Recommend PSP Games

[Ayen]

Tori has a PSP. Tori needs games to play on his PSP. Recommend games for Tori to play.

Games I already own
Crisis Core

Games I'm in the process of getting
Dissidia
Dissidia 012
L.A. Rush
Peace Walker
Portable Ops

Can anyone tell me if Metal Gear Acid is any good?

[Spuuky]

Final Fantasy Tactics
Tactics Ogre
Growlanser
Persona
Phantasy Star
Valkyria Chronicles

List complete.

[Vyk]

Corpse Party

Not sure if I know your tastes well enough to do this properly

[Del Murder]

Can't go wrong with any game with 'Tactics' in the name. Also Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.

[Ayen]

Already have Tactics on my PS3.

Didn't know Persona and Phantasy Star was on the PSP. I'll definitely be looking into that. I think Valkyria Chronicles was another one people were telling me I need to try out.

[Bolivar]

Well, you already mentioned Peace Walker so you're on the right track :)

If you want fun racing games, I highly recommend Motorstorm Arctic Edge and Gran Turismo.

If you were ever into Twisted Metal, Head On is probably the best in the series. It's everything that made the first two games great, made by the same original team, and is just a very responsive and fun action game.

Hot Shots Tennis is a very addictive and charming game in the vein of the Mario sports games.

My favorite games on the PSP are Valkyria Chronicles II and Tactics Ogre. Both are evolutions of the SRPG formula, VC more overtly and TO more subtly. It's hard going back to traditional SRPGs without the Wheel of Fortune mechanic.

[Dr Unne]

If you like FF Tactics, play Jeanne d'Arc.

[Sephiroth]

Crisis Core
Dissidia 012, 1
The Third Birthday (it is a third person shooter though so if you like story but not shooter, I can understand - I also just have some exceptions)
Birth by Sleep
Breath of Fire 3

[Motdrafin]

All the Persona games are amazing! My favorite one is Persona 2: Innocent Sin.
Also, Tales of Eternia is pretty good! (If you're from USA you have to import it from Europe)

[Ayen]

All of these suggestions are great so far, thanks, guys.

I didn't know so many retro games were available for the PSP. I'm loving it already.

[Vyk]

The PSP is actually THE Persona machine. You can play versions of 1 - 3 on it. But sadly I don't think it has any other Megami Tensei games available

It supposedly has some surprisingly good fighting games as well, like worth while versions of Soul Calibur and Street Fighter Alpha I believe

That one weird puzzle game is also pretty popular. LocoRoco or something. Everyone loves that I guess

[Ergroilnin]

I hate that there isn't Persona 2: Eternal Punishment on the PSN :'( At least not on the EU one.

[Rez09]

EDIT: Now with spoiler tags, so it doesn't look like a trainwreck of text! Huzzah!


Immediately coming to mind are the remakes/ports of three of Tri-Ace's titles, Star Ocean: First Departure and Second Evolution, and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. If you haven't played any of the original games, all three are worth picking up, as they are excellent titles with fun/interesting item creation and combat. In particular, Valkyrie Profile's combat relies on chaining your attacks together for bonus xp or stamina restoration, while the Star Ocean games play out in real-time. I also enjoy the stories in all three games, though I know of at least one who dislikes SO1's story, and I love the characters in all three, though I'd leave Rena and Claude dead in a field somewhere if that were an option in SO2 and the experience would be much improved. Of the three, Lenneth is the one I recommend the most, due to how unique and well done it is, then probably Second Evolution. First Departure is still my favorite in the series, but most people seem to enjoy the second title more overall from what I've seen.


Beyond those, Motdrafin recommended Tales of Eternia if you can get ahold of it, and I second that whole heartedly. It isn't one of the often talked about entries in the series, I'd argue one of the most forgotten, but it is a completely competent title all the same, and I've always felt it had one of the better balanced difficulties in the series on 'normal' mode, not to mention some pretty cool secrets to boot.


And, if you are willing to use a translation guide, Tales of Phantasia has also been remade on the PSP -- TWICE. The original remake, Full Voice Edition, is roughly the same as the PS1 version with significantly more voicework (hence the title), but the second remake, Tales of Phantasia X, was released alongside the remake of its sequel, Tales of Phantasia: Narakiri Dungeon X, and features an updated graphical style, slightly expanded story, new character, and slight reworking to the battle system. There is a reason Bamco keeps remaking this game, and if you have any remote interest in the game that kicked off the franchise, this is the version to get.


