PSP Recommendations/Connection Help Plzzzz

[ElkinFencer10]

So I'm (hopefully, assuming the Craigslist guy doesn't just decide not to show up) getting a PSP today, and I'm looking for some recommendations. I already know I'm going to look for Valkyria Chronicles II (that's the entire reason I want a PSP), but beyond that, I'm not sure what games are worth getting for it. I'm not a huge handheld collector, but anything that's exclusive to the PSP and really stands out, I want to look into adding to my collection. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

[Fragems]

There are a lot of really solid RPG ports on there mostly for pretty reasonable prices. Basically the remakes/ports for Star Ocean 1 & 2, Lunar, Disgaea, Final Fantasy, and etc. are really solid and in most cases the best versions of the games from a content stand point. Plus there are some good exclusives like FFVII Crisis Core, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, the Legend of Heroes series, Valhalla Knights series, and Wild Arms. The library is actually pretty massive and relatively cheap for the most part.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Well, like the DS it's an RPG goldmine.

Note that some of the best RPGs on the systems are ports and remakes though, so you'll have to decide whether or not you really want another variation of Final Fantasy or Ys I & II (you do).

For "exclusive" (some of these are on PC but whatevz) RPG goodness I'd recommend Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure, Jeanne D'Arc, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Phantasy Star Portable, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, and Ys Seven.

Also, check out the Atari, Capcom, Taito, SNK, Activision, Midway, Namco, Sega and EA(!!!) compilations for retro gaming on the go.

[Nemoide]

I got a PSP a couple years ago but I've been gaming so little I've only played a few titles.
The Ys games are pretty great. I've also heard great things about Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky parts 1 & 2 (but less great things about the earlier Legend of Heroes games).

If you like silly/cute shmups, a hidden gem I'd recommend considering is the Japan-only title Soreyuke! Burunyan-man Portable. There is a lot of sexualized imagery of grossly-underaged characters, but if you can get past that there's really solid gameplay, great music, and a lot of silly humor. The playable characters are cats turned into girls by magical bloomers/swimsuit/maid-uniform. They want tuna but can't find it and go after the evil mice - almost all of the bosses are mouse-girls named after different types of cheeses. Some of the humor requires at least a little familiarity with Japanese (Burunyan-man is a portmanteu of Japanese terms for bloomers, meow, and Superman) but since it's a shooter, it's entirely playable if you don't know what they're saying.
It's a game a lot of folks will probably think is either disgusting or stupid, but I love it.

[PartridgeSenpai]

If you like silly/cute shmups, a hidden gem I'd recommend considering is the Japan-only title Soreyuke! Burunyan-man Portable. There is a lot of sexualized imagery of grossly-underaged characters, but if you can get past that there's really solid gameplay, great music, and a lot of silly humor.

Holy crap, that link. At first I was like, "Aww, this isn't so bad, and the song is pretty good, "and then it gets to like 1:30 or so in and it gets REALLY in your face with the sexualized stuff. For those who can't deal with that kind of thing but still want a silly shmup, Parodius Portable is a FANTASTIC compilation of the arcade versions of all the games.

As far as my other recommendations go, Loco Roco 2 is one of my favorite games ever. Just oozing with cuteness and good music, it's great little alt-platformer.

Mega Man Powered Up and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X are both fun remakes of the first Mega Man and X games respectively. MMPU even lets you play as the robot masters, but F*CK is that game impossible in the later Willy stages on hard mode.

Casltevania: Dracula X Chronicles is a fantastically fun (and much cheaper) way to play Rondo of Blood, and it even has Symphony of the Night for extra fun-ness.

And if strategy games are more your thing, there's always the original Blood Bowl on PSP, but I can't play that game outside my house anyway because it makes me swear too much ;P

[ElkinFencer10]

That game looks AMAZING. The PSP is region free, yes?

[TEKTORO]

Just a heads up a lot of what's been mentioned is available for Vita / PS TV although via download. There's still tons out there but enough for me to look past the PSP to be honest. Probably not your type of games but Metal Gear Acid & Marvel TCG are cool.

EA Replay for Road Rash & Polterguy!

[TSTR]

That game looks AMAZING. The PSP is region free, yes?

Oh yes.

I also highly recommend custom firmware. So much stuff to be done with a PSP.

[alienjesus]

Some recommendations I think are essential purchases:

Half Minute Hero:
Incredibly fast paced action RPG where you have 30 seconds to save the world in each level. You can reset time, but it costs more money everytime you do. The goal is to grind like crazy and reset time efficiently to defeat all the enemies you need to take out. It's brilliant, and has a great soundtrack. Check out the title theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIRQ1j169fU

Gitaroo Man Lives!:
If you like rhythm games, this one is excellent. The game play mechanics are a ton of fun, the story is silly and cheesy and the music is great, and all original for the game. Only downside is it's really short. My favourite song is the Sambone Trio song: https://youtu.be/0YbRclMWFcE?t=108

Patapon:
I adored this. It's a strategy game with some pretty heavy rhythm elements. Your army follows your commands, but your commands take the form of drum beats which you have to tap out to command them. They move, attack and retreat in response to your beats, and power up if you keep the beat consistent. It' great fun and not as awkward as you might think to control.

Mega Man: Powered Up:
This is an odd little Mega Man game, but it's great too. There's a ton to do, you can unlock about a dozen characters to play through the game as. There's also a phenomenal amount of custom stage creation options so you can make your own levels. The servers were still up last I checked too, which was crazy. This was a few years ago now though, I wouldn't be surprised if they're down at this point.

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles:
This is a 2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood. It's pretty decent. The real selling point for me is that it features unlockable versions of both the original Rondo of Blood and of Symphony of the Night that you can play on the go. A great deal.

Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?:
I have never played Disgaea, but I loive the concept of this - it's an old school hard platformer/action game where you have exactly 1000 lives to clear the game with - each time a Prinny dies, it's the next Prinny's turn to give it a go.

Project DIVA -
I think the PS3/Vita games in the series are better, but the original games appeared on PSP and were still a ton of fun. Worth an import. They're pretty challenging rhythm games with vocaloid music.


There's plenty of other great stuff too, such as the Ys series, Final Fantasy 1 & 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Riviera, Yggdra Union, Gungnir, Disgaea and Jeanne D'Arc.


Frankly, just like the Vita, the machine is at it's best in 3 genres - RPGs, Strategy games and Rhythm games. The library in those genres is fantastic.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I think in practice the PSP is my favorite handheld of all time. I don't know what kind of games you like but to throw some names of my favorites out for you with especially good titles in bold:

Echocrome
Everyday Shooter
Jean D'Arc
Killzone Liberation
Loco Roco
Lumines
Mercury Meltdown
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Metal Gear AC!D 2
Patapon (this is some seriously good stuff right here)
Persona 3 Portable
SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 2
Wipeout Pulse

Also, the PSN Store on PSP will be closing very soon. March I believe? In any case, you'll still be able to buy PSP games using your PS3, PSV, or the online store. It's also worth mentioning that most digital PSP games can be played on the Vita so if you ever plan on picking one of those up it might be worth getting a few games on digital. In fact, the Vita is the best way to play some of those PSP games since you can map buttons to the second analog stick and avoid using "the claw" for games like Monster Hunter.

Nvm. I see that you have a Vita so you probably knew all this.

Out of curiosity, which PSP model are you getting? They're all fine but the original's screen and battery life are pretty poor, although I think it's the most comfortable one by far.