Summary
ThePS Vitawas an underrated portable at the time when it launched in 2012 in North America a few months after Japan’s debut in 2011. It still is a great console and some of its exclusive games have made it off the hardware including the recently releasedFreedom Warswhich was like aMonster Hunterclone.
Persona 4 Goldenwas a remaster of the PS2 game which some thank for helping popularize the series more. There was even a dancing spinoff thanks to the success on the PS Vita,Persona 4 Dancing, but that did hit other consoles eventually too. So, what PS Vita game should make it onto modern consoles next?
Adventures of Manais a remake ofFinal Fantasy Adventurewhich was originally released for the Game Boy in 1991. Despite the name in North America, this was not aFinal Fantasyspinoff and instead marked the beginning oftheManaseries.
It eventually got a remake on the Game Boy Advance and was renamedSword Of Manawhich added a lot of other changes too like two starting heroes. It’s good but quite different whereasAdventures of Manawas a more faithful remake released on mobile devices and more importantly PS Vita in 2016. Neither remake has ever been made available again past their initial portable platform which is a crying shame.
Portable entries of major console franchises often get the short end of the stick. That’s not the case fortheKillzoneseriesthough asKillzone: Liberationfor the PSP was a great top-down cover shooter andKillzone: Mercenarywas a solid FPS on the PS Vita. What makes the latter entry interesting is that players were literally mercenaries and had a few choices to make in the war but nothing truly game-changing.
This 2013 shooter never left the PS Vita family of systems but it would be great to see all six majorKillzonegames re-released on PS5 or beyond. There were some touch-sensitive controls forKillzone: Mercenarybut the touchpad on the PS5 controller can bypass those gimmicks easily.
LittleBigPlanet PS Vitais another game with touch controls but one that was more experimental thanKillzone: Mercenary.LittleBigPlanet PS Vitaplays like most titles in the series as players can dress up their Sackboys or Sackgirls and then jump into wild 2D levels.
LittleBigPlanet PS Vitamight be the most creative entry in the series thanks to the touch mechanics. They’re not nearly as inventive as Tearaway, butLittleBigPlanet PS Vitais still a platformer full of surprises.Tearawaydid leave the PS Vita and got a full remake/reimagining on the PS4 so maybe the same could be true forLittleBigPlanet PS Vitafor the PS5.
Muramasa: The Demon Bladewas released for the Wii in 2009 and it is stillone of Vanillaware’s best. Players could choose one of two characters and then go through 2D levels, fighting enemies and leveling up along the way.
This slick ninja action game was re-released as Muramasa Rebirth on the PS Vita in 2013. Besides quality-of-life improvements to the controls and visual upgrades, there were new mini-campaigns based on minor characters too. The game looked great on the OLED screen, so surely it would look better in 4K on a screen too.
Fans of theStar Oceanseries may be familiar with the developer tri-Ace. They’ve branched off and helped support other big franchises such as their one-shot at tackling thePhantasy Starseriesfor Sega viaPhantasy Star Nova.
Players who enjoyPhantasy Star Online 2will feel right at home with this game as it plays similarly. Unfortunately, it’s not only stuck on the PS Vita but it didn’t even come to North America. It was released in Japan in 2014 and then it hit Asian territories in 2015 but that is it. For diehardPhantasy Starfans, this missing link is a tragedy.
Silent Hill: Book of Memoriesdid not come out with a bang, unlike the recently releasedSilent Hill 2remake. It plays unlike any other game as it dips away from a dramatic story in favor ofnurturingDiablo-like gameplay. It’s not what a lot of fans desired in 2012 when it hit the PS Vita but over time it has gathered a cult following.
It was developed by WayForward who had made a ton of great original titles like theShantaeseries and licensed games likeThe Mummy Demastered.Silent Hill: Book of Memoriesmay have been flawed at launch but it can easily be salvaged with a remaster.
Tales of Hearts Rwas a long time coming for fans of theTales ofseries. It was released on the DS in 2008 in Japan with two different versions. One version had CG cutscenes and the other had anime cutscenes which was a unique release for the series as it usually only had anime cutscenes by default.
Tales of Hearts Rwas the remastered version which stuck to the anime version when it was released in 2014 in North America. It, along with its counterpartTales of Innocence R,are both trapped on the PS Vita, and the latter has never been released outside of Japan.
Uncharted: Golden Abysswas a launch game for the PS Vita when it launched for North America in 2012. It’s a prequel to the first game following an early adventurewith Nathan Drakeas a young man. That means there are no recognizable characters beyond a late addition of Sully but that’s okay as it still scratched that adventurous itch.
Players still got to explore ruins in jungles and fight tons of armed militia men all trying to get to the treasure first. There are actually two Uncharted games trapped on the PS Vita with the second being a card game calledUncharted: Fight for Fortunewhich was also released in 2012.