Sticking with the RPG line, all of Sting's Department Heaven games so far (Riviera, Yggdra Union, Knights in the Nightmare, and Gungnir) are available on the PSP, though I'm very on the fence about recommending these games to most people. Although I've enjoyed each title, the series defining gimmick is just how odd each entry is, and most people don't get beyond the strange mechanics enough to appreciate the games. This is especially true of Knights, which is one of the most mind-boggling things to watch someone play imaginable. If you don't mind spending time to learn the systems, I'd recommend checking out a few reviews for the games on Youtube -- you might find something that appeals to you. Of the bunch, Gungnir and Riviera are the most accessible, while Yggdra Union and Knights (ESPECIALLY Knights) are less so.


Following that iffy line of recommendations, a lot of people dislike or quickly grew bored with the "What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!?!" games, but I loved them. The premise is simple -- there's an evil lord that heroes are hunting down and you have to make a dungeon to protect him. You do this by mining out corridors and creating monsters to fend them off, and different monsters act in different ways. It's a fairly simple appearing puzzle game, but there's a lot of complexity to it that will lead to your dungeons falling apart fairly quickly if you don't understand. It's something worth checking out a few videos on to see if you are interested in.


Less questionable on the puzzle front, however, are LocoRoco, as Vyk mentioned, and Lumines -- if you have any love for puzzle games, you need to consider one of these two titles. LocoRoco is a less traditional title about moving a bunch of little creatures, that can stick together to form larger ones, to the goal by titling the world around. It doesn't sound like much, but it's actually a pretty fun game, similar to how ChuChu Rocket sounds boring on paper but is quite enjoyable when you actually play it. Lumines is a more standard block dropping puzzle game where you form same colored cubes that are then wiped away by a line that scrolls across the screen from the left. It's simple, fun, visually appealing, with an interesting soundtrack. If you want to lose an hour or so, just throw on some headphones and pick up Lumines. You basically can't go wrong with the title.


Mixing puzzle and platformer, there are two Exit games for the PSP worth considering as well. The games control a bit like the classic Prince of Persia games and you have to navigate buildings to save people and reach the exit within a certain amount of time. The people you save can also be used to help you move certain objects like blocks in the stage, and there are items like fire extinguishers you need to find to clear obstacles along the way. Personally, I didn't really get into the games like a few other people I know, but they've been recommended to me enough that I figured I should mention the games.


For straight platformers, I HAVE to mention that Mega Man: Powered Up and Maverick Hunter X are PSP remakes of the original Mega Man and Mega Man X, and COMPLETELY worth owning if you are a Mega Man fan. Both are extremely well made, Powered Up coming packed with two new bosses, a level creator, and tons of unlockables, including the ability to play as all of the robot masters, while Maverick Hunter X opens Vile for play, who has a fairly cool equipment system, and includes several animated cutscenes that better flesh out the story. Both go for a 2.5D graphical style instead of standard spritework, which is too bad in my opinion, but it doesn't hurt either title. Powered Up is a much bigger upgrade to the original experience than Maverick Hunter X is, due to the difference in age between the base games, but it's impossible to go wrong with either game.


Along similar lines, the Dracula X Chronicles is a remake of Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, also using that 2.5D style as I recall. Rondo has been my favorite CV game for a long time, and is one of the best 'classic' styled games of the series, so the remake is completely worth picking up if you are into those games. It also contains Symphony of the Night and the original Rondo of Blood as unlockables, so there's plenty of content to sink your teeth into as well.


There was a continuation of the Ghouls and Ghosts series on the platform, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, which I don't hear people talk about . . . ever, and I honestly don't know why. It controls as well as every entry before it, remains challenging, and has a nifty equipment system that expands upon the one in the SMS version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Even better, it has a difficulty option that allows the player to select how they want the game to feel, the most difficuly emulating the classic difficulty of previous titles while the 'normal' difficulty allows the player to respawn where they died instead of at preset check points. Much like the MM remakes and Dracula X Chronicles, I CANNOT recommend this title enough if you were a fan of the Ghouls 'n Ghosts series.


