Handheld gaming is a pretty important aspect of the gaming industry as a whole. The PSP might not be as popular as the DS, sure, but it’s a nice little system with quality games.
Combined with the release of the PSP Go and not that many new interesting releases, the PSP, as always, didn’t have an incredible year. But that’s not to say it didn’t get anything good at all.

The following games are all games that should at least be checked out for Sony’s handheld.

Read and see our 5 winners this year!

Half-Minute Hero

This game takes on one of the most unique concepts of the year: Take a few game genres, though mainly RPGs, parody them, and then make you finish each level in a super-fast time. The game includes 4 completely different modes of play, and 2 variations on the 30 second RPG mode, offering lots of variety and a surprising amount of gameplay time. In addition to the gorgeous 16-bit visuals and hilarious(and actually interesting) story, it’s a must for PSP owners.

Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This?

This is like the perfect arcade classic that never existed. Here your job is to build dungeons, summoning an army of monster, and preserving the dungeon’s “ecosystem”, and protect the Overlord from being captured by the good guys. The game takes no more than 20 minutes to complete… that is if you’re able to complete it at all. It has pretty brutal difficulty, especially when you’re not a complete master of the game. The ability to make up your own strategies makes this game a must-try.

Dissidia Final Fantasy

This is pretty much the recipe to greatness. Take a few characters from 11 incredibly popular games, and make them fight using an original fighting game system. The concept alone sold this game. Add in fun intertwining stories for each character, great music, nice visuals, each character being unique, a fun battle system, some customization… and what’s not to like really?

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?

People who whine that games aren’t hard anymore NEED to try out Prinny. On the hardest difficulty of course(easy mode is a bit too easy). Incredibly strict jumping mechanics right out of the original Ghosts n’ Goblins, tough enemies, dying in one hit, really hard boss battles requiring to totally master their patterns. This is the recipe of a hard game done right. Some might think the 1000 lives you start the game with is a bit much(you can’t get any extra lives by the way), but when they realize going through one level can take you a few hundred lives, they’ll change their opinion right away. Though it’s actually a lot more lenient than a game like Ghosts n’ Goblins, it’s stll one tough cookie. Add in great replayability, with each playthrough being different, fun DLC, and lots of extra things to find and you have a great game in your hands.

Undead Knights

Undead Knights is a unique addition to the zombie franchise in that you take the role of a character killed amidst a conspiracy, given the power to turn the living into your rather grisly looking undead slaves. Using this makeshift army, you’re given the power to crush those who stand in the way of your revenge. With an interesting plot, an incredibly well-written script, multiple difficulty levels, multiple playable characters, an upgrade system for each of the playable characters and even unlockable titles, this is a game built for replayability – making it one of the best games on the Playstation Portable this year. (thank you Wintrale for the text)

jobocan Game of the Year, Games, Handheld, psp