Sony’s initial attempt to dethrone Nintendo as the king of the portable market was the PSP. While it did not achieve the same economic success as the Nintendo DS, the system was a fantastic technology in its own right.
Over the course of its existence, it gathered a massive library of titles, including some of the best RPGs ever created. While many of the top titles have since been ported to other systems, numerous RPGs remain exclusive to the PlayStation Portable or PlayStation Vita, requiring gamers to purchase a PSP or Vita in order to play the game through the PlayStation Store.
Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core
This Final Fantasy VII prequel gives fans something they’d been waiting for for years: a chance to discover more about Zack Fair. Although the fighting differs significantly from that of the sixth mainstream entry, it was nevertheless well-received at the time. Unfortunately, this game was never released on the PlayStation Store, so you’ll have to get a physical copy to play it. Perhaps as part of the Final Fantasy VII remake series, we’ll see a genuine remake in the future.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is an action role-playing game with a gorgeous aesthetic that combines the Final Fantasy and Disney universes. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy are among the many Disney characters in this entertaining adventure.
It’s a large game in a tiny box; you’ll follow the tale of three characters throughout numerous Disney locales, with Jesse McCartney, James Woods, Mark Hamill, and Leonard Nimoy among the voice actors. The hack-and-slash combat allows you to wield your sword to cast spells and perform combos while filling your power meter to utilize special strikes. The game is full of surprises and mini-games that keep the player entertained. You may also alter the game’s color depth and CPU speed to suit your preferences.
Final Fantasy 4: The Complete Collection
There’s also Final Fantasy IV, which is regarded as a classic RPG. Final Fantasy IV began as a 2D RPG game for the SNES platform in 1991 and was later remade in 3D for the Nintendo DS handheld system and the PSP.
You can play all versions of Final Fantasy IV games on the PSP, including the classic and remake versions. Not only that, but you’ll be able to play Final Fantasy IV: The After Year, in which you’ll take on the role of Cecil’s son, a dark warrior who transforms into a paladin to eliminate enemies.
Final Fantasy IV is the finest RPG series that will get your feelings jumbled up, with a medieval royal-type plot wrapped in a turn-based RPG-type game that has been designed.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a remake of the classic tactical JRPG that adds much-needed enhancements and conveniences to make it a more pleasurable experience. Fortunately, the gameplay is enjoyable because the plot isn’t. The battle makes for one of the darkest RPGs, with political warfare and human drama replacing mysticism and magic. On contemporary systems, a re-release or full-fledged remake would be fantastic.
Half-Minute Hero
Role-playing games are notorious for taking a long time to complete, but Half-Minute Hero is an exception. In quirky and funny packaging, this hybrid role-playing game combines real-time strategy and shoot-em-up action. The 8-bit graphical style is reminiscent of classic Nintendo Entertainment System RPGs.
Half-Minute Hero’s adventures are only 30 seconds long and take place in four distinct storylines with diverse themes. You begin the RPG hero’s story by roaming around, buying weapons, and rapidly engaging in combat with goblins, snowmen, and cat snakes. As a princess, you’ll be dragged about by guards while firing your crossbow in a shoot-em-up.
In the knight’s narrative, you must rush a sage to safety. Finally, the evil lord tasks demand you to play a real-time strategy game in which you must cast armies. Does it appear to be moving too quickly? You may always talk to the Goddess of Time and trade money for time if you need more time.
Trilogy The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky
This is another excellent RPG game for the PSP system. The Legend of Heroes series has a wonderful plot and world creation, replicated in the Trails in the Sky PSP series. Trails in the Sky debuted in Japan on PC in 2004 and was ported to the PSP in 2006. Well, it wasn’t until 2011 that XSeed, the game’s creator, translated the game into English and released it.
The English version comes after the initial Trails in the Sky and a sequel named Trails in the Sky SC in 2015. Finally, Trails in the Sky 3rd is the third installment in the Trails in the Sky series. The English versions of the three games took longer to release than the Japanese versions, owing to the large amount of conversation and text that needed to be translated.
This is a hint that you’ll receive a narrative with a lot of character interaction. The Trails series includes a turn-based structure with distinct powers for each character for its own style of play.
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time is a PSP RPG that combines tactical combat with elements of a dating sim. Although this is the fourth part in the series, it is a stand-alone, self-contained episode that does not require prior knowledge of the others to appreciate.
Growlanser is a spiritual successor to Career Soft’s previous Langrisser series (which was recently re-released on current platforms) and, like that series, uses Satoshi Urushihara’s character art, giving it a unique appearance and feel. It contains unique advancement mechanisms, including a peculiar “Ring Weapon” system in which equipment adapts to the player’s personality. Gems may be put into Ring Weapons to customize their effectiveness further.
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time is a highly replayable game with three major storyline paths and 40 different epilogue sequences based on your interactions with the game’s numerous characters. You’ll need at least four playthroughs to see everything, so if you’re serious about seeing everything, be prepared to be in it for the long haul!