On a slightly less happy note, though not extremely so, if you were a fan of the old 'Hammerin' Harry' series, they released the most recent game in the franchise, Hammerin' Hero, on the PSP, which had a pretty spiffy costume system to that changes up your attacks. It's a fun enough game, though unlike the last few titles I've mentioned I don't think it's exceptional, but if you are like me and love 2D platformers, it might be something you'll enjoy. It's just too bad they didn't make a sequel to that puzzle spinoff they made for the GBC instead. :(


Along these lines of more iffy recommendations, there's also Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero, which is a challenging platformer spinoff of the Disgaea series. The game is a whole lot of fun and controls excellently, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I've been told it kills the player a bit too much, so while I didn't mind that, it seems other people did, so be aware of that before jumping into the experience.


Moving along to fighting games on the PSP, my experience basically doesn't exist -- I don't especially like how the PSP feels for fighters so I don't play many on it. If you are interested in the genre, though, I know that Samurai Shodown Anthology and Fate/Unlimited Codes are both on the system. Samurai Shodown, if you don't know, is a long running weapon-based 2D fighter from SNK, and Anthology contains the six main entries in the series. It's a good series, and I recommend the title, but if you do pick it up make SURE you get the downloadable version of the game instead of the hard copy, as load times on the hard copy are brutal for SS5. Unlimited Codes is a 3D fighting game based on Type-Moon's Fate series, and it's a solid pick up. Characters are interesting, control is tight, and unique mechanics like the grail add some depth to the title. It just too bad True Assassin wasn't a playable character. If you want a new 3D fighter that's on par with well known ones like Tekken in terms of quality, I'd pick this up.


The only other fighter I would consider recommending is an extremely quirky title called Fate/Tiger Colosseum Upper. It's another title linked into the Type-Moon universe, and you play a chibi version of one of many characters in an arena, merrily beating the crap out of anyone you see. At least, that's what I did, anyway. I don't know that the game is especially good, but it's amusing in that same way that Blayzbloo was. If you had fun with that title, or are looking for something lighthearted and like the Type-Moon universe, I'd say consider looking into Tiger Colosseum.


Sticking with Colosseum's cute style, there's a surprisingly competent 3D action game I grabbed for my sister a while back called Gurumin that I almost forgot about. Comically, I ended up playing it more than she did. It's a really cute game about a girl who finds a town full of monsters whom she befriends, then something bad happens to them and you and your legendary drill weapon get to run around doing 3D platformer things like destroying everything you see, pushing boxes to solve puzzles, and fighting bosses on your quest to save them. It's a solid game most people, myself included, completely overlooked at first, but if you like games like this I'd check out a few videos and see if you are interested in the title.


The last two games that come to me right now are Sid Meier's Pirates and the Monster Hunter games. The original Pirates! is one of my all time favorite video games, and the remake is enjoyable as well. I haven't played the PSP version of the game, which is why I saved it for the end, so I can't comment on its quality, but the PC version of the game was solid enough that I have no doubt the PSP port is worth considering. In the case of Monster Hunter, and I may be the only person on the planet here, I don't enjoy the series, but I imagine the PSP games play well and are solid if you like the series.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Hope it was helpful. :)

[Ayen]

I'm going to have to put up a second mortgage on my house.

[Rez09]

If it's any help, and I don't really know where your preferences lay so it might not be, my highest recommendations go to Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth and Mega Man: Powered Up out of the titles I listed.

[Vyk]

I hate that there isn't Persona 2: Eternal Punishment on the PSN :'( At least not on the EU one.
You can make a north American account and get it that way. Mirage recently explained how. I'd explain but I haven't actually tried it yet

[Ergroilnin]

Well I do know the way how to get other region store games but it's such a hassle (pretty much goes to either having two vita cards or backing up the vita and resetting the device completely each time you want to play the other region game unless there is some newer better way I didn't hear of yet) and it's still really stupid how one game of the same serie is on the store and the second one isn't :/

[Vyk]

Hm.. I got the impression it wasn't such a big deal. Does one firmware not recognize games downloaded from another region's store? I presumed once it was downloaded it could be played regardless of the origin or the firmware or whatever. Either that, or the PS3/PS4 don't care, and the people doing this, are downloading them with a console, and then moving them to the PSP/Vita by connecting them to the console rather than having them connect to a foreign PSN themselves

[Ergroilnin]

Yeah I think that it's supposed to be way easier with PS3/4 unfortunately I only own Vita so I would have to do this tedious work all the time. It's something about Vitas system being locked on the store you first use so you have to reset it for other stores or something.

