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.

A few flippant impressions of WayForward's Mighty Flip Champs DX (PSP Minis)

OK, so most people wouldn't describe the impressions below as "flippant." Honestly, I only used the word in the headline above because I liked how it complemented the "Flip" in Mighty Flip Champs DX.

With that out of the way, here are my initial impressions of this WayForward-developed, PSP-based puzzler-slash-platformer:

1. I really like how this game sounds. The trance-y background tunes are nice, but they're not what I'm talking about here. Instead, I'm talking about the Donkey Kong-esque (or Mario Bros.-ish, if you prefer) sound effects that accompany the protagonist's every step.



2. I also like how it looks. The above-mentioned protagonist, Alta, and her fishman friend, especially. Both are wonderfully realized and animated sprites that hark back to the 8-bit era.

3. That said, I wish I could see the game's graphics more clearly. Everything is so small that it's hard to fully appreciate the sprites that the folks at WayForward took such pains to create.

4. The main reason everything is so small is that the game's developers had to cram two of each stage's "pages" (areas) onto the PSP's otherwise-roomy screen. Although that negatively impacts Mighty Flip Champs DX's graphics, it positively impacts its gameplay (since it allows players to easily see where Alta will be positioned post-flip).

5. Mighty Flip Champs DX may look cute and cuddly, but it's got some serious teeth (i.e., it's tough). The first few stages are so easy that you'd be forgiven for thinking the whole thing is a cakewalk. Then you come to, oh, stage 1-7 and that notion is blown to smithereens as you try again and again (and again, if you're me) to reach Alta's amphibian compadre.



6. The only element of the game that I'm not so sure of at the moment is its emphasis on replaying each stage over and over in order to get the best time. Personally, I'm more of a beat-a-stage-once-and-then-get-on-with-it kind of guy, although I'm sure there are a lot of people who like this sort of gameplay.

So, that's what I think of Mighty Flip Champs DX after playing through its first two worlds. I'll write up a more formal review of the game after I've finished it. In the meantime, have any of you played it--or its DSiWare predecessor? If so, what do you think about it?

See also: 'WayForward's Austin Ivansmith is a pretty awesome guy'

WayForward's Austin Ivansmith is a pretty awesome guy

I hope he won't mind me calling him out like this, but I just have to extend a digital/virtual high-five to Austin Ivansmith, a director at WayForward Technologies.

A few days ago, I wandered onto deviantart.com in the hopes of finding a few pieces of gorgeous game-related art that could be discussed and/or drooled over here.

Before I had a chance to search for said images, though, I noticed that a heretofore-unread note was sitting in my deviantart mailbox. The note, of course, had been sent by Ivansmith and included a download code for WayForward's Mighty Flip Champs DX.



I'm guessing he saw the whiny post ("Why didn't somebody tell me Mighty Flip Champs received a PSP port?") I published about said PSP title a few weeks ago, but I can't say that with any certainty since the content of Ivansmith's rather succinct note was limited to the afore- mentioned download code and a cheery reminder to keep an eye out for the company's upcoming 3DS release, Mighty Switch Force (which he promised will "rock your socks off").

Since I've only played through the first few stages of Mighty Flip Champs DX thus far, I can't say much about it at the moment. I'll do my best to spend a bit more time with it this weekend, though, so I can share some impressions with all of you next week.

Why didn't somebody tell me Mighty Flip Champs received a PSP port?

While researching today's other post (about Mighty Switch Force's teaser trailer), I discovered that another WayForward-developed title that I've had my eye on for some time, Mighty Flip Champs, was rather stealthily released as a PSP Mini a few months ago.

Surprisingly, said port is supposed to be a pretty good one. "It's a game that, previous to its arrival on PSP, I could only imagine as a DS game," Joystiq's JC Fletcher wrote in a recent review. "But the PSP version turns the vertical 'flipping' horizontal, and puts the two locations on the left and right side of the PSP screen. To my surprise, this arrangement works out just fine! It doesn't feel like an adaptation to a less adequate platform; it just works."



Although I'd love to add Mighty Flip Champs DX to my ever-growing collection of digital PSP games, I'm going to have to hold off on doing so until I actually have some money. Another possibility: I could wait until I buy 3DS and then purchase all three of WayForward's "Mighty" titles (Mighty Flip Champs, Mighty Milky Way and Mighty Switch Force) via that system's eShop. Decisions, decisions.

See also: 'Metroid + Mega Man + Mischief Makers = Mighty Switch Force?'