Sony’s first couple of console outings were received very well. The PS1 was a hit thanks to games like Final Fantasy 7 and Metal Gear Solid, and paved the way for Sony to absolutely dominate the market with the PS2, which is still one of the best-selling consoles of all time.

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Then there were the PS3 and PSP, which struggled upon release. The PSP found mild success in Japan thanks to multiplayer games like Monster Hunter. However, in the West, Sony’s first portable was a hard sell. Speaking of hard, these games were even more challenging than selling the PSP to Westerners, as they tested the skill and patience of players across the globe. For hardcore players looking to get into the PSP’s brutal side, these are the games to check out.

6 Jak And Daxter: The Lost Frontier

GameFAQs Difficulty: 3/5

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier was the last game to be released in the series, which was split between the PSP and PS2. While it wasn’t made by Naughty Dog, it was received moderately well and carried their spirit on along with the previous spinoff, Daxter which was a PSP exclusive. As good as Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier was, it did have some problems which led to difficult situations.

The big hook of this game was the flying segments, akin to Star Fox games, which were not easy to navigate due to a weird control setup on the PSP. Plus, the camera angle in the shooting segments with Jak could be wonky, leading to many frustrating deaths as enemies could come from anywhere.

5 God Of War: Chains Of Olympus

GameFAQs Difficulty: 3/5

God of War: Chains of Olympus was a PSP exclusive that was a prequel to the original game. This was before Kratos thought the gods screwed him over on their deal, and yet he was still an angry warrior. There was a sequel as well, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, and both would eventually get console remasters. Those who have played any of these games know that they can be quite a challenge. A game about a literal God of War should indeed be tough.

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Difficulty levels could even the playing field, with God of War: Chains of Olympus in particular, but those options sort of diminished what this series was built on: brutal action. What truly made it hard was the analog nub on the PSP. There were quite a few quick time events to finish off monsters or to solve puzzles involving rotating the nub. That nub was not built for precise rotating though, leading to some frustrating moments.

4 Pursuit Force

GameFAQs Difficulty: 3/5

Pursuit Force was ahead of its time mechanically for a cop game, as it had an interesting gameplay setup. Players would go on missions involving vehicle chases which could flip between a car, boat, or some other vehicles which added some good variety. Players could shoot enemies with guns that locked on automatically, or they could ram vehicles and then hop aboard to take them over.

These missions were relatively short without much in the way of checkpoints. As such, there was little room for error, and a lot of the missions threw a lot at players in a short time. Plus, the controls weren’t exactly perfect. This vehicle-hopping mechanic was used better in Sleeping Dogs, which Pursuit Force paved the way for, and that was not that hard of an experience comparatively.

3 Killzone: Liberation

GameFAQs Difficulty: 4/5

Killzone: Liberation was a PSP-exclusive spinoff that wound up reviewing better than the original game. Instead of being a first-person shooter, it was a top-down shooter with tactical elements. Players could run-and-gun Helghast soldiers down, but they would probably die quickly because these orange-glowing baddies were not messing around.

Players had to take advantage of cover, which wasn’t as well implemented in games of this era, leading to some awkward moments and deaths. Players could make the game easier by collecting money and going through trials to get better weapons, although they were often harder than the normal missions. Even with difficulty settings, the game was not a breeze, even on the easiest mode.

2 Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow

GameFAQs Difficulty: 5/5

Syphon Filter was a huge franchise on the PS1. The trilogy offered fans plenty of espionage action in a more grounded reality instead of the bizarre universe of Metal Gear Solid. The waters got a little iffy after the PS1 entries, but eventually, Gabriel Logan and the rest of his spy network returned on the PSP. The first game was Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, which was reviewed well compared to Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow.

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The difference between the two is that the sequel was much harder. It can be tricky to create the perfect balance of fair gameplay when it comes to stealth games. Some players want enemies to realistically react to someone sneaking around, while others may find that attention to detail tedious. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow falls somewhere on the more realistic side of things. The checkpoints aren’t unfair, but players can’t exactly breeze their way through missions either, and enemies are painfully perceptive to every noise and movement.

1 Patapon

GameFAQs Difficulty: 3/5

Patapon is without a doubt the hardest game on the PSP. It, and its sequel, got a remaster on the PS4 which cleaned up the visuals but did not make the game any easier. This was a rhythm-based tactical game wherein players had to use the face buttons on the PSP to lead their cute little eyeball soldiers into battle with various drum beats. If one was bad at rhythm games, this would increase to a Soulslike challenge level easily.

Even skilled rhythm enthusiasts would have trouble, as the action could get hectic fast. There were ways to strengthen numbers in-between missions, but the upgrade system was so limited that the grind was almost too much to handle. The entire trilogy is worth playing, as they are well-liked games, but they shouldn’t be tackled by the average player hoping for a cute little adventure, as the esthetics can be misleading. Also, forget about the GameFAQs challenge ranking for this one, as again, it is brutally unforgiving.

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