The PSP came out in North America on March 24, 2005. Japan had it first, on December 12, 2004, and Europe waited until September. The pitch was a PlayStation 2 you could carry around, and the launch shelf had to sell that idea on day one.
It did a good job. Namco brought a racer that played like a greatest hits album, and Konami turned Metal Gear into a card game. Studio Liverpool squeezed Wipeout onto a screen the size of a postcard. Twisted Metal came back with online play. Most of these games are still worth your time twenty years later, which is more than most launch lineups can say. Here are the 11 best PSP launch games.
11. Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (2004)
Darkstalkers Chronicle was released on December 12, 2004, alongside the PSP at launch in Japan, and it was also a launch title in North America and Europe. It is a port of the Japan-only Dreamcast game Vampire Chronicle for Matching Service. That game lets you choose your fighting style from all five Darkstalkers arcade games released in the 1990s, so one cast plays five slightly different ways. All 18 characters from the earlier games are in, and the music changes with the style you pick, too.
A full Capcom fighter on a handheld was a big deal in 2005, and it still plays well. Players still name it whenever someone asks for a fighting game on the PSP.
10. Spider-Man 2 (2005)
The PSP version of Spider-Man 2 came out on March 23, 2005, almost one year after the console versions. It is a different game from the one on the PlayStation 2. It uses the same engine as 2002's Spider-Man, so the gameplay is virtually unchanged and many locations from the first game come back. You can crawl walls and web swing, though Spider-Man can only move forward in a straight line when he swings.
There are 19 new levels that go beyond the film, with Doc Ock joined by Mysterio, Rhino, Shocker and Vulture. The handheld versions got mixed reviews. Players are kinder about it today, and they tend to recommend it together with Spider-Man 3 as the pair of Spidey games to play on PSP.
9. Need for Speed: Underground Rivals (2005)
Underground Rivals is the first Need for Speed game released for the PSP. Team Fusion made it for Electronic Arts, and it reached North American stores on March 14, 2005, ten days before the PSP itself. Race events take place only at night, and there is no free roam, so it plays more like a tidy arcade racer than the sprawling console games.
You get 20 tuner cars to customize, 10 new circuit tracks and eight modes, including Drift Attack and Rally Relay. Visual parts are not sold separately, only in body kits, which keeps the tuning quick. Players rank it below Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure among the launch racers, and that feels fair. It is still a solid pick if you want the Underground look on a handheld.
8. Ape Escape: On the Loose (2005)
On the Loose is a remake of the first Ape Escape, and it was released globally as one of the launch games for the PlayStation Portable. The first game in the series was the first to require the DualShock or Dual Analog controller to play. It was reviewed positively at the time and compared to Super Mario 64.
Bringing a game built around two analog sticks to a handheld was a bold choice for a launch title, and a funny one, since the whole series started as a reason to buy a new controller. Players who grew up with it still recommend it, and it shows up next to the other launch games whenever people list the PSP's early classics.
7. Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix (2005)
Neversoft and Shaba Games developed Underground 2 Remix for Activision. It was released on March 24, 2005, as a launch title for the PlayStation Portable. Classic mode, which was featured in Underground 2, made the trip too.
The Remix part is the new levels. Santa Cruz, Kyoto, Las Vegas and Atlanta were made for this version, and three of them were later recycled into the console releases of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. The Collector's Edition of that game brought back Atlanta. Players still name it among the PSP games worth owning, and it is easily the best skateboarding game you could buy on launch day.
6. Metal Gear Acid (2004)
Metal Gear Acid was first unveiled at E3 in May 2004 and released in Japan on December 16, 2004. North America got it on March 24, 2005, as a launch game. Fans expecting sneaking in real time got turn-based tactics instead, with a trading card system controlling every move Snake makes. Most cards let you move three spaces. Every card also has a cost, and the higher your cost, the longer you wait for your next turn.
