Summary
The PlayStation Portable may not be remembered much today for its platformers, but Sony’s little handheld had some terrific run-n-jump games released during its time. While it may have fared unfavourably compared to the Nintendo DS’ line of incredible platformers, the PSP nonetheless had some terrific titles in this genre.
From 2D sidescrollers to 3D action-platformers, PSP players had no shortage of excellent platformers to choose from. Whether you were on a long car trip or wanted to sneak in a cheeky gaming session under the school desk, these were the PSP platformers that would see regular use in your UMD slot.
8N+
A Slick And Stylish Ninja Platformer
N+ sees you take control of a tiny ninja who darts around a variety of different levels, avoiding obstacles, collecting gold, and trying to make it to the goal. That gold holds more importance than just being a mere collectable, as you need to map your route around the various gold drops, or else your timer will run out.
Every obstacle also wipes you out instantly, but luckily restarts are quick and snappy, meaning deaths never feel worse than a slap on the wrist. N+ is certainly one of the more challenging platformers on the PSP, but with enough practise and patience, you’ll become a handheld ninja master in no time.
7Ratchet & Clank: Sizes Matters
An Interesting Portable Outing For The Dynamic Duo
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters doesn’t tend to get a lot of love from the fanbase. However, a lot of its criticism can be traced back to understandable, but slightly unfair, comparisons with the PS2 Ratchet games – a fact that is worsened by this game’s less-than-stellar PS2 port.
If you take Size Matters as purely a scaled-back portable spinoff to the mainline Ratchet & Clank series, then it fares much better. The series’ extravagant weapons, enjoyable levels, and loveable characters are all still here, just scaled down to better suit handheld play; turns out, size does matter, after all.
6Ultimate Ghosts ‘N Goblins
A Return To Form For A Classic Capcom Series
After a long wait for another traditional 2D Ghosts ‘n Goblins game, Capcom finally delivered the outstanding Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins for the PSP in 2006. Despite using 3D models, the core gameplay was largely taken directly from the classic games of the late 80s and early 90s.
Arthur jumps, throws weapons, and collects various pieces of armour as he fights off hordes of Halloween monsters. Unlike the older games in the series, Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins has a range of difficulty settings so you can tailor your experience to be as punishing or as breezy as you want.
5LittleBigPlanet
Bringing The Little Big Magic To This Little Big System
LittleBigPlanet (2009) – not to be confused with LittleBigPlanet (2008) or LittleBigPlanet (PS Vita) – brings this delightfully creative platformer to the PSP in marvellous fashion. Both the campaign and level creator are translated really well onto the PSP, making for a practically endless supply of platforming fun on the go.
In particular, the Down Under, Alpine Mountains, and Tinsel Town worlds feature some of the most imaginative concepts and designs out of any LittleBigPlanet game. Whimsical and wonderful in all the best ways, LittleBigPlanet for the PSP is every bit as charming as the other games in the series.
4Hammerin’ Hero
Hurty Harry
The Hammerin’ Harry series has its roots back in the early 90s, but few western gamers are even aware of its existence due to an unfortunate lack of representation outside of Japan. One of the few games in the series that did get localised was Hammerin’ Hero for the PSP – finally giving western players a taste of the whacky action they had been missing this whole time.
Hammerin’ Hero is a slower-paced platformer where you control a boy named Gen, hopping around levels while defeating enemies with his sledgehammer. As great as this game is, good luck to anyone who wants to play it today as Hammerin’ Hero has gradually become one of the most valuable UMDs you can get a hold of.
3LocoRoco
Time To Roc And Roll
LocoRoco isn’t like other platformers. Instead of directly controlling the yellow blobs in this game (outside of jumping), you tilt the level itself to send those blobs in whichever direction you want.
The result is a game that feels utterly unique, if a bit chaotic, and which leans into its bizarre control method with a dizzying tone that walks the line between child-friendly and psychedelic. Throw in the fact that its minimalistic but crisp art style makes itone of the best-looking PSP games, and LocoRoco earns its status as one of the true icons of this system.
2Mega Man Powered Up
An Excellent Reimagining Of A Classic
Mega Man Powered Up is a remake of the first game in the series that truly goes above and beyond with its new additions. A cutesy art style, expanded story elements, two new levels, the ability to play through the game as any of the Robot Masters, and a level creator are just a few of the incredible features added to this game.
The amount of quality content Capcom managed to squeeze out of the original NES game and place onto a UMD is nothing short of impressive. All of this effort and care from the developers adds up to a game that can be considered amongst the verybest of the Mega Man series.
1Daxter
Time For The Ottsel To Shine
Daxter isn’t just the best platformer on the PSP because it’s a successful spinoff to one of PlayStation’s most popular series. It’s the best platformer because developer Ready At Dawn refused to compromise on creating a game that fully embraced being a Daxter title and stands toe to toe withthe best of the series.
None of the mechanics, levels, or story elements feel like water-downed versions of their console counterparts. Instead, Daxter thrives at giving the orange Ottsel his own toolset to go and have some fun in Haven City. And boy, is it a good time.
