RPGFan's Top 20 PSP Games

[Monsoon]

I was pleasantly surprised to see this list pop up, as the PSP is by far my most-played console of the past 6 or 7 years.  Here are my thoughts on RPGFan's list:

Spots 16-20: no real arguments here, I guess.  I played four of these and they were all at least pretty good.  Love Jeanne D'Arc.  XML2 is the best of the XML/MUA quartet.  Second Evolution is a decent remake of a good game.  Silver Star Harmony is an excellent remake of a good game.  WAXF looks neat.  

Spots 11-15: I dunno if Ys Chronicles belongs here.  The gameplay is so unsophisticated (insert your own dry-humping, lawn-mowing, or sumo-wrestling joke here) that playing through it is a chore at times.  I'd rather play a fun game than have a history lesson, especially when the Ys series is already well-represented on the list.  I haven't played ZHP, but I love HMH and Disgaea 2.  FF4 sure is FF4.  

Spots 6-10: Oath in Felghana is amazing; I haven't played Ys Seven but it looks fantastic; and VP: Lenneth is a hell of a remake.  Totally cool with those.  I haven't played Birth By Sleep, but... sure.  I'm not really a KH guy but I'll believe you guys if you say it's pretty good.  But really, Riviera?  People like that game?  And you're praising the gimped adventure game interface?  I wouldn't have put Riviera on any top 20, let alone the top 10.  

Spots 1-5: If I was making my own list of top 5 PSP RPGs, it would have four of these.  I haven't played Tactics Ogre yet, but it looks stellar and now I want to play it that much more.  Strong top 5, and a good glimpse of how excellent the selection of RPGs is on the PSP, even if it's a lot of remakes.  

(Seriously, 8 of the top 10 and 14 of the top 20 were remakes. This isn't a complaint but an observation. If I made a similar list the distribution would probably be the same or very similar)

Omissions: Valkyria Chronicles II.  It's not as good as the spectacular PS3 VC, but it's a very good strategy RPG with great visual design that does a lot of cool little things.  If I made such a list it would be in the top 8 to 12 somewhere.  I'd also add Disgaea 1, Tales of Eternia, and Breath of Fire III to the set of "good PSP remakes." I think any of them would have been better choices for the list than Riviera or Ys Chronicles, Afternoon of Darkness in particular.  I'm not sure if it's an RPG, but Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is a phenomenon that is worth a mention on any list of PSP games (I identify it as an online action RPG and would put it in the top 20, but I understand if someone might disagree).  

TL;DR online lists of **** are a little silly and haters might call them journalistically lazy, but they're easy reads, interesting to discuss, and look good on a front page.  This was a very solid online list.  Good on you guys and gals.  

(If this is the wrong place for this topic then please go ahead and move it. Thanks in advance!)

[Tooker]

Thanks - believe me, not all of us were 100% in agreement with the list either.  But it was a list we were all willing to accept. :)  You might actually be surprised at how much work one of these lists takes.  (Which partially explains why we don't do many of them here.)  We've got our "best of DS" list coming, and I talk a little more about the process in the intro to it.

Valkyria Chronicles II, Disgaea 1, and Breath of Fire III all came close to making the list. :)

It's unfortunate that so many of the games on the list are remakes... but depending on whether you had played them before (I hadn't), it may be unfortunate that those were simply the best games on the system. :(

The Monster Hunter series is one that we've decided doesn't fit our coverage - I actually reviewed Monster Hunter Freedom (the one before Unite), and it spurred much debate, resulting in that decision.  But how about if I offer the beginning of what my review would have said as a consolation prize?

Dear Reader,

I didn't want to be the one to have to tell you this, but our friendship means a lot to me, so I'm going to do it anyway. I know Monster Hunter Freedom looks cool, and does fun stuff, but it really doesn't like you "that way." It's cool if you come along with your friends, but when it's just you and Monster Hunter alone, it's just not the same. No hard feelings, OK?

-John T.

[Aeolus]

It also doesn't help that a lot of the games that could've been on this list ended up stranded in Japan. *cough*Valkyria Chronicles 3*cough*

[Dice]

(Seriously, 8 of the top 10 and 14 of the top 20 were remakes. This isn't a complaint but an observation. If I made a similar list the distribution would probably be the same or very similar)

I /sort-of/ feel this way when people make a big deal of Virtual Console or PSN Classic releases....  Like "yaaay, whoop-de-doo, an old thing is making us new-console crazy".  Remakes at least have some more love put into them though.

PSP was kinda weird like that though.  I really couldn't explain its release pattern besides a lot of weird shit, lotsa ports/remakes, but few outstanding innovations.  Besides the occasional gem, the NDS had way more mileage.

A side note, I loved Tactics Ogre, but the fella who did the new portraits made everyone look so fucking pouty.  I actually preferred the old hyper-real pixel portraits on the SNES/PSX versions to this weird kinda comic-book-look.
I do, however, love how fat the sprites look...tee-hee

I liked your ommissions list, but ymmv with some i think....