The producer said "Acid" has three meanings. One is the game's break from the earlier Metal Gears, the way acid can dissolve metal. Another is an acronym for Active Command Intelligence Duel. Critics gave it somewhat positive reviews. Players still recommend it today, and it is the strangest Metal Gear in the best way.
5. Twisted Metal: Head-On (2005)
Head-On was developed by Incognito Entertainment and released by Sony on March 24, 2005. It is the seventh game in the Twisted Metal series and the first in the series to ship fully online-enabled. The story is a direct sequel to Twisted Metal 2 and ignores Twisted Metal III and Twisted Metal 4, which a lot of fans were happy to do as well. Some characters can only be unlocked by completing minigames on certain levels.
The PSP version scored 79 out of 100 on Metacritic. In 2008 it was ported to the PlayStation 2 as Twisted Metal Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition, made by Jaffe's newly formed studio Eat Sleep Play. Players still recommend the PSP original, and it is the launch game to pick if you want cars with missiles on them.
4. Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade (2005)
Brotherhood of the Blade is a launch title for the PSP, developed by Sony Online Entertainment. It is a hack and slash game in the Diablo mold. You choose one of four characters: Knight, Druid, Berserker or Alchemist. It can be played cooperatively with up to four other players over Ad Hoc wireless, which was a big selling point for a handheld in 2005.
Critics were split on it. Edge gave it 7/10, while Eurogamer gave it 3/10. Players are much warmer. Untold Legends was the closest thing to Diablo you could carry around. Players tend to recommend it together with its sequel, so if this one clicks, the second game is waiting.
3. Wipeout Pure (2005)
Wipeout Pure was released as a launch title in North America and PAL territories, in March and September respectively. Studio Liverpool started production in August 2003 with only two staff members working on it at first, and it lasted until early 2005. You race in the FX300 Racing League, and there are ten anti-gravity vehicles to choose from, two of them unlocked later.
Reviewers unanimously praised the graphics and track designs, but some noticed occasional frame rate fluctuations. Pure also had downloadable packs, one of them called Classic, long before that was normal on a handheld. The European version let owners send a demo over Wi-Fi to friends without the game for up to 8-player races. Players still recommend it, and it has aged better than most racers of its year.
2. Ridge Racer (2004)
Ridge Racer was a global launch title for the system, released on 12 December 2004 in Japan and overseas in 2005. It has been described as a compilation of the series, with tracks, cars and remixed music from the 1990s games. The big addition is a Nitrous Gauge made up of three nitrous tanks, which turns every straight into a decision.
The director, Kenya Kobayashi, said the goal was to "hit the sweet spot for fans" and "make the most of the hardware specifications." Sound director Hiroshi Okubo assembled a large team of composers, many of whom had worked on earlier Ridge Racer games. Only one launch game is recommended more. Players still name it as one of the racers to own on the PSP.
1. Lumines (2004)
Lumines started when Tetsuya Mizuguchi heard about the PlayStation Portable and wanted to develop a game for it. It was the first game made by Q Entertainment and a launch title for the PSP, built by an estimated 4 or 5 people over more than a year. Blocks made of four smaller squares in two colors drop into the field, and you rotate them to build 2x2 squares of one color. A Time Line sweeps across in time with the music and clears them.
Each skin changes the look of the game and the song that plays. Katsumi Yokota set strict rules for the songs: everything is in 4/4 time, except "Big Elpaso." The original received the highest review scores in the series and the majority of its awards. Players recommend it more than any other PSP launch game.
Which one to play
There you have it, the whole list of the best PSP launch games. Few consoles started with a shelf this strong.
If you are not sure where to start, play Lumines. If you love racing, pick Ridge Racer first and Wipeout Pure right after it. For a game to play with friends, Untold Legends lets you bring four of them along. Metal Gear fans who like strategy should try Metal Gear Acid. And for a hidden pick, give Darkstalkers Chronicle a go.
