So basically I'm looking for titles that are either so unique or so timeless or have such modern gameplay that you would recommend them to someone not neccessarily looking for a retro experience with the PSP.
These are the ones I've already compiled:
- SSX On Tour (Wintersports, more zen than arcady)
- Metal Gear Acid 1&2 (Tactics-focused deckbuilder, ahead of its time)
- LUMINES (Tetris from a different timeline)
- Chili con Carnage (Shoot-Em-Up that kinda controls like og Doom but 3rd person, tbh the humor is where it shines)
- Armored Core Formula Front (You're some kind of arena robot mechanic, the battles can play out with or without your input and you mostly customize the robots in between fights)
- Thrillville (You manage themeparks, unspectacular concept but pretty unique execution)
- Me & My Katamari (A classic, you roll a ball that grows in size as it accumulates various objects)
- Dead Head Fred (Action platformer with a few flaws but decent mechanics and story)
- GTA Chinatown Wars (Drugdealer Simulator before it was cool)
- Gladiator Begins (You're a gladiator fighting to pay off your debts and later the story can branch into several directions, very satisfying gameplay loop and makes the most of its small scale)
- LocoRoco 1&2 (The sidescroller for people who don't like sidescrollers)
- Daxter (Classic 3D platformer, many little features to keep you hooked)
- MediEvil (Classic Hack & Slash, nice atmosphere and some high quality jokes)
If you're a fan of the 3D era Grand Theft Auto games but never played the Stories games, do yourself a favour.
They're also playable on PS2 but both versions have trade offs even if you're emulating.
The PSP versions are a lot smoother to emulate and can be modded to support the right analog stick and 60fps but the render distance is a lot worse.
The PS2 versions doesn't seem to emulate as well can keep a stable 30fps but the 60fps patch available on PCSX2 just makes my fps drop below 30 more times than not. even after overclocking the EE Cycle Rate. like suggested.
PS2 version of LCS in particular also has some heavy handed colour filtering which some people say fits the "vibe" better. But I never liked it.
LCS was the first gta game i've ever played and it was a blast(also what a banger soundtrack)
I sadly didn't play much LCS back then (despite loving GTA 3) but VCS was my PSPs main game when I was in high school.