Final Doom-PSX: Thoughts and Opinions

[PizzaGuy]

I've just finished Final Doom on the PSX for the first time and i gotta say what a wicked challenge it was. 

First of all I will say that I'm not the greatest Doom player in the world by a long shot what I consider challenging , lots of you will not.

 

I was surprised to find out shortly before starting this version that its actually split into three parts that include: Master Levels for Doom II ,TNT and Plutonia.

All of which are consolidated into 30 levels nearly half of which are from the Master Levels then there are good few from TNT and only SIX from Plutonia.

From what I gather from the PC version is that TNT and Plutonia are both 32 levels each which would give Final Doom its own flavour , so I find it a bit strange that this release seems to mostly ignore that concept. I wonder why they made this decision?

 

The game runs pretty well on the PSX , mostly. There is some terrible frame rate drops in wide open areas which slows everything down(not as bad as the Sega Saturn version of Doom mind) and can actually make it very hard on the eyes. I don't remember Doom on Playstation having this issue though it has been a very long time since i played that version so it may well have , I'm sure someone here will know. I enjoyed the level layouts , especially in the plutonia portion of the game which is no doubt the highlight here but unfortunately again, theres only six of them. I found the master levels and TNT to all seem to be of a very brown texture , I know that sounds odd but lots of these levels just seemed.....brown. The soundtrack was just awesome! Aubrey Hodges did a fine job here and I prefer these tracks over the original Doom and Doom II MIDI tracks.

 

I found this game HARD , sorry I just did. Controlling the movement with the D-pad and strafing with L1 and R1 may very well have added to this. One great feature though was that the game allowed you to completely Re-map all of the button controls. (Quite unusual I believe for a game that came out in '96) Which was a godsend as the default fire button was triangle I think which is really weird , so i did manage try and get it pretty close to Xbox controls but still without analogue stick support it was awkward. There is no memory card support just good old fashioned passwords which means no save spamming and if you die, its back to the password screen again. The standout level for me was one called 'Heck' , brilliantly implemented and evil map which I died on , lots.

 

Overall I did enjoy it though I think I might seek out the full Final Doom experience next time. Have you fine folks played this version? If so what did you think?

 

 

[gamul312]

I always liked this version of the game. At the time I think I got it in a bargain bin somewhere and hadn't really played regular PSX Doom (actually a launch title for the system and runs with less framerate problems due to less on screen - definitely get it though if you want more like Final Doom). The mood of the game, dark and grimy with the new lighting and sound, felt more in line with then-current Quake/NIN Id Software, in a vague sense, and I was definitely feeling that. But it did run a bit slow. I actually like the PSX controls a lot. Triangle to shoot, as I recall, works well, feels right. I liked it more that way than playing it with dual analog on Doom Classic Complete maybe, years later, with PS3... but that's good too. Just makes Doom too easy :) I like the enhanced speed of the PS1 ports, plus various tweaks it received, like shotguns shooting farther with less spread. I forget the list of changes that were on the plus side. There's some cons (big cons) like missing enemies, simplified levels, lower resolution graphics, etc. The lower resolution is more noticeable on a big modern LCD than ~20-inch 90s CRTs with analog connection that it would have been expected to be played on at the time (same with Jaguar Doom and the other ports). I really do like the gloomy feeling of the PS1 versions and wish they had been put up on PSN to download on OLED Vitas. Even on PSVR is might be a nice way to play now (I tried Duke Nukem that way, but it did give me motion sickness after a short while. Still cool though for its theater-like viewing experience). 

[PizzaGuy]

3 hours ago, gamul312 said:

I always liked this version of the game. At the time I think I got it in a bargain bin somewhere and hadn't really played regular PSX Doom (actually a launch title for the system and runs with less framerate problems due to less on screen - definitely get it though if you want more like Final Doom). The mood of the game, dark and grimy with the new lighting and sound, felt more in line with then-current Quake/NIN Id Software, in a vague sense, and I was definitely feeling that. But it did run a bit slow. I actually like the PSX controls a lot. Triangle to shoot, as I recall, works well, feels right. I liked it more that way than playing it with dual analog on Doom Classic Complete maybe, years later, with PS3... but that's good too. Just makes Doom too easy :) I like the enhanced speed of the PS1 ports, plus various tweaks it received, like shotguns shooting farther with less spread. I forget the list of changes that were on the plus side. There's some cons (big cons) like missing enemies, simplified levels, lower resolution graphics, etc. The lower resolution is more noticeable on a big modern LCD than ~20-inch 90s CRTs with analog connection that it would have been expected to be played on at the time (same with Jaguar Doom and the other ports). I really do like the gloomy feeling of the PS1 versions and wish they had been put up on PSN to download on OLED Vitas. Even on PSVR is might be a nice way to play now (I tried Duke Nukem that way, but it did give me motion sickness after a short while. Still cool though for its theater-like viewing experience). 

A bargain bin??? Ha! you'd be hard pushed to find it in something like that these days , I had to really hunt a decent copy down. I played the original Doom on PSX - which is actually where i got my start playing the series and like you said , I don't remember the slowdown as much on that game.

you mentioned playing it on a smaller screen which is something I had to do. I started playing it on my 42" LCD but the resolution coupled with the frame rate at times was too much and I had to switch to an old 19'' monitor , which helped.

 

I've heard that theres Doom classic complete on PS3 , does that include the full PC episodes of TNT and Plutonia? May have to look into getting that if it does.

