As suggested by our regular forum member Shadowcat, considering many of us are video game fans and also with a love for anime or Japanese culture in general it's time for a nice good solid list of games from the PlayStation 3 store (PSN games, DLC notices or PS1 & PS2 Classics), PSP store and Vita store that are worth downloading right now.
Now there are some folks out there would always ask the question "they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?", but there's more to it than that. Video games in general are an art form and they have their own quirks that often defeat newer releases or stand out more than expected. Older games also tend to have licensed properties that may not be available with current titles through the likes of sports games, racing games and music/rhythm games.
Because Sony at the moment is rejecting their past with their current generation platforms, I decided to make this thread after a few suggestions to provide a list of games that are worth owning or considering for your digital PlayStation 3, Vita & PSP collection. I may also expand this thread to include physical releases over time if folks would like that, especially considering the original store closure announcement has caused a rapid increase in prices for physical media. This list will also include Japanese imports when available.
Here's a few mini notes:
1) Select games are also available physically so if you lose access to the digital version it is possible to secure a disc copy later, notable examples include The Last Guy, Siren Blood Curse and Tokyo Jungle. Though saying that, not every title will be available for cheap.
2) There is a concerning situation regarding the CMOS Battery where if the PSN servers officially close down altogether, you may lose access to your digital library however the discs will survive without issue. Read more about that from Twitter user DoesItPlay who is looking to find a solution asap.
Where can I buy these digital PS3, PSP & Vita games then?
Unfortunately Sony being the twits that they are, have decided since late last year to remove the option to purchase PS3, PSP & Vita games including their DLC or even the Classics titles from their browser storefront when the redesign occurred. The good news is that all of the games are still available on the console stores.
If you haven't created an account for the US and Japanese stores, it's pretty simple as you basically need to have an e-mail address that is different to your UK account and the address location setup can be anything from their region. After that you can browse and grab the pre-paid PSN funds to buy whatever you want. The PSN funds are universal so if you bought a $50 PSN card for the US PS3 & Vita stores, you can also use whatever is left in your funds for US PS4 & PS5 stores for instance.
If a title does not appear on a selection page like say a list of PS1/PS2 Classics, then you'll need to search for the name for it to appear. I had to do that for a select number of titles when I was browsing the UK & US PSN stores, but at least the Japanese PSN has all of the classic games listed together without issue.
Where to buy PSN codes.
I have tried out two sources over the years for different PSN stores.
For the UK side I recommend CD Keys as I have had no issues with them on various versions of the store credit.
If you're new to Play-Asia and like to use PayPal, it's a separate option to the other payments when you visit your basket!
Grav's Recommendations/Suggestions/"Did You Know PlayStation 3 Had These Games":
PlayStation 3 Digital Games (via PlayStation Network):
Like Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation also provided a bunch of digital games. Many of them will be lost when the store closes and I won't be able to list all of them here since the list would probably break this post, but a handful I want to point out at least here.
PlayStation 3 Retail Games:
The PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 era introduced the idea of downloading full retail games digitally on the consoles. However, as the years go by, physical media can be harder to acquire so it's a shame the digital store for PSN is closing because that will mean a lot of the cheaper titles for retail are going to be inaccessible.
Below is a list of retail games that you can download digitally and are ones that I would recommend, even if they're not great:
As of Monday 19th April 2021, Sony has announced they will continue support for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores thanks to probably the whole gaming community (the original dates were 2nd July and 27th August respectively). The PlayStation Portable store will close on 2nd July as planned.
Now there are some folks out there would always ask the question "they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?", but there's more to it than that. Video games in general are an art form and they have their own quirks that often defeat newer releases or stand out more than expected. Older games also tend to have licensed properties that may not be available with current titles through the likes of sports games, racing games and music/rhythm games.
Because Sony at the moment is rejecting their past with their current generation platforms, I decided to make this thread after a few suggestions to provide a list of games that are worth owning or considering for your digital PlayStation 3, Vita & PSP collection. I may also expand this thread to include physical releases over time if folks would like that, especially considering the original store closure announcement has caused a rapid increase in prices for physical media. This list will also include Japanese imports when available.
Here's a few mini notes:
1) Select games are also available physically so if you lose access to the digital version it is possible to secure a disc copy later, notable examples include The Last Guy, Siren Blood Curse and Tokyo Jungle. Though saying that, not every title will be available for cheap.
