The Best RPGs On The PSP

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 26, 2025 98 Views 18 Min Read
The Best RPGs On The PSP



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Summary

  • RPGs on PSP were innovative and polished, like Crimson Gem Saga with a star-studded voice cast.
  • PopoloCrois, Final Fantasy 4, and Persona 3 Portable are must-play RPGs on PSP for immersive experiences.

If you were a fan of role-playing games in the mid-late 2000s, then you would be right at home on the PSP. Sony’s little handheld that could was home to a rich catalogue of RPGs spanning iconic series, original IP, and plenty of hidden gems.

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While other home consoles of the time moved away from traditional Japanese-style RPGs, the PSP became a safe haven for the games that made the genre so popular in the ’90s. That isn’t to say that RPGs on the PSP weren’t afraid to be innovative, as there are some truly imaginative titles to be found on the UMD wonder machine.

Updated February 20, 2025 by Jacob Whaling: We’ve added several new games to this list, and expanded each entry with detailed spec boxes.

13

Crimson Gem Saga

A Hidden Gem Of A PSP RPG

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Crimson Gem Saga

Released

October 23, 2008

Crimson Gem Saga doesn’t so much try to reinvent the wheel as it does refine it. A fairly standard JRPG-style game, Crimson Gem Saga nonetheless stands out for its impressive level of polish across all aspects — from its painterly art style to its surprisingly star-studded English dub voice cast (hi, Troy Baker and Laura Bailey).

A lot of this quality is thanks to Atlus publishing the game — a company known for putting the time and effort into localizing its games. The result is an underappreciated PSP RPG brimming with an engaging cast of characters, customizable battles, and a terrific soundtrack.

12

Ys Seven

Entering Seventh Heaven

The Ys series enjoyed a strong representation on the PSP, with Ys Seven being one of the standouts. This mainline installment was the first to adopt the multi-character combat style, where you would switch between party members to exploit weaknesses within the enemies.

This added a new layer of strategy to the series, while allowing characters other than series protagonist Adol Christin to really shine. Throw in a gripping narrative and Falcom’s typically epic music, and you have one of the best Ys games out there.

11

PoPoLoCrois

A Beloved Japanese Classic Finally Brought To The West

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PoPoLoCrois

Released

February 10, 2005

PoPoLoCrois is a well-loved manga and anime that was adapted into a pair of RPGs for the original PlayStation — games that were sadly never released outside of Japan. Luckily, both of these games were remixed and merged into a PSP game that did see an official English localization in 2006.

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PoPoLoCrois gives off major Studio Ghibli vibes with its storybook art style and charming characters. Its story of a young prince trying to find his long-lost mother and overcome evil forces is both timeless and touching, resulting in a PSP RPG that can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages.

10

Final Fantasy 4: The Complete Collection

The Complete Way To Experience A Beloved RPG

There is no shortage of ways to play Final Fantasy 4. Pick any Nintendo or PlayStation system from 1990 onwards, and there’s probably a 30-40 percent chance you can play some version of Final Fantasy 4 on it.

And yet, despite its over-accessibility, Final Fantasy 4: The Complete Collection still stands out as one of the superior versions of this iconic RPG. Alongside having the original game, Interlude, and The After Years all packaged in the one place, this PSP version also includes some of the sharpest sprite work to come out of a Square Enix game that doesn’t include the HD-2D or Pixel Remaster labels.

9

Jeanne D’Arc

The Best History Lesson On The PSP

Level-5 treated PSP players with Jeanne d’Arc — a one-of-a-kind strategy RPG that is a loose retelling of Joan of Arc in the Hundred Years’ War. Emphasis on the word ‘loose’.

Yes, there are fantastical elements thrown in to help the game appeal more to the JRPG crowd, but the heart of the story isn’t lost at all. Jeanne d’Arc still hits all the emotional beats you would expect from a Level-5 game and pays its historical foundation enough respect to make for a groping experience on the PSP.

8

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7

An Emotional Prequel To A Juggernaut JRPG

Even among the clutter of Final Fantasy 7-related spin-off games, movies, and books, Crisis Core still manages to cut through the noise. Set before the events of the main game and focusing on SOLDIER Zach Fair, Crisis Core is the textbook example of how to make a good video game prequel.

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It expands the world of Final Fantasy 7 and provides even more emotional depth to the story of the original game, while also being an excellent standalone title that doesn’t compromise on delivering its own satisfying, self-contained narrative. The final act delivers some of the most gut-wrenching scenes from any Final Fantasy game, cementing Crisis Core’s legacy as a Shakespearean-level tragedy on a UMD.

7

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

The Definitive Strategy RPG On The PSP

Despite being a remake of a 1995 Super Famicom game, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together still feels like an impressive feat for the PSP. The sheer amount of gameplay is staggering, with a completionist playthrough taking in excess of 200 hours.

