So basically I’m looking for titles that are either so unique or so timeless or have such modern gameplay that you would recommend them to someone not neccessarily looking for a retro experience with the PSP.
These are the ones I’ve already compiled:
- SSX On Tour (Wintersports, more zen than arcady)
- Metal Gear Acid 1&2 (Tactics-focused deckbuilder, ahead of its time)
- LUMINES (Tetris from a different timeline)
- Chili con Carnage (Shoot-Em-Up that kinda controls like og Doom but 3rd person, tbh the humor is where it shines)
- Armored Core Formula Front (You’re some kind of arena robot mechanic, the battles can play out with or without your input and you mostly customize the robots in between fights)
- Thrillville (You manage themeparks, unspectacular concept but pretty unique execution)
- Me & My Katamari (A classic, you roll a ball that grows in size as it accumulates various objects)
- Dead Head Fred (Action platformer with a few flaws but decent mechanics and story)
- GTA Chinatown Wars (Drugdealer Simulator before it was cool)
- Gladiator Begins (You’re a gladiator fighting to pay off your debts and later the story can branch into several directions, very satisfying gameplay loop and makes the most of its small scale)
- LocoRoco 1&2 (The sidescroller for people who don’t like sidescrollers)
- Daxter (Classic 3D platformer, many little features to keep you hooked)
- MediEvil (Classic Hack & Slash, nice atmosphere and some high quality jokes)
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This?
Really unique game that didn’t get favorable reviews. Def check it out!
-Patapon (Personally I thought 2 was the best) -FF7 Crisis Core -MGS: Peacewalker -Dissidea -RType: Command
A lot of good titles have already been mentioned but holy crap no one said MotorStorm: Arctic Edge? Such a great racer, very polished and it has unique mechanics and a ton of fun vehicles to make it worth your while.
Also: Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception. If you’re looking for an arcade flight sim, this one is for you. (I’d steer clear of it’s successor Joint Assault though.)
Patapon, all 3. Sort of a rhythm game but with combat and a lot of depth.
Brave story: new traveler. A great jrpg.
I fondly remember Field Commander from my childhood for the PSP.
DJ Max Portable 2 is fucking stellar! I played my PSP so much that my square button stopped working… I opened it up and added material behind the D-pad and face buttons and now they’re SUOER sensitive which is perfect for DJMP2!
Monster Hunter 3rd is an extremely good MH game, but that needs an English translation patch cuz it never came to the west.
Fun fact, an exploit in the Lumines save file is how the original PSP jailbreaks worked
Neat, I didn’t know that!
I was able to hack mine without that, then the smaller new PSP came out… to hack the 2000s, I had to modify the firmware of a battery to force it to boot into the firmware modification menu. I still have that battery!
Patapon
Locoroco is best played on handhelds as hand-based image stabilisation is important in that game.
I don’t think I move my hands when playing locoroco… 🤔
If you’re a fan of the 3D era Grand Theft Auto games but never played the Stories games, do yourself a favour.
They’re also playable on PS2 but both versions have trade offs even if you’re emulating.
The PSP versions are a lot smoother to emulate and can be modded to support the right analog stick and 60fps but the render distance is a lot worse.
The PS2 versions doesn’t seem to emulate as well can keep a stable 30fps but the 60fps patch available on PCSX2 just makes my fps drop below 30 more times than not. even after overclocking the EE Cycle Rate. like suggested.
PS2 version of LCS in particular also has some heavy handed colour filtering which some people say fits the “vibe” better. But I never liked it.
LCS was the first gta game i’ve ever played and it was a blast(also what a banger soundtrack)
I sadly didn’t play much LCS back then (despite loving GTA 3) but VCS was my PSPs main game when I was in high school.
The original version of Final Fantasy Type-0 is a much more impressive game when you play it on a portable device, also it doesn’t have the nauseating blur from the HD remaster.
Just grab the English patch and go for it.
Personally, I believe games are timeless regardless of nostalgia, simply requiring a bit of adjustment time. I still actively play games on older platforms quite frequently.
I still believe these games hold up; With playing for either their unique story/gameplay/mechanics. Here’s some good PSP games:
- Gitaroo Man
- Kenka Bancho
- Pursuit Force
- Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
- Rengoku II: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N.
- Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
- Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
- Phantasy Star Portable 2
- PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient 1 & 2
- The Warriors
- Puzzle Guzzle (
- Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman
- Patapon 1/2/3
I’d also recommend:
- Sims 2
Simply because the gameplay differs from the usual games.
Jeanne D’Arc and Silent Hill Origins were pretty good.
Jeanne D’Arc is by Level 5.
They have never disappointed IMHO.
Burnout legends punches quite a lot above it’s weight.
- Patapon
- Prinny Can I really be the Hero?
Obscure The Aftermath multiplayer is actually pretty impressive for the PSP.
Monster Hunter Unite, if you want to experience old Monster Hunter, animation locks and all.
Coded Arms and its sequel are pretty interesting shooters.
Rengoku and its sequel are pretty good as well.
