A game for each of the Vita’s ten years – Part 3

PART 1
PART 2

So we are now entering the final few years of the Vita’s life and I know a lot of people think that the quality of games drops off the later into a console’s cycle. Well it is true that this final year there were significantly less titles released for the Vita than in previous years, even all the way to end there is a fair number of downright bangers released for our handheld baby.

While I have tried to show off something from each of the genres the Vita is known for and does an amazing job at showcasing, but unfortunately there isn’t space for them all. Hopefully reading the list of others which didn’t quite make the feature you can see not only my passion, but the sheer number of quality titles the Vita has to offer. After all, the Vita will never die as long as it lives on in our hearts.

Timespinner (2018)

I played A LOT of the games which came out in 2018 as it was the first year I started this blog. I thought about featuring Otome’s here and this was a great year for romance fans. Not only did we enjoy the Aksys summer of mystery with, 7’s Carlet and the Psychedelia series, but also the sequel to Code; Realise. Then we had a number of big titles such as Persona Dancing, Penny Punching Princess, Digimon Cyber Sleuth Hacker’s Memory and Punchline. Finally there were a number of amazing Indies Cosmic Star Heroine, Reverie, Deadbolt and my most played game of that year Stardew Valley. So why the little mentioned Timespinner?

Firstly because so few people mention it, when it is truly a really great game in the Vita’s library. Secondly, it showcases a genre I am deeply in love with. Metroidvanias. My love affair with Axiom Verge, Rabi Ribi, and Bunny Must Die! are all well known, but Timespinner has the added comfort of also being not just gorgeous and with absolutely lovely boss fights, but the battle system is one of my favourites from any game in the genre. You partner familiars with two different weapons and specials to create combos unique to you.

Romancing Saga 3 (2019)

2019 showed no signs of the Vita slowing even with production ending. The best action game which came out on Vita was possibly Fate/Extella Link a gorgeous musou showing our old girl still had a few tricks up her sleeve. While there were a number of notable VN (as always) The House In Fata Morgana, London Detective Mysteria, and Nurse Love Syndrome, as well as Gnosia and Catherine Full Body in Japan. The later, a game so detailed it felt that shouldn’t run on an 8 year old console and yet it did perfectly. 2D titles like Necrosphere, King Of Cards and Shakedown Hawaii showed that indies were as ever pulling their weight.

I swear I am not promoting pixelation on purpose but this RPG is truly one of the greats. While 2018 had the poorly remade Secret Of Mana, 2019 stood up and shows how it should have been done. My first RPG of the recommendations list, and truly one of the all time greats in a genre the Vita really excels at. One of the first open world titles, Romancing Saga 3 has 8 playable protagonists and enemies which scale with you. For a game twice as old as the console it was played on, its one of the most innovative of all time.

Utawarerumono: Prelude To The Fallen (2020)

2020 was the first and only other year the Vita didn’t see smash hit after smash hit since 2013. There were a few notable mentions for the year. The Yumeutsutsu games feel like they were made for Vita and Demon’s Tier showed definite potential for fans of rogue-likes. 0000 and Knightin+ while not exceptional both pleasantly surprised me.

It was not difficult for me to pick Utawarerumono as my recommendation for this year. The third (and chronologically first) game in the series, much like Lost Dimension it mixes a lot of different elements of visual novel, strategy, RPG in a classic Japanese setting with a plethora of waifus. You will become attached to your favourites and want to complete all the side quests.

Scourgebringer (2021)

While in the final year of the Vita’s life span I put around 500 hours into the addictive Horizon Chase Turbo, and while I haven’t showcased nearly enough of the wonderful racing games on Vita I had to give the beautifully fluid movement and planned out accessibility options which made Scourgebringer work perfectly the prize. Russian Subway Dogs and Astro Aqua Kitty are also both deserving of love and attention but just not fun like the aforementioned.

Scourgebringer doesn’t only rely on the movement to keep things spicy. I has 100 options so you can play this rogue-like exactly how you’d like. That’s another genre which is perfect on the Vita by the way. I sat for hours attempting “one more run” and it took a long time to develop the skills to finish. But the satisfaction in doing so. Oh boy.

In my list I haven’t just given 10 recommendations which would on their own make a fairly decent library of games, but in total I have recommended EIGHTY games which in my opinion are ripping good times. That’s the thing about the Vita there are so many games that you may not get through them in this lifetime. But I can only try.