Apr 21, 2014.. In a rather sudden turn of events, almost every PlayStation Classic and PSP game on Sony's SEN marketplace is now downloadable on the PS ..
There’s a famous bit of trivia that Sony, inventor of the popular Walkman portable music player, was annoyed that Nintendo successfully launched the first portable game machine that took the world by storm. When Sony finally launched the PSP in late 2004 in Japan, the portable had all the hallmarks of a Sony device: sexy design, powerful tech, and a high price to reflect that quality. It was a bold move that was a success out of the gate, though the less said about PSP Go the better. And while the PSP experienced varying degrees of popularity around the world, some may forget just how many great games appeared on the system over the years. Major franchises like God of War and Ratchet & Clank had popular new entries, and they came with celebrated debuts from the likes of Lumines and Patapon. Where do they all rank in our top 50? See for yourself... Daxter had the benefit of starring one of Sony's most beloved sidekicks when it released in 2006, but the real celebrity turned out to be Ready At Dawn, a team that turned what could’ve been a half-baked spin-off into one of the tightest and most expansive platformers on the (then) new PSP. Don't get us wrong, we love ourself some ottsel. The beauty of Daxter, though, is Jak's little buddy is merely an ambassador for a game rich with eye-popping graphics, liquid-smooth platforming, and gameplay that never failed to throw something new into the mix. For one of the first platformers on the PSP, Ready at Dawn nailed it--faithfully transporting one of Sony's most respected franchises (well, again, at the time) into a handheld game that earns a place in Jak & Daxter history and our PSP. View on Amazon Got a minute? How about half? Good, because you'll want to spend as many free seconds as you can plumbing the depths of this innovative hybrid title. Developed by Marvelous Entertainment, Half-Minute Hero turns standard RPG conventions on their head by holding players to a 30-second time limit in which they must battle fiends and build up their powers in order to save the world. Luckily, that timer can be reset, and the fun comes in using each “groundhog” day scenario to push forward towards greater enemies, acquire better gear, and become generally better at kicking ass in thirty seconds or less. Half-Minute Hero is a game that tries its damndest to defy categorization, but you won't have time to care what it is--hell, you already wasted time reading this! View on Amazon Dreaming of becoming a nightclub god but can't find the time? There's a game for that. And while DJ Max Portable 3 won't win you record deals or surround you with groupies, it will have you bobbing your head in public and rising through the virtual DJ ranks. Featuring over 50 songs and some important tweaks to the note-tapping gameplay, DJ Max Portable 3 builds upon the track laid by DJ Max Fever. For one, its remix mode breaks up the action in a new and addictive way, and a mission mode gives hardcore spinners even more objectives to aim for. It's still DJ Max through-and-through, but it's the sum of its tweaks that make it play and sound fresher than ever. View on Amazon For a game that deals in death and destruction, Killzone: Liberation remains one of the most polished and prettiest games on the PSP. Set months after the original Killzone, Liberation swaps the FPS vantage point for a top-down isometric shooter that rewards fast trigger fingers as much as it does tactical thinking. The game is also tough, training player's to think before they shoot and perfect their approach in every mission. Thankfully, Jan Templar is aided by a huge assortment of upgradable weapons and skills, which keeps the action from ever getting stale. With the addition of one of PSP's most robust ad-hoc multiplayer modes, Liberation is truly one of the PSP's killer apps. View on Amazon Why Level-5 felt obliged to rewrite Joan of Arc's history instead of creating a French heroine of their own is beyond us. No matter, because this magical, demon-fighting version of the historical figure does a fine job of leading one of the deepest and most creative tactical role-playing game on the system. Like Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics (more on them later), Jeanne D'Arc sees players taking on battles throughout an overworld map, collecting new team members and levelling their teams along the way. Innovative choices like using skills stones over classes, or setting time limits for each battle, give Jeanne D'Arc a play style all its own, while the anime presentation and swift-yet-complex