Image via Complex Original
The PlayStation Vita has been out for two months and it has brought with it a robust launch line-up and a decent stream of post-launch software. The day-one availability of a Vita-modified PlayStation Store guaranteed there would be more than enough entertainment content for most gamers. This includes the more than 150 PSP games that are compatible with the Vita, as well as the growing selection of apps like Flickr and Twitter. My favorite is Netflix, which has done wonders in passing the time while I wash dishes (the Vita sits on the window sill).
This list puts a focus on the games, ranking the top 25 Vita games that are now available. We’ve done a Top 25 Vita Gameslist before, but from a “launch window” preview perspective. See how our impressions have changed now that we’ve managed to play all the available Vita games to date.
25. Army Corps of Hell
While we’re still a ways away from Square Enix’s Final Fantasy X HD remaster, the developer/publisher had this curious new IP as their singular contribution to the Vita’s launch. Army Corps puts a dark comedic twist on the army-management gameplay of Nintendo’s Pikmin. It’s set in Hell, driven by a bombastic death metal soundtrack, and stars a downtrodden king seeking to reclaim his throne with the help of a goblin army.
24. Sumioni
This hack and slasher is something that Shinobi fans should enjoy (as opposed to the sub-par Shinobido 2 that’s also available for the Vita). Sumioni has a bit of the Japanese calligraphy stylings of Okami plus the draw-your-own-platforms gameplay of Ivy The Kiwi. Aside from making platforms with your index finger, you’ll also have to finger-draw magic spells in order to activate them.
23. Touch My Katamari
The Katamari can now go places it couldn’t in past installments, now that you can pinch and stretch it. For better or worse, you get more of the same Katamari: countless objects to roll over, the most vibrant color palettes you’ll find in a game, and a soundtrack to please fans of Japanese electronic pop music. The humor seems to get more and more bizarre with each installment, which says something considering how the first game already had its share of nonsensical moments.
22. Pinball Arcade
Fans who have played FarSight Studios’ previous pinball games might notice the reappearance of Tales of the Arabian Nights and Black Hole in this collection, but it’s still worth playing again since the developer has improved the games’ visuals and more importantly, the physics. The other two classics included in Pinball Arcade are Bally’s Theater of Magic and Stern’s Ripley’s Believe it or Not. You can then look forward to Medieval Madness and The Machine: Bride of Pin.Bot in the first DLC pack.
21. Dynasty Warriors Next
There are three series I’m used to seeing in a console/handheld launch: a Madden game, a Ridge Racer game, and a Dynasty Warriors game. EA’s waiting until the next season for their Vita football debut and Ridge Racer wasn’t exactly Namco Bandai’s best effort. On the brightside, this is classic Dynasty Warriors, down to its robust, yet very familiar campaign and with optional touch controls.
20. StarDrone Extreme
StarDrone Extreme not a pinball game but it’s worth the attention of pinball fans as the ship you control in StarDrone never stops and it’s up to you to direct it to its proper destination. Much of this involves tethering the ship to the countless gravity beacons in the game and using the beacons to swing the ship in a new direction. Stylistically, StarDrone Extreme looks like it came from the same universe as Super Stardust which in itself makes this downloadable Vita game worth a look.
19. Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus
Eight years is a lot of time to come up with a portable system that could handle a proper port. Reexperiencing this classic on the Vita doesn’t exactly replace the experience of playing it on the Xbox, which might be one of the reasons why the difficulty was slightly lowered for this newer version. If you enjoyed Ninja Gaiden 3 but wonder why some found it underwhelming, playing Sigma Plus makes for a proper a reminder of the series’ prior greatness.
18. Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention
It might be a while before we start seeing an original SRPG for the Vita, but Disgaea 3 does more than enough to satisfy that genre fix for the immediate future. And if you procrastinated in picking up Disgaea 3 the first time around for the PlayStation 3, you’ll be pleased to hear that this Vita version comes with all the previously-released DLC content. Other new features include bosses from Disgaea 4 and practical implementation of the touch screen.
17. Motorstorm RC
Turning the Motorstorm universe into a top-down racer featuring remote control cars is one solution to avoid emulating the often-graphically intensive performance of the PlayStation 3 Motorstorm games. It plays in the tradition of Super Off-Road and R.C. Pro-Am, and uses many familiar Motorstorm environments with sufficient detail. The cross-platform functionality with the PlayStation 3 ensures that your progress in the Vita version can be continued at home.
16. ModNation Racers: Roadtrip
It’s a good thing that this series patented its track creation tools, because it’s some of the best level design interfaces you’ll ever come across for a racing game. It’s even improved for this Vita version as you can draw your dream track simply by moving your finger, among other touch-friendly features. Road Trip foregoes the story element from the PS3 ModNation and focuses on the community-driven customization appeal of the series.
15. Plants Vs. Zombies
The recent trend of twisting the tower defense formula (eg. Babel Rising, Anomaly Warzone Earth) might be all well and good, but sometimes we just crave the classic format; and what better way to play it than on one of the best versions of Plants Vs. Zombies ever made. Unlike ports that didn’t make this list (FIFA, Dungeon Hunter Alliance), developer PopCap Games actually made a genuine effort to integrate Vita’s features in practical ways, like shaking the Vita to collect sunshine and coins. Furthermore, they improved PvZ’s performance over its iOS counterpart, resulting in a stutter-free experience.
