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)
Maybe it's that you can still download stuff on the PSP store, but you have to buy it from somewhere else like the PS3 or Vita stores. I'll have to check and get back.
Yeah, I had a lot of PSP games saved on my PS3. That sucked when they got rid of transfers. If I remember right, it blocked save transfers for PS1 games too, which was a huge bonus from back in the day. Play on the road, then continue your game on the PS3.