First game I actually played a PlayStation game was the Warhawk demo on a kiosk machine somewhere in the mall or maybe at Best Buy. Was blown away by the performance, but absolutely hated the D-pad. This was around the console launch timing.
When I finally got my first PlayStation in July of 1997, I picked up two budget titles (and long boxes to boot) - Raiden Project and (ugh) Criticism along with Wild Arms. The real treat came in September, when Final Fantasy VII finally released.
Twisted Metal 2. It is still one of my favorite games (although I haven't played in a while). It belonged to my cousin when I moved in with him for college. He had the first one also but the second one had a little more polish and was easier to control. The second one also had more characters to choose from, including some that weren't on the first, like Axel who at first look wasn't good but once you learned the game, he was one of the best.
Twisted Metal on PS1. I went to Sony Wonder in NYC shortly after the PS1 came out and played the demo there. I was hooked and my parents let me rent a PS1 and the game from Blockbuster for a weekend. Possibly the most fun I've had gaming because of the sheer novelty (my parents didn't let me have my own console until 2000).
The first PlayStation game I played was Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. I was sleeping over at a friends and he had all the new and best toys and games and I remember how weird and different Oddworld was I didn't like it at first. I didn't like the controllers or the dark game design but I did like the music and I found that I liked watching him play more than I liked playing. I still don't like the game or platform much but I'll give them this Sony wasn't afraid to take chances with weird games.
