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What are your esential games for PS Vita?

astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,888
My friend returned a Vita I bough them as a gift as they no longer played it, so I figured I may as well explore the library.

Tried out remote play via my ps4 which was pretty neat, but I''d like to make a list of games I'm interested in.

I currently own:
Resogun
Vagrant Story
Odin Sphere

I could just look up the games, but I'd like to read some people's reasons why they loved certain games and think I should try them.

All genres, anything goes!

To note: I don't have PS plus, in case that matters. Have no plans to sub again right now...
 
De-mon

De-mon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
467
Persona-4-Golden
 

Deleted member 1102

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,295
First post nails it

I also use mine as a Final Fantasy machine. You can have 1 to X-2 on there and it's great.
 
KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd.

KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,959
Osaka, Osaka
P4G

/thread

I liked Tearaway, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Killzone Mercenary, and playing what used to be exlcusive indies on it. WipEout 2048 is pretty impressive still.
These days Im mostly just playing PSone and PSP games on it.
 
Karlinel

Karlinel

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Nov 10, 2017
7,826
Mallorca, Spain
Muramasa: the charm of Vanillaware's art style with a great combat system.
Persona 4 Golden: best Jrpg!
Killzone Mercenary: how to make a good portable handheld, and honestly great game.
Wipeout 2048: my favourite racing series! May as well apply to pure/fusion from psp.
Tearaway: just so goddamn charming!!
That, for starters.
Edit: toukiden and god eater are guilty pleasures as well, can add Soul Sacrifice.
 
Theswweet

Theswweet

RPG Site
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
6,404
California
Persona 4 Golden, Muramasa Rebirth, Steins;Gate/Steins;Gate 0/Chaos;Child, Shiren the Wanderer, Stranger of Sword City Revisited, Demon Gaze, IA/VT Colorful, Project Diva f/F 2nd/X, Taiko no Tatsujin V, Dragon Quest Builders, Tearaway, Killzone: Mercenary, The House in Fata Morgana, LittleBigPlanet Vita, Disgaea 3+4, Soul Sacrifice Delta, Freedom Wars, Risk of Rain... and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
 

Deleted member 7883

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,387
Persona 4 Golden
Spelunky
Persona 4 Golden
Gravity Rush
Persona 4 Golden
Soul Sacrifice Delta
Persona 4 Golden
Muramasa Rebirth
Persona 4 Golden
Wipeout 2048
Persona 4 Golden
Lumines Electronic Symphony
Persona 4 Golden
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (the back touchpad makes playing MGS3 annoying though)
Persona 4 Golden
Tearaway
Persona 4 Golden
Mortal Kombat 9
Persona 4 Golden
Danganronpa
Persona 4 Golden

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Plenty of other great indies, fighting games, and visual novels as well.

edit: also Persona 4 Golden! Can't believe I forgot the best damn game on the system.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,517
Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together.

It's a PSP game, but fuck it. Play it on Vita anyway.
 
Shizuka

Shizuka

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,100
All Danganronpa, all Utawarerumono, all Zero Escape, all Experience games, all Falcom games, Persona 4 Golden, Steins;Gate, Chaos;Child, The House in Fata Morgana.
 
Zaied

Zaied

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,552
Shinobido 2 is my favorite game on the Vita; definitely a must have if you're a fan of stealth games (particularly the Tenchu series). You get a grappling hook and wingsuit that allows you to traverse the maps Batman: Arkham style, a good amount of tools that you can use throughout the levels, and it has a fairly expansive alchemy system that allows you to create your own gadgets.
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,400
P4G
Killzone Mercenary
Tearaway
Gravity Rush
Hotline Miami
Guacamelee
MGS HD Collection
Dragon's Crown
The Legend of Heroes
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,888
Persona 4 golden it is, lol.

Killzone always interested me too.

Metal Gear solid 1-3 sounds great, they run well on Vita?
 
Clive

Clive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,088
Few people ever mention Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines but it's secretly the only good JRPG on the system and actually a bit unique. Tearaway is fantastic too and Gravity Rush is something everyone at least should try although preferably on the PS4.
 

JMTF

Member
Aug 27, 2018
547
Do you want PSP stuff too? War of the Lions, if your vita is hacked, slap the speed fix hax and you are good to go.
Tearaway is pretty fun too.
 
Uthred

Uthred

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,567
If you like Wizardry style RPG's and visual novels there's a lot of great stuff. Oh and the Atellier games which dont seem to have been mentioned yet.
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,319
My top 3 favorite Vita games are Persona 4 Golden, Gravity Rush, and DJMax Technika Tune. Technika Tune usually gets overlooked in these discussions, but if you like music games that play like Elite Beat Agents and are a fan of Korean music & cheesy animated music videos, it's a system seller IMO.

Besides the exclusive stuff, a Vita is a worthwhile purchase just for all the great PS1 & PSP games available for it.

