Tobal No. 1

Tobal No. 1 is a fighting game developed by the studio Dream Factory and published by Squaresoft on PlayStation in 1996, which made its mark in history chiefly through the bundled Final Fantasy VII demo, which gave many players their first glimpse of where the series was heading. The game itself, however, is not just a bonus package — it offers three-dimensional arena brawling with pronounced physics and the ability to grab, throw, and toss opponents across the entire battlefield, setting it apart from the competition in an era of 2D fighters. The game also included modes such as training and tournament matches against AI with graduated difficulty, letting players gradually get acquainted with the unconventional system of grabbing and throwing opponents around the whole arena.

The legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama also took part in development, designing distinctive, easily memorable character designs, from warriors with magical abilities to animal fighters and strange creatures. The game emphasized free movement in space and improvised fights rather than memorized combos, requiring a different approach from players than the era's hits Tekken or Virtua Fighter. Completing the game also unlocked an extensive bonus dungeon full of randomly generated floors, enemies, and items, which partly gave rise to the idea for the later sequel Tobal 2.

The graphics were solid for their time, with smooth animation and clear arenas, although the game lacked the depth of battle system comparable to its contemporaries. Critics received it as a decent, if unexceptional, fighter, whose main appeal lay precisely in Toriyama's visuals and the famous demo, which was the main reason many players picked up the game in the first place. Today, Tobal No. 1 is remembered mainly as a historical curiosity, a showcase of early 3D fighting mechanics on PlayStation, and the start of a friendship between Square and Toriyama that later culminated in their collaboration on the Dragon Quest series, which Toriyama continues to work on to this day.

Why play: For collectors and history buffs rather than for battle system depth — an early 3D fighter with Toriyama's visuals that kicked off Square's collaboration with this legendary artist.