[Holykael1]

It's a solid list although I personally dont agree with all of it but ye diversity, subjectivity and whatnot, for example though Half Minute Hero is a really fresh and innovative idea for a game I dont think it is that great ultimately.
Im disappointed that BoF3 isnt there but oh well, that's just me.
I really have to play FFT and TO.. Just need to find the time.
Looking forward to the ds list(Are visual novels going to be included?!?)

[Cyril]

I'm glad TO was in the top 5.  That is one of the games that defined what we currently know as the SRPG genre, and the port is even better.  It also went with some truly morbid shit with the new content, such as Ozma getting beaten until she is comatose if you don't save her.

I was pretty happy with the list too, though I really don't agree with P3P being 1. Really, though, the PSP has so many good RPGs it's pretty crazy.  I can think of at least 5 more excellent games and 10 good-decent ones.

Who were those idiots that said the PSP has no games?

[Holykael1]

I'm glad TO was in the top 5.  That is one of the games that defined what we currently know as the SRPG genre, and the port is even better.  It also went with some truly morbid shit with the new content, such as Ozma getting beaten until she is comatose if you don't save her.

I was pretty happy with the list too, though I really don't agree with P3P being 1. Really, though, the PSP has so many good RPGs it's pretty crazy.  I can think of at least 5 more excellent games and 10 good-decent ones.

Who were those idiots that said the PSP has no games?

Oh cmon.. Be careful with that kind of information. There are people who havent played the game yet. It doesnt seem to be a big spoiler but still, :D

[Agent D.]

I'm glad TO was in the top 5.  That is one of the games that defined what we currently know as the SRPG genre, and the port is even better.  It also went with some truly morbid shit with the new content, such as Ozma getting beaten until she is comatose if you don't save her.

I was pretty happy with the list too, though I really don't agree with P3P being 1. Really, though, the PSP has so many good RPGs it's pretty crazy.  I can think of at least 5 more excellent games and 10 good-decent ones.

Who were those idiots that said the PSP has no games?

Oh cmon.. Be careful with that kind of information. There are people who havent played the game yet. It doesnt seem to be a big spoiler but still, :D

In all fairness, the game's been available for a couple years now and for what, 15 on ps1? If you haven't played it yet,it doesn't seem like you have much drive to get at it and shouldn't get antsy about minor spoilers for a minor character that only happens if you don't play the game well. I think there should be a permissable length of time for spoilers to be acceptable,and that oughta be anything past 2 years.

[Annubis]

Snape kills Aeris !

[Holykael1]

I'm glad TO was in the top 5.  That is one of the games that defined what we currently know as the SRPG genre, and the port is even better.  It also went with some truly morbid shit with the new content, such as Ozma getting beaten until she is comatose if you don't save her.

I was pretty happy with the list too, though I really don't agree with P3P being 1. Really, though, the PSP has so many good RPGs it's pretty crazy.  I can think of at least 5 more excellent games and 10 good-decent ones.

Who were those idiots that said the PSP has no games?

Oh cmon.. Be careful with that kind of information. There are people who havent played the game yet. It doesnt seem to be a big spoiler but still, :D

In all fairness, the game's been available for a couple years now and for what, 15 on ps1? If you haven't played it yet,it doesn't seem like you have much drive to get at it and shouldn't get antsy about minor spoilers for a minor character that only happens if you don't play the game well. I think there should be a permissable length of time for spoilers to be acceptable,and that oughta be anything past 2 years.

Hey, I wasnt mad or antsy about it because I figured it was a minor thing but I was just saying.

I think your approach is rather selfish, am I guilty of being born in 1995 and not having played final fantasy 6 within it's release(saying this just to make a point)? There are appropriate places to talk about spoilers, and if you are going to talk about them outside of those places where spoilers make sense within the context of the discussion atleast you should give a warning or use spoiler tags.
It would be idiotic if I was complaining in a topic where people were discussing the game's story which isnt the case here.  I really really want  to play the game, in fact I have it.. I just dont have time to play it at the moment and there are literally hundreds of games along with TO I want to play aswell.(Though TO is easily in the top 15 of priorities!)
Just because something is old it doesnt mean that everyone knows about it or even had the chance to experience it.. There are a lot of variables involved and that kind of thought process isnt very mindful of the younger generations.

[Agent D.]

