The Ghost In The Shell video game for the original PlayStation is an overlooked gem of an action title. The Ghost In The Shell franchise began as a manga series created by Masamune Shirow in 1989, which was set in a futuristic cyberpunk city called New Port City. The story follows Section 9, an elite team tasked with taking down cybercriminals and terrorists, with Major Motoko Kusanagi - an augmented human - being the main character.
The manga was later adapted into an acclaimed movie in 1995, with Ghost In The Shell helping - alongside movies like Akira and the works of Studio Ghibli - popularize anime in the West. The movie also heavily inspired The Matrix. The franchise exploded in popularity from there and has received multiple anime TV shows like Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, video games, and a 2017 live-action movie. Sadly, this adaptation proved extremely disappointing after many years trapped in development hell, and Scarlett Johannson's casting in the lead role was widely seen as whitewashing by critics.
In 1997 Ghost In The Shell received a video game adaptation for the PlayStation 1, which was a fast-moving action game with an original story by Masamune Shirow himself. The game places players in the shoes of an unnamed Section 9 rookie as they take control of a tank dubbed a Fuchikona. The plot revolves around the fight against a terrorist group targeting a major corporation, and the game even comes complete with various animated cut scenes featuring the English voice cast of the Ghost In The Shell anime between missions.
For its era, this Ghost In The Shell game is seriously fluid and dynamic. The Fuchikona moves smoothy and combat feels fast and responsive. The tank sadly only comes with three attacks - machine guns, missiles, and grenades - though the action still feels great. The game is mostly viewed through a third-person perspective, though in tighter areas the view can switch to first-person too, and the tank can also scale walls and buildings. Some reviews have (fairly) knocked the title for being repetitive and fairly short but what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in fun.
Put short, the Ghost In The Shell PS1 game is a serious blast to play while it lasts, and no matter how frantic the game gets, the frame rate stays steady. For fans of the Ghost In The Shell franchise it's worth playing through at least once, and it remains one of the most underappreciated third-person action titles of the PS1 era.