Retro|Spective 213: The Final Tour of PlayStation Vita

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

Killzone and Freedom Wars were/are both fantastic games. Killzone in particular has no business looking that good! I was also on Freedom Wars when the last few were there as the servers got shut down. Had some great times playing with people from the FW discord.

For me though, the Vita was all about first person DRPG’s. Demon Gaze 1 & 2, Stranger of Sword City, Saviors of Sapphire Wings, Dungeon Travelers 2, Mary Skelter, Operation Abyss & Babel plus many more are the games I put the most hours into. Dungeon Travelers 2 is an insane time sink as the main story which I’ve already put 100+ hours into and not yet finished is tiny compared to the even more challenging post game!

Just a shame it was killed off so early in its life.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 06: Resistance: Burning Skies
Arriving before Killzone delivered its own entry, this portable Resistance entry saw players take on the role of a firefighter trying to survive during the invasion of New York. The game followed other son the system, attempting to make use of the touch and motion controls whilst also delivering a console like experience with online multiplayer. The compromise delivered a title like many of those others, one with mixed reactions.




Skies the Limit?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 07: Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen
This sequel was launched on the Vita in 2011/2012 and follows the Tenchu line of gameplay. Using stealth to work through areas as one of two characters, players use their skills and equipment to take down enemies. The game isn't just bound to the Vita, it was also delisted from the PSN store back in 2016 making it even more chained to the hardware.




Zen Like Experience?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 08: Soul Sacrifice
An action RPG who;s combat system revolves around the player deciding which parts of the characters body or items to sacrifice in order to carry out highly damaging attacks. The game included a more limited four player co-op option and a year after release recieved an expanded version. Reviews for the game ranged from decent to recommended.




Worth Sacrificing Money For?

[wakka]

I remember really wanting to play Soul Sacrifice but never got around to it. Like Freedom Wars this was another game where I have the impression that it was a very post Monster Hunter creation, designed to ape the success of that game's portable local co-op on PSP in Japan.

The whole idea of playing that like that never really took off in the West in the same way which kind of put me off, I have to say. It didn't help that hardly anyone owned a Vita here.

[fuse]

Remember playing Modnation Racers for a decent stretch for review purposes, but honestly cannot remember much about it. I think average is a very generous term in this instance. Never got around to Freedom Wars, but I did finish both Toukiden and Soul Sacrifice, which were two other examples of teams trying to frantically jump into the gap left by Monster Hunter shifting to Nintendo systems.

Soul Sacrifice was fun enough from what I remember - rather than just taking one weapon and sticking to it, there were a lot of variables in terms of load out, and balance was a very big deal with it, where lots of the stronger builds would leave you very limited in other ways. Glass cannons at dawn!

[Neon Ignition]

Game 09: Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Even when Sony fails to support a product, they do love to have a visual showcase there in the early days at least and Vita's intended key showcase was this spin-off that aimed to replicate the hit franchise in full by bringing the cinematic adventure presentation and gameplay to the handheld. Developed by Bend, the game is a prequel and makes use of the Vita's hardware. Developed on PS3 hardware initially, the game was scaled to the handheld rather than built up for it and even though it made a point of utilsing the Vita's added control options it was primarily these aspects that were most criticised. The game scored strong reviews overall but has since largely been ignored by Sony and remains lost to the Vita.




Golden or Abyssmal?

[wakka]

This game was quite good and visually incredible at the time. I think it's notable because it's one of the last of the portable 'gaiden' versions of home console games, which were commonplace on handhelds right up until the Switch and Steam Deck made full-scale games possible.

I would have to say that today Golden Abyss is mostly a curio and only worth acquiring for the most hardcore Uncharted fan. Uncharted 2 and 4 are considerably better games.

[Colin]

Killzone on the Vita has to be one, if not the best title on the system. It was incredibly impressive when it came out.

Uncharted while a cut down version was still a bit of a wow title on a handheld. Not up there with the best in the series but still an enjoyable enough little romp.

[gunrock]

Personally, I really enjoyed Golden Abyss. Though agree that blockbuster games don't really belong on a handheld, IMO.

[Asura]

This walkthrough of the PSVita era seems to contain less anime girl underwear than I remember.

[Dogg Thang]

The thing with the Uncharted game that sticks in my mind is that it clearly couldn't run at the resolution of the Vita screen and that, to me, highlighted the weakness of the system. As great as the screen was and as great as some of the games were, there was a gap there.

[fuse]

Remains the only Uncharted game I have finished

[Neon Ignition]

This walkthrough of the PSVita era seems to contain less anime girl underwear than I remember.

The scale of games focused around this on the Vita is a hell of a relfection of the market it found

[Neon Ignition]

Game 10: Unit 13
Taking its inspiration from the SOCOM games, this largely third person game also featured co-op play with players aiming to complete objectives and gain the highest score for completing the missions that they can. The game scored reasonably but sank quite quickly and its developer was shut down.




Unlucky For Some?