Best Handheld RPGs for PSP or DS

So, I am going on a work trip for 2 weeks and am looking to fill up my backlog with some new games to play on the flights as well as the hotel room on week nights.

As I haven't been into handhelds as much recently, I only have a DS as well as a hacked PSP.

Anyone have some recommendations I could pick up in the next few days before I leave on my trip that I will enjoy?

Here is a sample of the library I have for both of them to get an idea of what I like:

PSP - Crisis Core, Tactics Ogre, FFT: War of the Lions, FF4 Complete Collection, Dissida: Duodecim

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DS- Lufia (The remake), Chrono Trigger, Radiant Historia


I have heard good things about The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for PSP and am thinking I will download that, but haven't made any decisions.

Any suggestions you guys can throw out would be great. Thanks!

Every Etrian Odyssey game.

You can run FFIV on a hacked PSP? I'm curious as to how you did that as it forced a firmware update on my system.

Pick up Etrian Odyssey or any of the Dragon Quest games for DS. Any Fire Emblem game that isn't Shadow Dragon would be a good choice too. Just be prepared to do a bit of grinding here and there. There's a pretty decent port of Tales of Phantasia for GBA too for another solid choice. Star Ocean 2 and Valkyrie Profile for PSP.

I would look at some of the remakes since the PSP and DS have the definitive versions of so many of them. The Dragon Quest Zenithian trilogy is fantastic, with DQV being the best in my opinion (and one of the best RPGS I ever played). If you're into emulation on your PSP, the fanslation is very playable and has aged pretty well. Pokemon Heart Gold is great as well and I actually enjoyed it more than its sequels which were originally designed and released on the DS.

For newer games, Valkyria Chronicles II is one of my favorites on PSP. You don't have to play the first to enjoy it and the gameplay is a fresh evolution of SRPG genre. It did a great job in bringing the series to the portable format, with plenty of bite sized missions and story sequences for quick sessions. But you can get sucked in for a few hours at a time too.

Persona 3 Portable is my favorite portable RPG ever. Great story, 75+ hours of gameplay easily. Phantasy Star Portable and the sequel are also really fun if you can overlook a cheesy plot for fun gameplay.

Classic Game Room - PHANTASY STAR PORTABLE 2 for PSP review - YouTube

I want to play Phantasy Star Portable again.

EDIT:

Oh I forgot to mention. You can play the online with others in Phantasy Star Portable 2 on a rigged PSP. I forget how but I was able to do it with a bit of tweaking as long as I didn't host.

Persona 3 Portable - It's Persona 3, with better writing for the new Female main character.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - Not as good as Golden Sun or Golden Sun: The Lost Age, but still a solid little game.

Pokémon Platinum - Best Pokémon game. Possibly beaten out by X and Y, but this thing blows the new ones away in terms of story and characterization.

Rune Factory 3 - The best of the Rune Factory series so far. It's Harvest Moon, with combat and a plot. Awesome, awesome game. I have put in hundreds of hours, and still have more left to do. One of the most underrated titles for the DS.

The World Ends With You - I hate the gameplay, but I love the story and world. Solid little game.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift - Main story is lackluster, but the rest of the game makes up for it.

Ooooh yeah I second The World Ends With You. I've never put so many hours into a portable game.

TWEWY is easily the best game by far that's been mentioned.

Super Robot Taisen SAGA: Endless Frontier is -super- fun.

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Originally Posted by Jowy

You can run FFIV on a hacked PSP? I'm curious as to how you did that as it forced a firmware update on my system.

Pick up Etrian Odyssey or any of the Dragon Quest games for DS. Any Fire Emblem game that isn't Shadow Dragon would be a good choice too. Just be prepared to do a bit of grinding here and there. There's a pretty decent port of Tales of Phantasia for GBA too for another solid choice. Star Ocean 2 and Valkyrie Profile for PSP.

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Yeah, mine still works just fine. Not entirely sure why. Thanks for the suggestions too, now the problem is finding these games around me locally, hah.

There's star ocean 1 and 2 for PSP. You can also get Persona 2 Innocent Sin.


FF4 worked perfectly fine on my modded PSP as well.

Disagea for the PSP/Vita. The DS remake was pretty horrid. Also, seconding Etrian Odyssey.

I thought Dissidia was a fighting game.

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Originally Posted by WildRaubtier

TWEWY is easily the best game by far that's been mentioned.

Super Robot Taisen SAGA: Endless Frontier is -super- fun.

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This. These two are my two favourite DS titles, TWEWY taking the first place and Endless Frontier coming in second. After that, I'd probably say the Ace Attorney games.

As for PSP... Dangan Ronpa, the Persona games, Mana Khemia and Ys Seven are all very solid.

Dangan Ronpa is very plot/dialouge-heavy, while Ys Seven is all about the gameplay.

I'll just list the best game on each console.

DS: Devil Survivor 2
PSP: Persona 3 Portable

Although, FES is the definitive version of Persona 3. So if you've already completed FES, you might want to go with something else.

FES is still imperfect. If it had included girl mode, I'd agree. Aigis doesn't count as girl mode.