battles do their part to hoist it above others in the genre. View on Amazon The name's XJ-0461. Clank XJ-0461. Remember it, because if you're in the mood for a cool and efficient Ratchet and Clank spin-off, you can call on Secret Agent Clank to handle the job. Clank pulls off his solo-adventure with class, blending traditional Ratchet and Clank gameplay with a nice variety of 3D platforming diversions. You'll speed through vehicle levels, lord over Gadgebot objectives, play out Quark's exaggerated memories, and even blast away foes with Ratchet. With numerous gadgets and outlandish weapons at his disposal, and familiar friends to fill in the gaps, Clank's spin-off comes fully-loaded with the series' trademark creativity and polish. View on Amazon Resistance Retribution is more than a bridge between Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2. It's a blockbuster title all its own that brings the monolithic scope and ambition of Sony's exclusive shooter to the PSP in a way that never feels cheap. As marine James Grayson, players will experience the Chimera war from the new perspective, and enjoy the same super-slick controls and combat variety featured in SCE Bend Studio's popular Syphon Filter franchise. One of the most inspired perks--besides the deep multiplayer modes--is the option to link the PSP to the PS3 and “infect” Grayson or unlock DualShock controls. It's this level of ingenuity and care that keeps Resistance Retribution chugging throughout its 10-hour adventure. View on Amazon Screenshots don't do Every Extend Extra justice, as it's easy to dismiss Q Entertainment's shoot-'em-up as a colorful mess. Spend time learning the ropes and wrapping your head (and eyes) around the explosive gameplay, however, and Every Extend Extra will leave you star-struck. The mission is straightforward: detonate a ship to set off chain reactions and keep doing so until each main boss is destroyed. It's learning how to detonate strategically and when to risk it all for power-ups that make each level a hybrid of twitch gaming and puzzle solving. What's more, each stage features new enemies, backgrounds, and music composed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Lumines), making Every Extend Extra a game that always has something new coming up in its playlist. View on Amazon Criterion packed a ton of content and performance into Burnout Legends. Representing the series' first time on a portable system, it makes an impactful entrance, bringing Burnout's trademark speed and over-the-top action to mobile racers without spinning off and becoming a broken wreck. Crash mode and Burnout World Tour are still the main attractions in Burnout Legend, with the latter sporting 175 events that put one's road-racing, car-wrecking, cop-chasing skills to the test. Thankfully, the PSP's controls make Burnout Legends a joy to handle, and the system's technical prowess make the on-screen destruction a thing of beauty. And, thanks to the wi-fi multiplayer, Burnout Legends comes ready to share its love for vehicular carnage with friends. View on Amazon Lara Croft's birthday compilation is a gift for raiders on the move. It's nearly as good looking as the PS2 edition and it's enhanced with gameplay tweaks that help Lara slip gracefully into the portable without ripping the system's seams. Tomb Raider Anniversary was released on Lara Croft's 10th anniversary to honor her gaming debut with a release that builds a whole new adventure on the bones of the 1996 original. This PSP version does its part well to replicate the scale and awe of Lara's anniversary title on PS2 and PC, expertly making up for the PSP's less-than-memorable port of Tomb Raider: Legend. View on Amazon Rock Band seems like the last series that would work on a portable system, but somehow Backbone Entertainment pulls it off. Rock Band Unplugged delivers the core Rock Band experience without requiring players to clog their living rooms with plastic instruments. Yes, that means the game is a button-tapping rhythm game, but like any good cover song, it keeps the heart and soul of the original in play. As a bit of trivia, Rock Band Unplugged features the first PSP music store. We're not sure having the first way to buy musical microtransactions on the PSP is a plus (and the lack of multiplayer makes this feature seem like a tease), but it's worth a liner note. View on Amazon Seven was indeed a lucky number for Nihon Falcom's action RPG franchise. Ys Seven represents an evolution of the series, evolving Ys' 2D sprites and environments into a full 3D adventure with new party members to discover, new systems to fine tune, and fresh new ways in which to dispatch justice in