I LOVE PSP!!!

IT'S SO COOL!

Despite the fact that I have a modded PS Vita which can play any PSP game with better controls and a more ergonomic design, I still use my PSP way more. There's just something I find really charming about this old device from it's design and all the tech crammed in it. THEY PUT A DVD DRIVE IN A GAME BOY (and i never use it cause it sucks but it's cool that it's there) There's also the fact that the PSP has a much better library of games than Vita and they look better on the original screen. I wanna gush a bit about some underrated PSP games that I love.

1: KOLLON/KOLLOOMN/ULTIMATE BLOCK PARTY

This is a hectic puzzle game where the better you play, the more crazy status effects you'll unleash on your opponents. You can drop extra blocks onto their screen of course, you can turn their blocks into awkward shapes, block off their bottom rows, make their screen black and white, or even reverse their controls. It's like the Mario Kart of puzzle games, some hardcore puzzle fans might find it too chaotic for competitive play but I love this game. It's addictive, the art style and music are great, and it totally deserves a modern release with an online mode. Unfortunately the studio and publishers of the this game are pretty much all dead and I'm not sure who owns the rights to this game now.

2. Gripshift

Gripshift is a unique mix between a racing game, a puzzle platformer, and Super Monkey Ball. The main goal is to cross the finish line in each stage under the time limit, but there are also three extra challenges you can complete by collecting every star, grabbing a bonus token, and getting the best times. There's also a standard kart racing mode with a handful of power-ups but it's not as fleshed out as the main game. There's also some mini games you can unlock and a track editor if you've got the patience.

Everything about this game's presentation screams mid-2000s, from the character designs, vehicle skins, menu aesthetics, and especially the soundtrack filled with corny white guy rap, techno, and a couple good drum n bass tracks. You can immediately tell this is a game from 2005 and chances are if you're on this website you'll find it very charming.

Unfortunately this game is currently unplayable with emulation so you'll need an original system to play it. There is a version on Xbox 360 that's backwards compatible but the level design and soundtracks are different and the bonus content is missing. Both versions are still very much worth checking out though.

3. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure

Gurumin is sort of a mix between a platformer and action RPG. You play as a young girl named Parin who is sent to a small mining town with her grandpa. She discovers a hidden village of monsters that gets destroyed by a group of phantoms, and sets off to help rebuild their homes. The game is pretty relaxing, with simple gameplay, nice music, and charming characters and dialogue. (aside from this one pedophile dude that keeps asking you out. he kinda kills the vibe.) The voice acting is pretty nice too, they got surprisingly big voice talent for this game like Steve Blum and Dee Bradley Baker. 

This game is also available on 3DS and Steam, though the Steam version doesn't run on my current laptop so I'd recommend either of the handheld versions.

That's all I feel like talking about now, might make a part 2 to this sometime.