This year saw the discontinuation of the PlayStation Portable shipments in all territories, marking an end to the 10-year reign of Sony’s handheld. A 10-year span that brought us the UMD, insane amounts of piracy, and of course a lot of quality gaming experiences. As with any end, it is now time to look back on those games that made the biggest impact on the crew here at PlayStation LifeStyle.
What do you think about our list? What would you have in yours?
Best PSP Games
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Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
You just had to know that Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core would be on this list. Set as a prequel to the insanely popular Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core is an action-RPG that follows a young SOLDIER member named Zack Fair whose job is to find Genesis. The game features a knockout story that helps people understand the back story of legends like Sephiroth and Cloud. For a PSP game, Crisis Core had some beautiful cut-scenes and was just an overall amazing game. Read the full PSLS Review>>
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Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
In what will go down as perhaps one of the best Metal Gear games of all time, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker introduced new mission mechanics, a central base, and the insanely fun to use Fulton Recovery System. It also added a critical piece to the Metal Gear saga and Big Boss' story. Add to that the fact that Peace Walker inspired much of what Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be, and that all of this was done on Sony's original portable? You've got a recipe for a game that will go down as not only one of the best games on PSP, but arguably one of the best games ever released. Read the full PSLS Review>> -
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep takes a series-first three-pronged approach to story telling, and the results were excellent. Playing through each character's side of the story reveals more about the way it all went down; excitement ramps up when paths cross. Each character handles quite differently as well, so one never plays the same game twice. All three protagonists' tales are as fun to play as they are interesting to see, with a secret ending that's worth the fight. The graphics and music were, as Kingdom Hearts games tend to be, among the best on its hardware. Birth by Sleep truly had everything going for it. Read the full PSLS Review>> -
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
No matter what console or handheld device that Final Fantasy Tactics finds its way to, it never fails to then become one of the best games for that device. It is just that good of a game, one that has aged like a fine wine. This is the game that paved the way for so many strategy RPGs today and was an inspiration to so many people. The War of the Lions released on the PlayStation Portable with all sorts of enhancements, such as new translation, cinema's, voices, and even adds two new classes. It is not without its technical issues though, but even those are not enough to keep this game from being amazing yet again and a true gem for the PSP. Read the full PSLS Review>> -
Patapon and Patapon 2
Pon-pon-pata-pon! Patapon and Patapon 2 were great examples of rhythm games that weren't just Guitar Hero and Rock Band clones. Your cute little patapons marched into battle to the beat of your drums. A great bite-sized experience and a lot of fun. Both Patapon and Patapon 2 are Vita compatible, but for some reason not Patapon 3. Tweet @yosp that we want a new #Vitapon! Read the full Patapon PSLS Review>> Read the full Patapon 2 PSLS Review>> -
Persona 3 Portable
You get to shoot yourself in the head to summon your Persona, enough said! No really, this is the game that kept you glued to your PSP for hours at a time and wouldn't let go. Whether you were dungeon crawling, going out on dates, or studying for a test, there was always something to do in P3 Portable and there was rarely ever a dull moment. The game made a smooth transition from the PlayStation 2 over to the PSP and was a perfect companion for long road trips. Read the full PSLS Review>> -
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is the best PSP game that nobody outside of Japan played. At least that's the way Capcom seems to think as they seem averse to bringing anything Monster Hunter-related outside of Japan, excluding the stuff that is Nintendo exclusive. Seriously, this game was freaking awesome. With weapon choices like gigantic bone swords and lance cannons, and enormous monsters with droppings bigger than your party of 4, what's not to love? Once you bag your monsters, then you get to carve them up and make them into new weapons to kill the next monster with. Seriously, best action RPG of all time. The one thing that might have put off some people was the camera rotation that was problematic for any PSP game with its single analog stick. Thanks to the Vita's second analog stick and button mapping, you have no more excuses, people. Capcom, if you're listening... Monster Hunter. PS4/Vita with cross save/cross play. Print money. Do it. Read the full PSLS Review>> -
Final Fantasy: Type-0
It's a damn shame that this never left Japan in its handheld form. The PSP's single-stick controls could make combat a little rough sometimes, but this game's intense action and a fascinating world crushed the complaints. There's so much to love in this game, from its unforgettable ending to its outstanding OST and more. While not perfect, it had so many things Final Fantasy fans had been wanting for years that it felt like a rebirth. I'm excited that North America will get at least a console version of this, and hope it somehow makes its way to Vita as well, since series fans abroad never got the original version of a game so fitting for a handheld. Read the full PSLS Review>>
