The most embarrassing games Psycho Mantis could have called out on my PS1 memory card

destructoid.com:

Of all the iconic moments in Metal Gear Solid, the battle against Psycho Mantis is tough to top. It’s both a cool boss fight and a mild deconstruction of your gaming habits!

For those who haven’t squared off against this gas-masked psychic, one of his powers was the ability to read your memory card and make note of what you’ve been playing. This largely hinged on how many Konami games you had saved, but it was still wild at the time. Look, it was 1998, so having a character call out Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was more than enough to blow your mind. 

Psycho Mantis can name a small handful of games you’ve been playing. For those he doesn’t mention by title, he’ll say something generic like “You like action games!” Been jamming Azure Dreams or Suikoden? He’ll hit you with the “You enjoy role-playing games” shoutout. Is he wrong about me digging Konami games, folks? Considering it was the tail end of the ’90s, he was absolutely on point. 

But what about the true PlayStation outliers? There were plenty of games you’d rather scrub from your memory card entirely, but Psycho Mantis sees all. Here are a few I wish he’d keep his prying mind away from. 

“You prefer the dark, blind to all but the most garish of lighting. Ah… yes, you enjoy beat ’em ups with tank controls!” 

The Crow was a cool movie, even enveloped in the dark shadow of Brandon Lee’s passing. The Crow: City of Angels was not a particularly cool movie, and it made for an even worse video game. How could anyone blame me for trying out a game that promised “3-D fighting with a vengeance”? Unfortunately, City of Angels ended up turning into unintentional horror. Resident Evil style tank controls are woefully unsuited for what should be an exciting action game.