11 Dec 2024 9:49 PM +00:00 UTC

PlayStation's 30th Anniversary: The Best PlayStation Vita Games

Now we’ve reached the ill-fated 'black sheep' of the PlayStation family. The PlayStation Vita was a promising portable console with the potential to match the success of the PlayStation Portable. However, Sony made the critical mistake of putting all its eggs in one basket. They believed they could replicate the PSP's success, but it arrived when major players, such as the Nintendo 3DS, were already dominating the market.

It’s a shame, as the Vita introduced innovative and unique features. The touch controls were remarkably intuitive for their time, and the floating orbs of apps on the home screen added a charming touch.

While it didn’t achieve the same heights as the PSP, the Vita still delivered genre-bending titles that left a lasting impression.

Here are my picks for the best PlayStation Vita games of all time:

Tearaway

The first glimpse of what the PlayStation Vita could achieve came with this adorable puzzle-platformer from Media Molecule, the creators of beloved titles such as LittleBigPlanet, and the experimental, player-generated Dreams.

But enough with the history lesson. Tearaway made excellent use of the PS Vita’s hardware features, pushing immersion and interactivity to an entirely new level. In addition to its intuitive touch-based controls, I was filled with wonder upon discovering that I could use the PS Vita’s camera to take pictures and collect items.

It was undoubtedly a charming title, imbued with Media Molecule's signature flair. Like the LittleBigPlanet series, it was a game designed for kids and the young at heart—truly enjoyable for anyone.

Thankfully, even with the PS Vita store closed, Media Molecule released a remastered version of Tearaway for modern consoles.

Gravity Rush

One of PlayStation’s underrated gems, Gravity Rush, was truly in a league of its own. It featured a novel gameplay mechanic that used the PlayStation Vita’s gyro controls, allowing players to shift the camera to manipulate gravity and control Kat’s movements.

However, this innovation was a double-edged sword. While groundbreaking for its time, execution often felt clunky. At moments, Kat wouldn’t respond as intended, flying off in random directions. As a result, I had to rely on the analog sticks instead.

Despite its early 2010s quirks, the camera control issues didn’t stop Gravity Rush from becoming a sleeper hit. I loved it, other players loved it, and critics appreciated the game's atmospheric charm. This success led Japan Studio to remaster the original game for modern consoles, followed by a fantastic sequel.

Here’s hoping for a third installment in the future.

Persona 4: Golden

Before it was ported to Steam and other consoles, Persona 4: Golden was exclusive to the PS Vita for eight years. Imagine one of the greatest JRPGs of all time being confined to Sony’s long-forgotten console.

Persona 4: Golden was my first experience with ATLUS-style expansions. I hadn’t explored FES during my PlayStation 2 days, but with Golden, I was eager to dive into the new content and meet new fictional characters—my favorite part of any Persona game.

My second visit to rural Inaba was a welcome return. It felt like rediscovering the town from a fresh perspective (thanks to the HD upgrade). Marie’s storyline and the quality-of-life improvements added over 30 hours of extra playtime. I had no reason to complain—I was thrilled to reconnect with my fictional friends and jump inside TVs to find a serial killer once again.

Dragon’s Crown

Dragon’s Crown marked a resurgence for arcade brawlers. If you’ve already enjoyed the Streets of Rage series or other classic brawlers, Dragon’s Crown offers a fresh take with its four-player co-op gameplay, making it an absolute blast to play with friends.

I must admit, Vanillaware’s character designs were certainly... eye-catching back in the day. How do these characters pull off such dynamic moves in those daring outfits? Anyway, while I didn’t have friends to play Dragon’s Crown with then, the PS Vita’s online features allowed me to team up with random players from all walks of life.

Vanillaware, in my opinion, are the masters of experimental RPGs. They show little interest in sticking to a single genre, which is why most of their titles have succeeded. I’ve never had a reason to doubt them. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim was my favorite among all Vanillaware titles.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

With the PlayStation Vita’s launch, Sony naturally included a game from a popular franchise. While Kratos from God of War didn’t make the cut, Nathan Drake from Uncharted did—still casually offing bad guys with no repercussions, as usual.

Golden Abyss was a more condensed version of an Uncharted game. While it didn’t reach the visual fidelity of Uncharted 2 or 3, it retained the franchise’s signature action-adventure experience. I was pleasantly surprised by how it utilized the PS Vita’s hardware features, such as gyro and touch controls.

Seeing a game like Uncharted adapted for such a small screen was genuinely impressive. Despite the PS Vita’s limitations, it still delivered that trademark cinematic Uncharted feel. While its writing didn’t quite match the quality of the mainline titles, the technical achievement of creating a portable Uncharted game made it a worthy addition to the list.

Golden Abyss is the only game on this list that hasn’t received remastered or remake treatment. Part of me can’t help but hope to see it return on the big screen someday.

Despite the PS Vita’s lukewarm influence, it introduced first-time gamers to popular franchises that we still play today.

For more articles like this, take a look at our PlayStation and Lists page.