Anyone here play the Silent Hill release on Vita as well? The reviews make it sound fairly mediocre but I'm willing to stick with clunky gameplay if the story is good enough.
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I played it. It's basically an Action/Roguelike with a Silent Hill vibe. Load times are terrible at the start of each floor as it generates everything, but otherwise okay. Never finished it, but liked it enough to spend several hours on it. If you're curious and see a good price for it, I'd say give it a shot.
 
themadswagger

themadswagger

Banned
Nov 3, 2017
167
Best exclusives: Killzone, Uncharted, (and MonsterBag which is criminally overlooked)

Games you can find on other consoles: Tearaway (best version is on Vita), Gravity Rush, Wipeout, Sly Cooper, Rayman Origins + Legends, The Walking Dead
 

Deleted member 3815

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,633
Muramasa:Rebirth, pretty much the only reason to why I got the Vita. I could go for a switch port though as I rarely use the Vita and I can't get the DLC as I imported a US copy and have a UK PSN account so the DLC won't work on it. 😢
 
Hightower

Hightower

Member
Aug 8, 2019
39
YuriLowell said:
side note: is P4G worth playing if you already played vanilla p4?
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Depends. it's basically an expanded version of the game. More social events, two new Slinks and an entirely new dungeon as well as some neat quality of life changes like being able to restart floors when you die and fusion inheritances and stuff. It's P4 with more stuff.

As for PS Vita games, everyone's already mentioned P4G so here's some others I like.

DanganRonpa 1, 2 and V3. (Skip Ultra Despair Girls. It's not good.)
Hotline Miami 1 and 2
Ratchet and Clank Trilogy
 
megalowho

megalowho

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,562
New York, NY
Tearaway makes great use of the system's capabilities
P4G is an all-timer JRPG
Lumines Electronic Symphony and Wipeout 2048 are worthy entries in their series
DJMAX TECHNIKA TUNE isn't the ideal way to play Technika but still a great tactile rhythm game
FROBISHER SAYS! is an odd microgame collection and spiritual cousin to the underrated W.T.F.
TxK is one of the good Tempests. Great platform for arcadey indie games in general
 
Triggerhappytel

Triggerhappytel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,015
Karlinel said:
Muramasa: the charm of Vanillaware's art style with a great combat system.
Persona 4 Golden: best Jrpg!
Killzone Mercenary: how to make a good portable handheld, and honestly great game.
Wipeout 2048: my favourite racing series! May as well apply to pure/fusion from psp.
Tearaway: just so goddamn charming!!
That, for starters.
Edit: toukiden and god eater are guilty pleasures as well, can add Soul Sacrifice.
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Someone threadmark this post!
 
angelgrievous

angelgrievous

Middle fingers up
Member
Nov 8, 2017
9,134
Ohio
I use mine for PS1 games mostly. They look very good on the system. I also like the MGS HD Collection but the controls take some getting used to.

Also, get yourself a grip if you don't have one. It makes a big difference imo.
 
ventuno

ventuno

Member
Nov 11, 2019
1,958
astro said:
You mean the HD version right? I can see the ps one version of MGS1 on the store...

Can I just buy that and download it straight from the store?
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Ah, you meant the PS1 version? If so, I played it on Vita and I think it feels clunky the way most PS1 games feel clunky compared to the standards we have now, but it's definitely not unplayable.
 
Puru

Puru

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,175
The aquaplus games, that mostly includes the serie where two games didn't get localized sadly.
 
Accoun

Accoun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,905
astro said:
Metal Gear solid 1-3 sounds great, they run well on Vita?
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2 is locked to 30 FPS outside buildings (still targets 60 inside), which is a downgrade from the PS2 version. I haven't played it myself, so I can't comment on it.
I played 3 on Vita and it's mostly solid. There is slowdown in some cutscenes, but one boss fight is the only place where I noticed anything during actual gameplay The Fury, due to all the flame particles. I have no comparison to the original version, so I don't know if that happened on PS2 too, but in general there's less of a difference since it already was 30 FPS there AFAIK.
 
Bigkrev

Bigkrev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,306
Spelunky
TxK
IA/VT Colorful (Import only)
Lumines Electronic Symphony
Danganronpa 1-V3
Wipeout 2048
All the Project Diva Games
Persona 4 Golden
Freedom Wars
Killzone Mercenary
Frobisher Says (free)

Tons of great games on the system
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,888
ventuno said:
Ah, you meant the PS1 version? If so, I played it on Vita and I think it feels clunky the way most PS1 games feel clunky compared to the standards we have now, but it's definitely not unplayable.
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I just started playing MGS1 on my pc and I'm used to the controls, so it should be okay.