Jeanne D’Arc
Some RPGs get their ideas from the most unexpected areas. Joan of Arc’s narrative is fictionally retold in Jeanne d’Arc. The presence of demons on the battlefield indicates that this game does not take place in historical Europe. Anyone who has played RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics will recognize the gameplay, yet it is far less tough. Despite this, the distinct style makes it stand out.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
What would your ideal Marvel superhero squad be like? You can witness it in action in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance by assembling an ensemble of four of your favorite Marvel superheroes, including Captain America, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Wolverine, and others.
Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil begin an attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agency in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, an action role-playing game featuring beat-em-up components. You’ll begin by assembling your squad from a starting pool of 20 playable characters, each with their own unique speech, attacks, and special powers. The top-down camera angle gives you a bird’s-eye view of your four interchangeable and playable characters as you explore dungeons.
YS: Seven
Are you ready to join Adol on his long and dangerous journey? The YS: Seven series is now available for PSP users. Of course, this game plays similarly to the others in the Ys series, with real-time combat and a hack-and-slash technique that makes battles feel more dynamic and urgent.
There is a unique weapon system that gives variation to your play style. You must assault the adversary and determine the sort of weapon that is most successful against a certain sort of adversary. The Nihon Falcom-developed Ys: Seven game has also garnered positive feedback for its gaming mechanics and lovely music.
Gungnir
Gungnir for PSP is a tactical role-playing game from Sting Entertainment’s well-regarded Dept. Heaven series. The Tactics Gauge, a vital concept representing how successfully the player’s troops are fighting together, places a major emphasis on collaboration between allies. The Tactics Gauge may be utilized for various things, like altering the round order and summoning the Inferno gods of battle with the legendary lance.
As the title says, there are heavy Norse mythology inspirations in this one, and a number of choice points during the game lead to one of several potential endings.
While many of Sting’s prior Dept. Heaven games were purposefully complex and at times perplexing, creator JaJa sought to make Gungnir more approachable to a wider audience, only introducing what he referred to as “huh? Later in the game, once you’ve gotten a handle on the game’s core concepts, you’ll encounter “what is this?” sections.
Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday
The 3rd Birthday is the third game in the cult-classic Parasite Eve franchise, and it’s perhaps the poorest title on our list. Fans of the older games will recognize gameplay elements, and the tale even includes characters from the previous games.
While it was great to see the franchise return after such a long time, it was not quite what fans had hoped for. Perhaps a genuine console sequel will be released in the future.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Innocent Sin
The most severe, high-intensity, and intellectual RPG on the PSP is Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Innocent Sin. The game puts you in charge of a group of high school students supported by personality manifestations (known as Personas) in their fight against demons and a world distorted by gossip.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Innocent Sin is a turn-based RPG with battles that can lead to story-related encounters and random dungeon bouts. Enemies can be conversed with, and if the appropriate words are spoken, they will leave behind objects and spell cards that can summon additional Persona kinds (assigning them to a character changes their stats and abilities). It’s up to you and your companions to put a stop to a person known as Joker, who has the ability to change reality with his words alone.
Star Ocean: Second Evolution
This one has 2D visuals with sprite quality from the ancient days. Star Ocean: Second Evolution is, of course, a remaster of Star Ocean: The Second Story, which is available on the PlayStation 1.
Some of the material additions are similarly minor, consisting of a few changes to the music, additional anime material, and a few tale additions. However, if you are anxious to play a turn-based game, Star Ocean Second Evolution may be the remedy for those of you who seek a fast-paced conflict. Combat in this RPG is, indeed, real-time.
The greatest part is that Star Ocean: Second Evolution offers various narratives with up to 100 distinct endings!
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is an improved PSP version of the original Valkyrie Profile game, released for the PlayStation in 2001. The Valkyrie Profile series has always been known for its unique role-playing gameplay; instead of using a top-down or 3D perspective, the Valkyrie Profile games usually take place in a side-scrolling format, with combat systems based on timed button presses and selecting the order in which party members attack.
As a Valkyrie, you are an embodiment of death itself, ushering souls into the afterlife, and as one can think, this may lead to some quite gloomy story pathways to explore.
Motoi Sakuraba, who has worked on a number of famous role-playing games over the years, including entries in the Golden Sun, Star Ocean, and Tales series and Monolithsoft’s Baten Kaitos titles the musical RPG Eternal Sonata, composed the soundtrack for the game. You may have heard his work on the Dark Souls and Super Smash Bros. series soundtracks more recently.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Many people are perplexed by the Monster Hunter franchise. Is this series deserving of being classified as an RPG? Is it a more action-oriented film? The solution is contingent on your point of view.
If the depth of character development defines RPGs, then Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is deserving of the title. There is no leveling system in this game, but your character will be stronger as well as the stuff you have gained via successful manufacturing.
You’ll find a variety of tasks here to combat super-sized and powerful enemies using a variety of equipment, including great swords, long swords, arrows, double swords, and more. Prepare to put out your best effort, as the enemies in this game are extremely difficult to defeat. Are you looking for a new challenge?
