{"id":7288,"date":"2012-02-19T00:01:17","date_gmt":"2012-02-19T06:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamesanityblog.com\/?p=7288"},"modified":"2012-02-19T00:01:17","modified_gmt":"2012-02-19T06:01:17","slug":"carys-best-of-psp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/19\/carys-best-of-psp\/","title":{"rendered":"Cary’s Best of PSP"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>With the release of the portable PlayStation Vita upon us, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my favorite games on the original PSP. I actually did a blog like this once before, a couple of years ago. When the PSP Go first came out, I thought that was the end of the PSP, but I was dead wrong and Sony\u2019s first handheld had a couple of good years left. So I was glad I was mistaken that time! But with the Vita, I think it\u2019s safe to do the \u2018best of PSP\u2019 blog now.<\/p>\n

I might get a Vita eventually, just not right now. There are not TOO many games for it that interests me yet, but I\u2019m sure there will be soon. I mean, there is a Katamari game for it! Plus I haven\u2019t done a lot of research on the system yet. Maybe you folks can fill me on the Vita in the comments section! But now let\u2019s give the PSP one last hurrah, as it was one of the few handhelds that was able to truly compete with the Nintendo portable behemoth (aside from the Neo Geo Pocket Color, but that\u2019s more of a personal taste thing).<\/p>\n

Cary\u2019s Top Picks<\/strong><\/p>\n

First I wanted to pick the best of the best. The list of games in this first section are my top favorites.<\/p>\n

Loco Roco 1 & 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know how Sony could\u2019ve made me buy a Vita instantly? Loco Roco 3. I think the Loco Roco games are my number one favorites on the PSP. I like to say they\u2019re the best games Nintendo never made. It\u2019s the perfect gaming fit for my tastes and personality. Simple to play, cute and happy, and not too hard, but not too easy either. And a little quirky, too. If you want a good idea of the kinds of games I like, Loco Roco is a good way to learn that.<\/p>\n

Dissidia: Final Fantasy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rather than copy another fighter, Square-Enix made this crossover brawler their own, as it plays like a cross between Kingdom Hearts and a Dragon Ball Z game. But it has plenty of RPG elements and classic FF characters I enjoy. Not to mention fantastic music and graphics. I played the first one to death, so when the \u2018sequel\u2019 012 duodecim came out, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d play it as much. But I did anyway. That\u2019s how good it is!<\/p>\n

FF4 Complete Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Final Fantasy IV has been remade more times than any other FF game I think. But the PSP version is one of the best, as it improves the game in RIGHT ways, adds the extras from the GBA version, plus the whole After Years sequel and more! Since FF4 was really the game to first get me into RPGs, I have a lot of respect for it. Even if FF6 is my favorite.<\/p>\n

Gurumin<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a hard to find PSP game, but if you see it, get it! It\u2019s a 3-D action platformer that\u2019s like a mix between Monsters Inc. and Foster\u2019s Home for Imaginary Friends. And since it was made by Falcom, it\u2019s a little like Ys, too. You play as a young girl who discovers a monster village that only she can see. She uses a drill weapon to save the friendly monsters from destructive evil forces. Very fun.<\/p>\n

Half Minute Hero<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a really creative game. It\u2019s styled to look like an 8- or 16-bit RPG, but you have to finish the quest in 30 seconds! How do you do that? You\u2019ll just have to play the game for yourself! Actually, even though it looks like an RPG, it\u2019s really a cleverly disguised action game. You can download a version of it on Xbox LIVE, but I haven\u2019t tried that one yet. But the PSP one is fantastic enough. And some of the music was done by Yuzo Koshiro!<\/p>\n

Work Time Fun<\/strong><\/p>\n

The box spells this game with the abbreviation of Work Time Fun, but I wanted to spell it out since I don\u2019t like to use Internet abbreviations like \u201cLOL\u201d and such. Work Time Fun was a very quirky WarioWare clone where you played crazy mini-games to earn money to buy even weirder unlockables. Like a Ramen Timer where a cute lady in a swimsuit would talk to you about ramen while a timer ticked down! Such a crazy game, I loved it!<\/p>\n

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not the biggest Kingdom Hearts fan in the world. I don\u2019t care about the story or characters, but I do still enjoy playing the games because it\u2019s fun to tromp around Disney themed worlds beating up bad guys. Birth By Sleep added some fun gameplay tweaks with three characters to play as. The blue-haired girl was my favorite.<\/p>\n

Mega Man Powered Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Capcom took the original Mega Man and made it even cuter. You could also play as each of the bosses and download other playable characters like Proto Man and Roll (with different outfits). All for no cost, too. That would\u2019ve been good enough on its own (at least for me), but then they went and let you DESIGN your own levels and share them with others. It\u2019s like LittleBig Mega Man. It\u2019s actually one of the first games that I got into the online play a lot. You know that Mega Man Universe game that got cancelled? That was the closest thing to a Powered Up sequel that we might\u2019ve gotten. Too bad.<\/p>\n

Ys Seven<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hate using the phrase \u201con crack\u201d but Ys Seven is like SNES Secret of Mana on crack. Not only is this one of my top favorite PSP games, it\u2019s my favorite Ys title, too! Gameplay is fun and full of action, the storyline is interesting yet not too complicated, and the music is fantastic. It has a SNES feel to it, too, even though it has 3-D graphics. So that\u2019s why I like it. Falcom and XSEED brought over a couple of other Ys games as well, like Books 1 & 2 and Oath in Felghana. They were fun, but not as good as Ys Seven!<\/p>\n

