PSP Aesthetic Appreciation Thread

Bruce Banner : Always Angry :: Antillese : Always Thinking About Del and the Hieroglyphics.

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I’ve been on a Wipeout kick lately, playing a lot of Pure and Pulse, and have just been swooning over the PSP aesthetics in these games. Pure is a mind blowing launch title, it is so beautiful!!! Both of these gotta be near the top of the PSP aesthetic tier chart.

I got the PS4 Omega Collection on sale to check it out and did a direct comparison for the Pure tracks they included, not a huge fan of the new visuals! In a vacuum they’re pretty good, seems like they went with the 2048 style of having much more detailed textures and lighting, but compared to the original I think they’re lacking. PSP hardware really made them shine.

Video example:

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Agreed! I think higher texture detail actually does wipeout a disservice since it’s so much about clean lines and clean environments and clean UI. It just winds up feeling like everything else, instead of feeling like wipeout. I feel like the PSP version ois about as far as you can push the level of texture detail and still have it work.

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I really like the psp media doc. Just the perfect size. Small enough to be profitable but not so small to get lost. I wish these things were writable like minidisc

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Wipeout Pure is the main reason I originally bought my PSP-1000 back in the day!

I have some mixed feelings about it – I absolutely loved being able to play Wipeout on the train going to/from work, and Zone Mode is probably the best addition to the game that has ever been made.

…I have a rather strong dislike for the barrel roll mechanic, unfortunately; and am not so hot on side shifting.

Barrel rolls made the hunt for fast lap times (back when I cared about things like world records and/or global top-ten leaderboards (via a fansite scoreboard)) all about working out which tiny bumps in the track could be leveraged to sneak another roll in for boost.

but damn, I loved having that thing in my hands. good times.

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Additionally I think the more “modern” lighting techniques and various shaders etc. just look so completely out of place with the aesthetic. WipEout Pure and Pulse lean into this flat, futuristic color palette that’s very mid-00s UK, in classic WipEout fashion. All the shading is done in the textures. The HD/Omega releases are a weird combination of dynamic lights and specular maps that give the whole thing an uncomfortably PS3 sheen that blow out the highlights and clash with the crunchy faux-sharpened textures.

I still love WipEout HD/Omega. It just doesn’t look Clean in the way the PSP games they’re sourcing from did.

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I think it is probably a matter of public record at this point, but I am a huge Evangelion dork. I recently stumbled upon “Rebuild of Evangelion: -3nd Impact-” for PSP. It’s a music rhythm game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture. It is exactly what I just said about it and you’ll either think it’s the greatest thing ever or super stupid.

I’m very firmly in the greatest thing ever camp.

Here’s a YouTube video I found of it.

I also found that if you’re the kind of person who is both pretty musically minded and are going to play this in PPSSPP, you may want to know you have to anticipate your inputs a bit.

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Source @ha2re2

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The recent time attack challenge got me craving some good 'ol PSP Ridge Racer. The nub works surprisingly well with this game (and I love how the PSP feels in the hands for any game). Music’s as rockin as ever and sounds extra cool coming out of the 1000’s speakers. Easy to hop into for 5 minutes or an hour. Holds up well to this day.

10/10 experience.

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