All I have to say is

PPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
(that's generally accepted as the noise associated with the fart sound you make byvsticking your tongue out and blowing)

Gaming's a recreational activity, same as sports and tv. I can understand you not wanting to know about maybe Tales of Xillia's ending, but if you're that concerned about not knowing, say, Tales of Phantasia's plot and such, well maybe you should have found some time during the last 20 or so years to play it. And no, you're not too busy to not play it, you simply have priorities to other games. Meaning, these older games aren't in your main area of concern and as such, it isn't fair to the rest of us who played these games already as they were a priority to us (remakes included) and now we want to discuss them openly. 1 or 2 people shouldn't get precedence over numerous others. Youthful gamer crap be damned,I find time to go and play earthbound and secret of mana every couple of years, what's your excuse for that? We all have our rl issues, don't use that as an excuse cuz it's not fair. 2 years after release, you shouldn't be forced to spoiler tag information anymore outside of maybe an ending or a snape kills dumbledore-type moment. Obviously I'll respect whatever management has to say about it, but I still place my opinion pertaining to it here.

In regards to the list, I am mad BoF III didn't make it here.

[Kevadu]

But really, Riviera?  People like that game?  And you're praising the gimped adventure game interface?  I wouldn't have put Riviera on any top 20, let alone the top 10.  

Going to have to agree with you there.  For the most part I really liked the list (one can always argue about exact positions, but whatever...), but Riviera was the only game on the list that made me go, "WTF?"  I don't think Riviera is even a good game, let alone a great one.

And if you wanted to include a Sting game (they certainly did do a lot of PSP titles) then Yggdra Union >>>>>>>>>> Riviera.  Yggdra Union would certainly make my personal list.

This list also makes me sad for great games that didn't get localized like VC3 (best game in the series in my opinion) that would easily make any top-20 PSP list for me.  Not that I expect you guys to include import games or anything, just saying.

[Holykael1]

All I have to say is

PPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
(that's generally accepted as the noise associated with the fart sound you make byvsticking your tongue out and blowing)

Gaming's a recreational activity, same as sports and tv. I can understand you not wanting to know about maybe Tales of Xillia's ending, but if you're that concerned about not knowing, say, Tales of Phantasia's plot and such, well maybe you should have found some time during the last 20 or so years to play it. And no, you're not too busy to not play it, you simply have priorities to other games. Meaning, these older games aren't in your main area of concern and as such, it isn't fair to the rest of us who played these games already as they were a priority to us (remakes included) and now we want to discuss them openly. 1 or 2 people shouldn't get precedence over numerous others. Youthful gamer crap be damned,I find time to go and play earthbound and secret of mana every couple of years, what's your excuse for that? We all have our rl issues, don't use that as an excuse cuz it's not fair. 2 years after release, you shouldn't be forced to spoiler tag information anymore outside of maybe an ending or a snape kills dumbledore-type moment. Obviously I'll respect whatever management has to say about it, but I still place my opinion pertaining to it here.

In regards to the list, I am mad BoF III didn't make it here.

Dude.. Im not saying you arent free to discuss these games openly but why not create a topic about it? Hell, what's the problem of using spoiler tags. There are appropriate places to discuss story related events why dont you go there for your spoilery needs?
Besides.. Your reasoning is total bullshit! I havent played this game yet or the other hundreds because at this point in my life I dont even have time to play games at all. Besides, your reasoning proves my point that you are being selfish. If that's your perspective then so be it, Im not here to change your mind.  Also if I have a backlog of 300 games and mind you that until last year I barely even knew about 95% of these games because I wasnt fully invested in the hobby, I only have the right to not be spoiled about the n1 priority just because that's the number one priority? So it's okay that I can be spoiled or robbed of the other 299 experiences I havent had the chance to play yet just because I didnt know about them until recently and they happened to not be my instant priority?

Why would spoil a game in a topic about bananas? Of course this is a gross exageration but it serves the purpose. At this point this has nothing to do with my original comment on that tiny spoiler but if we are having this discussion then sure.. Obviously Im focusing my argument on my own situation but Im sure other people can relate to having huge backlogs of rpgs and you can only play one at a time goddamnit! And hell, excuse me for not being able to play Star Ocean or whatever other retro game at the time of it's release.. I dont know, I was too busy pooping my diapers or NOT EVEN EXISTING!

Also these experiences werent readily available to me over the years. A) I live in Europe less games get localized and such B) I wasnt born in an english speaking country meaning that I played what I was "fed" until I knew enough to loook for the gaming experiences myself. Sorry I wasnt effing born in America or Japan or other english speaking countries.
I was just asking humbly to avoid spoilers not demanding anything.

[Annubis]

But really, Riviera?

Going to have to agree with you there.

Same here actually. It's not a bad game, but it's not a great one either.
Although maybe the PSP version is that much better than the GBA one? That what I played.

[Cyril]

About the "spoiler" -

It's not too much of a spoiler.  You actually have to go out of your way to do a specific something on a specific path to get the scene, which in itself is optional and doesn't appear like normal story events, it just appears on the event screen.  It's basically just a cruel bonus for if you mess up too badly on purpose.  You probably won't be getting it unless you're trying to 100% the game.

I'm all for marking spoilers, but this isn't one.