Honorable Mentions<\/strong><\/p>\n

And here are some PSP games that I enjoyed, but they\u2019re not my favorites. But they\u2019re worth mentioning for a few tidbits here and there anyway!<\/p>\n

Activision Hits<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s basically a port of the Activision 2600 collection on the PS2, but that was one of the best classic collections out there, so having an on the go version is worth it.<\/p>\n

Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament<\/strong><\/p>\n

I loved the PS2 Steambot Chronicles game. It was like a Japanese version of Rockstar\u2019s sandbox titles. Very imaginative, too, as it\u2019s set in a world where people drove around Model T\u2019s AND bipedal mechs. The PSP version is like Steambot Lite, as it focuses only on battles, but it\u2019s still fun. One interesting note is that they made a Blokus PSP game that had Steambot characters in it, and they even brought that game to the US! Yeah I only got it since I\u2019m such a Steambot Chronicles nut.<\/p>\n

Capcom Classics Collection Remixed and Reloaded<\/strong><\/p>\n

These are actually two games with a bunch of Capcom arcade classics on each one. They were also on PS2. If you love Capcom\u2019s classics, you should give these a chance.<\/p>\n

Gradius Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though they are ridiculously hard, the Gradius games are some of my favorite shooters. They may be tough, but they\u2019re also usually fair. You\u2019ll get a little better, and a little further each time you play. This collection has the first four games, plus Gaiden. Too bad the other Konami collections didn\u2019t make it here.<\/p>\n

HOT Pxl<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a WarioWare clone, and not near as good, but I did enjoy the games based on Atari classics.<\/p>\n

Lemmings<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m actually a big Lemmings fan. I\u2019ve played all the games in the series except for The Adventures of Lomax (see, I am a fan). The PSP version isn\u2019t as good (or maybe I ODed on the PC and SNES games), but I still had to get it since, yeah, I\u2019m a fan.<\/p>\n

Lunar Silver Star Harmony<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a remake of an older RPG, but I know a good RPG when I play one. I should beat it someday I guess.<\/p>\n

Me & My Katamari<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of the lack of dual analog controls, this Katamari game isn\u2019t as good. But I was still impressed they got the look of the PS2 game on a handheld (or maybe I\u2019m just easily impressed). They did do some things with this one that I did like, though, such as the 8-bit mini-game you get to play at the end credits (which has been a tradition since).<\/p>\n

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not as good as Powered Up, but this remake of Mega Man X is still pretty fun, and adds neat extras like being able to play as Vile, plus an unlockable 30 minute Mega Man X cartoon that\u2019s actually kind of good!<\/p>\n

Namco Museum Battle Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n

What can I say? I love Namco games and arcade collections. This one had some classics that hadn\u2019t been on a Museum before then, plus some neat remakes.<\/p>\n

Pac-Man World Rally<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shameless Mario Kart clone, but I have to give the PSP version props for adding a few extra characters, like Mr. Driller and Mappy. I wonder if the makers of the game took my advice.<\/p>\n

Pangya Fantasy Golf<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s based on the popular online golf game. If I were into online PC games, I\u2019d definitely play this one! The game is a little tough, but the characters are super cute!<\/p>\n

Patapon<\/strong><\/p>\n

This combination of music\/rhythm and battle action was certainly creative. But unfortunately it got boring and too hard after a while. Never played the sequels, but I still have respect for the game.<\/p>\n

Ridge Racer<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s kind of the same old Ridge Racer, but it sure did look nice on the PSP. Plus it was the first RR game to add nitrous. I wish I would\u2019ve picked up the Japan and Europe only sequel when I had the chance!<\/p>\n

PSP Imports<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another thing I liked about the PSP is that since it was region free, I could import games for it! So we\u2019ll conclude with some of my favorite imported games. Anyone know if the Vita is region-free, too? (I kind of doubt it)<\/p>\n

Taiko no Tatsujin games<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you read my last blog about music and rhythm games, you\u2019ll know the Taiko Drum Master games are my favorite in that genre. So I\u2019m glad the PSP is region free so I could import all three of them! Sure it\u2019s not as much fun with just buttons, but I enjoyed it anyway!<\/p>\n

Parodius, Twinbee, and Salamander Collections<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember when I said that it was too bad that Konami\u2019s other collections never came to the US? Well here they are. I don\u2019t know why they didn\u2019t bring them over, as they are very import friendly. Even the menus are in English! Parodius is a silly series of Gradius parodies, Twinbee is another silly shooter series, and Salamander is the Life Force Gradius spinoff series.<\/p>\n

Star Soldier<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the GameCube in Japan, Hudson remade a few of their classics like Bonk, Adventure Island, and Star Soldier. They put Star Soldier on the PSP, too, and I got a great deal on the import. It was on sale for 10 bucks when Fry\u2019s used to carry PSP imports. Not bad, I say!<\/p>\n

Taito Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually I think they did bring this one to the US, but I got the import even cheaper at Fry\u2019s. I love Taito\u2019s arcade classics and they even put in some fun remakes on this collection.<\/p>\n

Darius Burst?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I put a question mark at the end of this one because I haven\u2019t imported it yet. But I love the Darius shooter series and always wanted to import this latest one. But I held back because importing games is expensive, and Taito has a tendency to port their remakes to consoles. But they never did with this one. I wonder with the Vita out, if the price went down on the import? Or maybe it\u2019s higher now?<\/p>\n

Farewell, PSP!<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s all I feel like talking about the PSP. It was a great six or seven years! In the comments section, tell me your favorite PSP games, and what you think of my picks! –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the release of the portable PlayStation Vita upon us, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my favorite games on the original PSP. I actually did a blog like this once before, a couple of years ago. When the PSP Go first came out, I thought that was the end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}