out several examples, Mario 64, Legend of Zelda, goldeneye, Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie  come to mind.  However, if we want to talk about playstation.  I really only have two examples I can use.  Spyro the Dragon and Crash bandicoot 3.  The main problem with this also comes from the fact that I never got very far in those games.  The friend I had who owned a Playstation didnt have a memory card and so we never got much further than the first world maybe.  But I have to say those were fun games none the less.  I'd say.  udging from my experience, and what others have said,  either of those two games would have to have paved the way fro 3D gaming on the PS1.  A lot of the things I have seen in these games I really like, but honestly, Banjo Tooie did better.  Though They did have Voice acting (or at least Crash did....I think). 

I know a lot of people would say Final Fantasy 7 revolutionised the JRPG but to be honest, I really dont see why or how.  I mean yeah, Aerith dying might have been a big deal, but, from what I understand thats shared by only about half the fans as a pivital moment. 

then again, Im not a big fan of FF7 on the sole Reason one of my friends would not stop talking about it for years.  It was either that for Crono Trigger which Im surprised wasn't ruined for me (though, I actualyl managed to play it and appreciate it before she drove it into the ground for me).  Now I jsut feel if I were to play FF7 it would all just be ruined for me because it A) couldnt possibly live to the impossible hype my friedn gave it, and B) I would grow tired of level grinding (Wich is why I havent finished an RPG in years that wasnt Earthbounf or one to the Mario RPG's.). 

(EDIT: It should also be noted that Final Fantasy VII was also partially responsible for the downfall of Final Fantasy, so that should also make it important.)

Im stuck between MGS and FFVII:

Besides what everybody else already said about it, Metal Gear Solid was the first to bank on games being used in a cinematic way.  Yes, there were cutscenes before this game, but this game used them to the greatest effect thus far.  It showed us a future where video games could have budgets rivaling hollywood blockbusters, voice-acting preformences that would be memerable for being good, and developers could tell stories deeper and more emotional than any game maker ever thought possible.  Of coure, JRPGs had been telling stories like that for years, but the general gaming public in the west was just starting to appreciate that genre when MSG hit stores.  Which brings me to my next game.

Besides making an entire genre relevant to a large part of a continent, Final Fantasy VII was kind of responsible for the convergence of anime and gaming culture.  In bringing together those two geek subcultures, it help open Japanese gaming for a new niche fanbase, while making Japanese gaming more niche (after this game, it feels like all JRPG became about spikey-haired emo kids channelling their angst through big-ass swords and overly complicated outfits).  Take that as a negitive or possitive, its still an important part of the gaming industry.

How would grinding stop you from playing FF7 Dragono.

The only times Ive had to grind in that game was for 100% completion.

Also, Symphony of the Night is kind of important, mainly because it was the first game to use outdated graphics to do a retro-ish game with inovative gameplay.  I would be rash enough to say it is the precursor to the idea of many games today, especially downloadable titles on Xbox Live Arcade and Wii Ware.  Similar to how Metal Gear Solid can be considered the precursor to games like Uncharted.

Dragon01130-- Well, one of the best ways I could explain Final Fantasy VII is that it brought even greater attention to RPGs, and made them a bit less of a niche in gaming. It started to become 'cool' to play RPGs. Obviously, there were other popular RPGs before, but again, FF7 brought a greater focus on the genre, and how, in the PS age, they could be done. Everyone was blown away by the FMV scenes, and FF7 helped demonstrate how to blend different ways of story presentation in a game.

The game itself had a huge impact on the industry; everyone wanted to make their own game like it, in a manner of speaking. RPGs seemed to almost explode after FF7 was released, but again, it also presented a lot of new ways of presentation that had perhaps not been considered as much before; and it helped show what the power of the PS could really be, and what that could mean for games.

And of course, the game had a huge impact on fans, as well. That in itself has given the game a very significant place in game history.  Indeed, people even today still obsess over it, and honestly, that's a main reason why I feel differently about it now; fans ruined it for me, I'm sorry to say....Although I feel differently about the game for other reasons, too. I don't know, as I got older, the magic just wore off, if you will. This is not so in a lot of pther people though, and it's probably the most popular entry in the series. So, despite what I feel about the game, I don't deny its place in history.

I love a majority of the Final Fantasy series. FF VII is a great game. I love 8 and 9, as well, and love Chrono Cross because I played it before Trigger, so there was no let down until after I had seen enough to know what a good job they did on both games, in their own way.

And yes FF VII was hugely influential, but it strikes me as more of a right place, right time thing.

Because what makes it so special? I mean, it didn't really do anything the series wasn't already doing. Story line, battle systems, music, characters, advancing systems, it was pretty faithfully building on the first three (or six) games. There isn't enough new stuff in there from the previous ones to really hold up the claim that it changed the way RPGs were done.

It just seems to have gotten everyones' attention. Rightfully so; it was a great game, but not because it was something we hadn't seen before.

I'll agree it's a massively important game, but it didn't change the way games were played. Just the way games were made.

