Summary

ThePSPwas truly the first handheld that wasn’t made by Nintendo to see significant commercial success. It was an incredibly advanced piece of machinery with an aesthetic screen and significantly better graphics than the Nintendo DS. While the PSP was more niche in America, it was incredibly popular in Japan.

Due to its popularity in Japan, many quality Japanese studios developed brilliant games for the PSP. The PSP was a juggernaut for RPGs and could also support AAA-style action-adventures. During its later life, the PSP saw more visual novels and indie-style games, which would become prominent on its successor, the PS Vita.

10Lumines: Puzzle Fusion – 2004

Most of the world was introduced to the PSP in 2005, but it was technically first launched in Japan in December 2004. Most PSP launch titles we are familiar with didn’t hit shelves before 2005. However, Japan at the very least had access to Lumines: Puzzle Fusion.

This is a drop-dropping puzzle game that focuses heavily on its music and presentation. You deal with 2x2 blocks and are able to create large combos right from the start of your run. The blocks should be in sync with the music, giving Lumines: Puzzle Fusion the added depth of a rhythm game, making it unique from most other puzzlers.

9Wipeout Pure – 2005

The USA and most of the world received the PSP in early 2005, and the PSP had a solid lineup of launch titles for this worldwide release, with Wipeout Pure being top of the pile. The Wipeout series has historically contributed to previous PlayStation console libraries, and the PSP was no exception.

Wipeout Pure handles like a dream, having some of the smoothest controls of any arcade racer available. Despite being an early game for the PSP, it features graphics that are easy on the eyes. Wipeout Pure boasts one of the best soundtracks and delivers high-octane racing that is rarely duplicated by any other series.

8Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth – 2006

The PSP was a tremendous platform for enhancing and remaking older games that might have gone unnoticed. Valkyrie Profile is a Norse-influenced JRPG for the PlayStation that made a bigger splash with its enhanced port for the PSP seven years later.

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth features many complex mechanics. Each character in your party is assigned to a button, requiring you to multitask and optimize chain combos. You must also decide whom to keep in your party and whom to send to Valhalla to train for later use.

The originalFinal Fantasy Tacticswas a game that increased the popularity of tactics RPGs. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions was an enhanced port that substantially upgraded the game.

The 90s version of Final Fantasy Tactics had a poor localization, which was corrected with a significantly better script in The War of the Lions. The enhanced port adds new characters, classes, and abilities. It also features a major aesthetic upgrade and includes cut scenes.

2008 was a competitive year for the PSP, but God of War: Chains of Olympus was monumental for the PSP and handheld games in general. God of War: Chains of Olympus proved that you could have a Triple-A action title on a handheld device without sacrificing gameplay quality.

God of War: Chains of Olympus features great graphics for a PSP game and delivers gameplay comparable to the originalGod of Wartrilogy for the PS2. It has fewer puzzle elements than the mainline God of War titles and is shorter overall, making it the most action-focused entry in the series.

Atlus became a household name among gamers after the launch of Persona 3.Persona 3 Portablerestructured the game to make it easier to play on handheld while also revamping the gameplay to resemble the more popular Persona 4 battle system.

Persona 3 Portable is a gigantic game that has a dark, brooding style. Persona 3 Portable revolves around collecting creatures called personas, and fusing them to create bigger and stronger monsters. Persona 3 Portable arguably has the best story in the series due to its exploration of dark themes like death, and ispossibly the best RPG on the PSP.

Konami was able to deliver a full-scaleMetal Gear Solidgame for the PSP. To many people’s surprise, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker features production values and gameplaycomparable to the numbered entries in the series.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker further expands on the history of Big Boss and Outer Heaven with Triple-A style presentation. The game excels in the stealth mechanics that make the Metal Gear Solid series so beloved. It also introduces a base-building component, allowing for strategic choices in recruiting personnel and gathering resources, which sets it apart from other Metal Gear Solid games.

While Final Fantasy Tactics introduced many gamers to tactics RPGs, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was the game that inspired Final Fantasy Tactics. The Tactics Ogre series isn’t extremely popular in the West, but those who have played it attest to its greatness in the strategy RPG genre.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a remake that offers both a graphical overhaul and quality-of-life improvements. The game features an incredible variety of classes, tens of hours ofdifficult and complex gameplay, and a mature, politically oriented plot.

2Velocity – 2012

2011 was the last year when major studios were releasing large production games for the PSP. However, the PSP continued to receive support from indie studios. Due to the PSP’s popularity in Japan, genres that are popular there, such as shoot’em ups, were still produced, including Velocity.

Velocity combines real-time strategy with shoot’em ups, making it a good game to introduce new players to the shoot’em up genre. Many of the levels blend open space with closed corridors, and the game features puzzle elements revolving around warping through solid walls that add a thought-based dimension beyond the typical action involved in shoot’em ups.

1Digimon Adventure – 2013

By 2013, not many original games were being released for the PSP. Most games launched from 2013 onward were Japanese titles that were localized years after their initial release. However, there was aDigimonRPG that was launched exclusively in Japan.

Digimon Adventure is a dungeon-crawling RPG where you control several Digimon in battle. Similar to other monster-based RPGs likePokémon, you raise your Digimon to become more powerful while also creating a balanced team. While the game is a solid, albeit unambitious RPG, the strength of Digimon Adventure lies in how it perfectly plays out the plot and events from the anime. Digimon Adventure has one of the best stories of any PSP game.