Sony’s first attempt at a handheld console, the PlayStation Portable, felt like a revelation when it launched, essentially carving a niche out for itself as a portable PS1 in terms of power and scope. Naturally, there’s a huge library of games that includes more than just a few hidden gems, so with Sony bringing PSP games to PlayStation Plus, and with the slim chance these games will be ported in the future, here’s our picks of the underrated bangers available on the PSP.
1. Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
Anyone who’s followed the career of ATLUS over the years knows that they love making games about Japanese high school kids. Okay, it sounds weird when you phrase it like that, but bear with us.
While games like Persona or Shin Megami Tensei might focus more on the supernatural, ATLUS’ lesser known PSP release Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble, developed by Spike Chunsoft, aimed for a Yakuza-esque take on real life Japan. Specifically, how a delinquent high school student wants to be the strongest in all of Japan, and the 47 tough guys that are standing in his way. Kenka Bancho is actually a long-running series in Japan, but Badass Rumble is the only time the series has been brought to the West, making it a real hidden gem for the PSP.
You control a Bancho, which is another word for a delinquent leader in Japanese, from one of the 48 regions across Japan, with each school offering their own special move to start the game with. In what can only be described as either a brilliant or unfortunate bit of planning by all the school districts, the Banchos of all 48 districts have gathered in the fictional city of Kyouto for their respective school field trips. WIth seven days and an open world to explore, you need to hunt down your rivals and prove yourself as the strongest Bancho in Japan. With multiple endings and plenty of replay value, Kenka Bancho is definitely among the PSP’s most underrated gems.
2. Gitaroo Man Lives!
Gitaroo Man is already considered one of our picks for the PS2’s most hidden gems, so of course we had to mention the PSP re-release when talking about the treasures you can find on the PSP. You’d think that another chance on a platform as popular as the PSP would help a game like Gitaroo Man shine, but despite positive reviews, the re-release Gitaroo Man Lives! still flopped compared to other PSP games on the market at the time. Even so, one man’s loss is another man’s hidden gem, and Gitaroo Man Lives! definitely earns its place among the greatest games that the PSP has to offer.
You play as U-1, an often bullied lad who ends up becoming a hero thanks to his talking dog giving him a weapon known as the Last Gitaroo. It’s basically a guitar from an alien race that turns U-1 into a superhero, which he’ll need in order to defend the galaxy from the evil Prince Zowie. As a port of the PS2 game, Gitaroo Man Lives! includes all the content from the original game, but with the added bonus of new difficulty settings and two additional co-op songs which can be played using the PSP’s ad-hoc multiplayer capabilities.
It’s the superior version of an already incredible game, making it an essential part of any self-respecting PSP collector’s library.
3. Me & My Katamari
We have to say, it was a bold move to try and develop a Katamari game for the PSP, considering the game typically utilizes two analog sticks for its ball-rolling gameplay. The PSP, meanwhile, didn’t even have an analog stick, just some weird little nub that often caused more problems than it solved. Almost as if to prove that point, Me & My Katamari didn’t even use the nub, instead opting to utilize the PSP’s d-pad and face buttons to emulate the dual analog stick controls. It’s not quite a 1:1 translation, but it’s a pretty clever solution to a hardware problem, making Me & My Katamari a worthwhile hidden gem on the PSP just for novelty’s sake alone.
As for the game itself, the premise is still the same as it ever was: the King of All Cosmos has been a bit of a prancing doofus, and has destroyed something massive. Instead of an entire galaxy this time, it’s merely a tropical island, so the King resolves to fix his mistake by creating new islands instead. And by “fix his mistake”, he means to send you, the Prince, to various locations to roll up as much junk as possible to create huge katamaris, which he’ll then convert into islands. You know, someone probably should investigate the King for child labor violations. Either way, Me & My Katamari is as zany and madcap as the rest of the series, but with the added benefit of fitting in your pocket. Thanks, PSP.
4. Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast
For a list about hidden gems, Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is probably the most well-known game we’ll talk about. Side note: you can also tell that the game was from the mid-2000s because the title is “2 cool 4 skool”. Anyway, SEGA’s Outrun series had already been around for a long time before the release of Coast 2 Coast on the PSP (along with the PS2 and the original Xbox), but Outrun 2006 is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the series. Good vibes, timelessly great graphics and excellent gameplay have all combined to make Outrun 2006 such a shining example of the arcade racing genre.
Despite the heaps of positive praise all versions of Outrun 2006 received though, it would ultimately prove to be the last proper release in the Outrun series. SEGA would release a stripped down version a few years later called Outrun Online Arcade, but that was then delisted thanks to SEGA’s expired contract with Ferrari. Nowadays, the Outrun series merely exists as an arcade machine you’ll interact with as part of a Yakuza/Like A Dragon substory, which is a shame because Sumo Digital’s work on Outrun 2006 deserves to be preserved for all-time. Did somebody say “cheeky HD port”? You know, if there’s anyone left at Sumo to work on it, anyway.
5. Yakuza: Black Panther
It’s pretty easy for a game to be considered a hidden gem when it never launched outside of Japan, so it’s no wonder that even some of the most devout Yakuza/Like A Dragon fans haven’t played Black Panther. Referred to as Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō in Japan, Yakuza: Black Panther is a spin-off of the mainline series developed by AKI Corporation, now known as syn Sophia. Naturally, we’re big fans of AKI’s work around these parts, with their iconic Def Jam games being some of the best wrestling/brawling action you can find, and Yakuza: Black Panther’s combat is even modeled after Fight For New York. Truly, this is a game for the sickos among us.
Instead of focusing on main series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza: Black Panther follows a street punk by the name Tatsuya Ukyo, who accidentally kills a Tojo Clan yakuza during a robbery. A talented fighter, Ukyo is essentially blackmailed into competing in an underground coliseum, otherwise the murdered yakuza’s patriarch will turn him in to the police. With combat developed more for 1v1 fighting than the series’ traditional scale and spectacle, Yakuza: Black Panther is definitely a departure from the regular Like A Dragon games. Still, with English fan translations of both Black Panther and its sequel, you absolutely owe it to yourself to check these games out.
6. Jeanne D’Arc
Between Level-5’s increased level of awareness, and the rise in success of turn-based tactical RPGs since Fire Emblem: Three Houses took the world by storm (shout out to Unicorn Overlord as well), it feels like if Jeanne D’Arc released today, it’d do decently well. As a game, it already was a whipper, but somehow this sterling showcase of a PSP RPG only managed to become the 190th best-selling game in Japan in 2006, which are hardly world-beating numbers, and while we’re not suggesting that a ported Jeanne D’Arc would suddenly start posting Baldur’s Gate 3 level metrics, we do think Level-5 should revisit this one when they get a chance. For starters, it lets you fight a war against the English, so at least this guy in our comments is going to at least have some fun.
Set during a fictionalized and fantasized version of the Hundred Years’ War, you control Jeanne, who you’ll likely know as Joan of Arc, as she seeks revenge against the English for burning down her village and generally just being nuisances to the French. Oh, and also the Duke of Bedford made a deal with a demon leader, so the English are commanding demonic soldiers. Good luck with that. The gameplay itself is pretty much what you’d expect from your standard Fire Emblem release, complete with a rock-paper-scissors style weapon match-up system, but the mix of history and fantasy makes Jeanne D’Arc a real PSP treat.
7. Dead Head Fred
Fans of British comedy legend Rik Mayall will probably be disappointed to learn that Dead Head Fred isn’t a sequel or spin-off to the cult classic film Drop Dead Fred, but that doesn’t mean that Dead Head Fred doesn’t boast some legends of its own. Chief among them is John C. McGinley in the lead role as Fred, who you’ll likely recognize as Dr. Cox in Scrubs. If that isn’t enough to convince you that Dead Head Fred is more than just a hidden gem, it’s a diamond, then how about the fact that you’re literally playing as Fred’s brain and eyes in a jar, investigating your own murder case?
