Five PSP Games that Should be Remastered for PS3
by Jake Weston, posted on 28 November 2011 / 3,568 Views
The Playstation Portable, while far from a failure, has not reached the same audience as its competitors. Despite having an install base of over 70 million units sold, PSP games never quite seem to sell as many copies as they should. This year, Sony seemed to realize this, announcing the "PSP Remasters" line, releasing remastered versions of God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PS3, with more remasters on their way. This opens the door for a lot of great PSP games to not only get remastered in high definition, but also reach an audience who might not have had a chance to play them. Here are the quintessential PSP games that deserve HD remasters.
Valkyria Chronicles II and III
Valkyria Chronicles is bar none one of the best games on the PS3, and as such its a shame that PS3 owners were unable to play the sequel, Valkyria Chronicles II, as it was released as a PSP exclusive. Valkyria Chronicles won the hearts of many with its watercolor painting inspired art-style, well defined characters and deep, tactical gameplay, and continued this with its PSP only sequel. Due to low sales of Valkyria Chronicles II in the U.S., though, SEGA opted not to localize Valkyria Chronicles III, cutting off American gamers from a beloved series. With a higher user-install base who are actually familiar with the first game, remastering Valkyria Chronicles II for the PS3 would be a great opportunity to try to retap the American market, as well as give SEGA an excuse to finally give us Valkyria Chronicles III.
Resistance: Retribution
Taking place before the original Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance: Retribution doesn't follow just any nameless military soldier, but instead focuses on the personal trials of James Grayson, and is easily the most story heavy of the series. Departing from the first-person style of the main console trilogy, Retribution is a third-person shooter more in the vain of Uncharted or Gears of War. However, the PSP's lack of a second analogue stick made controls rather awkward, and remastering this title for the PS3 could help it reach its full potential.
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
With this month's release of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, every main Metal Gear game is now available to play on your PS3, except Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. While Portable Ops is arguably the weakest entry of the Solid series, its plot is pivotal to the overarching saga, and its a wonder why it wasn't included in the recent HD collection (perhaps because "Portable" is in the title?). Much like Resistance: Retribution, Portable Ops was hurt by the PSP's lack of a second analogue stick, and seeing the game remastered in HD side-by-side with Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 and Peace Walker would be a true treat for fans.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Fans have been clamoring for a PS3 remake of Final Fantasy VII for years, and this could be the closest they will possibly get. A prequel to the original PSOne classic, Crisis Core delves into the relationship between the infamous Sephiroth and Zack, a character who is only briefly mentioned in the original game. Since Crisis Core's release, Zack continuously tops polls of favorite Final Fantasy characters, and playing his journey in high definition could help satiate the appetite for a true Final Fantasy VII remake.
Killzone: Liberation
The PSP is home to many spin-offs of console PlayStation series, and Killzone: Liberation is one of the best, bridging the gap between the original Killzone for the PS2 and Killzone 2 for PS3. Despite changing the series' format from first-person shooter to an isometric, top-down third-person shooter, Killzone: Liberation is still regarded as one of the best games for the console. While not really justified for a disc-based release as much as other recent HD collections, remastering the game in HD and releasing it as a downloadable title on the PSN would help this game reach a wider audience.