Girl mode has the best social links. And they include all your party members, not just the females, so more character development for them c:

The pink menus are also way prettier

Trails in the Sky is all about character and plot. The gameplay is average, at best. I downloaded the game to test out on my hacked PSP and loved the characters in the first few minutes, so I bought it. And after an hour or two of wandering around and fighting, I couldn't take it anymore. If you have a high tolerance of boring fight mechanics and can overlook that for story and characters, then by all means. It gets rave reviews and probably for good reason. But personally I can't suggest it. My top pick for PSP would probably be Corpse Party. It's almost completely story and character, and some puzzle elements. And if you like Persona style games, with some awesome music, highly recommended. You can pirate it, or get it off PSN if your hack allows you to be recognized on PSN as normal (mine does)

Lot of good games mentioned. I second TWEWY, the Dragon Quest DS games, and Golden Sun. Also Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep is the best KH game out there if you are a fan of that series.

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Originally Posted by Mirage

FES is still imperfect. If it had included girl mode, I'd agree. Aigis doesn't count as girl mode.

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Girl mode is non canon, and thus adds nothing to the story.

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Originally Posted by Jessweeee♪

Girl mode has the best social links. And they include all your party members, not just the females, so more character development for them c:

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Like I said, it's all non canon though since Persona 4: Arena confirms the protagonist to be male. Thus all of this extra character development amounts to nothing in the end.

FES is the ideal version since it includes The Answer, which Arena also confirms to be canon. So basically you're trading canon plot and major story details, for a non canon fantasy scenario. Not an equal trade off in my book.

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Originally Posted by Bright Shield

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Originally Posted by Mirage

FES is still imperfect. If it had included girl mode, I'd agree. Aigis doesn't count as girl mode.

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Girl mode is non canon, and thus adds nothing to the story.

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Originally Posted by Jessweeee♪

Girl mode has the best social links. And they include all your party members, not just the females, so more character development for them c:

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Like I said, it's all non canon though since Persona 4: Arena confirms the protagonist to be male. Thus all of this extra character development amounts to nothing in the end.

FES is the ideal version since it includes The Answer, which Arena also confirms to be canon. So basically you're trading canon plot and major story details, for a non canon fantasy scenario. Not an equal trade off in my book.

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This is a hilarious claim, considering the amount of non-canon material in that game.

There is very little canon in the series when it comes to aspects of player choice. Which Social Links do you claim are canon (since it was never intended to be possible to do them all, the story wasn't built that way, as the girlfriend Social Links all show)?

What's more, what does the official story canon, if one even exists, have to do with anything? Do you really shackle yourself to the story the way it is "supposed" to go? You must hate the Shin Megami Tensei series then, as the entire chaos/order/neutrality choice aspect is suddenly removed and you have to play it for the "true" events. If you're sticking to admittedly worse writing just because it's the "official" story, I feel sad for you. Games are interactive, and the allow the telling of interactive stories. ATLUS has always been huge on this. They might take a position to follow forward with in future games, but they never try to dictate to their gamers how to role play.

In the canon of the Persona games I am playing, the male Main Character from Persona 3 has a different name, and has gone through many of the female Main Character's Social Links. He's also beaten Margaret, which you can't do in FES, but would probably be canon if the subject ever came up, as would any of the new Personas added in P3P.

I was just saying that you are missing crucial story elements in exchange for a scenario that is 100% irrelevant. It's not the same as choosing which social link to complete first and what not. The female protagonist doesn't even EXIST on the canon timeline.

To further illustrate my point think of it like this. If they ported FFVII to the PSP and added a "female Cloud" scenario, with the ability to date Cid and Vincent at the Gold Saucer, and threw in some new dialogue options and what not. Would it be worth cutting out disc 3, which contains the conclusion to the canon plot? Of course not. The same thing applies to The Answer. Like it or not, it is a major piece of the overarching story which connects to P4:Arena.

You are exaggerating how much freedom you have in these games as well. You can only influence minor things, that don't factor into the main plot at all. For example, who you date never factors into the main story at all. Sure, you can choose to get a bad ending, but there is a "True Ending" for a reason...

Also, it is very easy to do all social links on a single playthrough. So I don't get your point there. Even the P4 anime tried to incorporate them all(badly though).

Is the Margaret fight in P3P canon? I don't know, it's up in the air right now. I know that the male MC is the one that did or did not fight her though, since he's the only P3 MC that exists canon-wise.

And don't lecture me on MegaTen buddy. I've played every single US release to date, and some of the fan translations. Can you say the same?

Anyway, if you insist on continuing, do so over PM or make a new topic. I'd rather not derail this one further. I was just explaining to the TC that P3P might not be worth it to him, if he's already played FES(or even the original). Was never intended to become an argument over the female MC. lol

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Originally Posted by Bright Shield

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Originally Posted by Mirage

FES is still imperfect. If it had included girl mode, I'd agree. Aigis doesn't count as girl mode.

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Girl mode is non canon, and thus adds nothing to the story.