2) There is a concerning situation regarding the CMOS Battery where if the PSN servers officially close down altogether, you may lose access to your digital library however the discs will survive without issue. Read more about that from Twitter user DoesItPlay who is looking to find a solution asap.
Where can I buy these digital PS3, PSP & Vita games then?
Unfortunately Sony being the twits that they are, have decided since late last year to remove the option to purchase PS3, PSP & Vita games including their DLC or even the Classics titles from their browser storefront when the redesign occurred. The good news is that all of the games are still available on the console stores.
If you haven't created an account for the US and Japanese stores, it's pretty simple as you basically need to have an e-mail address that is different to your UK account and the address location setup can be anything from their region. After that you can browse and grab the pre-paid PSN funds to buy whatever you want. The PSN funds are universal so if you bought a $50 PSN card for the US PS3 & Vita stores, you can also use whatever is left in your funds for US PS4 & PS5 stores for instance.
If a title does not appear on a selection page like say a list of PS1/PS2 Classics, then you'll need to search for the name for it to appear. I had to do that for a select number of titles when I was browsing the UK & US PSN stores, but at least the Japanese PSN has all of the classic games listed together without issue.
Where to buy PSN codes.
I have tried out two sources over the years for different PSN stores.
For the UK side I recommend CD Keys as I have had no issues with them on various versions of the store credit.
- UK PSN £20 / £35 / £40 / £50
If you're new to Play-Asia and like to use PayPal, it's a separate option to the other payments when you visit your basket!
Grav's Recommendations/Suggestions/"Did You Know PlayStation 3 Had These Games":
PlayStation 3 Digital Games (via PlayStation Network):
Like Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation also provided a bunch of digital games. Many of them will be lost when the store closes and I won't be able to list all of them here since the list would probably break this post, but a handful I want to point out at least here.
| PSN Game: | UK PSN Price: | File Size: |
|---|---|---|
| Battle Princess of Arcadias | £24.99 [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 1GB |
| Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse | £9.99 [Also on Xbox & Steam] | 448MB |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirrors of Fate HD | £9.99 [Also on Xbox & Steam] | ???GB |
| CHAOS CODE | £7.99 [Also on Steam] | 1.5GB |
| Dead Space: Extraction HD | £11.99 | 3.4GB |
| DuckTales: Remastered | £11.99 [Retail PS3 available] | 642.8MB |
| Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara | £11.99 [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 244.3MB |
| Eiyuu Senki - The World Conquest | £32.99 [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 2.7GB |
| Hard Corps: Uprising | £9.99 [Also on Xbox] | 1.3GB |
| The House of the Dead III | £?.99 | 1.1GB |
| House of the Dead 4 | £?.99 | 4GB |
| inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood | £7.99 £15.99 Bundle with: PSN Picks: Killzone + inFAMOUS: FoB | 3.7GB |
| Killzone HD | £9.99 £15.99 Bundle with: PSN Picks: Killzone + inFAMOUS: FoB [Retail PS3 available with Killzone Trilogy] | 3.2GB |
| The Last Guy | £3.99 [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 613.6MB |
| Medal of Honor: Frontline HD | £7.99 | 6GB |
| MotorStorm 3D Rift | £7.99 | 1.4GB |
| MotorStorm RC | ??? | 1.3GB |
| Raiden IV: OverKill | £12.99 [Also on Steam] | 498.2MB |
| Rain | £9.99 [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 2GB |
| Ratchet: Gladiator (Deadlocked) HD | £11.99 | 3.9GB |
| Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles HD | £11.99 £21.99 Bundle with: Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 6.5GB |
| Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles HD | £11.99 £21.99 Bundle with: Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only)] | 5.3GB |
| Super Rub'a'Dub | £3.99 | 178.7MB |
| Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars | Free | 179.1MB |
| Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online | £15.99 | 602.6MB |
| TOKYO JUNGLE | £9.99 [Retail PS3 available in Japan (JP language only), Also included in Best of PSN Vol. 1 (super OOP)] | 4.3GB |
| When Vikings Attack! | £3.99 [Also included in Best of PSN Vol. 1 (super OOP)] | 1.2GB |
PlayStation 3 Retail Games:
The PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 era introduced the idea of downloading full retail games digitally on the consoles. However, as the years go by, physical media can be harder to acquire so it's a shame the digital store for PSN is closing because that will mean a lot of the cheaper titles for retail are going to be inaccessible.
