So basically I’m looking for titles that are either so unique or so timeless or have such modern gameplay that you would recommend them to someone not neccessarily looking for a retro experience with the PSP.
These are the ones I’ve already compiled:
- SSX On Tour (Wintersports, more zen than arcady)
- Metal Gear Acid 1&2 (Tactics-focused deckbuilder, ahead of its time)
- LUMINES (Tetris from a different timeline)
- Chili con Carnage (Shoot-Em-Up that kinda controls like og Doom but 3rd person, tbh the humor is where it shines)
- Armored Core Formula Front (You’re some kind of arena robot mechanic, the battles can play out with or without your input and you mostly customize the robots in between fights)
- Thrillville (You manage themeparks, unspectacular concept but pretty unique execution)
- Me & My Katamari (A classic, you roll a ball that grows in size as it accumulates various objects)
- Dead Head Fred (Action platformer with a few flaws but decent mechanics and story)
- GTA Chinatown Wars (Drugdealer Simulator before it was cool)
- Gladiator Begins (You’re a gladiator fighting to pay off your debts and later the story can branch into several directions, very satisfying gameplay loop and makes the most of its small scale)
- LocoRoco 1&2 (The sidescroller for people who don’t like sidescrollers)
- Daxter (Classic 3D platformer, many little features to keep you hooked)
- MediEvil (Classic Hack & Slash, nice atmosphere and some high quality jokes)
I should have gotten a psp, maybe there’s still time
Probably easier at this point to get a Deck, or other portable gaming rig, and emulate.
The discs are not cheap, and we’re fragile even back in the day.
The digital store might still open. I know you can buy games off the Vita’s store still (but you have to use an older style WIFI that is sometimes relegated to guest WIFI and you have to preload the money from another source).
PSP’s store closed a looooooong time ago. Used to be that you could purchase stuff from the PS3’s store and use a USB cable to transfer the license, but after Sony enabled 2FA that route closed as well.
Get a Vita. It basically has a PSP built in. It’s super easy to hack too which will give you a ton of improvements and options (like remixed controls for some PSP games so you can enjoy them with twin sticks) - it’s awesome.