Best PSP Games and Where to Play Them on PS4 and PS5

PlayStation sells 33 PSP games for PS4 and PS5. Daxter, Killzone: Liberation, Jeanne d’Arc, both Syphon Filter games, Resistance: Retribution, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Patapon 3 are all among them, at $9.99 each in the US, and all 33 come with a PlayStation Plus Premium membership.

Others came back in a different form. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was remastered, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep sits inside a collection, and LocoRoco and Patapon have PS4 versions. For a few we found no current version at all: the two God of War games, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Burnout Legends.

We went through PlayStation’s own Classics Catalogue list and opened the PlayStation Store page of every game on it that is named here, and of each remaster. Publishers and years come from those pages or from the publisher’s own site. This page sticks to what PlayStation and the publishers sell themselves.

PSP games at a glance

Prices are the regular ones on PlayStation’s US store, and it sets a local price in other countries. Years come from the store page, the PlayStation Blog, or the publisher’s own site or press release. Where the publisher gives a North American date, that is the year shown.

The 33 that PlayStation sells

PlayStation’s listings describe each of these as the PSP version converted for PS4 and PS5, with up-rendering, rewind, quick save and custom video filters added. The same listings warn that a game may behave differently from the PSP original and that PSP accessories are not supported. All 33 are listed as one player.

What they cost

On the US store 31 of the 33 are $9.99. Disney Pixar Up is $5.99 and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is $14.99. The ones we opened on the UK store were £7.99, and Rs 832 on the Indian store.

The other route is the Classics Catalogue, which PlayStation says is for Premium members only. Premium is $19.99 a month in the US and £14.99 in the UK. India has no Premium plan; the top plan there is Deluxe, at Rs 1,109 a month, and it carries the same catalogue.

The sums differ by country. In the US two games bought outright cost $19.98, a cent less than a month of Premium. In the UK two cost £15.98 against £14.99 for the month, and in India Rs 1,664 against Rs 1,109. So buy if you want one game to keep, and take a month’s membership if you want to sample several. PlayStation notes that catalogue games can be given an end date and removed.

Daxter

The one game from our old list that PlayStation has re-released as it was. Sony’s listing has Daxter sneaking around Haven City disguised as an exterminator to break his friend Jak out of prison. It is rated Everyone 10+.

Killzone: Liberation

A Killzone game made for the PSP, in which one soldier is sent to stop the Helghast general Armin Metrac. PlayStation Store files it under action and shooter, and rates it Teen.

Jeanne d’Arc

A tactical role-playing game set in the Hundred Years’ War, with a fantasy twist: a magic armlet, mythical creatures and 16 characters to command. The listing offers English and Japanese voices. It is the pick here for anyone who wants something slower than a shooter.

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Logan’s Shadow

Two action games starring the operative Gabe Logan, sold separately. The three PlayStation 1 Syphon Filter games are in the same catalogue, so a Premium member can play the series in order.

Resistance, Ratchet & Clank and Patapon 3

Resistance: Retribution is a shooter set after Resistance: Fall of Man. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is described by Sony as an original adventure built for the PSP. Patapon 3 is the rhythm game in which you drum commands to an army, with more than 80 quests.

The Bandai Namco four

God Eater Burst, Tekken 6, Tekken: Dark Resurrection and Ridge Racer 2. Read the small print on these. God Eater Burst was built around teams of up to four hunters, and its listing says multiplayer is not supported in this version. Tekken 6 and Ridge Racer 2 carry the same warning. They only make sense if you are content to play alone.

The rest of the list

Ape Academy, Ape Academy 2, Ape Escape P, Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light, Disney Pixar Up, echochrome, echoshift, Gravity Crash Portable, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, Key of Heaven, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, LocoRoco Midnight Carnival, MediEvil Resurrection, No Heroes Allowed!, Pinball Heroes, Pursuit Force, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, Secret Agent Clank, Super Stardust Portable, Thrillville and Thrillville: Off the Rails.

The UK and Indian lists have one more, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, which is not on the US list.

Remade or remastered

• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core Reunion is $49.99 for PS4 and PS5. Square Enix calls it a remaster of the original with an HD graphics overhaul, a remastered soundtrack and an updated combat system.
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. The Final Mix version is one of the six titles in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, $49.99 on PS4. PlayStation Store also lists a PS5 edition of that collection at $39.99.
• LocoRoco. LocoRoco Remastered and LocoRoco 2 Remastered are $14.99 each on PS4, and both are in the Classics Catalogue.
• Patapon. Patapon Remastered and Patapon 2 Remastered are $14.99 each on PS4 and in the Classics Catalogue. Bandai Namco sells the pair as Patapon 1+2 Replay on PS5 for $29.99.
• Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. Konami describes it as a 3D remake of Rondo of Blood that also included the original Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Castlevania Requiem on PS4 bundles those two originals at a regular price of $19.99. The 3D remake is not part of it.
• Also back: Persona 3 Portable, remastered, is $19.99 on PS4 from SEGA. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is one of the games in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2, $49.99 on PS5.

Not on PS4 or PS5

• God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta. PlayStation’s own God of War page lists both as PSP releases, from 2008 and 2010, and gives neither a buy button. Neither is on the Classics Catalogue list.
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. The address of its old PSP listing on PlayStation Store now opens an empty page. Rockstar sells the game for iPhone and Android, where its listings offer a free trial of up to thirty minutes, then the full game as a single in-app purchase.
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. We found no version of it on the Classics Catalogue list, on Google Play or on the App Store.
• Burnout Legends. EA’s old page for it now leads to its Burnout page, which lists a single game, Burnout Paradise Remastered. That one is $19.99 on PS4 and is a different game.

If you still own a PSP

PlayStation’s notice on the PSP store says the store on the handheld closed in 2016, and that since July 2021 you can no longer search or make in-game purchases on a PSP. It also says you can still download PSP content you bought before, from the Download List on the device, and that PSP content on the PS3 and PS Vita stores can still be bought.

Which to pick

• One game, to keep: Daxter. It is $9.99, and it is the one our old list already recommended.
• Something to think over: Jeanne d’Arc.
• Several, for a month: a Premium membership, or Deluxe in India, covers all 33 and the PlayStation 1 and 2 games around them.
• The Final Fantasy VII story: Crisis Core Reunion, at five times the price of the others.
• Skip if you wanted to play with friends: God Eater Burst, Tekken 6 and Ridge Racer 2.

Quick answers

Can you play PSP games on PS5?

Yes, the 33 that PlayStation has converted. Buy them on PlayStation Store or play them through the Classics Catalogue with PlayStation Plus Premium.

Can a PS4 play PSP games?

Yes. Every one of the 33 is listed for both PS4 and PS5.

Which PSP games are on PlayStation Plus?

All 33 on PlayStation’s list are in the Classics Catalogue, including Daxter, Killzone: Liberation, Jeanne d’Arc, Patapon 3 and Tekken 6. The catalogue needs the Premium plan, or Deluxe in countries such as India.

Can you still buy games on a PSP?

No. PlayStation says searches and in-game purchases on the PSP ended in July 2021. Games you already bought can still be downloaded from the Download List.

Is God of War: Chains of Olympus on PS4 or PS5?

No. PlayStation’s God of War page shows it as a PSP release with no option to buy, and it is not in the Classics Catalogue.