(Just over) 10 years of PSP memories

On Dec. 12, 2004, Sony made its first portable game system available to the Japanese masses.

For whatever reason, I don't remember much about that date, although I have a feeling that may be because I wasn't all that interested in handheld games and systems at that point in my life.

What I do recall is turning attentively toward the PSP whenever intriguing games were announced for it; games like Loco Roco (2006), Patapon (2007), Gurumin (2008), Half-Minute Hero (2009) and What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord? (2010).

It wasn't until the release of Patchwork Heroes (aka Hyakumanton no Bara Bara), though, that I finally was pushed to pick up a PSP of my own. (It can be seen in the photo on the right.)

After that, I quickly added a number of quality PSP titles to my collection--with the two ClaDun games, Corpse Party, Hakuoki, Onore no Shinzuru Michi wo Yuke and Sweet Fuse among them.

If I were forced to name a favorite from among this cadre of quirky games, by the way, my response would include a whole lot of sputtering, as I like so many of them that placing one or two above the rest would be an impossible feat.

What I could say is that the games currently on my PSP short list are the aforementioned ClaDun titles, Hakuoki, Hot Shots Tennis, Patchwork Heroes and Sweet Fuse.

Of course, I've yet to play a bunch of other, similarly compelling PSP (or at least seemingly so) games like Jeanne D'Arc, any of The Legend of Heroes entries, either of the MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Airu Mura releases or Valkyria Chronicles 3, so it's possible that list will change in the coming months and years.

In the meantime, do any of you have any fond PSP memories, or even just the names of some of your favorite PSP games, you'd like to share?

Five PSP games you should have played, but probably didn't

Of all of these "five games you should have played, but probably didn't" posts I've written and published over the last few months (here's one about DS games and here's one about Wii games), this one is the least ... informed, for lack of a better word.

After all, although my PSP game collection has grown by leaps and bounds since Christmas (more on that in an upcoming post or two), it's still a bit meager. As such, I've yet to play a number of titles that are included on lists similar to this one--titles like Half-Minute Hero, Jeanne D'Arc and Valkyria Chronicles II.

Still, I've played--and thoroughly enjoyed--enough of the system's retail and digital releases, especially niche-y ones, that I think the list below should be helpful to those of you who, like me, are looking to bolster your game collection in the PSP's waning years.

1. Cladun/Cladun x2--I'm including both Cladun games here because I'm the kind of guy who thinks it's always best to start a series with the title that got the ball rolling, so to speak. (What a concept, right?) That said, most folks--especially those who have been visiting this blog for a while--likely have heard that the second Cladun bests its dungeon-crawling predecessor in pretty much every area and, as such, many probably will want to begin with Cladun x2. If that describes you, and if you're a roguelike novice, I say "go ahead." If you're a roguelike nut, though, and a bit more ... adventurous, I'd suggest giving the original Cladun a go first and then moving on to its follow-up if you enjoy the experience.

2. Corpse Party--I've only just started playing through this PSN-based horror adventure title, but I've already experienced enough of it to know it was well worth the $19.99 I spent on it. Of course, I'm both a horror buff and an aficionado of pixel-based graphics that look like they were pulled from an unreleased SNES or Super Famicom game (always a good thing in my book). If you're not exactly a fan of either of those things you may not like Corpse Party as much as I (and others) have, but I have a feeling some of you still may enjoy it quite a bit anyway.

The Great Gaymathon Review #30: Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip (PSP)

Game: Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip

Genre: Sports

Developer: Clap Hanz

Publisher: SCEA

System: PSP

Release date: 2010

I've been a tennis fan ever since I watched Steffi Graf win Wimbledon back in 1989. That match did more than make me a fan of tennis, though; it also made me a fan of tennis games. Unfortunately, most of the tennis games that were available at the time completely sucked. In fact, the only good ones I can think of are Nintendo's Tennis for GameBoy (released in 1989) and Namcot's Pro Tennis World Court (aka World Court Tennis, released in 1988) for the PC Engine/ TurboGrafx-16. Thankfully, a number of truly great tennis games hit the streets the world over following my introduction to the genre--games such as Nintendo's Super Tennis (released for the SNES in 1991) and Human's Final Match Tennis (PC Engine, 1991). Well, after playing through--and thoroughly enjoying--it, I can without hesitation add Clap Hanz' Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip to that hallowed list. If I were forced to succinctly describe this game, I'd say it's a mixture of Super Tennis and Nintendo's Mario Tennis titles (especially the Nintendo 64 entry)--topped with a sprinkling of Pro Tennis World Court. I picked those three games as points of comparison because Hot Shots Tennis has an accessible quality to it like Super Tennis, plays and feels like the Mario Tennis games and features an utterly crazy, travel-around-the-world "story mode"--which tasks players with spreading the love of tennis to the depressed and otherwise downtrodden (read more about this mode here)--that brings to mind Pro Tennis World Court. You don't have to play the game's story mode, of course; also available is an exhibition mode, in which you can play singles or doubles matches against a number of computer-controlled opponents, and a multiplayer mode, in which you can compete against friends (or strangers, I guess) locally and globally using Sony's adhoc Party service. If you're anything like me, though, you'll spend the bulk of your time playing through Hot Shots Tennis' story mode--beating opponents, buying and collecting gear (including crazy "outfits" like panda suits and tutus) and visiting all kinds of weird and wonderful locales (like the top of a skyscraper, a river-side stadium and a rural farm). The only negatives I can ascribe to this adorably odd game: 1) It doesn't include a traditional career (aka "world tour") mode, and 2) Too many opponents turn to the hit-a-drop-shot-and-then-lob-over-your-head tactic.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Four things I can't help but love about the adorably crazy Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip

As you can probably tell by the number of posts I've published about the game in the last week or two, I'm a bit obsessed with Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip at the moment.

