Six Japanese PSP games I wish had been brought to the States

Considering how poorly the PSP sold in the US, it's pretty amazing how many Japanese games have been localized and brought to our shores since it debuted in 2005. (In fact, they're still coming--as evidenced by the recent announcements concerning Class of Heroes 2 and Sweet Fuse: At Your Side.)

Still, a number of noteworthy PSP titles never earned an English release of any sort. Of those, the six mentioned below are the ones I most wish had made it to North America.

1. 7th Dragon 2020--Truth be told, I'd much rather be able to buy and play a localized copy of the original 7th Dragon (for the DS) than this "side story," but that doesn't mean I wouldn't pick up 2020 if given the chance--despite the fact that the crew at Hardcore Gaming 101 have described it as being "significantly dumbed down" compared to its predecessor.

2. Any of the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA games--I'm a sucker for rhythm games, especially those that could be called "cute," so this Sega-made selection is a no-brainer. That said, I have a feeling this game would have been ruined had its developers attempted to replace its Japanese tunes with English ones, so maybe I should be happy it never left its home country.

3. Either of the MonHun Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village titles--This series (consisting of just two games, at the moment) often is described as being "Monster Hunter meets Animal Crossing," which of course means I've been curious about it since the first title was announced in 2009. Considering Sony seemed desperate for a while to expand western sales of the PSP (and Capcom similarly seemed desperate to expand western interested in the Monster Hunter series), I thought one or both of the MonHun Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village would be shoe-ins for a US release of some sort. Apparently I thought wrong.

Five more favorites: Japanese PSP box art

Last week, I published this post about five of my favorite pieces of Japanese PSP cover art. As the header above suggests, this post features five more.

1. Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damashii--I've yet to add this game, known as Me & My Katamari outside of Japan, to my slowly but surely growing PSP collection due to the rather negative word of mouth that has dogged it since its release in 2005. I have a feeling I'll do so eventually, though, thanks to its beautiful box art. The question is: Do I pony up for the Japanese release or its North American counterpart, which also sports a rather attractive cover illustration?

2. Corpse Party -The Anthology- Hysteric Birthday 2U--Admittedly, this game features one of the most ridiculous names I've come across to date (and that's saying a lot given the Japanese gaming industry's propensity for weird titles). Its moody box art, on the other hand, is anything but ridiculous. In fact, I'd say it's downright gorgeous. If only the folks at Xseed Games could be convinced to bring it stateside along with the forthcoming Corpse Party: Book of Shadows.

3. Grand Knights History--It would have been easy to spitefully leave this game's cover art out of this post due to the North American version's painful (and prolonged) cancelation. That would have deprived people of one of the year's best pieces of box art--regardless of system--though, so I decided against it. Just don't hold it against me if the reminder causes you to tear out your hair or punch a hole in your wall, OK?