If you’re looking for a fairly simple to understand and addictive import game, look no further than Korea. Yes, that’s right, Korea. Some of the easiest to play import games, for people who can’t understand the language, are music games and Korean developers and publishers are known for putting together some pretty great ones.

There’s a catch though – most of these good, Korean music games are commonly found on the PSP. You may find them in arcades, in the case of the Pump it Up series, or online, for example Audition, but one common tie among most Korean music games is that they appear on region-free PSP UMDs. Well, there is one more commonality – most PSP Korean music games also have an English language option.

So read on, and learn more about Audition, DJ Max and Pump It Up…

One of the most heavily imported PSP series, DJ Max Portable is going to be released in the US. That’s right, on November 11, 2008, DJ Max Fever is going to be released by PM Studios. It isn’t a direct translated port of DJ Max Portable or DJ Max Portable 2, but rather a kind of fusion of the two games.

DJ Max Fever is a bit like DDR or Beatmania. There’s music in the background, and you have to push PSP buttons in time with said music. The original games had 4, 5, 6 and 8-button control schemes, so DJ Max Fever will most likely also have those options. A tracklist hasn’t been announced, but it has been confirmed that the game will have over 100 songs, multiplayer, wallpapers, music videos and a jukebox mode.

Click through to watch a trailer from IGN…

So last week Important Importables discussed DS games North Americans have slim to no chance of ever seeing localized and released. It seems only fair that we look at the other major portable console on the market.

With the recent PSP game drought, many people are likely lamenting the lack of titles. A look at Gamefaqs’ release list shows nine NA PSP releases between now and June 24, 2008, compared to 28 NA DS releases in that same time period.

The thing is, there are plenty of viable, Japanese and European PSP games which could be released in North America. For some reason though, they aren’t. So let’s look at four games that should have received NA releases, but haven’t.

The PSP just doesn’t get the love or respect that it deserves. It is the Jan of handheld video game systems. At least it is until the new NGage comes out. Then it might get to be Cindy for a while. The worst part is that this tendency towards it seems to be fairly universal.

Japan does offer a little more love for the system than other countries, so there at least a few extra games which never made it here. There happens to be two inconveniences to deal with when importing these games, and they are language and peer assistance. Most Japanese PSP games are text heavy. This results in very few import PSP games with user-created guides.

At that point, it is almost easier to search online for some of the free Japanese game demos released by Sony of Japan.

If you are really dedicated and willing to expend some effort, then there are quite a few titles out there worth looking at. In fact, I couldn’t distinguish between the two runner-up games today, because both are so fantastic and fun in their own ways. So if you love your PSP, pull up a chair and read about DJ Max Portable 2, Genso Suikoden I&II and Princess Maker 4 Portable.

For hardcore gamers a rare, imported game could make their holiday extra special. The only problems are that there are tons of games out there and they can be pretty pricey. Also the key is to find a game which is easy to play even if the only Japanese you know is “Domo arigato Mr. Roboto.”

So, for this installment of Important Importables, I’ve put together a small compilation of Nintendo DS, PSP, Playstation 2, and Xbox 360 import games which are sure to delight any gamer. You’re probably wondering why there aren’t any Wii or PS3 games listed here though. The fact is that there really aren’t that many games for those two systems in Japan that aren’t already available here. If there is a game that isn’t available here yet, it will be in a few months. Its pointless to import something when waiting two or three months will yield the same game, only in English and probably $20 cheaper.