Best PSP Games 1
Image: Push Square

What are the best PSP games? First released on 12th December, 2004 in its native Japan, the product was a trailblazer, launching several years before the first iPhone and offering media capabilities such as MP3 playback and UMD movies. It’d later receive add-ons to transform it into a satnav, webcam, and much more.

Of course, the PSP played hosted to a wealth of outstanding games. Third-party support was impressive: in North America, it launched alongside games like Metal Gear Acid, Lumines, WipEout Pure, and Twisted Metal: Head-On. It would go on to receive three original Grand Theft Auto games, and even high-profile spin-offs to Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and God of War.

In this article, we’ve rounded up the best PSP games based on your votes. This is a definitive list determined by your ratings, so if you happen to see anything you disagree with, remember you can do something about it. Please do keep in mind that a game will need at least 20 ratings in order to appear on our list, so that may explain why your favourite is missing. Nevertheless, if you would like to submit some scores, you can do so using the search panel below to do so.

With all that said, scroll down for our definitive list of the best PSP games, as determined by you...

30. Killzone: Liberation PSP

A direct sequel to Guerrilla’s 2004 PSP first-person shooter Killzone, the Dutch developer adopted an isometric run-and-gun format for its PSP debut Killzone: Liberation. The alternative perspective suited the hardware extremely well, and delivered an alternative take on the series’ gritty sci-fi action, which would go on to spawn two more traditional entries on the PS3. In addition to a meaty single player campaign, the title also boasted online and ad-hoc multiplayer across a multitude of modes, although the servers have since been disabled.

29. Resistance Retribution PSP

Sony Bend was the one of the unsung heroes of the PSP era, making a bunch of excellent Syphon Filter titles that often flew under the radar. When it turned its attention to Insomniac Games’ Resistance in 2009, it arguably delivered one of the best third-person shooters for the system. Set in Paris, this felt like more of a successor to the original Resistance: Fall of Man than any of its subsequent console sequels, and delivered a strong, engaging campaign – despite the limitations of its parent system.

28. Tomb Raider: Anniversary PSP

Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a remake of the original game starring Lara Croft, retelling her first adventure with much improved visuals. The PSP version obviously lets you take that nostalgic experience on the go, sacrificing some graphical grunt to let you take the action-packed excursion with you. While the portable version is arguably inferior to the home console version, there's still plenty of fun to be had here.

27. LocoRoco PSP

Possibly one of PSP's most iconic games is LocoRoco, a quirky, gleeful platformer about silly little blobs. Instead of controlling the clumsy characters directly, you tilt the environment with the shoulder buttons and watch as they roll over hills and through gusts of wind in search of their buddies. It's an inventive and grin-inducing game, one that never overcomplicates things yet keeps you engaged with new ideas and a handful of other modes. Oozing charm and relentlessly joyful, few other titles can match LocoRoco's cheery vibes.

26. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops PSP

While not the first Metal Gear Solid game on the PSP – the two Metal Gear Acid titles preceded it – Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops adopted a more traditional action format, inspired by the control scheme in the Subsistence edition of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The big twist was the Comrade system, allowing you to recruit team members and specialists for a variety of circumstances, and then toggle between them out on the field. This concept would later be developed by subsequent sequels like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. A standalone expansion, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus, released a year later.

25. WipEout Pulse PSP

The success of WipEout Pure a couple of years prior put Liverpool Studio’s futuristic racing franchise back on the map, and so WipEout Pulse was pretty much a tap-in for PSP owners in 2007. Set roughly ten years after its portable predecessor, this direct sequel was effectively more of the same, building on the foundations of its forebear with more beautiful sci-fi race tracks and a more balanced difficulty curve. It would later get ported to the PS2 and be repurposed for PS3 remaster WipEout HD.

24. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max PSP

23. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror PSP

Bend Studio was, along with Zipper Interactive, the master of the PSP third-person shooter. While the handheld didn’t naturally lend itself to such action-packed games – it lacked a second analogue stick to start with – Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror was enormously entertaining, and a return to form for a franchise which had gone a little off-kilter with the experimental PS2 exclusive Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain. A globe-trotting escapade, taking you all around the world – from Peru to Finland – Dark Mirror also featured innovative eight-player multiplayer modes, including the fantastically fun Rogue Agent, where players compete to become and kill the titular super-agent in a deathmatch-style alternative.

22. Burnout Legends PSP

Burnout Legends, as the name eloquently implies, is something of a Greatest Hits for Criterion’s crash happy console series. Featuring content from all three PS2 instalments, this slimmed down racer really excelled on the PSP thanks its supercharged hardware; the Nintendo DS version was a less successful adaptation by comparison. Featuring a mixture of races, time attacks, car chases, and the infamous Crash mode from Burnout 2: Point of Impact, this was a faithful continuation of an extremely popular franchise – converted impressively to Sony’s handheld console.

21. Ridge Racer PSP

Once upon a time, a PlayStation console simply couldn’t launch without a Ridge Racer game, and the PSP was no exception. Ridge Racer was the quintessential launch game in a pretty strong field: its bitesized gameplay, vibrant graphics, and thumping soundtrack all excelled on Sony’s handheld hardware. The title even featured a fully playable version of Namco’s 1981 arcade classic New Rally-X while the UMD was loading, as well as local and online multiplayer for up to eight players.