Below is a list of retail games that you can download digitally and are ones that I would recommend, even if they're not great:
| Console Exclusive PS3 Game: | UK PSN Price: | File Size: |
|---|---|---|
| Agarest: Generations of War 2 | £28.99 [Also on Steam] | 13.7GB |
| Agarest: Generations of War Zero | £19.99 [Also on Steam] | 13.7GB |
| Ape Escape (Requires PS Movie & Camera) | £8.99 | 2.7GB |
| Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!! | £15.99 [Also on Steam] | 3.1GB |
| Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unknown Star | £44.99 [Remaster in JP for PS4 & Switch] | 12.1GB |
| The Awakened Fate Ultimatum | £15.99 | 1.7GB |
| BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend | £15.99 [Also on Steam] | 12.5GB |
| Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut | £19.99 [Also on Steam] | 11.3GB |
| Demon's Souls | £15.99 [Remake on PS5] | 8.2GB |
| Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness | £15.99 | 2.1GB |
| Drakengard 3 | £15.99 | 14.5GB |
| Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn | £44.99 | 10.9GB |
| Everybody's Golf: World Tour | £9.99 | 7.3GB |
| God of War HD | £11.99 £19.99 Bundle with: God of War HD Collection | 9.1GB |
| God of War II HD | £11.99 £19.99 Bundle with: God of War HD Collection | 9GB |
| God of War: Ascension | £10.99 | 34.8GB |
| God of War: Chains of Olympus HD | £11.99 £15.99 Bundle with: God of War HD Collection 2 | 7.4GB |
| God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD | £11.99 £15.99 Bundle with: God of War HD Collection 2 | 9.2GB |
| The Guided Fate Paradox | £15.99 | 3.3GB |
| Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd | £44.99 | 4.8GB |
| The House of the Dead Overkill Director's Cut | £11.99 | 7.5GB |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 | £15.99 [Remake on Steam] | 3.5GB |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory | £15.99 [Remake on Steam] | 5.1GB |
| Ico HD | £11.99 £15.99 Bundle with: Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD | 1.7GB |
| inFAMOUS | £9.99 | 6.9GB |
| inFAMOUS 2 | £15.99 | 14GB |
| Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Jak & Daxter HD Trilogy | 991.7MB |
| Jak II: Renegade HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Jak & Daxter HD Trilogy | 3.3GB |
| Jak 3 HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Jak & Daxter HD Trilogy | 3GB |
| LittleBigPlanet Karting | £10.99 | 13.1GB |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | £11.99 | 26.6GB |
| MotorStorm Apocalypse | £10.99 | 6.6GB |
| Mugen Souls | £8.99 [Also on Steam] | 5.5GB |
| Mugen Souls Z | £15.99 [Also on Steam] | 8.5GB |
| PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale | £10.99 | 7.4GB |
| PlayStation Move Heroes (Requires PS Movie & Camera) | £8.99 | 11GB |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time HD | £7.99 £11.99 Bundle with: Prince of Persia HD Trilogy | 2.6GB |
| Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones HD | £7.99 £11.99 Bundle with: Prince of Persia HD Trilogy | 2.6GB |
| Prince of Persia: Warrior Within HD | £7.99 £11.99 Bundle with: Prince of Persia HD Trilogy | 3.8GB |
| Puppeteer | £10.99 | 10.3GB |
| Ragnarok Odyssey ACE | £24.99 | 5.1GB |
| Ratchet & Clank HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Ratchet & Clank HD Trilogy | 3.2GB |
| Ratchet & Clank 2 HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Ratchet & Clank HD Trilogy | 4.5GB |
| Ratchet & Clank 3 HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Ratchet & Clank HD Trilogy | 5.2GB |
| Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time | £10.99 | 18.6GB |
| Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One | £10.99 | 15.9GB |
| Ratchet & Clank: QForce | £11.99 | 4.6GB |
| Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty | £8.99 | 3.1GB |
| Ratchet & Clank: Nexus | £10.99 | 14.3GB |
| Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction | £10.99 | 15.8GB |
| Resistance 2 | £10.99 | 21.4GB |
| Resistance: Fall of Man | £10.99 | 18GB |
| Shadow of the Colossus HD | £14.99 £15.99 Bundle with: Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD [Remake on PS4] | 6GB |
| Siren Blood Curse | £9.99 | 9.1GB |
| Sly HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Sly HD Trilogy | 6.8GB |
| Sly 2: Band of Thieves HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Sly HD Trilogy | 8.8GB |
| Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves HD | £7.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Sly HD Trilogy | 12.9GB |
| Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time | £10.99 | 21.6GB |
| Steins;Gate | £15.99 [Also on Steam, Remaster in JP for PS4] | 5.5GB |
| Tales of Graces f | £15.99 | 6.7GB |
| Tales of Xillia | £15.99 | 6.2GB |
| Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord | £8.99 | 3.4GB |
| Twisted Metal | £9.99 | 13.6GB |
| Way of the Samurai 4 | £8.99 [Also on Steam] | 4.7GB |
| XBLAZE CODE:EMBRYO | £8.99 [Also on Steam] | 3.1GB |
| Multi-Platform PS3 Game: | UK PSN Price: | File Size: |
|---|---|---|
| Alice: Madness Returns (American McGee's Alice is free to download) | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 5.4GB |
| Anarchy Reigns | £19.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 12.9GB |