[Vyk]

I think I understand. I have a VitaTV and I was going to buy Persona 3 Portable for PSP for my girlfriend off of PSN, and let her download it on the VitaTV and play it on the TV. But when we tried to log her in, the system threw a fit about her not being the one registered to the console and stuff

PS3 and 4 let you switch out users easily, so it probably goes together with switching e-mails and regions and stuff pretty easily. The Vita likes to lock itself to one user, and also to one region. Kinda sucks. Sorry about your luck then

[Polnareff]

Oh, Tori.....why did you ask for this? :(

*sigh* But just because I like you :jess:

Crimsongem Saga (RPG)
Breath of Fire III (RPG) (JP and EUR only)
Death Jr.
Dragoneer's Aria (RPG)
Mega Man: Powered Up
Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X
Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins
Hexyz Force (RPG)
Black Rock Shooter
Hammerin' Hero
Darkstalkers Chronicles: Chaos Tower
Valkyrie Profile Lenneth
Gurumin
Class of Heroes 1 and 2
Cladun 1 and 2
Dungeon Explorer
Hot Shots Tennis: Get A Grip
ZHP (roguelike)
Ape Quest
Popolocrois (RPG)
R-Type Command (tactics RPG)
FF1 and 2
Namco Museum Battle Collection
Guilty Gear Judgment
Danball Senki (robot battling RPG, JP only)
Final Fantasy 4 Complete
God Eater
Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner (RPG)
Kingdom of Paradise
Legend of Heroes series
Lunar remake
Metal Gear AC!D 2 (great game)
Wild Arms XF (SRPG)
Outrun 2006
Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2
MGS Peace Walker
Yggdra Union
Grand Knights History (RPG, JP only)
Any Tales game (especially Twin Brave, but most of the games are JP only, if you need a more detailed list, I can make one)
Jeanne D'Arc (SRPG, similar to FFT)
Ys Seven (RPG)
Kenka Bancho Badass Rumble (also try KB5, but it's totally in Japanese)
Any and all Persona games
Star Ocean 1 and 2
Brave Story: New Traveler (RPG, very fun)
Alien Syndrome
FF Tactics: War of the Lions
Both Capcom Classics collections
Power Stone Collection
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max
Capcom Puzzle World
Dracula X Chronicles
The Con (fighting)
Def Jam: The Takeover (fighting/wrestling)
7th Dragon 2020 (RPG, JP only)

I'm totally blanking on other games right now, but there was a wealth of good games for the system

[CimminyCricket]

EDIT: Now with spoiler tags, so it doesn't look like a trainwreck of text! Huzzah!


Immediately coming to mind are the remakes/ports of three of Tri-Ace's titles, Star Ocean: First Departure and Second Evolution, and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. If you haven't played any of the original games, all three are worth picking up, as they are excellent titles with fun/interesting item creation and combat. In particular, Valkyrie Profile's combat relies on chaining your attacks together for bonus xp or stamina restoration, while the Star Ocean games play out in real-time. I also enjoy the stories in all three games, though I know of at least one who dislikes SO1's story, and I love the characters in all three, though I'd leave Rena and Claude dead in a field somewhere if that were an option in SO2 and the experience would be much improved. Of the three, Lenneth is the one I recommend the most, due to how unique and well done it is, then probably Second Evolution. First Departure is still my favorite in the series, but most people seem to enjoy the second title more overall from what I've seen.


There was a continuation of the Ghouls and Ghosts series on the platform, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, which I don't hear people talk about . . . ever, and I honestly don't know why. It controls as well as every entry before it, remains challenging, and has a nifty equipment system that expands upon the one in the SMS version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Even better, it has a difficulty option that allows the player to select how they want the game to feel, the most difficuly emulating the classic difficulty of previous titles while the 'normal' difficulty allows the player to respawn where they died instead of at preset check points. Much like the MM remakes and Dracula X Chronicles, I CANNOT recommend this title enough if you were a fan of the Ghouls 'n Ghosts series.



Along these lines of more iffy recommendations, there's also Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero, which is a challenging platformer spinoff of the Disgaea series. The game is a whole lot of fun and controls excellently, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I've been told it kills the player a bit too much, so while I didn't mind that, it seems other people did, so be aware of that before jumping into the experience.



Also, Disgaea 1 + 2 if you're into tactics based games and not a terrible human being. All of the games listed above are games that I have for my PSP.