14. Unit 13
The now-defunct Zipper Interactive closed after doing what it did best, with third person gunplay. Of course with their history with the SOCOM series, it would've been great to have one more game with a more tactical design, but Unit 13's is still a satisfying, faster-paced alternative, aided by boss fights and multiplayer. It’s light on the story, but certainly makes up for it with a very robust selection of missions.
13. Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
I’m not sure what’s more impressive about UMvC3: how it didn’t skimp on any of the console’s features and roster, or how it managed to retain the home versions’ frame rate and responsiveness. While some of the content is still DLC-based, you still get the ten new characters who weren’t present in the original Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Best of all, the controls translate well to the Vita, where you’d have so spend a few consecutive hours of playing before showing any sign of hand cramping.
12. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
The touch screen emphasis and heavy screen rubbing of the treasures in Golden Abyss might be a turn-off to certain Uncharted fans, but it’s hard to deny that this is certainly an Uncharted game. You still have a lot of combat situations not to mention lots of vertical platforming befitting a Nathan Drake adventure, even if you’re not a fan of simply finger-swiping your climbing path (which you don’t have to do). And SCE Bend Studio (with supervisory help from Naughty Dog) manages this while facing the challenge of creating a prequel with a cast of unfamiliar characters.
11. Super Stardust Delta
Super Stardust Delta isn’t that all different from its PS3 predecessor and that’s perfectly fine; it’s also much better than the version on PSP. Very few games of late have captured the high score chase appeal of this series and it’s one of the most addicting features of Delta. Add some of the most gorgeous visuals you’ll find on any platform and you have one of the best games on the Vita.
10. BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend
Unlike Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, there’s no Simple Mode here; the BlazBlue games have always thrived on their complexities, a carryover from ARC System Works’ older Guilty Gear series. If you have the time and the patience, this fighting game has an incredibly thorough tutorial to acquaint newcomers. Just plan on spending the first several hours training against the AI unless you don’t mind starting off with a losing record against online opponents.
9. MLB 12: The Show
Not counting the surrealness of playing this portable baseball game at a real baseball game, there’s nothing that replicates the experience of playing The Show on a large high-definition TV. That gave SCE Studios San Diego all the more reason to make this Vita version worthwhile, delivering some of the best production values seen on the Vita to date. The cross-platform cloud save feature will ensure that baseball fans will progress through their season quicker now that they can take their progress on the road.
8. Wipeout 2048
How does this series justify a Wipeout installment that uses city streets as part of the race tracks for the first time? Position it as the earliest Wipeout in the series’ timeline, at the sport’s infancy before it had dedicated tracks. Even without its cross-platform play and multiplayer, Wipeout 2048 is still one of the best in the series, worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Wipeout XL and Wipeout HD.
7. Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour
There’s always been a ‘21st century Pong’ appeal to Virtua Tennis since its introduction 12 years ago, and it continues with this Vita installment. This version is fully featured enough if you never came around to buying the console version, you might as well get it on Vita instead. It’s also worth checking out the optional gyroscope-driven ground level point-of-view gameplay, a feature that Nintendo is also using for their upcoming Mario Tennis Open on the 3DS.
6. Escape Plan
Between this and Virtua Tennis 4, you have all you need to be a qualified Vita demo spokesperson to convert many Vita fence-sitters. This dark, twisted, yet charming platformer features some of the best uses of the handheld’s back touch, mostly to push important objects from the background into the foreground. At $14.99--via the PlayStation Store--this is one of the most affordable system justifiers for the Vita.
5. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
An HD collection featuring two of the greatest games from the PlayStation 2? It's a no-brainer when it's the content-packed Substance version of Metal Gear Solid 2 and the Subsistance version of Metal Gear Solid 3, the latter being one of my top 5 favorite games of all time. Both games complement each other from a narrative standpoint, with MGS2's information control mind-screw premise and MGS3's theme of loyalty. Konami didn't go nuts with the Vita's touch controls, but the new interface, especially regarding item management, is easy to get used to. And if all that weren't enough, your save file and progress can be continued on the PS3 version of this collection, and vice versa.
4. Rayman Origins
One of the very few games in recent months that’s worth beating twice, first on the console and here on the Vita. Being able to pinch zoom on the portable version easily makes up for not playing it on the big screen. There’s no noticeable degradation in quality even when zoomed up close, which is key for a game that many consider to be one of the most gorgeous video games ever.
3. Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
It’s a wonderful thing to see two budget download-only titles crack this Top 5, which I hope is a sign of things to come. This sequel to Tales from Space: About a Blob addresses and fixes the issues of its PlayStation 3 predecessor and offers a Katamari-like experience in the 2D sense. The Vita isn’t short of games with endearing and often cute art direction, but Mutant Blobs Attack is one of the best showcases of that kind of style.
2. Lumines Electronic Symphony
If you were there at the PlayStation Portable's launch, you most likely bought the original Lumines, a game that brought new and unexpected life back to the 'falling piece' puzzle subgenre. Not only does it have the best soundtrack in the series, it also boasts one of the best collection of licensed tracks ever assembled for a video game. To experience a new Lumines as a launch title on the successor of the PSP truly does feel like coming home.
1. Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
Hot Shots Golf has always worked for being an approachable arcade game series but still retaining all the essential elements needed in a great golf game. It’s the kind of golf game that non-golfers get into as it’s very easy to grasp all the variables needed to consider when making a shot (wind, thickness of the grass, angle of the lie, the elevation difference to the targets, etc.). The addictive an asychronous multiplayer daily tournament was a personal favorite of mine, so much so that I had to quit the mode cold turkey.