I just finished playing through
Playstation Final Doom using the
GEC Master Edition that I'd also used to play through Playstation Doom. Took 6h45 on Ultraviolence, 100% everything but had to look up some of the more obtuse secrets (including the bugged out ones).
Comparing both Playstation ports to each other, and each one to its source material, I think PS Final Doom is not as good. Part of this may be that the source material itself isn't as compelling, but I also don't think the conversions took as much advantage of the PS engine to compensate for the weaknesses. The lighting isn't as creative or as elaborate, enemy placement tends towards fewer enemies to probably keep sprite count manageable. This is especially tedious in the Plutonia levels, which were guilty of overusing chaingunners and revenants in the first place, and here some of the other enemies get replaced with one or the other, and in huge packs on large open maps this is just tedious. "Final Doom" is also a bit of a misnomer; of the 30 levels, almost half of them (13) are Master Levels, 11 from Evilution, and only 6 from Plutonia. As someone who doesn't like the latter I can't say I mind though. The game really has the feel of a slam dunk, and I think misses some of the extra care put into PS Doom.
The Master Levels perhaps suffer the most in the conversion. The original compilation was interesting for showcasing very diverse styles from different authors, and I think the centerpieces were always Anderson (Inferno) and Kvernmo (Cabal). Kvernmo's are all gone, probably because they're too large and complex and gimmicky. Anderson's are severely butchered; not so much in geometry, but his design always had a strong aesthetic and at the time unsurpassed usage of textures and colours. I expected the coloured sectors of the PS engine to perfectly play this up, but the lighting is kinda bland and watering down his texturing makes the levels much more forgettable. Klie's and Mustaine's are similar to the originals, I happen to like both and enjoyed them. Willits was always the worst and that's still the case.
The Evilution levels fare better. The PS effects are used to great effect, especially in Crater and Heck. Wormhole's treatment is simplify fantastic; the level's design and gimmick always invited a spookier and more atmospheric tone than original Doom was designed for, and the conversion fully takes advantage of the lighting, colours, monster sounds and music of the PS version to create a true standout. Of the almost 90 levels, I could appreciate and enjoy the conversions even when I didn't necessarily think it made it a superior level (not always worse though; just not necessarily better), but in the case of Wormhole the conversion is without a doubt an improvement over an already good level and is just perfect.
The Plutonia conversions are ok. As I said I'm not that fond of the original to begin with and these don't really improve them.
It's still Doom, and most of the levels are still converted from levels that are for the most part above average. But my recommendation would be to play PS Doom and skip this one unless you're such a fan of the PC levels that you absolutely must play them in their converted form. Except for PS Wormhole, which really is a must see.
