Most Overlooked PSP Games - Part Five

We've reached Part Five of our trip through the severely underrated PlayStation Portable catalog. With the PlayStation Vita on the horizon, what better way to send off Sony's first handheld than with another look at a series of overlooked titles from the PSP's library? One could argue nearly every game in North America is overlooked, and they would sadly be right thanks to how rampant piracy is. That notwithstanding let's check out and induct five new titles into the Most Overlooked PSP Games hall of fame.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta


Kratos's second handheld adventure brought him to Hades and back to recover his brother in God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Unlike Chains of Olympus, however, the previous handheld entry, Ghost of Sparta went under the radar. PSP owners just didn't bite. That's a shame, too, as there's a meaty experience, wonderful and impressive visuals, and sensational boss battles to take part in. Not even the rage of the gods was enough for consumers to take note of this epic title.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together


From legendary game designer Mr. Yasumi Matsuno, the same mind behind Final Fantasy Tactics, comes the remake of the popular PlayStation One classic, Tactics Ogre. This journey chronicling the Wallister Resistance has players participating in terrific tactical RPG battles where players must think ahead if victory is their goal. The many available classes and abilities allow for various and unique strategies so no two battles were ever alike. As of right now, one can pick up this title from Amazon.com for under twenty clams.

Patapon 3

Pata-pata-pata-pon. Sony's attempts to establish new franchises worked well with some properties (i.e. Resistance, Motorstorm, and InFAMOUS) while others did not do so well. Such is the life of the Patapon franchise. This rhythm war game has players tapping buttons to the beat of the music to take down large bosses, enemy armies, and other opponents to achieve conquest. War is hell, and nothing shows it better like cute anamorphic creatures duking it out against one another!

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection


Containing the original Final Fantasy IV, remade with higher-resolution sprites and environments, WiiWare's Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and a brand-new Interlude that connects all three games together, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection is the ultimate package for fans of Final Fantasy IV. This game was great back when it was released on the Super Nintendo, and it's great now more than a decade later. Consumers apparently did not think that this compendium of Final Fantasy IV was worth purchasing over Dissidia 012, but let me tell you that it is.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky


This portable RPG packs a huge wallop. There's over fifty hours of content to explore and have players sink their teeth into. From all of the optional sidequests to journeying through the expansive world map and many game towns, there's something for everybody in The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. The combat system is truly entertaining, the original soundtrack is wonderfully captivating, and the visual style is quite remarkable. Those looking for the start of a new trilogy in the series and a solid RPG should look no further than Trails in the Sky.

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We've reached the climax of yet another Most Overlooked article. Agree or disagree with my choices? Let me know in the comments section. And if you missed out on a past Most Overlooked PSP Games article, you can always click one of the following links:

PSP - Part One
PSP - Part Two
PSP - Part Three
PSP - Part Four

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection (PSP) Review

My interest in gaming has been wavering as of late. Few games have been tickling my fancy. It's just been guns, guns, blood, and more guns. Bo-ring. What ever is a superhero to do? Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection released a couple of months ago for the PlayStation Portable, and I played through all scenarios. Here's my verdict.

A Fantasy Complete

Final Fantasy IV has been one of Square-Enix's favorite titles to remake/port over and over again. From the original PlayStation to the Game Boy Advance, Final Fantasy IV has been around in various forms. Now the complete experience can be played on Sony's portable in Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection containing the original game with enhanced visuals, The After Years, an episodic series of games formerly exclusive to WiiWare and the iPhone, and a brand-new Interlude that bridges the two together. Is this collection the ultimate fantasy?

Meet Cecil Harvey. He's the head of the Red Wings, an airship force that is the marquis of the kingdom of Baron. Their mission is to retrieve the world's supply of crystals through any means necessary. However, Cecil begins to have doubts once his team massacres a group of innocent mages just to gain the town's crystal. The king of Baron (with a seemingly new personality) hears of Cecil's doubts, kicks him off of the Red Wings, and relegates him to a mission to take a package with childhood friend, Kain, to a faraway village. When this does not go as planned and the package is actually a bomb that sets the town on fire, Cecil and Kain only further question the motives behind Baron and its power-hungry majesty.

Edward's kingdom is reborn in the Interlude.

The tale of Final Fantasy IV (known back then in North America as Final Fantasy II) is a complex one with characters that grow throughout the game. Characters come and characters go, sometimes sacrificing themselves for the common good. Each party member has their own skills and abilities to separate each and every one from the pack. Cecil can use his dark knight powers to sacrifice hit points to damage enemies, Rydia can summon creatures and use black magic early on in the game, Tellah is the magic user of the party and utilizes some devastating and helpful magic in battle, and Yang can establish rank in encounters, obliterating foes with his martial arts skills.

Your party has a maximum amount of five members. As stated, they come and they go as the story permits. When one leaves, eventually another joins. In all, over ten different members will join Cecil in his quest throughout the duration of Final Fantasy IV to take down the sinister Golbez, the seemingly-omnipotent menace that thirsts for all of the crystals for unknown reasons.

Battles are fast-paced in Final Fantasy IV.

Battles in Final Fantasy IV were revolutionary for its time. The game used an active-time battle system, something that future Final Fantasies would feature. Each party member has a bar that slowly fills up. Once it fills to capacity, then that party member can choose an attack, spell, item, or other option in combat to utilize on their fellow party member or foe. Meanwhile, their enemies used the same concept. Certain spells like Haste and Slow could fasten or decrease the speed of a character's bar to either help or hurt their chances in battle.

Magic plays a huge part of combat in Final Fantasy IV. While not every party member can use magic, the ones that can't can use items to heal and help their fellow man or woman. Magic uses up a certain number of MP depending on the type of spell used. Some monsters are immune to some types of magic. Some will counterattack with a powerful move if magic is used on them. Strategy is key in battle whether it's with magic or items.

New graphical effects show off the processing power of the PSP.

Final Fantasy IV features two worlds, an overworld and an underworld. There's plenty of side content to partake in, summons to learn, extra bosses to battle, and hours to sink your teeth into. The main game lasts around 25 hours if you're really smoking. The games that accompany the main game, The After Years and the Interlude, don't fare quite as well. Not only are they far too linear in dungeon design, but they're quite short. Sure, there's an interesting moon mechanic in battle where when the moon wanes, attacks are increased in the Interlude, but that does little to make this new mode worth it.

The Interlude introduces Cecil and Rosa's child.

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection has gotten smacked with the pretty stick. New higher resolution sprites and backgrounds have been crafted, and they look quite nice. They're detailed, colorful, and full of charm and character. Nobuo Uematsu's classic score is represented well. Players can opt to use the original soundtrack or the updated Nintendo DS version, and this option can be switched at any time. Overall, the PSP presentation of the game is excellent.

Straight from the GBA version, the Bestiary.

While The After Years and the Interlude of Cecil's compendium of adventures may not be worth playing through-- only the greatest fans of Final Fantasy IV lore should check it out, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection is worth it simply for the original game remade in stellar form. Even if you've played this title twenty times, it's at your advantage to pick up the ultimate incarnation of Final Fantasy IV. For only thirty bucks, this collection is a steal.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.5/10]