The beauty of Tactics Ogre is that it always supplements this scope with substance. A mature storyline about warring factions, deep strategy RPG systems that you can easily sink your teeth into, and ridiculous levels of choice in both the direction of the plot and your party ensures this is one game that will be spending a long time in your UMD drive.

Many of our entries – see above with Crisis Core – have been remastered on more modern hardware. Most are effectively the definitive editions. While Tactics Ogre: Reborn is quite possibly the definitive version of this classic, an argument can equally be made that it’s still the PSP’s, as gameplay changes have been made to the latter that haven’t gone over universally well.

6

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

The King Of Kingdom Hearts Portable Spinoffs

The best thing about Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is that it understands how to deliver a quality experience within the confines of the PSP. Instead of trying to replicate the scale of the mainline console games and falling short, the developers at Square Enix reworked the Kingdom Hearts formula to fit incredibly snuggly on the PSP’s 4.3-inch screen.

The battle system has been tweaked to work with the PSP’s limited controls and the different Disney worlds are the perfect size for a portable game. The story also doesn’t require you to take a course on Kingdom Hearts lore before playing it. Instead, it is perfectly content to tell a touching prequel tale about three friends venturing out into the world to find their missing master.

5

Persona 3 Portable

A Persona(l) Favourite For Many SMT Fans

Sure, this version of Persona 3 lacks the 3D explorable environments outside of Tartarus and is missing other content from the original game, but the fact that Atlus was able to make this behemoth of an RPG work on the PSP at all is incredible. The fact that Persona 3 Portable still turned out to be a fantastic port that actually builds on the original in some key areas is nothing short of miraculous.

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First and foremost, you can choose the gender of the main character in this version. Opting for the female protagonist opens up new story routes to explore — routes that you can only find in P3P. What more is there to say? This is simply a fantastic portable version of Persona 3 — one of the greatest JRPGs of the 21st century. Enough said.

Y’know that thing we just said about Tactics Ogre in a prior note? Yeah. Very much applies here as well. Persona 3 Reload is rad as heck. Nevertheless, its exclusion of the female protagonist and all her social links is a tough pill to swallow.

4

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky

Carving Out A New Trail For RPGs

With how popular the Trails games have become in recent years, it can be tricky to remember that the series had its start on the PSP. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky would birth one of gaming’s richest and most sprawling worlds, and yet who would have guessed this game’s impact when it first came over to the West as a relatively late PSP game in 2011.

Telling the coming-of-age story of Estelle and Joshua trying to become Bracers, Trails in the Sky excels at telling a deeply personal narrative against the backdrop of a large-scale conflict — a storytelling philosophy that would come to define the series. While the Trails series would continue to grow in scale and ambition, there’s still something deeply touching about this duology.

3

Disgaea: Afternoon Of Darkness

Now With Etna Mode

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is a remake of the original PS2 version, with expanded content mostly focused around Etna. The Disgaea series is known for its over-the-top humor, grindy endgame, and charming characters, and Afternoon of Darkness is one of the best ways to play the original game.

Disgaea is a grid-based tactical RPG where you control Laharl, the son of the previous demon overlord, who now has to take his father’s place by fighting off other demons. There are tons of different mechanics to chew through here, including a level cap of 9,999. Disgaea appeals to the player who wants to endlessly level their characters, getting absurdly powerful in the process.

2

Phantasy Star Portable 2

On-The-Go MMO

Phantasy Star Portable 2 is a sequel to the first game, following a player-created character that works for the private military group Little Wing. While these games are definitely best played in order, Portable 2 expands on the original, so we’ve decided to spotlight it here.

Gameplay-wise, Phantasy Star Portable 2 plays like an MMO. You make your character, choose your class, then go explore the world, killing monsters for weapons, armor, and money. There’s tons to do in this game, and you can easily sink over 100 hours if you want to max everything out.

1

Star Ocean: First Departure

An Expanded Remake Of The Original Game

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Star Ocean: First Departure

Released

October 21, 2008

Star Ocean: First Departure is a full remake of the original sci-fi action RPG, with updated voice acting, animated cutscenes, new playable characters, and improved gameplay. Star Ocean tells the story of three friends from a small town who are searching for a cure to a mysterious illness, who are suddenly thrust into an intergalactic conflict.

The Star Ocean series has expanded by leaps and bounds over the years, but it’s always interesting to see where it all started. With the First Departure remake, playing the original Star Ocean is the most approachable method for experiencing the saga that transcends time and space.

A remastered edition, Star Ocean: First Departure R, is also available on modern consoles like the Switch and PS4 if that’s more your speed!

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