A neo-noir detective game with comedic horror elements, you must guide Fred through his investigation as he deals with a shady businessman named Ulysses Pitt, whose new “Nukular Plant” has caused massive radiation zombies to run amok in certain areas of Hope Falls. What makes Dead Head Fred even more unique, if it wasn’t already weird enough for you, is the fact that Fred can switch heads during gameplay, with new heads giving him additional abilities in combat and exploration. Imagine a Tim Burton-directed Majora’s Mask and you’re about there.
While developers Vicious Cycle might not be around anymore, maybe those wizards over at Nightdive Studios would be interested in a Dead Head Fred revival. Hell, we’ve already manifested them into working on a HD port of The Thing, so let’s go two for two.
8. Undead Knights
Despite being one of the most powerful character archetypes in fiction, there’s not many games out there that truly let you loose as a necromancer. Sure, killing your enemies so you can revive them and sic them on your other enemies, only to keep repeating the cycle, is about as OP as it gets, but games are at their most fun when they let their player run rampant sometimes. Undead Knights understood this more than most, allowing players to control one of three warriors brought back from the dead, blessed (or cursed) with the ability to bring their enemies back as zombies.
After being murdered by a King and his vindictive wife, Undead Knights follows House Blood as they’re resurrected, looking for revenge. Naturally, that means rampaging across this medieval hellscape, murdering enemies and defiling their remains as you turn them into your decaying and loyal revenants. The gameplay itself plays like a cross between Dynasty Warriors and Pikmin, with large scale battles that allow you to command hordes of zombies to do your bidding. You’re no slouch in a fight yourself though, which is handy when it comes time for Undead Knight’s many boss fights.
If you like dark fantasy and random heavy metal soundtracks, consider trying Undead Knights.
9. The 3rd Birthday
Look, we already hear you angrily bashing your keyboard, iPhone, or, uhhh PSP in the comments about how The 3rd Birthday, the third installment of the Parasite Eve series, isn’t a hidden gem; it’s just a pile of trash. We hear you, you’re acknowledged, you’ve been seen, but consider this: the game’s actually pretty decent. Sure, the story is a lot of incomprehensible bollocks that’s nearly impenetrable regardless of if you’re a Parasite Eve fan or not, but there’s an almost irresistible charm in seeing what fresh nonsense The 3rd Birthday can drum up from seemingly nowhere. Trying to make sense of this fustercluck is next to impossible, but that’s part of the fun, right?
As for the gameplay, it’s not as bad as the game’s reputation would have you believe, though it’s a huge departure from the survival horror elements of the first two games. For the most part, The 3rd Birthday plays out like a standard, cover-based third person shooter, but with the added element that Aya has the Overdrive ability, which allows her to swap places and control AI NPCs in the fight against the Twisted. Combine those features with the fact that The 3rd Birthday also includes a wide range of unlockable outfits and weapons, encouraging replayability, and you have all the makings of a PSP hidden gem.
A controversial hidden gem, but a hidden gem nonetheless.
10. Crush
There have been plenty of games over the years that have played with the player’s perspective. Games like Paper Mario or Fez have explored the possibility of gameplay in both a 2D and 3D space, but perhaps none have touched on this concept quite as well as Crush for the PSP. On its surface, Crush looks like your regular “push the blocks around” puzzle game, of which there have been plenty, but Crush’s main gimmick is main protagonist Danny’s ability to crush the 3D level into 2D, opening up new pathways in the process. You might not be able to reach a faraway platform in 3D, but crush the level into 2D and you might have more success.
As you progress through the game’s 40 levels, Crush introduces new mechanics and obstacles that’ll really challenge the old thinkerbox, but the simplicity of the game’s core feature means the solution is never too far away. However, the arguable real highlight of the game is the story, which sees Danny’s exploring his own mind and memories through the Cognitive Regression Utilizing pSychiatric Heuristics (C.R.U.S.H.) device. Turns out the “p” is silent in acronyms too. Anyway, Danny’s been struggling with insomnia all his life, and turns to Dr. Reubens and his experimental C.R.U.S.H. device to find a solution, with each “world” confronting different trauma in Danny’s life.
For a game from 2007, this exploration of mental health in gaming is actually pretty ahead of its time, but it’s the puzzle mechanics and gameplay that make this an easy game to recommend.
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