PSP!

[ZTC]

I got that for my birthdat a few weeks ago and I'm thourghly enjoying it. I currently have Dracula X Chronicles and Disagea Afternoon of Darkness, but I'm looking to get other games for it. The next few I'm thinking of getting are the following:
MGS Portable Ops (Plus?) (which would be the better one to get?)
Sega collection (don't remember the name, but it's the one with the Phantasy Star series on it)
Metal Gear Ac!d 2 (seems like an interesting title to play)
FFT War of the Lions (I've found out that I really like SRPGs, so this might be one of the next ones I get)

I haven't looked at the PSN store yet, so I don't know the titles they're offering or what PS1 games hey have adapted for it. Other game suggestions are welcome. Aside from that I'd like to know what are some good resources for customability and for hacking my PSPslim. It's been over a decade since I got a new system, but... I'd like to get the most out of it.

[MottZilla]

http://www.psp-hacks.com is a good source of information on hacking.

I recommend the Mega Man Powered Up and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X games since you already have Castlevania Chronicles.

[Modus Ponens]

I really enjoy Lumines, which is a solid puzzle game, and Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade is fun, too—it's a dungeon crawl that's very reminiscent of Diablo. But yeah, you pretty much nailed it with FFT.

[Brasel]

I'd go with Portable Ops Plus mainly because Konomi has been pretty good about the extras added in with the last couple Metal Gear games that got makeovers after the initial release. Mott is 100% correct in the Mega Man titles, as they are probably the best Mega Man titles to come out since Mega Man X4. I really loved both of them. War of the Lions was awesome. I liked the added content and the anime cut scenes a lot. I didn't enjoy Metal Gear Ac!d too much, I really hate card based games, and I really tried to like it because I love the Metal Gear series so much, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The Capcom Arcade Collections aren't too bad. I had quite a bit of fun playing through the beat em ups that they had in there, as well as the ability to play the original Street Fighter 2. Lego Star Wars IIwas a lot of fun. I didn't have a console version, and I was on my way to Iraq when I first wanted to play it. My wife is sending the PSP version of Lego Indiana Jones my way right now. I'm looking forward to playing that. If you don't already have one of the one million re-re-releases of Final Fantasy 1 or 2, I heard the PSP versions were pretty tight. I also hear Jean d'Arc wasn't too bad. Its a SRPG I think, and I was interested in playing it, I just haven't ordered it yet.

[MasterSwordUltima]

Portable Ops+ has a good chunk of stuff the original doesn't have, like Old Snake, Genome and Gurlukovich soldiers, even Raiden, as playable characters. Although MGS never really had a huge online community [or atleast one that lasted], its still damn fun to collect soldiers, ftw.

Megaman Powered Up has infinite replay value. You unlock every Robot Master as a playable characters [all 8...they added two], as well as Roll and Protoman. And for whatever reason, theres like 10 different versions of Roll [halloween Roll, classic Roll, cat Roll, ninja Roll, I don't get it either]. Not to mention the fact that you can make your own levels and share 'em. I played a remake of Super Mario Bros. 1-1 on MMPU. Brilliant.

Crisis Core is really good too. I thought the story was more than decent, even with all the new stuff they added to the FF7 universe with Dirge of Cerebrus and what not [Genesis mostly].

[DarkDragoonX]

Also look into Riviera: The Promised Land. It's very unconventional, sort of a hybrid RPG/visual novel, but it's actually quite fun.

Oh, and Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins. Phenomenal, assuming you don't mind a difficult game.

[ZTC]

I might have to hold back on FFT, as I'm quite absorbed with Disagea the past week now. (another SRPG would prolly be a bad idea at this point) At this point, I'm going to get MGS PO+ and go from there.
As for someone who has the 4.01 firmware, what would be the best custom firmware to get at this time? I'm looking to have full use of the xmb interface (not sure if that's what it is) and partial emulation of SNES, NES, Genesis, and PS1. If I ever have a change of heart after putting in a custom firmware (or something screws up for whtever reason), would I be able to install Sony firmware again or would the system be bricked?

[MottZilla]

It is usually possible to reinstall a Sony Firmware though there should be no reason to do that. I don't know what the install process would be for a PSP with FW v4.01. Check www.psp-hacks.com

They have a forum, tutorials, and downloads.