Sony’s answer to the Nintendo DS had much better graphics, a design that reminded players of the PlayStation, and many wonderful games. For Sony, the PSP was the pinnacle of its handheld days.
Below is our list of the best games featured on the Sony PSP.
10) God of War: Chains of Olympus
There isn’t much to say about God of War: Chains of Olympus, except that it was God of War on the PSP. This game was packed with the fast-paced hack-and-slash action found in the mainline series games, all in one neat package on your PSP. Despite platforming and puzzles, players spent most of the game killing enemies in Greece.
The game occurs between God of War: Ascension and the original God of War, so this is when Kratos served the Gods and was not actively trying to kill them all. As the story progresses, players will see how mighty Kratos was before God of War’s events.
9) Valkyria Chronicles II
Valkaria Chronicles is a series that needs to get the attention it deserves. Valkaria Chronicles 2 is a third-person war strategy game that operates on turns, which sounds like it could be more fun, but it is executed so well. Instead of commanding whole armies, players control a squad, and they must position each member well and take risks associated with war.
The combat is well executed, but the RPG aspects keep you engaged. Players can feel bonded with each soldier as they level them up and make each one unique. Losing a soldier is disheartening, and that’s much better than most war games.
8) Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars brings players back to Liberty City as they take on the role of Huang Lee, a member of the Triad who wants to retrieve his grandfather’s stolen sword. This starts fairly simple but escalates, putting the player in the middle of a power struggle between the Triads.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was very experimental and had the same top-down look as Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, with slightly better graphics. The game received decent reviews but could have been better than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, which came out earlier.
Players have the same freedom as in most Grand Theft Auto games so that you can go on a rampage.
7) SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo
The SOCOM: US Navy SEALs series was not a first-person shooter but focused on fast-paced action. Instead, players were challenged to be methodical and sneak through each mission, killing enemies without getting caught and working together as a team.
On the PSP, this kind of gameplay worked very well because the game only required pressing R to aim, so handhelds’ aiming issues were entirely bypassed. The online play made the game very popular, which was rare for handhelds at the time, earning it the admiration of fans.
6) Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Square Enix’s Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is an action role-playing game released in 2007 and serves as a prequel to 1997’s Final Fantasy VII. Thanks to the game’s real-time combat implementation, its importance in the popular series’ story, and its fan-favorite characters, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a PSP title worth the remake it gained in 2022.
You play as Zack Fair, a young SOLDIER assigned to look for the missing SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos. As he searches for Genesis, Zack discovers Genesis’ origin, Project G, and its connection to the high-ranking SOLDIERs, Sephiroth and Angeal Hewley.
5) The Warriors
The Warriors was initially developed for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but the PSP version proved the console could handle full-fledged games. The Warriors felt better on the PSP than the PlayStation 2 and was an excellent game to own on the handheld.
Before following the movie’s events, the game introduced each character and how they came to join The Warriors gang. There is a free-roam option where players can control the characters they’ve unlocked and cause mayhem without any rules. There was also a gang brawl mode that was very popular with players.
4) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
Around its release in 2006, Persona was alive and well but not the powerhouse it later became. That’s not to take away from Atlus’s Persona 3, as it’s many of the fan’s favorite in the series. The portable version came to the States 4 years later, in 2010.
In Persona 3, you control a high-school student who joins the “Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad” (SEES), a group of students investigating a temporal anomaly known as the “Dark Hour.” The game follows the high school student, balancing their daily lives of going to school and building relationships while fighting Shadows during the mysterious Dark Hour. This gameplay loop of everyday roleplaying life mixed with turn-based combat shined and continues in today’s iterations.
3) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Rockstar Games did a fantastic job on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Players were tasked with playing Victor Vance, a minor character in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, who dies during a drug deal. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a prequel that shows Vance two years earlier as a soldier who is dishonorably discharged and later becomes the leader of a criminal organization.
The game is entertaining and improves upon Grand Theft Auto: Vice City‘s criminal enterprise mechanics. Despite the exciting story, many players found it more enjoyable to take over businesses and invest in their empires than to play through the game all at once. The criminal empire tycoon from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories should have been in other games because it was gold.
2) Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Among the best games on the original PlayStation was Final Fantasy Tactics. The story was captivating, and the turn-based combat worked well with the fantasy world. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions brought the game to PSP and featured excellent cutscenes.
The player takes on the role of Ramza, a noble in a world where commoners are rising. Ramza feels caught between honoring his heritage and helping the people, and it’s always challenging to say one side is right. Many translation issues were fixed, and new classes and characters were added. Despite its age, this is a remaster that still plays well today.
Though PlayStation stopped making handhelds after the PS Vita, the PSP still has excellent games you can play with PlayStation Plus Premium.
1) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is an excellent PSP game and one of the best games in the Metal Gear Solid series. This game featured Big Boss in his newest attempt to create an army without borders, and players could recruit soldiers, build bases, and use them in missions to earn money.
This story was amazing; it featured Big Boss as he was trying to fight against tyranny and make his own Metal Gear. The game is a sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and a prequel to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pains. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker laid the foundation for the last game under Hideo Kojima and is still among the best in the series.
There you have it! You now know the best quality games for the PSP. Enjoy!