[leodoom85]

First, I played Final Doom in a 6-1 bundled disk which had Duke Nukem Time to Kill, DN Total Meltdown, Tenka, Hexen and both Doom. 

Second, the amount of maps. Having 30 maps instead of 59 (Doom 1 and 2 combined) was a missed good opportunity for other players to discover more TNT and Plutonia levels because, honestly, it was butchered at the max. I'm totally ok at the Master Levels though and I like those levels much more than their TNT/Plutonia counterparts.

Third, the ML maps itself and, especially the music used. Ah the music......I absolutely love the music used in the Master Levels. I won't forget that. Best track in my opinion? The track used in Geryon (map07). Of course, the reused music for TNT and Plutonia levels fits the tone of those maps but the Master Levels are unique for that.

Fortunately, we have the PSX Doom TC + the Lost Levels at our disposal to play but, playing countless hours in the console with that game is an experience that you can't forget easily....

[riderr3]

Did you saw that second exit on Ballistyx? Back in the times I thought it was secret exit to level 31 and 32! But I was wrong.

 

14 hours ago, PizzaGuy said:

I've heard that theres Doom classic complete on PS3 , does that include the full PC episodes of TNT and Plutonia? May have to look into getting that if it does.

Yeah, this version is almost identical to PC Dooms (+splitscreen play). Even Master Levels with NRFTL addon included. And it's nothing related to those PS1 Doom with colored lightning and ambient soundtrack.

[PizzaGuy]

4 minutes ago, riderr3 said:

Did you saw that second exit on Ballistyx? Back in the times I thought it was secret exit to level 31 and 32! But I was wrong.

 

Yeah, this version is almost identical to PC Dooms (+splitscreen play). Even Master Levels with NRFTL addon included. And it's nothing related to those PS1 Doom with colored lightning and ambient soundtrack.

Ahhh thank you , that will be on my list for the future then.

As for the Ballistyx second exit , I don't recall seeing it but I'd bet you wasn't the only one who thought this. Even on the back of the case for the game it states TNT and Plutonia having 32 levels each which leads me to believe that it's probably just a copy and paste of the PC packaging.

[Labryx]

Overall I really liked this version, however, my biggest gripe with it is how overall short it is with the total amount of levels. The manual states that there is 30+ levels in it even though there's only 30 to be exact. I was able to complete the whole game in one setting compared to the original PSX Doom which took multiple. Moving on, I wouldn't have minded them to cut back on the master levels and just add more plutonia levels or even give the three campaigns 10 maps each to play from. Only six maps from Plutonia is very odd to me and I'm not the biggest fan of the Master Levels so I'm pretty bummed they make the majority of this package.

 

For the positives: Customizable controls is a godsend for a Playstation game like this. I usually set my controls as:

L1- Run

R1 - Fire

L2 - Cycle Weapons Left

R2 - Cycle Weapons Right

X - Use

Square- - Strafe Left

Circle - Strafe Right

Triangle - Hold Strafe (I don't think I ever used this button)

 

One of my favorite changes in this version is the new look for the Super Shotgun. I love its sleek new look compared to its old, janky sprite. I also remember reading how someone could sort of describe this version of Final Doom as a "Best of" from TNT and Plutonia and I agree. No crappy maps like Mount Pain or Anti-Christ to be found here. 

 

Also an interesting fun fact about this version is that Tom Mustaine's Inmost Dens homage map that was initially submitted to be apart of the Master Levels and was rejected was planned to appear in the PSX version. https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doom2_Map14_Homage

[leodoom85]

1 hour ago, riderr3 said:

Did you saw that second exit on Ballistyx? Back in the times I thought it was secret exit to level 31 and 32! But I was wrong

Sadly, it's a coop/deathmatch exit only......I also thought of that being a secret exit

[PizzaGuy]

18 hours ago, Labryx said:

 

 

For the positives: Customizable controls is a godsend for a Playstation game like this. I usually set my controls as:

L1- Run

R1 - Fire

L2 - Cycle Weapons Left

R2 - Cycle Weapons Right

X - Use

Square- - Strafe Left

Circle - Strafe Right

Triangle - Hold Strafe (I don't think I ever used this button)

 

Its interesting to see how different players set up their buttons for consoles.

 

I had mine set like this:

L1 -Strafe Left

R1- Strafe Right

L2- Run

R2- fire

X- Use

Square - Hold strafe , Like you I didn't use this once.

Circle - Cycle weapons right

Triangle - Cycle weapons left

 

Also , Interesting read about 'Homage' , it clearly exists in some form for the PSX version. Would make I nice piece in a collection if anyone found it.

Edited January 14, 2018 by PizzaGuy

[betabox]

Interesting controller config preferences.

L1 - strafe left
R1 - strafe right
L2 - lower weapon
R2 - higher weapon
square - fire
x - run
circle - open
triangle - toggle strafe (which I pretty much never use)

I have the left half of the base of my thumb pressed down on x to run constantly, then I just need the thumb tip to fire (square) or a slight thumb shift to use (circle). Shoulder buttons handled easily with index fingers.

[jazzmaster9]

Thanks to PSX Final Doom, i can say I "Finished" Plutonia On UV :)

[ReFracture]

It was amazing how bad the frame rate got during link play. A fun time nonetheless.

[PizzaGuy]

6 hours ago, ReFracture said:

It was amazing how bad the frame rate got during link play. A fun time nonetheless.

Oh no doubt! Link cable PSX Doom was a blast though.