The PSP is a nice system. Great screen with gorgeous contrast and excellent off-axis viewing, and a nice wide aspect ratio. But the games... Well, Lumines is fun but buggy and a bit unpolished in the UI. Ridge Racers is pure gold but it's over too fast. And the rest, well... Let's just say I'm looking forward to the future. Eagerly. C'mon, future!
Here it is then, my wish list, in order of preference.
I really wish...
You never can get enough of a good thing, and R-Type LEO is a damned good thing. Often overlooked and never ported, this game is a rocking fun time - and it ain't ugly either. Bring on the R-Type compilation, Irem. I'm ready for it! Just thinking of Rtype 1, LEO and Delta on one disc makes me kinda weak in the knees.
An old classic, Capcom's Black Tiger was never ported. It's an old game, and is a real foreshadow of the graphics Capcom was about to unleash on the world. Great sound as well, and let's face it - any game with Zenny coins is bound to be worth playing.
Another Capcom classic crying out for a port. If there was a Capcom collection with this kickass tough as nails driving blaster I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Luscious graphics created on the cusp of the 256-colour revolution. This game, like Black Tiger, was never ported.
UPL made some incredible games, making up for any lack of memorable gameplay with more design madness and pure charm. Their games have largely been ignored in the retro craze, although Cave has released Ninja-kun for cellphones in Japan. Mutant Night, my favourite UPL title, has never been ported.
Every portable needs a pinball game, and what better game than the very best video pin ever made? Kaze's Necronomicon is a stellar game with dead-on physics, a great soundtrack, great voices and very wild table design. This game is the crown of my Saturn collection.
Valtric is a Jaleco release that never got any attention, despite inspiring the Bitmap Bros. to do Xenon. Very intense action and incredible gameplay. Another game that has never seen a port.
There's a lot that could be done with the PSP. Let the kids have their GTA and their Rainbow Six, I want to see the unloved classics of the old days relaunched and reloved on a system capable of giving them a good showing. It's too much to ask anyone to port a bunch of old 2D games to a real console without fucking it up (Hey, Mass Media and Digital Eclipse: You suck!), but maybe someone can unearth the code for these babies and resurrect the good times.
Lawrence.