Summary
PlayStation fans did not have to wait long to get their hands on Sony’s first dedicated portable machine: thePSP. It launched in December 2004 in Japan and then a few months later on July 19, 2025, North American players got their hands on the new device. Unlike the original PS1, it did not become a sensation globally.
Next to the DS, the numbers are laughable, but it still had a good run thanks to support in Japan. Outside of Japan, there were good games too, including the plethora oflaunch titles. Do these launch games hold up for the PSP though? Let’s find out by ranking them based on their past and current play value.
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Bladewas the beginning of theUntold Legendsfranchise, which saw one PSP sequel and a PS3 iteration. It was a dungeon crawlersimilar toDiablothat also had multiplayer.
While the class and loot systems were not as compelling as the manyDiablosequels out at this point,Untold Legendswas a decent hack-and-slash game that got the job done without much of a story to get in the way of adventuring. None of the games in this series were ever remastered, but a collection may still get some fans excited today.
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Toweris more of a remix than a collection of every game in the series. It’s a remaster of sorts, based on a Japan-only Dreamcast game that was like a fan letter to the diehards. Capcom took their success with street brawls and decided to have a bunch of movie monsters fight inDarkstalkerslike vampires, mummies, and various other creatures of the night.
Darkstalkers, as a franchise, did not have many sequels, but the games that were made left a lasting impression on fans. Since then, the main games have been remastered properly in various Capcom collections, leaving little need to go back toDarkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, but it was good for the PSP era.
5Dynasty Warriors
Every Launch Needs A Musou
Dynasty Warriorshas hit nearly every console on launch day sinceDynasty Warriors 2changed the franchise forever on the PS2. LikeDarkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, the game is sort of a remix of games that came before it. Missions were more bite-sized than the console versions, but there were still tons of characters to play as.
As mundane as the hack-and-slash gameplay could get, it was still impressive to have this sort of experience on the PSP.Dynasty Warriorsdidn’t do anything different from the main games in the series, but it was exactlywhat the Musou fanswanted and more.
Ape Escape: On the Looseis a remake of the PS1 gamethat added a lot of fixes to make it more tolerable. The basic premise followed a young boy who helped a professor catch monkeys with a variety of gadgets. While the PSP was missing a joystick, the camera felt better in this game overall.
Switching between weapons and catching the apes felt better too, plus it was a graphical overhaul that looked great on Sony’s portable system. Both versions have their charms, and they can be emulated on a PS5 very well now, butApe Escape: On the Looseis the better of the two versions to check out.
Every great system launch needs a few racing games, and among the many,Wipeout Purewas at the top. This futuristic racer acted more as competition toNintendo’sF-Zerofranchisethan arcade racers likeRidge RacerorNeed for Speed.Wipeout Purehad tons of tracks and vehicles to master that took players on some impressively winding routes.
Even on the small screen, it was compelling to jump into the cockpit of a futuristic daredevil on the speedway. Several games in this series have been remastered, and tracks fromWipeout Purehave appeared in sequels, but this game was never fully remastered on its own.
In early ads for the PSP, especially in Japan, Sony wanted their portable console to be the one-stop shop for all media, be it games, movies, or music.Lumines: Puzzle Fusioncombined the game and music mediums well, offering players a reason to purchase earbuds for the system.
It wasaTetris-like block puzzle gamebut with a heavy emphasis on the soundtrack. That soundtrack is the reasonLumines: Puzzle Fusionis remembered today, more so than the gameplay, which was sound for a puzzle game. This led to sequels and remasters, givingLuminesa great run in the puzzle sphere of video games.
Metal Gear Acidis one of the stranger entries in theMetal Gearseries, seemingly taking place in an alternate reality fromMetal Gear Solid. Solid Snake is retired but gets brought in to do the typical action movie “One Last Mission” plot line to help save The President.
Instead of sneaking around a base with manual controls, players use a deck of cards to control Snake for movement and combat. This blending of a stealth game with a tactical RPG made for a compelling system that was hard to put down. It got even better in the sequel, but that’s as far as this launch game got, and neither of these two spinoffs has received remasters in the years since.