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A one version of a game isn't necessarily perfect just because it's canon. That makes it canon, not perfect. The main story is just one part of the game. My point still stands, P3FES it still not perfect.

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention earlier that it also has gameplay improvements.

Of course, P3P isn't perfect either, as it lacks The Answer and it also has poorer graphics.

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Originally Posted by Bright Shield

I was just saying that you are missing crucial story elements in exchange for a scenario that is 100% irrelevant. It's not the same as choosing which social link to complete first and what not. The female protagonist doesn't even EXIST on the canon timeline.

To further illustrate my point think of it like this. If they ported FFVII to the PSP and added a "female Cloud" scenario, with the ability to date Cid and Vincent at the Gold Saucer, and threw in some new dialogue options and what not. Would it be worth cutting out disc 3, which contains the conclusion to the canon plot? Of course not. The same thing applies to The Answer. Like it or not, it is a major piece of the overarching story which connects to P4:Arena.

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Well, personally, I don't think that The Answer is written as well as the rest of the game is.

Also, you don't actually need The Answer to understand the plot of Persona 3, the game stands on its own. Your assertion would make more sense if you were to compare it to losing Advent Children, Crisis Core, or Dirge of Cerberus. Stand Alone stories that expand on the plot, but aren't essential to it (and if the writing took a similar quality boost from Cloud to female Cloud, I would drop any and all of those stories in a heartbeat).

What's more, you're kind of missing the point. Do you need The Answer to fully understand the world? Sure. Is it worth giving up on the superior writing of the Female Main Character's Social Links? Purely subjective. You can understand and enjoy the plot of Persona 3 just fine without The Answer, and you might enjoy it more with the superior Social Links. I know that of the two, I'd rather play through the Female Main Character's story again than ever start up The Answer again.

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You are exaggerating how much freedom you have in these games as well. You can only influence minor things, that don't factor into the main plot at all. For example, who you date never factors into the main story at all. Sure, you can choose to get a bad ending, but there is a "True Ending" for a reason...

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*Shrug* They can call the ending what they want. It doesn't change the fact that the game is designed and built so that you can choose which path the story takes, even if only at a few points (or all the time in the main Shin Megami Tensei series).

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Also, it is very easy to do all social links on a single playthrough. So I don't get your point there. Even the P4 anime tried to incorporate them all(badly though).

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It's hardly easy if you aren't following a guide, as a single incorrect answer can still completely screw it up. Also, in the original Persona 3, before FES came out, you had absolutely zero lapse time in your schedule to max every Social Link. It was fan obsession and calculation that even determined it was possible, it wasn't built that way (which is also why the max Social Link Fusion items would carry over to the next game, because you weren't supposed to be able to get them all at once). You needed to follow an extremely set schedule, and answer every question absolutely correctly. When FES rolled around, ATLUS took note of those fans, and the number of people who wanted to complete all the Social Links in a single story, and added in more spare time, and a reward for getting them all (Orpheus Telos).[/quote]

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Is the Margaret fight in P3P canon? I don't know, it's up in the air right now. I know that the male MC is the one that did or did not fight her though, since he's the only P3 MC that exists canon-wise.

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There is no canon in these stories except what you want. If you choose to let the world end, there's your canon. If you choose to whore the male Main Character out to every potential romance, there's your canon. If you choose to not romance anyone, that's acceptable canon too. If you choose to not defeat Elizabeth or even open the Monad depths, that can be canon as well. Play a complete loner and never expand a Social Link beyond the ones the game forces on you. Perfectly acceptable canon.

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And don't lecture me on MegaTen buddy. I've played every single US release to date, and some of the fan translations. Can you say the same?

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Yes.

And, again, if you are feeling tied to only choosing the "canon" answers to everything, you are playing those games wrong.

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Anyway, if you insist on continuing, do so over PM or make a new topic. I'd rather not derail this one further. I was just explaining to the TC that P3P might not be worth it to him, if he's already played FES(or even the original). Was never intended to become an argument over the female MC. lol

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I'd say it's worth more to someone who's already played FES, since they don't need to worry about The Answer, they know what's going on there already, and they can just enjoy the superior writing.

But ok, I'll stop now.

Also, it's more like adding a chapter *after* disc 3 of FF7 in a later edition of the game, not cutting the existing game off at disc 2.

Ugh... after those responses I feel obligated to continue, but not in this topic. I'll make a new one later or something when I have PC access. Typing on my cell takes forever...

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Originally Posted by Mirage

Also, it's more like adding a chapter *after* disc 3 of FF7 in a later edition of the game, not cutting the existing game off at disc 2.

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It would be like if they made remade the game fully up to disc three and didn't include Dirge of Cerberus in the package :v

>>> With a modded PSP you can play almost all the good PS1 RPG games..
Chrono Cross, FF7, FF8, FF9, Xenogears, Suikoden 1 and 2, etc.
As for PSP titles you have Disgaea 1 and 2, Valkyrie Profile Lenneth (these are my favs), and other games that seem to be popular like The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Valkyria Chronicles, Phantasy Star, .Hack games, etc..:luca: