should i snag a PSP?

[kenshin-dono]

im a pretty big gamer but i  never did get into handhelds. I own 2 NES's, 3 Genesis, 2 SNES's, 2 Ps1's (ones the older model that doesnt' play fmv's well), 2 PS2's, a Dreamcast, 2 Xbox's, 2 xbox 360's, a PS3, and a gamegear that i havent used in ages. I also have an extra broken Xbox

As you can see the only handheld i ever used was a gamegear and i didn't play it all that much. Im just not really a 'gaming on the go' type of guy. I have tons of consoles all hooked up to various TV's and monitors and when i game i like to do it comfortably on the recliner.

Still, i noticed the PSP is getting quite a few RPG's which is probably my fave genre these days. Id really like to play stuff like Jean D'arc, and Valkyrie chronicles II (why the hell is this only on psp!) Theres also a remake or two id liek to check out, namely Lunar (even though i have the PS1 disk) and maybe the FF tactics remake. I heard they added a bunch of stuff.

So i guess i was wondering if anyone here owns one and thinks its worth it just to play some RPGs. Im also wondering if their remakes. I.e. FFT, Tales of Eternia, star ocean 2, Valkyrie profile, ect, are just ports or if they've added enough stuff to make it worth getting. I own all those games so im not sure if its worth rebuying on PSP or if its just the same thing with pretty graphics. If the PSP is probably worth it, what version should i get? Its confusing since theres several versions plus a PSP go. But i dont know if the go can play UMD's at all or what.

I was also wondering if it may be better to wait for xmas for a price drop or to see if theres a new model coming out or what.

I was even eyeballing the nintendo DS simply because it has a SUikoden game on it and im a HUGE suikoden fan. Unfortunatly, i think the DS is really dumb with the stylus and find it tough to buy a system just for 1 game. Does the DS have some good rpgs?

so what do you guys think? ANd if the PSP is a good idea can anyone recomend some RPGs for it? i dont really see any 'best of' lists online

[Takeshi]

Well, I am not a huge RPG player, but I bought Final Fantasy VII-VIII-IX, and play them quite a lot when I'm on the move. I don't use the PSP for much else other than gaming. If I recall correctly, the newest model is PSP Go. I have the PSP 3003.

You could just use an emulator, and save yourself some money. Don't hold it against me if there's some games which can't be downloaded.

[kenshin-dono]

are there psp emulators? Ive never been big on the emulator scene. Playing on a PC is not the same as holding a controller to me, hence the collection of old systems

[vuzedome]

There's one very functioning psp emulator, in java. 
Works well with plenty of titles, but those with encrypted headers in the iso won't be able to launch at all.
Check it out.
http://jpcsp.org/

[fohfoh]

are there psp emulators? Ive never been big on the emulator scene. Playing on a PC is not the same as holding a controller to me, hence the collection of old systems

Uhh...

* fohfoh wonders why they sell USB controllers.

 

[Chiyachan]

The DS has hundreds of RPGs, and a very healthy amount of English Jrpgs. ;3

[DaggerLite]

The DS is easily emulated with no issues at all. I wouldn't buy a PSP unless there's some specific game(s) that I absolutely would love to play on it, if you're not going to get it for use on the go. Most of the point of it is gone, then. It's basically a Playstation 2 with a small screen, considering what many of the popular titles are. I do love my PSP and NIS games though, and I have no issues playing any game, regardless of whether it was released outside Japan or not.

The same goes for DS, but if you're playing it at home and you're not getting both, DS emulation is no issue.

[kenshin-dono]

like i said i really prefer actually having a console of some kind over emulation. Plus my HD is pretty friggin full, and that link looks a bit confusing. There are a couple specific psp games i want. Namely jean D arc, Valkyrie chronicles II, Y's 7,  star ocean 1, and possibly Astonishia Story (not sure about that one, it just looked cool)

i also kinda wanna play the FFT remake and the Lunar remake (even though i own the PS1 versions) Im still wondering if most of the remakes are worth it if i already own the original. Which i do for pretty much all of them, even the phantasty star games on genesis.

Dagger mentions NIS games, and i tend to love those. Some of my faves on the ps2 were the first Disgaea, La pucele tactics, and Soul nomad.  What games do they have on the PSP? I do not want something to take on the go really, i just am looking at it because theres a few RPG's that you cant get anywhere else

What does the DS have other than the suikoden game i want? I think i remember something that looked kinda neat called the world ends with you or soemthing to that effect. Cant remember now.  If the DS can be emulated easy thats one i may actually go to the hassle of emulating. Honestly though i dont see how that would work. Does it use a mouse movement instead of a stylus or something? I dont really see a point in getting a DS for just Suikoden. Especially since i hate the whole stylus thing, and i think theyre coming out with a new system around the corner.

I found this list
http://xevon.awardspace.com/psprpgs/

any of those really stand out? Or can anyone recomend some really good PSP rpgs? Im still not sure if its worth actually picking one up. Im worried they'll come out with a new versino soon, or it will have a price drop on xmas or something. If i DO go for the psp, waht should i get? the 3000? i hear if you get an earlier model you can rip your games to a memory stick. Im not sure why all models dont let you do that, that would save on battery life a hell of a lot.


^_^x KD

[glitchhunter]

Hmm, I'm the opposite. I dislike non hand held systems I don't play many games though really
However, there are few PSP games I really enjoyed - Tales of Eternia, Tales of the World and Final Fantasy Crisis Core
Not sure if Eternia's original is better, as I haven't played it... and Tales of the World is very genetic and repetitive (sort of like Pokemon) but pretty good at the same time.
If you can get one for a good price, I would go for it

[DaggerLite]

FFT for PSP is only worth it if you love the game and would like it to be portable. I have it, but apart from two new classes, I think it's identical to the PSX version. Disgaea 1 and 2 actually have new content, and I like those better than FFT personally (FFT is an early TRPG, while these are more evolved).

As for which PSP you'd like... If you're going to pirate games (since you mention it), you'll need to run custom firmware that you'll be unlikely to get on any new PSP. I'm not following the scene on PSP hacking actively, but last I checked you needed a PSP from before the newest PSP 200X (and certainly not PSP 3000), due to newer motherboards which couldn't be downgraded. You also needed an official firmware below 5.50 or something like that to be able to downgrade it. Things might've evolved on the hacking front, but check it out yourself before you decide on anything. Best thing might be to get a nice second hand deal.

If you don't have any big plans about CFW, I think PSP 3000 is the one to go for. I have a PSP 2000, and the main difference between the two should be screen quality. Otherwise, they should be pretty much identical. I wouldn't get the PSP Go! due to the obvious. The PSN store is becoming pretty good now, but Japan's is far ahead of both the US and EU ones. While I prefer PSN games over physical ones for portability, there are some titles you can only get on UMD. If you're interested in collector's editions and such as well, those are usually UMD offers. Second hand titles are also a UMD exclusive.

On games, I really don't know what to recommend. PSP has more niche Japanese games due to companies like NIS and Atlus, and I like the "unique" exclusives like Crisis Core (Agito also coming), Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?, Dracula X Chronicles (with entire SotN), Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (haven't played yet, but a game I desire)... What I personally emulate on DS are the Castlevania and Ace Attorney titles. There's a lot of "Tales of..." titles as well, but I can't be arsed to go through 'em. It also has quite the Square Enix repertoire, but I personally only desire a few of the titles there.

Another idea could be to wait for the 3DS to show what it is capable of, but perhaps you don't want to wait for that.

[Chiyachan]

Chrono Trigger
The World Ends With You
Are the two at the forefront of my mind. I'll compile a list later.

[fohfoh]

Chrono Trigger
The World Ends With You
Are the two at the forefront of my mind. I'll compile a list later.

The world ends with you is a really cool one. A concept I find just as cool as Kingdom Hearts.

[Temuthril]

DS RPGs:
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island
Etrian Odyssey
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
Knights in the Nightmare
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier

PSP (s)RPGs:
Riviera: The Promised Land
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Yggdra Union ~We'll Never Fight Alone~
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
Jeanne d'Arc
Wild ARMs XF

I didn't bother checking the thread for duplicates, sorry.

[Southrop]

I actively follow the PSP Homebrew and hacking community. If you have any intentions of getting a PSP, DO NOT GET THE PSPgo. It absolutely sucks.

On a more hacking related note, most PSPs can run homebrew and custom firmware. Old PSPs like the PSP-1000 series and some of the older PSP-2000 models (with old motherboards) are able to run what is called permanent custom firmware. This involves modifying some of the PSPs flash data, and hence permanently writing the information to the PSP. This will permanently change your firmware and if you do this, don't use PSN. Ever. You'll get banned.

The newer PSP-2000s and PSP-3000s will need to run what is called temporary custom firmware. Due to increased security from Sony, hackers haven't been able to implement the same method of custom firmware as they have on old ones. Instead, an older exploit, the TIFF overflow exploit, has been brought back to create temporary custom firmware. By using a series of images, a PSP can temporarily boot into custom firmware. In this temporary firmware, homebrew can be run. What most people do is that they run a custom firmware installer. Of course, the firmware that is installed using this needs to be temporary too. But after installing the latest temp firmware (should only take a few minutes), ISOs can also be launched.

At the moment, the latest custom firmware is the Prometheus series created by a Chinese hacker. It is the only set of firmware able to run the most recent games without having to patch them first. It should be noted that there are many versions of Prometheus out.

5.50 Prometheus-2 is currently the latest version of permanent firmware. It is able to run games that require official firmware of up to 6.30, if I recall correctly. It requires you to have 5.50 Prometheus or 5.50 GEN-D before you can install it.

5.03 Prometheus-2 is the latest temporary firmware. You'll also need to download the image exploit known as ChickHEN to use it.

Finally, there is also a 5.00 M33 Prometheus-2, which is a permanent firmware for those people who never updated to the 5.50 GEN series and stayed with Team M33's latest release, 5.00 M33-6.



By the way, I recommend you check out the Monster Hunter series. It's the best selling PSP game in Japan. Monter Hunter Portable 2nd G (known as Monter Hunter Freedom Unite for NA/EU) sold over 3.5 million copies on it's first week of launch in Japan alone. Because of the success of the franchise (more recent entries to the franchise include the Wii's Monster Hunter Tri and PC/Xbox 360's Monster Hunter Frontier Online MMORPG), other companies like Square Enix and Bandai Namco have created their own 'clones', called Lord of Arcana and God Eater respectively. Despite being clones, they're still slightly different and are still fun.

[Sakubo]

Psp also has persona and persona 3 portable if you havent played the game on ps2, also you mentioned lunar and then there is Star ocean 1 and 2  or final fantasy 1 and 2. Also Mimana: Iyar Chronicle. It really depends on how you play. If you do get a psp I would get a 3000, the new one the Go only uses downloaded games. Which means alot of older games or new games that arent released on the network arent aval on it. I have a psp 3000 because I could only buy one psp or ds and when I bought the psp I already knew Valkyrie Chronicles 2 was going to be released for psp so I decided on that system since I really liked the first one. I have played alot of the rpgs on the psp and they are good. My only issue with handhelds is I dont play games while outside my house. So basically when im home I do my gaming. Issue I run into is most times I dont end up playing the psp games for long periods of time because I would usually rather play something on the ps3 or my computer.

[sdedalus83]

Just get a 1000.  ~$50 used, can have CFW installed no matter what official firmware is running, and is much more useful as a self defense weapon.

[Southrop]

A word of warning: if you're going to get a PSP-3000 or new PSP-2000, make sure the firmware is NOT ABOVE 5.03! Any firmware higher than that is unhackable at the moment and in the near future.

[Sakubo]

A word of warning: if you're going to get a PSP-3000 or new PSP-2000, make sure the firmware is NOT ABOVE 5.03! Any firmware higher than that is unhackable at the moment and in the near future.

Thats of course if you are playing on hacking it and not paying for games. Me I dont play that many games on it I dont mind actually buying them....

[hanayome]

Southrop got to all the hacking stuff before me.

Anyway, MHUSpeed3 has higher success rates than ChickHEN. Might want to use that instead. If you have a temporarily hackable one, use those. But try getting the old Phat PSPs like Southrop said. Mind you though, they realized people get the old ones more and increased the prices like hell, atleast in my country. As for the Monster Hunter, i downloaded it since it's supposed to be so damn awesome. Wish it had some awesome striking story from the beginning. Didn't hook me at the very beginning. No stunning graphics either IIRC. Get Dissidia Final Fantasy!!!! And, if possible, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, it's a titanium award game or something, basically one of the top 10 IIRC.

[sdedalus83]

A word of warning: if you're going to get a PSP-3000 or new PSP-2000, make sure the firmware is NOT ABOVE 5.03! Any firmware higher than that is unhackable at the moment and in the near future.

Thats of course if you are playing on hacking it and not paying for games. Me I dont play that many games on it I dont mind actually buying them....

I bought all my PSP games when I had it.  There are a lot of reasons to install CFW other than piracy.

Carrying 15 PSX games and 7 PSP games on the same 32GB dual microsd to MSPD adapter made the PSP infinitely more usable.