Altago. You'd think a 30+ hour RPG would wear out its welcome on a portable system, but Ys Seven's satisfying combat, rich world, and fascinating storyline keeps the quest feeling lively and fresh. View on Amazon SCE Bend Studio's Syphon Filter never reached the same heights as Splinter Cell and its ilk, but Dark Mirror is proof the series had (and maybe still has?) massive potential. Following Gabe Logan on his globe-trotting quest to bring down Red Section, Dark Mirror offers a polished mix of stealth and action, as well as a surprisingly deep multiplayer mode. In fact, every aspect of Logan's portable ops is crafted to beautifully, from the cinematic gun fights to the tense stealth sequences, and even the pitch-perfect soundtrack from X-File's composer Mark Snow. Given how all of Dark Mirror's components fuse to create one of the best action games on the system, it's surprising Gabe Logan hasn’t been seen in a while. With hits like this (and the sequel, Logan's Shadow), however, fans can at least rest easy with memories of this PSP title. View on Amazon Tekken: Dark Resurrection may stumble in its online approach, but bounces back with more than enough content to keep solo players and their ad-hoc friends in its corner. Having 34 fighters from the start is one way this Tekken 5 spin-off pulls you in. Other highlights include ample training modes, challenges, ghost-fighting dojo sessions, and loads of customization options--all of which are bound together with slick, responsive combat and a stellar presentation. There are plenty of fighting games to choose from on the PSP, but Tekken: Dark Resurrection's wealth of content and solid gameplay makes it a top competitor. View on Amazon What's not to love about this crafty platformer? From Persia to Tinsel Town, Hong Kong and beyond, LittleBigPlanet for the PSP is a fresh adventure that lets players re-team with Sackboy for 23 fresh levels of platforming, costume-collecting, bubble-popping bliss. It also packs a level editor, letting PSP players use in-game assets to create worlds to share with the game's community. The options are endless, if not adorable. SCE Cambridge Studio and Media Molecule could have copied and pasted LittleBigPlanet's award-winning PS3 version and called it a day. Instead, the teams deliver a full-on sequel that captures everything Sackboy and his pals are loved for. View on Amazon FlatOut: Head-On is messy. It's over-the-top, it's unrealistic, and it's hard to wrap your hands around. Fortunately, it's also one of the best arcade racers for the PSP, trading realistic physics for a smashing good time. Did we mention FlatOut: Head-On looks great? Because it does; and that counts when you've got multiple vehicles jumping through fire and bashing their rivals to smithereens. More importantly, FlatOut: Head-On keeps its framerate chugging even when the action reaches ridiculous heights. Throw in upgradable vehicles and plenty of challenges and FlatOut-Head-On is a shiny, wham-bam-thank-you-driver addition to the PSP's garage. View on Amazon The Disgaea series has always skewed to RPG purists and this rerelease for the PSP is no exception. Throughout the course of its jam-packed story you'll be forced to grind your way into an unstoppable team of Overlord-murdering heroes, and woe be to the player who thinks it'll be a cake walk. Thankfully, Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days packs more than enough variety to keep you interested in the grind. From finding new allies to mastering new classes, kicking around the Dark Assembly, or simply sending your team members on day trips to the Dark World, improving your game never feels stale or artificial. At nearly 80 hours to complete, Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days is long, but it earns its runtime. View on Amazon It'd be easy to dismiss this PSP exclusive as a Kingdom Hearts cash-in, but to do so would be to pass on one of the most important games in the series. Birth by Sleep fills in a ton of narrative gaps, and it does so with the same level of care and ambition as others in the series. At first, following newcomers Terra, Aqua, and Ventus is disorienting. However, it only takes a few visits to familiar Disney locales to ease back into the Kingdom Hearts vibe. That, and the game's Command Deck and D-Link combat mechanics help to keep the adventure moving with fast, fluid, and surprisingly deep enemy encounters. View on Amazon PixelJunk Monsters for the PS3 may be a prince among tower defense games, but PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe for PSP is still the king. True to its deluxe name, the portable version features the Encore expansion pack, new monsters, new