Sunday, August 10, 2014
Over Seventy Games New Vita Owners Should Check Out!
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Last year, I made a list of titles that I thought new Vita owners should check out, and the games certainly haven't stopped coming since then. The number of Vita owners has been growing just like the handheld's library -- I've been asked for recommendations on at least a dozen occasions over the past week, so it seemed like the time was right for an update.
Got you covered.
Although this is nowhere near an exhaustive list (and of course, tastes vary) there is an absolute ton of great gaming to be had on the system once you realize you’ve got five marketplaces to browse: In addition to the Vita’s native software, it also offers selections from the PSP, PSOne, PS Mini and PS Mobile libraries. The things listed here represent only a fraction of the software available. Seriously!
Although this is nowhere near an exhaustive list (and of course, tastes vary) there is an absolute ton of great gaming to be had on the system once you realize you’ve got five marketplaces to browse: In addition to the Vita’s native software, it also offers selections from the PSP, PSOne, PS Mini and PS Mobile libraries. The things listed here represent only a fraction of the software available. Seriously!
By the way, with all the games you’re sure to be downloading, you might find that you run out of space fairly quickly. Although the price of proprietary memory cards is still ridiculous, a good thing to remember is that it’s incredibly easy to backup Vita software in order to make room for new stuff. Just use the included USB cable and hook it up to a PC, PS3 or PS4. The media manager software that comes on the Vita is totally painless to use, and makes these backups a snap.
So what do I recommend? Here are some selections in alphabetical order. If @Gamecritics has a review for the title in question, the link is included. If not, there’s a brief description from me!
Castlestorm
Chrono Trigger
Often cited as one of the best RPGs of oh, I dunno, all time.
Cyberbots
A long-forgotten Capcom fighter with loads of robots.
An underappreciated action-platformer that delivers solid action and a peek at Satan's penis.
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Monster-on-monster action in this classic Capcom fighter.
A strangely addictive free-to-play title with great artwork and global influences
Dino Crisis 2
I don't really need to explain these, do I?
An experimental game of eating and evolution.
The Ghost of Sparta gets mad. Really, really mad.
An Amelie-flavored adventure through the air.
The speediest JRPG that's ever existed.
Be the cutest ghost haunting the cutest town.
Super-solid fighting with DC heroes and a great singleplayer mode.
Episodic Professor Layton-lite with an adorable aesthetic.
A heroic robo-rabbit leaping miles into the air.
An uber-tight platformer with a tear-jerking ending.
Silent Hill meets Point-And-Click.
An acclaimed, artistic title featuring silently emotive robots.
A heavily Japanese boss-rush game with esoteric style.
Another set of games which need no introduction.
First-person action with a crossbow that shoots animals as ammo.
2D skateboarding where wrecking looks as painful as it does in 3D.
Tribes of eyeballs go to war... With rhythm!
Take down huge enemy airships by cutting them to pieces.
A JRPG murder-mystery starring a female reporter in modern times.
A surprisingly competent brawler on par with Smash Bros.
A true RPG where battles occur on a puzzle board.
Colorful, humorous adventures that come loaded for interstellar bear.
Generation after generation trying to overcome a shifting castle.
A space-based station sim using tetrimino shapes.
Character-heavy third-person platforming with an agile edge.
A side-scrolling Roguelike platformer that's tough as nails.
Humorous blob-rolling action.
A fantastically creative game, and the best use of Vita hardware EVER.
2D Minecraft except it's not.
Naughty Dog's classic platform adventure series before Uncharted was born.
A rich Sci-Fi story with mindbending clone-based puzzles
The breakthrough point-and-clicker set in a post-zombie world.
Anthropomorphic shapes with unforgettable personality.
The city's empty and you're a hungry Pomeranian. Go!
Surreal platforming and evil pigs. Also, lots of pink.
Nathan Drake does battle in a Magic: The Gathering format.
Futuristic racing that goes... Well, it goes pretty fast.
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I don't know about you, but it seems to me there's enough quality gaming on this list to keep someone busy for ages, and that's not even taking into account the titles I didn't mention. So, the next time you hear someone blindly repeating some nonsense about the Vita having no games? You know what to tell 'em.
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>"So, the next time you hear someone blindly repeating some nonsense about the Vita having no games?"
The problem I have with that argument is that the majority of these are available on other platforms (often much cheaper while still having better features, especially in the case of games available for PC). I was hoping to find out about some Vita (or at least handheld) exclusives that I had missed, but didn't. I guess I don't really have much of a point, except that that's why people bemoan the lack of games. The Vita has no niche - people can play games on the go with phones or even old hardware like the PSP (many of the games you list are PS1 games available on it), and when they're at home they can play better versions of these on other platforms, whether it be the PS3/4 or the PC. I know I've really enjoyed my Vita with the handful of games I've wanted to play on it, but I just don't often find games to play on it.