| Armored Core: Verdict Day | £9.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 5.6GB |
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 9.5GB |
| Binary Domain | £11.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 11GB |
| Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 5.2GB |
| Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 4.4GB |
| The Bureau: XCOM Declassified | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 6.9GB |
| Catherine | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 9.3GB |
| Crysis 2 | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 7.4GB |
| Crysis 3 | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 8.4GB |
| Dante's Inferno | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 5.5GB |
| The Darkness II | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 5.8GB |
| Dead Space | £9.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 7.5GB |
| Dead Space 2 | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 10.1GB |
| Dead Space 3 | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 11.9GB |
| Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 16.9GB |
| Disney's Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 7.1GB |
| Dragon Age II | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 6.2GB |
| Dragon Age: Origins | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 11.3GB |
| Dynasty Warriors 6 | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 19.3GB |
| Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 6GB |
| Dynasty Warriors 7 | £24.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 19.6GB |
| Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires | £24.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 7.9GB |
| Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 22.9GB |
| Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 8.5GB |
| Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 | £44.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 9.1GB |
| Kane and Lynch: Dead Men | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 10GB |
| Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days | £7.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 8.2GB |
| Killer is Dead | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 5.2GB |
| The King of Fighters XIII | £9.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 2.2GB |
| Lost Planet 3 | £9.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 15.5GB |
| Max Payne 3 | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 13.6GB |
| Medal of Honor Warfighter | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 12.5GB |
| Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 18.5GB |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD | £9.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection [Also on Xbox 360] | 8.4GB |
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD | £9.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection [Also on Xbox 360] | 9.4GB |
| Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD | £9.99 £19.99 Bundle with: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection [Also on Xbox 360] | 3.7GB |
| Mini Ninjas | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 6.3GB |
| Mirror's Edge | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 4.9GB |
| Need for Speed: Most Wanted | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 4.4GB |
| Persona 4 Arena Ultimax | £44.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 11.3GB |
| Remember Me | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 6.4GB |
| Ridge Racer Unbounded | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 1.5GB |
| Shift 2 Unleashed | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 5.9GB |
| Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed | £11.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 5.4GB |
| Soul Calibur V | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 6.8GB |
| Spec Ops: The Line | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 5.7GB |
| Split/Second Velocity | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 6.2GB |
| SSX | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 3.9GB |
| Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II | £11.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 11.4GB |
| Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 17.1GB |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 9.5GB |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 7.6GB |
| Tomb Raider: Underworld | £7.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 6GB |
| Toy Story 3: The Video Game | £8.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 6.9GB |
| Ultra Street Fighter IV | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 18.2GB |
| Warriors: Legends of Troy | £15.99 [Also on Xbox 360] | 13.7GB |
| Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z | £12.99 [Also on Xbox 360 & Steam] | 5.1GB |
| Zone of the Enders HD | £6.49 £12.99 Bundle with: Zone of the Enders HD Collection [Also on Xbox 360] | 4.3GB |
| Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD | £11.59 £12.99 Bundle with: Zone of the Enders HD Collection [Also on Xbox 360, 4K Ver. on PS4 & Steam] | 5GB |
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