towers, and a brand-new island. It also packs scores of unlockable goodies like concept art and new songs. More importantly, the game is fun. Like its PS3 version, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe is a tower game that brings it own style and rules to a saturated genre. Yes, all the tower defense tropes are there, but PixelJunk Monsters brings just enough new battle mechanics, weapons, and personality to make it feel new. View on Amazon The Persona games rarely fail to deliver, and this PSP adaptation of the PS2's Persona 3 is no exception. In addition to optimizing the overworld bits for quick-and-easy exploration, it shifts the perspective from male to female, altering the overall tone of the story and giving fans something new to latch on to. It’s small yet impactful changes like these that make the PSP's interpretation worth a look. For the most part, however, Persona 3 Portable's biggest strength is that it stays true to one of the series' most entertaining chapters in a format that makes it quick and painless to get in a little Dark Hour visiting on our time off from our real lives. View on Amazon There was fear this portable sequel to PS3's Valkyria Chronicles would rob the series of its breadth and depth, but Sega handles the transition like a champ. Valkyria Chronicles II picks up Avan Hardins’ story without missing a step, setting you on a path through the Lanseal Royal Military Academy that will see you navigating conflicts both on and off the battlefield that feel just as complex and satisfying as before. After spending countless hours managing troops, customizing vehicles, and perfecting your strategy in the war for Gallia, it'll become clear that this handheld Valkyria Chronicles entry can hold its own. View on Amazon How much cartoony golf can you cram into one game? Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 sets out to answer that question in a Hot Shots Golf sequel that swings for the fences (same sport, right?). Sporting 24 characters, a dozen courses, an enhanced Loyalty system, and a clubhouse full of clothing and extras; Open Tee 2 will take more than a few rounds to master. The biggest highlight, however, is its Wi-Fi multiplayer mode that matches players for one-on-one games or enlists them in highly customizable tournaments. Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 carries the franchise forward and gives PSP duffers a chance to join the team. View on Amazon Forgetting the fact this compilation offers two games in one (Power Stone and Power Stone 2), Power Stone made 3D multiplayer brawling cool long before those fancy PlayStation All-Stars came onto the scene. The game delivers a whole whack of playable arena combatants, all of whom light up the arenas with slick, explosive action. The decision to bring the Power Stone series to Sony's PSP was an inspired choice, not just because the handheld was an ideal venue for quick, pick-up-and-play arcade action, but because it attracted former Dreamcast loyalists who might not have given the system a second glance. It was the first arena-based brawler game of its kind for the portable system, and despite being outclassed by later fighting games, it proved the PSP was capable of putting up a fight. View on Amazon God of War: Chains of Olympus could have been a disaster. After all, while no one was doubting the PSP's muscle at the time of its release, the idea that Santa Monica Studio's super-sized console series could not only be handled by a different developer, but perform anywhere near as well on a portable system was hard to swallow. Thankfully, Ready at Dawn proved it was more than prepared to take the reigns and that the PSP had the strength to do Kratos justice. This God of War prequel is one of the most impressive-looking games on the PSP. More importantly, Ready at Dawn's design prowess means that the PSP’s lack of an extra nub never slows Kratos down, as the Spartan moves from killing Persians to chopping down Titans with the same unstoppable fury and brutal grace as before. What could have easily been a misstep for the series is instead a can't-miss chapter, and one of the most satisfying (if hair-pullingly difficult on higher modes) action adventure games on the PSP. View on Amazon This is a Legacy List. What does that mean? Click here to find out more about GamesRadar's Best Lists! 7
Amazon.com: Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded - Sony PSP: Artist Not Provided: Video Games.
IGN's PlayStation Team ranks the best games to ever come to the PlayStation Portable. Did your favorites make the cut?
Amazon.com: Capcom Classics Collection Remixed - Sony PSP: Artist Not Provided: Video Games.
