A strange port, but a good one under the right circumstances.
When reviewing a port, you always end up comparing it to its original counterpart; therefore, I will briefly sum up the PC original Final Doom for those of you who haven't played it. Basically Final Doom consisted of 2 separate 32 level stories (adding up to 64 levels) called TNT Evilution (yes that's EVILUTION, not evolution) and The Plutonia Experiment. Neither of these 2 stories contained anything new other than levels and textures (no new weapons, enemies etc). The levels were designed to be larger and more challenging than those seen in Ultimate Doom and Doom II. Even though the game didn't really add anything new to Doom as a whole, I still loved it being a huge fan of classic Doom.
Final Doom on the Playstation contains just 30 levels, and at least a third of them aren't even taken from the PC version. Instead, Williams threw in a smattering of levels from the TNT and Plutonia chapters, and then, bizarrely enough, the rest consisted of levels taken from Master Levels for Doom II, a rare expansion for Doom II that was released for the PC. I don't blame Williams for giving players a mixture of levels taken from Final Doom and a few from a completely different game. The bad news is of course, that there are only 30, and the PC version of Final Doom alone contained 64. So, you get less than half the levels of the PC, and some of them aren't even taken from the same game! The original Playstation Doom contained virtually all of Ultimate Doom and Doom II, giving us over 50 levels, so it's not even in the same league as its excellent predecessor.
30 levels or not, I have always found Final Doom for the Playstation to be at least enjoyable. As a die hard Doom fan, how could I not? It's still Doom, meaning it still plays like Doom and feels like Doom. And seeing as Final Doom (along with the Master Levels) on the PC was always challenging, the same applies here too. In general, Williams chose a lot of my favourite levels, and while they aren't as well-designed as those in Ultimate Doom or Doom II (the reason for this is because id Software DID NOT design FD), they are definitely a blast to play through, and will prove to be difficult for even the most experienced Doom players.
Not all the levels in the PC were praise-worthy, as some were just terribly downright boring and others too large to be anywhere near enjoyable OR they just had awful level design full stop. Thankfully, I found that this generally wasn't the case with the Playstation version, at least to an extent. Forgive me for saying this, but there is such thing as a Doom map being 'too big'. Levels from the PC version such as 'Barons Den' felt like they were made for co-op play due to the sheer size and complex design, and proved to be a chore when playing solo. Luckily, the levels here are not the over-the-top ones. Examples include 'System Control', 'Lunar Mining Project' and 'Nukage Processing' (TNT). 'Congo', 'Well Of Souls' and 'Ghost Town' (PLUTONIA). 'Attack', 'Virgil' and 'Canyon' (MASTER LEVELS).
If you've already played the first Playstation Doom, then you'll either be happy or disappointed to know that Final Doom plays, looks and sounds exactly the same too. While the original PS Doom did have lots of excellent features going for it, it also had some flaws. Williams could be forgiven however; it was an early FPS for the console, and it was their first attempt, also, the overall game was by far one of the best, if not THE best console port of Doom out there. Sadly however, all the flaws of the first game are present in Final Doom…
…firstly, the multiplayer. Final Doom DOES support both deathmatch and co-op modes like it's predecessor, but like the former, it requires a Playstation console link cable, meaning you needed 2 CONSOLES, 2 TV's and 2 COPIES OF THE GAME ITSELF. What exactly made Williams think this would be a good idea for the second time around? If a split-screen option was available, then I'd easily give this game a much higher verdict, because Doom was always a fun multiplayer game. But I don't think anyone even bothered to play multiplayer games via a console link back in the day, and I can see why, as it required way too much cash and effort just to set everything up.
The next issue is the password system. Yep, Williams kept this idea too. Memory cards DID exist in 1996, but for whatever reason, the developer's again didn't seize this opportunity for the second time. Alright I admit, I can live with using passwords, but let's face it, saving progress to a memory card is much more convenient than constantly jotting down random letters and numbers between levels.
As I said before, everything about the first PS Doom is also here. That means the graphics are the same again. The good news is that the graphics were more than decent in the first place. The enhanced lighting effects that gave the original PS Doom its awesome atmosphere remain in Final Doom as well. Sure, the lighting effects generally make the game darker than the PC, but it just gives the game an atmosphere it deserves. The frame-rate can slow down from time to time, particularly if there are a lot of enemies on the screen at once, but never slow enough that it really affects the gameplay. so I have nothing to really 'complain' about visually, seeing as it's the same as the already excellent original Playstation Doom.
Sound-wise, the game is yet again exactly the same to its console predecessor. The sound effects are personally a 'whatever floats your boat' kind of affair. The sound effects have changed from the PC version, some of them sound better, and some of them sound worse. The same goes for the music. That dark, atmospheric, eerie music of the first PS Doom returns and it suits the darker environment perfectly. There's also some new music, though it's barely noticeable seeing as most of the music is hard to distinguish from the other. This isn't a complaint, because I love the music and sound in this game, it just works brilliantly. I still love the PC's MIDI music and sounds too, but if they were to be used here, then the gloomy environments would be ruined.
Final Doom for the Playstation is a game for the die-hard Doom collectors, or anyone who loved the original PS Doom, which I certainly did. 30 levels is nothing compared to 64, and it goes without saying that there will be fans of the PC original who probably despise this port. But as I explained, most of the 30 levels featured here are good ones, fun ones. And playing some of those master levels on a console is a nice feature too. For these reasons, Final Doom is worth tracking down if you loved Williams' first port job.