Ten franchises we’d like to see resurrected on PSP

After enduring a rather torrid time at the hands of arch-rival Nintendo, Sony finally seems to be making some progress in the domain of the portable.

Although it’s nearing the end of the lifespan and rumours of a PSP 2 loom ever larger on the horizon, the PSP is enjoying a new lease of life in its native Japan and John Koller’s recent assertion that ‘big franchises’ were on their way is mightily encouraging.

With that in mind, here’s a list of ten series that we’d love to see reborn on Sony’s mobile marvel.

10 franchises we’d like to see resurrected on PSP

Capcom has already proven that it’s pretty handy at updating its retro franchises – just look at Extreme Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins or Mega Man: Maverick Hunter for proof – so we’re hoping that the veteran developer will finally see sense and give futuristic ninja assassin Strider Hiyru the chance to shine once more.

The late ‘80s arcade original remains one of the most compulsively playable action platformers of its era and the 2000 sequel was equally good; now we demand another 2.5 instalment on the PSP.

In the early days of the original 32-bit Playstation (and long before Burnout was a twinkle in Criterion’s eye) Reflections Software created one of the most exhilarating racing titles of 1990s.

Destruction Derby was a gloriously chaotic mix of hell-for-leather racing and bumper-to-bumper combat, and while the recent Playstation Network release has shown it to have aged less gracefully than we might have hoped, we still harbour a soft spot for the series (which has been dormant since the lacklustre Destruction Derby Raw).

With Burnout continuing to thrill speed freaks the world over, surely there has never been a better time to bring this criminally ignored franchise back from the grave. An 8-player wireless mode would be a must, naturally.

Spawned from the worryingly fertile imagination of Tim “Monkey Island” Schafer, this highly inventive platform title scored impressive reviews but failed to replicate its critical success at retail.

The levels took place within the mind of deranged lunatics and, as you might expect from Schafer-created title, it was big on storytelling and humour.

Despite the poor commercial performance the game remains something of a cult classic (a recent campaign by fans resulted in it being added to the Xbox 360’s ‘direct download’ classics range) and should Schafer’s next game (the rock epic Brutal Legend) find an audience then he might just be convinced to revisit the world of Razputin "Raz" Aquato. We think the PSP would be the ideal platform on which to do so.

Created by Sony’s Cambridge-based studio, this homage to Capcom’s Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts went on to spawn a 32-bit sequel and a PSP remake.

Despite the encouraging commercial performance of the series Sony has made no attempt to take the concept further. Hopefully they’ll be considering Sir Daniel Fortesque as a potential mascot once again.

MediEvil’s creator Chris Sorrell is currently putting the finishing touches to the Activison’s impressive Prototype, so perhaps when he’s done Sony can convince him to helm yet another MediEvil adventure? We’re not holding our breath, but it would be great to see Fortesque back in the hands of his creator.

Although Mario 64 often gets the plaudits for being the first ‘proper’ 3D platform title, it was in fact beaten to the punch by a PlayStation launch title called Jumping Flash. Featuring the exploits of a cybernetic bunny called Robbit, this unique adventure saw the player hopping hundreds of feet into the air and negotiating various platforms in order to collect all of the carrots required to exit the level.

It was fairly basic stuff, and the subsequent sequels didn’t really add that much to the core concept, but a modern makeover could put this little known series back on the map. In the meantime, it’s worth bearing in mind that the original game is available for download via the Playstation network.

While we’ve already seen the Belmont family indulge in a spot of PSP-based vampire hunting in the shape of Castlevania Chronicles: Dracula X what we’re realty hankering for is an exclusive, all-new instalment for Sony’s portable.

Lucky DS owners have gorged themselves on three different adventures so far, so hopefully Konami will see sense and spread the love a little. The mere prospect of viewing a hand-drawn 2D adventure on the PSP’s vibrant, pin-sharp screen has us positively salivating.

Namco has been good to the PSP. Not only did the company give the machine the launch ‘killer app’ it so badly needed in the form of Ridge Racer, but we’ve also seen Tekken: Dark Resurrection as well as another Ridge sequel. However, one series that has so far eluded PSP owners is Soul Calibur.

Some might argue that this weapon-based brawler has overtaken stable mate Tekken in terms of sheer popularity and we have to admit that the gorgeous visuals, classical music and epic plotline (“Welcome to the stage of history!”) tend to get our pulses racing a little more than the supernatural exploits of the Mishima clan.

Let’s hope that Namco will heed our request and give us a PSP-exclusive instalment, rather than waste its time on producing drivel like the Wii-based Soul Calibur Legends.

Street Fighter Alpha III was an early PSP release but its impact was diminished due to the fact that the original PSP ‘Phat’ possessed a D-pad that was about as much use as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest.

Thankfully Sony has amended this oversight with the PSP Slim & Lite, which boasts a D-pad that is far more suited for 2D fighting titles, so now is the ideal time for the arcade veteran to give us some more one-on-one goodness.

Although we’ll admit that the chances are pretty slim given Capcom’s preference for endlessly re-hashing its existing properties rather than creating brand new versions (it took the company a decade to make a proper sequel to Street Fighter III, for example) we’d love to see a fresh entry on the PSP.

Hell, we’d even take a slightly modified port of Street Fighter IV. We’re not picky.

Does it strike anyone else as totally absurd that the PSP has never hosted a Resident Evil title? Even the infamous Tiger Game.com had one!

Sadly as the console gets older it’s looking less and less likely that Capcom will bring its unique brand of survival horror to the PSP. The recent revelation that development of the PSP version of Devil May Cry had been cancelled would indicate that despite making millions off the back of the Monster Hunter franchise, Capcom isn’t all that keen on bringing its prized IPs to Sony’s small screen.

Still, we might be surprised yet - a more optimistic person would consider the DMC termination an indication that Capcom is choosing to pool its resources into another portable title. One featuring brain-munching zombies, perhaps?

Bit of an obscure choice this, but we’re allowed to dream, are we not? Techosoft’s 2D shooter series gained a pretty solid reputation back in the 16-bit era and the recent ‘rebirth’ of the franchise on the PlayStation 2 (with Sega at the helm) bodes well for possible future instalments.

The PSP has already shown it’s perfectly capable of hosting 2D blasters - just look at Konami’s superb Gradius Collection - so perhaps Sega will bring the now-defunct Techosoft’s highly-esteemed property to the machine in 2009?