I'd be lying if I said that surprised me; after all, I've always loved a good tennis title. Of course, most, if not all, of the tennis games I've loved over the years--such as Final Match Tennis for the PC Engine, Super Tennis for the SNES and Virtua Tennis for the Dreamcast--have been fairly straightforward approximations of the sport.

One of the few exceptions to that rule: Nintendo's Mario Tennis titles, which tend to eschew both tradition and seriousness in favor of good old-fashioned fun.

Although I'd definitely call the fun that can be had in Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip "good," I wouldn't call it "old-fashioned"--as I'm sure you'll see after you read the following list of four things I love about this crazy, Clap Hanz-developed title.

1. Crazy costumes--I mentioned in a previous post about Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip that I wore some sort of Elizabethan or Victorian gown during a recent match. Well, that crazy "costume" is just the tip of the iceberg in this wackadoodle game. Other head-scratching outfits currently taking up space in my characters' lockers include a grass skirt, a kimono, a panda suit (barely visible in the screenshot above) and a tutu.

2. An even crazier cast of opponents--I seem to be about half-way through the game at this point, and already I've competed against a chef, a cheerleader, a farmer, a Helghast (from the Killzone series), an "island dancer," a maid, a movie star, a ninja, a sumo wrestler and a surfer.

3. Loonier-than-the-Looney-Tunes story--Really, it's like a modern counterpart to the silly, strange story that supports the TurboGrafx-16 "classic," World Court Tennis. The goal in that much-maligned (although not by me) game: To bring peace to a place called Tennis Kingdom. The goal in Hot Shots Tennis: To bring the joy of tennis to, among other folks, the aforementioned cheerleader and movie star.

4. Wide variety of wacky settings--Most tennis titles give you a choice of three or four courts--clay, grass, hard (cement) and, sometimes, indoor--and that's it. Boring! All of them can be found in Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip, of course, but the crazy locales that surround those courts--including a mountaintop dojo, a TV studio set and a wooden pier--help separate this game from its yawn-inducing competitors.

See also: Previous Hot Shots Tennis posts

In case anyone cares: There *are* challenging opponents in Hot Shots Tennis PSP

Yep, you read that correctly: I just faced my first challenging opponent in Hot Shot Tennis: Get a Grip--a dropshot-obsessed wench (actually, she's more of a spoiled brat) named Amorette.

Anyway, she nearly beat me. She ran out to a 3-1 lead--the match in question was of the first-one-to-win-four-games-is-the-victor variety--before I worked my way back into the set, which ended with me winning 4-3. (Or was it 5-3? I can't remember if I had to win by one or two.)

This isn't Amorette, by the way. It's Bridget, a blond cheerleader.

I'd like to add, by the way, that I beat the little terror while wearing some sort of Elizabethan or Victorian gown. Oh, and I had rose in my hair and a giant ruby ring on my finger.

See also: 'Screw Pac-Man Championship Edition, I'm going to play Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip instead'

Screw Pac-Man Championship Edition, I'm going to play Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip instead

Remember how I said in this post that my next PSP purchase was likely to be Cladun: This is an RPG, Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip or Patchwork Heroes? Well, I was right: Late last week, while still lamenting the $4.99 I wasted on Pac-Man Championship Edition the week before, I bought a sealed copy of Hot Shots Tennis from someone on eBay for less than $10.

It was a tough decision to make, as I've had my eye on Cladun since it hit the PlayStation Store last fall and I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with the Patchwork Heroes demo over the last few days. So, what prompted me to pick up Hot Shots Tennis rather than those other under-consideration titles? For starters, I really wanted a physical as opposed to a digital-download release. Also, I'm currently in a tennis kind of mood thanks to "The Championships" (aka Wimbledon). Oh, and of course I liked Hot Shots Tennis' cheaper-than-cheap price tag.

Anyway, I played it for a few hours last night and I can already tell this is going to be my go-to game for the next few weeks. Its graphics are great, it controls like a dream (Nintendo fans: it feels like a Mario Tennis title) and, most importantly of all, it's a lot of fun. The only issue I have with the Clap Hanz-developed Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip at the moment is that it's far too easy. (I win most matches without losing a game.) Here's hoping the title's colorful cadre of characters begin to put up more of a fight before the closing credits roll.

Speaking of PSP demos...

After I downloaded the Valkyria Chronicles II demo yesterday, I also downloaded the demo for Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip.

Honestly, I'm having a better time with the latter. Of course, it looks and plays a lot like the Mario Tennis games--which I adore--so that shouldn't be much of a surprise.



Anyway, the demo definitely has whetted my appetite for more of this game, which I just placed on my all-too-lengthy "to buy" list.

Considering Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip costs just $19.99 (order it here), I'll probably pick it up sooner or later--certainly sooner than I'll pick up the $40 Valkyria Chronicles II.

By the way, Amazon is selling the PS2 version of Hot Shots Tennis for just $8.15 at the moment. Here's a link.

See also: 'No longer a Valkyria virgin'