You may remember that Konami released three shooter compilations in Japan a few weeks ago. These games may never see the light of day outside of Japan, meaning hardcore gamers will have no choice but to import these titles. Of course, one only has so much money to spend. Thankfully, Modojo has reviewed and ranked all three games.

There are three collections: Salamander, Twinbee and Parodius. The relative ease of Twinbee makes it the one that you can avoid out of the three. Also, while Salamander might be the most accessible title, only one of these games has something called "Sexy Parodius."

"Is it worth a purchase? Absolutely. Twinbee and Parodius work on the same wacky level, but Parodius seems to have the pure challenge nailed down that most shooter fans will be frothing at the mouth over. Plus, it's so damn weird that it'll be hard to keep the smile off your face. Just wait until you face the perils of Sexy Parodius. Sexy indeed!"

The folks at Modojo have come up with an interesting piece, "Portable Disaster: Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios." In it, they imagine what would happen to their handheld systems if they had to go through an earthquake, blizzard, attack by wolves, and more.

They praise the DS's clamshell design, and agree that Nintendo's portable would be better able of surviving such a disaster. Should this come as a surprise? No. The PSP is an advanced piece of consumer electronics and deserves some delicate treatment: you wouldn't drop your plasma TV on the ground, would you?

The Nintendo DS may be able to withstand a ridiculous amount of abuse, but honestly ... if you're going to be treating your gaming equipment like trash, you don't deserve it in the first place.

[Via DS Fanboy]

We've been reviewing the PSP playable PS1 games that have been released thus far, but are they what we really want? We listed what we'd like to see from the PS1 library last month, but Modojo has their own list now. The list includes the predictable like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but it also includes more cult games like Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (the ending of which made me cry).

To see the rest of the list you'll have to go read the article. After you've done that though, come back here and let us know what games that you'd like to see make the leap from PS1 to PSP.

[Thanks Justin ]

[Update 1: Linked to our previous list of Most Wanted PS1 games]

The Sega Genesis Collection has been earning some good reviews from critics. Featuring 28 games at a bargain price, it's certainly a steal (especially compared to the insane prices of Sega's Virtual Console offerings). However, Modojo points out the titles that could've been part of this collection to make quite possibly the greatest game anthology ever. Here's but a sampling of their suggestions:

• Gunstar Heroes Treasure's action game is beloved by hardcore gamers everywhere. It's probably not included in the Collection simply because people like myself will be buying it on the Wii Virtual Console... at least two times.
• Toe Jam & Earl Yet another game that Nintendo Wii owners will be downloading. Classic platforming.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Well, the first two are in the collection.
• Sonic & Knuckles See above.
• Streets of Rage It's only like, totally, the best beat-em-up, like, ever created.
• Streets of Rage 2 See above.
• Disney's Aladdin I think this breaks the rules, as the game was developed by Capcom. However, this is licensed platforming at its best.
• Michael Jackson's Moowalker No comment.

Considering how many more classics remain in the Genesis library, it wouldn't surprise me if Sega didn't make yet another compilation of these games, and more. In fact, if Sega made a compilation of just these games alone, they'd be more than worth the price of admission. C'mon Sega! Let me give you more money!

I can't remember a time in a system's life when it had more retro compilations than the PSP is seeing right now. And with games the likes of Sega Genesis Collection, Metal Slug Anthology and EA Replay releasing this week, it's a veritable wet dream for us old-school gamers out there.

And Modojo has gone through each title and decided which are worthy of your purchase and which are worthy of the trashcan.

We're Not Worthy!

• Namco Museum Battle Collection
• Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play
• Gradius Collection
• Capcom Classics Reloaded
• Metal Slug Anthology
• Salamander Portable
  

It's Not Worthy!

• Taito Legends Power Up (Import)
• Activision Hits Remixed
• Sega Genesis Collection
• EA Replay

I gotta say I don't agree with his choices for Sega Genesis Collection and EA Replay. In fact, I think Sega Genesis Collection may be the greatest compilation to ever be released. How would you fellas rate these games?

[Thanks, kukyfrope]

DS Fanboy discovered a great list of the top 10 handheld imports from Modojo. While the list features many DS and GBA games, the PSP also shows up a surprising number of times.

10. Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You
Part of the huge dating game sim genre in Japan, this game has you trying to improve your sex appeal. If you're good enough, you might get lucky. Don't expect any naughty bits in this game though. That's for some other games.

7. Taiko no Tatsujin Portable
Taiko Drum Master was released on the PS2 to some fanfare, and the PSP version is essentially a remake... without the drums. While it seems like a lot of the appeal disappears without Drumcon, the soundtrack's happy J-Pop and Katamari Damacy tunes make this a hit for importers.

2. DJ Max Portable
Called "the single best game on the PSP" by the folks at Modojo, and for good reason too. Essentially Beatmania squeezed into handheld form, the game has you furiously mashing the PSP's buttons to the beat of the music. Harder difficulties apparently make you seem "less of a man." Wow.

Of course, these kind of lists require some kind of fanfare. See a video of DJ Max Portable after the cut.