Any reason to go through the bother of transferring the HD version? It will be a bit of effort...
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,319
Hightower said:
Depends. it's basically an expanded version of the game. More social events, two new Slinks and an entirely new dungeon as well as some neat quality of life changes like being able to restart floors when you die and fusion inheritances and stuff. It's P4 with more stuff.
Click to expand...
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I'd also like to add that P4G changes shuffle time into this really fun card game where you get to pick which bonuses & penalties you want & try to full sweep the board. Trying to activate it each battle and pick cool bonuses alone made the game a lot more fun IMO (was rather disappointed that they didn't carry it on to P5 but instead just went with a more standard SMT interrogation setup). It also makes MC one-persona runs very viable (and maybe even too powerful).
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,888
Accoun said:
2 is locked to 30 FPS outside buildings, which is a downgrade from the PS2 version. I haven't played it myself, so I can't comment on it.
I played 3 on Vita and it's mostly solid. There is slowdown in some cutscenes, but one boss fight is the only place where I noticed anything during actual gameplay The Fury, due to all the flame particles. I have no comparison to the original version, so I don't know if that happened on PS2 too, but in general there's less of a difference since it already was 30 FPS there AFAIK.
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Right... honestly, the thought of playing MGS on the go is pretty alluring. I think fps in 2 might not matter to me much here...

Thank you.

I can also run them on my PC (1-2 native and the 3-4 emulated).

Decisions...
 
Lokoline

Lokoline

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,008
Brazil
Soul Sacrifice Delta, Freedom Wars, Killzone Mercenary, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden, Muramasa Rebirth, Uncharted Golden Abyss. There's more but I don't remember now.
 
iceblade

iceblade

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,213
Shizuka said:
All Danganronpa, all Utawarerumono, all Zero Escape, all Experience games, all Falcom games, Persona 4 Golden, Steins;Gate, Chaos;Child, The House in Fata Morgana.
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Good list here. There are some really solid titles mentioned.

I'd also add in:

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartending Action - It's a relaxing read that has a great setting and interesting (and funny) characters). It sucks you in and keeps you interested throughout. The soundtrack is also fantastic.
Undertale (if you haven't played it) - I haven't played it yet, but have enjoyed what I've tried of it, and it's been said to be a really good game too.
Cosmic Star Heroine - I really enjoyed this. It's an RPG that is quick and to the point, but has a really fun battle system (one of the best ones I can remember) and interesting settings.
The Longest 5 Minutes - An admittedly pretty easy RPG, but it had an interesting enough story and I thought it was charming. I also liked waht it did with its premise (the game takes place in 5 ingame minutes).
Child of Light - This also has a fun battle system, and the story is told in rhyme which sounds weird at first but is actually decently well done. It also looks really pretty and before the Switch version came out the only way to get it physically was on Vita.

Those are all shorter games, but definitely fun and worth a playthrough.

Oh, one more, longer, recommendation. I haven't played it and it is a divisive recommendation (so perhaps not essential) but if you do wind up liking Persona 4 Golden, be aware you can also play Persona 3 Portable on the Vita. That'd be a way to scratch the Persona itch if you don't have a PS3 available. If you do opt to continue with the series though, Persona 5 is of course available on PS4, and will be $10 for the Black Friday sales.
 
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chrominance

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,576
P4G is obvious, almost to the point of cliche.
Killzone Mercenary is a top-tier Killzone; I think maybe only 2 could top it. Way better than Shadow Fall, which came out the same year for a much more powerful console.
DJMAX Technika Tune and IA/VT Colorful are two fantastic rhythm games you won't find anywhere else.
Tearaway is technically also available on PS4, but I prefer the Vita version; it makes better use of the system's gimmicks than the PS4 one did, and it's a more concise and therefore sharper experience.

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the Vita's library has since been ported to other systems, so if you're just looking for games you can only play on Vita the list doesn't get too much longer. That said, games like DanganRonpa still may play better on Vita because of the portability aspect.

YuriLowell said:
side note: is P4G worth playing if you already played vanilla p4?
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If you've ever thought to yourself, "gee I'd like to play Persona 4 again, that game was fun," Golden is the definitive version of the game, so yes.

On the other hand, if you have no interest in revisiting the vanilla game, I'm not sure there's anything in Golden that would change your mind. The new content is a mixed bag and the quality-of-life improvements and additional gameplay systems, while fantastic, won't necessarily move the needle.
 
el_galvon

el_galvon

Member
Jun 13, 2019
709
Persona 4 Golden, and you can also buy Persona 3 Portable, it's a good version if you have never played before. Both are among the best RPGs of all time.

There are a bunch of great rogue-like indie games like Spelunky, Binding of Isaac and Rogue Legacy.

Since many of Vita games are multiplatform indies or are already ported to PS4, it's hard to recommend without knowing what the person had already played.
 
ss_lemonade

ss_lemonade

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,648
No Stardew Valley? I don't have it on the Vita, but I always thought it was a perfect game for a small handheld
 
KoreanBBQ

KoreanBBQ

PR guy at The Amplifier Group
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Nov 29, 2017
202
Anything DJ MAX, although I prefer the old PSP ones on Vita quite a bit more than Technika Tune.
 
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