There's the view from the cheap seats.

Another thing, Spyro the Dragon, mentioned by dragono1138, wasn't really anything new, either, but it was the first game that made me realize consoles were getting powerful. I've always loved space and flight simulators, and spent countless hours on my home computer playing Wing Commander and the various X-Wing games.

But for consoles, the best they had to offer was Star Fox, or the early Air/Ace Combat games.
I remember playing Spyro for the first time, swooping and soaring, and knew right then that there was power in these consoles. That one day they would even rival computers.

I was kinda dumb back then, but I remember that game having a profound impact on the concept of the console based game for me.

First of all, I am going to be considering games based on influence and longevity.  I must say that the most important game from the era of the PSX is LoZ: Ocarina of Time.  I know it isn't a PSX game, but it was so influential.  What 3d adenture game can't be likened to OoT?

That being said, Metal Gear Solid has had an incredible influence on games even up till now.  It was a new play mechanic for 3d and it endures today.  I am torn though, because Gran Turismo defined the racing game.  Mario Kart was great (and i liked it alot more) but how many games look like GT?  Games are still being make today that look and play like MGS and GT.

Why not FF7?  First of all, for all of you who think FF7 made RPGs mainstream and whatnot; no, it didn't.  RPGs were already a very well established genre and I would argue that Fallout did more for the RPG genre then FF7. (Released in the same year BTW)  RPGs today don't look or play like FF7.  World of Warcraft may be to blame for some of that, but where is the latest installment of Final Fantasy?  Oh, yea... on PC, as an MMO.  

In conclusion; RPGs would have happened with or without FF7.  Racing games would have happened without GT, also.  But would the stealth combat FPS be the same without Solid Snake?  Would first-person shooters, as a whole, be the same without MGS?  Hell, the aiming mechanic in modern CoD games can be traced back to MGS2.  And how many games for PSX had expansions (Integral's VR missions) or were completely remade? (Twin Snakes for Gamecube)

Yup, my vote is for Metal Gear Solid.

I would have to say Tomb Raider.  While it wasn't a Playstation exclusive, it became synonymous with the Playstation.  It showed off (or maybe hinted at) what you could really do in terms of 3D platforming, exploration and puzzle-solving.  This was 3D platforming done right.  It had terrific music, stunning visuals and didn't alienate girl gamers by having a strong female lead character.  This was before she became a glorified Double D sex symbol in the sequels.  This game had so much buzz about it, people bought a Playstation just to see what it was all about.  If you wanted to get very far in the game you HAD to buy a memory card.  No password option for this game.  I remember when I bought my first memory card it was for this game.  By the way, my first PSX game was Descent. It didn't need a memory card.

To this day, I still have never played FF VII.  I do like RPGs and I am interested though.   Oh yeah, Happy Belated Birthday Mr. K!

The one thing you're forgetting about FF7 though, Varkrath, is the impact on fans. That's something that is never inevitable, and just happens, at the right place, and the right time, with the right game. FF7 did something to fans that most games really never do, but everyone probably hopes their games will do. That's what really helps the game to stand apart from other RPGs.

Would RPGs still have become what they are today without FF7? Perhaps. That depends on how you define terms. The fact is though, FF7 was there, and it made its mark. Like I said though, obviously there were popular RPGs already before FF7, but it was more of a niche thing in gaming. I suppose it still sort of is, with some exceptions, but FF7 brought even more focus on the genre, in a way that no other game before it did.

As far as RPGs 'not looking or playing like' FF7 today, well, of course not. Why would they necessarily? :P Well...I suppose obviously other FF games after FF7 sort of 'played like it'! This doesn't make FF7 any less relevant to gaming either today, or in the PS Era.

At least no one can say I'm biased; I'm defending a game that I don't largely favor here! -___-

First of all, for all of you who think FF7 made RPGs mainstream and whatnot; no, it didn't.  RPGs were already a very well established genre

Not outside of Japan, they weren't.

Sure, most of us knew and loved them long before FF7, but we were the ones ahead of the curve. The RPG was probably one of the least popular genre of games in the US as a whole prior to 1996.

Lichida: Metal Gear one and two on the NES?

Young-blood: I'm not going to lie, I honestly forgot all about the NES Metal Gear games. I do, however, think that this is a testament to more than just my faulty memory. Metal Gear Solid is the beginning of what I (and probably a lot of other gamers) really associate with the series, namely the third-person view and twisty plot. It also did a lot to popularise the 3d stealth game (Thief and Tenchu did it first, but MGS did a lot toward making it a commonly-known genre).

Similarly I did not list the Grand Theft Auto series, despite it first appearing on Playstation, because the third-person sandbox the series is so famous for didn't appear until the PS2 era.

The funny thing is, most people say "Metal Gear Solid," when the game's title is really Metal Gear: Solid. Which kind of got the Metal Gear series off track. Just like the second game in the series was called Metal Gear: Solid Snake. The sequel to Metal Gear: Solid should have been called Metal Gear: Sons of Liberty.